[linearly]

I see a lot of folks doubting that a better psu, linear or switching can change the sound of the ADI-2 to the better. The original psu the ADI comes with is already excellent, and comparing it with my cheap linear psu I had it was better with some songs, worse with others. But with a better linear psu that has low output impedance and large filtering capability things got clearer on what is better. I got the Project Box DS2 sources as open box, I could've returned it at any time and save me 500 Euros, but for me the change was so impactful that I could not go back to my cheap linear psu or stock.

Don't get me started with measurements, I had audio products that measure good and sounded like dog droppings and lost a lot of money barely selling them at 1/3rd of the price since no one was buying. The RME ADI-2 and the Qutest measure good and also sound very good, but measurements don't tell the whole story when it comes to audio, your ears has to be the final judge.

On the Qutest forum Rob says that the stock linear psu is excellent etc, but a lot of users found out, me included, that the change in sound is huge with adding a better psu. I found that even phone charger batteries sound different, with some sounding harsher and worse then stock. What I'm saying is try things for yourself and decide what you like or not. In the end its your money and you decide on what you spend it on.

Its funny to me that folks believe in measurements and what manufacturers say more then their own ears as I don't think the people that say a better psu can't sound better tried it themselves. And even if they did, it depends on everyone's home power, how many things you have plugged in that contaminate the ac line. In the end you have to be the one that decides what you do with your own money, and I trust folks opinions more then what manufacturers say to save some money with a psu that works everywhere in the world or save space, could you imagine a RME ADI-2 with a large 2kgs toroidal transformer? I'm happy to always tinker and squeeze the most of my audio system, not all folks are like me, and thats fine, but don't tell I'm imagining things without trying it yourself.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

If you notice, it's mostly low-end Chifi that wins the unverified measurement wars. So I see it as an ugly form of slumming by people who have never heard, seen, or touched great hifi gear.

 

[Cevisi]

If you notice, it's mostly low-end Chifi that wins the unverified measurement wars. So I see it as an ugly form of slumming by people who have never heard, seen, or touched great hifi gear.

Its actually very verified from independent sources with all parameters there is no magic behind physics

And china is a very well educated country with first class engineers in semiconductor design
They take actually design und production cost with thier needed margin


Myself as a 4 year educated electronic technician and 6 years in business ask me this question

When the psu "does" make the sound that much better why not sell them customers medicore dac amps with a good psu. These psu cost nothing to produce and design.

Same with cables how should a expensive cable benefit your system when its bottlenecked by the internal wiring of the source and the headphones or speakers it self

By the way this man says his egg taste better after he yells meow at it

 

[joefig44]

Are there any recommended equalizer or other settings for pairing the ADI-2 FS with Sennheiser 800S?

I've implemented the ones found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/f0od0n/rme_adi2_dac_eq_configuration_for_hd800s/
(the ones by hacinoysei) but wondering if there are others to try or top recommended?

Also, should I be using Hi-Power instead of Low power setting on the RME?

 

[Cevisi]

Are there any recommended equalizer or other settings for pairing the ADI-2 FS with Sennheiser 800S?

I've implemented the ones found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/f0od0n/rme_adi2_dac_eq_configuration_for_hd800s/
(the ones by hacinoysei) but wondering if there are others to try or top recommended?

Also, should I be using Hi-Power instead of Low power setting on the RME?

Band 7 and 8 is your bass and treble knob setting

This eq aplies the harmam curve to your hd800s

Just try high and low setting wich sounds better for you i like high gain on my dt1990 because it has a higher voltage swing and most high impedance headphones benefit from that


But i think you will have the best experience when you play around with the eq and find your selfmade prefered setting just safe differente eqs as setups so you can switch instantly between them and compare

 

[creed2]

I'll try to jump back in over the outboard psu, I bowed out couple weeks ago I don't want to argue with anyone but out board psu and cables make a big difference in my system. My Pass Labs preamp has a out board psu and it is as big as the preamp and makes a difference. I have upgraded the psu's on my Linn lp12 many times, the better the psu the better the presentation each time. Even my phono pre has outboard psu and helped sonically. When I added the Teddy Pardo power supply to the RME first thing I did was match the spl readings with the stock power supply with the Teddy Pardo with speakers so I wouldn't mistake louder for better. The soundstage expanded and noise floor dropped substantially, It added weight to instruments and everything sounds much more real and organic. Why is this hard to believe or hard understand a upgraded psu can help enjoy listening to music. I'm not going into cables but they make a huge difference for me.

