Gotta say, it's amazing how any listener can interpret their audio gear in completely different ways, but that's what makes this hobby interesting (and frustrating at the same time).
I had the iFi Micro BL and while I enjoyed the hell outta the thing, the brief moments when you pause a song and start playing something else and encounter the cut off due to its energy saver mode (I vaguely recall that was the cause of the songs not playing immediately after a pause, correct me if I'm wrong) was a real deal breaker for me. I also recall in these sorts of instances, there was audible hiss in the background with sensitive IEMs like the Andromeda. This was easily fixed if you used the IEmatch feature, which I did use, but because I felt like I wasn't getting the "punch" I wanted in my music like I did on normal mode, I didn't use it often. The extra bass boost switch and 3d settings were fun to use, but I wanted more control.
The RME ADI-2 DAC is just so seamless and customizable, and it lends itself wonderfully to really detailed oriented headphones/IEMs. While it isn't as powerful as other headphone amps/dacs I've tried over the past year or so, I find it to be very sufficient and plenty loud with the likes of the HD 800 at around -15db in hi-power mode and it's able to keep that impressive feat while retaining a black background when I wanted to use the Flamenco via the IEM port (I really love how it tracks the last settings you used when using a particular port, a really awesome/understated feature in my eyes); I can't emphasize enough how hard it is find a headphone amp that's able to juggle both without introducing that annoying hiss due to amount of power drawn for sensitive gear, even those that are advertised as IEM amps (I'm looking at you CMA400i / WA8 Eclipse, I could still hear that hiss). The RME ADI-2 DAC is the only one I found to be legitmately pitch black. The overall sound signature doesn't stand out, but I feel like that's something a solid state amp should strive for when you're wanting something truly transparent in a studio type of environment, and this thing does it easily while giving you plenty of options to tweak it that a lot of users aren't really taking advantage of.
It's just a little disappointing that some of the common complaints about the RME ADI-2 DAC stem from people saying there isn't anything that "wows" them about the unit, but they gloss over all its features or ignore the benefits it brings compared to other offerings. At the current price point, this thing really is a steal and I absolutely adored it since I first got it.
I had the iFi Micro BL and while I enjoyed the hell outta the thing, the brief moments when you pause a song and start playing something else and encounter the cut off due to its energy saver mode (I vaguely recall that was the cause of the songs not playing immediately after a pause, correct me if I'm wrong) was a real deal breaker for me. I also recall in these sorts of instances, there was audible hiss in the background with sensitive IEMs like the Andromeda. This was easily fixed if you used the IEmatch feature, which I did use, but because I felt like I wasn't getting the "punch" I wanted in my music like I did on normal mode, I didn't use it often. The extra bass boost switch and 3d settings were fun to use, but I wanted more control.
The RME ADI-2 DAC is just so seamless and customizable, and it lends itself wonderfully to really detailed oriented headphones/IEMs. While it isn't as powerful as other headphone amps/dacs I've tried over the past year or so, I find it to be very sufficient and plenty loud with the likes of the HD 800 at around -15db in hi-power mode and it's able to keep that impressive feat while retaining a black background when I wanted to use the Flamenco via the IEM port (I really love how it tracks the last settings you used when using a particular port, a really awesome/understated feature in my eyes); I can't emphasize enough how hard it is find a headphone amp that's able to juggle both without introducing that annoying hiss due to amount of power drawn for sensitive gear, even those that are advertised as IEM amps (I'm looking at you CMA400i / WA8 Eclipse, I could still hear that hiss). The RME ADI-2 DAC is the only one I found to be legitmately pitch black. The overall sound signature doesn't stand out, but I feel like that's something a solid state amp should strive for when you're wanting something truly transparent in a studio type of environment, and this thing does it easily while giving you plenty of options to tweak it that a lot of users aren't really taking advantage of.
It's just a little disappointing that some of the common complaints about the RME ADI-2 DAC stem from people saying there isn't anything that "wows" them about the unit, but they gloss over all its features or ignore the benefits it brings compared to other offerings. At the current price point, this thing really is a steal and I absolutely adored it since I first got it.
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