[Coltblue]

I haven't gone through the filters yet. What are the best ones?

 

[Flater]

I haven't gone through the filters yet. What are the best ones?

I don't think there is a best one, it depends on preference. SD sharp is a bit brighter but also more detailed. Slow is smoother, NOS darker. I mainly listen to SD sharp. These differences are rather subtle anyway, you won't get shocked. But it is nice to experiment.

Crossfeed is another story. That really makes a difference. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. It really depends on the recording. Even when crossfeed turns out beneficial to my ears, my first impression is often like meh, less detail, narrower soundstage. But when my ears adjust, crossfeed can make it sound more natural, cohesive, less fatiguing. I usually go for step 1 (a touch) or 2 (Meier). Step 3 and beyond is often too much for me, it feels like I am listing in a tunnel. Crossfeed is also headphone dependent imo. The Nighthawk needs a bit more of it than my Clear, at least that's my impression so far.

 

[Malcolm Riverside]

I find the desirability of using the crossfeed to be totally source dependent. Newer recordings almost never need it but live shows and older stereo recordings can greatly benefit from it, especially jazz, r&b and some rock albums. I get fatigued listening to old mixes where the instruments are totally in one channel or the other—it feels unnatural having my brain do the work of blending the sounds. The crossfeed does that work subtly but convincingly. That said, setting the Adi-2 dac’s crossfeed past “2” results in diminishing returns where the music starts to lose clarity and the soundstage gets compressed, so a little goes a long way.

Two amps I’ve had that have better crossfeed implementations than the Adi-2 are the ifi ICan Pro & the SPL Phonitor 2. The latter especially has tremendous flexibility and customization options. Maybe it’s that those amps crossfeed functions are controlled in the analog rather than digital realm that makes them sound better to my ears. Still, the Adi-2 is good if not great at it.

The filters also depend on the source and your headphones. I usually set it to SD Sharp or Slow. They run on a continuum from more incisive and revealing to smoother and more forgiving of recordings. Many times I will pair older more analog recordings with the SD Sharp filter to draw out more detail, while newer more digital/electronic productions can have any sense of digital glare or sheen tamed a bit by the Slow or Sharp settings. Of course headphones are a big factor too! Ok, that is all.

 

[ZenErik]

I use NOS, but Slow is also nice. Maybe it sounds odd, but I prefer the ADI-2 DAC crossfeed over the Pro iCan options. I feel like they're all actually usable. On the Pro iCan I felt like only the first option was usable to me. The other options just seemed to make everything sound noticeably brighter. In addition, when things are hard panned like that on old jazz recordings I think setting the ADI-2 DAC to mono is a better option than crossfeed.

 

[Coltblue]

Ok thanks, I'll have to try them out.

 

[NickedWicked]

Anyone compared this to the (upgraded) Burson Play or similair priced amp/dac units? Asking for a friend.

 

[VRacer-111]

I use the Sharp filter and crossfeed at 2 (unless listening to the speakers [The NAD C275BEE has two sets of stereo speaker outputs - use one for the STAX transformer and other for my mains], crossfeed off then)

 

[Flater]

Interesting observations about crossfeed. I am wondering whether - just theoretically - is it better to implement crossfeed in the digital domain (like ADI-2 DAC) or in the analogue (like SPL Phonitor 2)? Any thoughts on this?

 

[Phoniac]

It seems to me that users of the ADI-2 Pro and DAC typically overlook the Width setting, which provides an adjustable stereo to mono effect to narrow the stereo base. If you are not satisfied with the current Crossfeed presets you should try this one too, and especially a combination of both.

 

[ZenErik]

It seems to me that users of the ADI-2 Pro and DAC typically overlook the Width setting, which provides an adjustable stereo to mono effect to narrow the stereo base. If you are not satisfied with the current Crossfeed presets you should try this one too, and especially a combination of both.

You're right. I have overlooked it. From the way you describe it it seems better than just switching to mono. Will have to give it a try later.

 

[albertmuc]

It seems to me that users of the ADI-2 Pro and DAC typically overlook the Width setting, which provides an adjustable stereo to mono effect to narrow the stereo base. If you are not satisfied with the current Crossfeed presets you should try this one too, and especially a combination of both.

You're right. I have overlooked it. From the way you describe it it seems better than just switching to mono. Will have to give it a try later.

My default setting, which is adjusted according to the music material, is: Crossfeed 1; Width 0,95

 

[Tauko]

New USB revision, 17 --> 20. No changelog. I already updated. Works fine.

 

[kvn864]

New USB revision, 17 --> 20. No changelog. I already updated. Works fine.

this is what changed
> New option 'Toggle Screen' in the Remap key section. Assigning this function to one of the programmable
> keys of the remote will toggle between the three top screens Analyzer, Dark Volume and State Overview.

 

[tekkster]

The more I use the RME ADI-2 features, tweaking things here and there, the more I love it.

And I love the analyzer, often staring at it while listening to certain pieces to get a better sense of frequencies of particular voices and instruments. So wonderful to get that information right at the egress point (which I prefer more than the old way, which was to use analyzers on the iMac before sending to the DAC/AMP).

Of course, the ultra-quiet 3.5mm jack and the extra power 6.3mm jack is amazing too.

My only two very subtle, very minor thoughts right now are:
- There are very subtle sounds on just a few rare compositions (orchestral classical) that I can hear on the H2 that I have trouble hearing on the ADI-2.
- There is a subtle "slowness" to some instruments that are "snappier" on the H2.

The issues are so very minor, almost not worth mentioning (though noteworthy to me), that they don't make me switch to the H2, I keep using the ADI-2.

----

As others have mentioned, I'm continuously confused as to why the ADI-2 doesn't get more attention on these audiophile forums.

 

[chungjun]

Anyone played with EQ yet? Wondering if you are willing to share your EQ settings, particularly for HD800S.