 

[Dogmatrix]

I think the psu question boils down to what you are trying to achieve .
Technically the best solution is a simple 12 volt vehicle battery , not a power bank because they are often not 12 volt internally and use circuits to achieve 12 volts .
If on the other hand you seek to impart character to the device by using a technically inferior solution it should be understood the circuit in the RME is designed to prevent that .

 

[gikigill]

If you notice, it's mostly low-end Chifi that wins the unverified measurement wars. So I see it as an ugly form of slumming by people who have never heard, seen, or touched great hifi gear.

The Mola Mola is not cheap or Chi-fi and neither is the RME.

 

[gikigill]

I see a lot of folks doubting that a better psu, linear or switching can change the sound of the ADI-2 to the better. The original psu the ADI comes with is already excellent, and comparing it with my cheap linear psu I had it was better with some songs, worse with others. But with a better linear psu that has low output impedance and large filtering capability things got clearer on what is better. I got the Project Box DS2 sources as open box, I could've returned it at any time and save me 500 Euros, but for me the change was so impactful that I could not go back to my cheap linear psu or stock.

Don't get me started with measurements, I had audio products that measure good and sounded like dog droppings and lost a lot of money barely selling them at 1/3rd of the price since no one was buying. The RME ADI-2 and the Qutest measure good and also sound very good, but measurements don't tell the whole story when it comes to audio, your ears has to be the final judge.

On the Qutest forum Rob says that the stock linear psu is excellent etc, but a lot of users found out, me included, that the change in sound is huge with adding a better psu. I found that even phone charger batteries sound different, with some sounding harsher and worse then stock. What I'm saying is try things for yourself and decide what you like or not. In the end its your money and you decide on what you spend it on.

Its funny to me that folks believe in measurements and what manufacturers say more then their own ears as I don't think the people that say a better psu can't sound better tried it themselves. And even if they did, it depends on everyone's home power, how many things you have plugged in that contaminate the ac line. In the end you have to be the one that decides what you do with your own money, and I trust folks opinions more then what manufacturers say to save some money with a psu that works everywhere in the world or save space, could you imagine a RME ADI-2 with a large 2kgs toroidal transformer? I'm happy to always tinker and squeeze the most of my audio system, not all folks are like me, and thats fine, but don't tell I'm imagining things without trying it yourself.

3 linear/high quality PSUs, 2 RMEs, not a cent of difference.

 

[betula]

TBH I never really understood all these debates and fights on forums about measurements, graphs and data. It almost looks like a subsidiary of the hobby: people who love to argue about numbers.
To me the ultimate test has always been my ears/hearing. Yes, graphs and measurement kind of helped me to find my trail of interest but they always were secondary. You listen with your ears and not with your eyes. Graphs, and measurements can be deceiving. Just have the courage to follow what you like. Even if it is not the 'mainstream audiophile taste'.

 

[Lolito]

Worth a try I guess but considering RME does Pro audio which is much more technical than your average person's set up, I highly doubt it.

Make sure the output voltage is correct since I've known 2 cases of folks overpowering their RME with 24V and breaking it. They were probably under the assumption that since RME specifies a variable input voltage for the ADI-2, higher voltage means better or louder sound.

Turns out it only lead to a dead ADI-2.

I know professional people with much lower gear than private crazy nerds user with plenty of free time to spend learning stuff, and they do have better gear than many pro's. The nowadays producers are known to be albe to work in a rear seat inside a car with a macbook, aparently. The pro level is not what it used to be.

 

[Lolito]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...o-you-need-linear-power-supply-for-dacs.7021/

This website starts to be quite useless now. So it measures no difference really between two types of power supplies, great. The problem is, that I am not an audio measuring machine, hehe, neither my ears. I am interested on knowing which one is going to sound better... to a human ear!!! if that is a more or less flat sound, or twicked here, or there, or this or that... fine, I can be interested on that too, of course, but, the importance here is to know what sounds better to your ear, and these Amir is measuring stuff and don't even listen to the devices, also, measurements vary a lot, depending on who makes them, even inside that website, same device measures different for different measurers... they even ahd to correct tests several times due to people complaining about wrong measurements... for example with the Neumann active studio monitor speakers, and bascially enything that is not chinese who I bet sponsor the site or give items for free to review in advance, etc... items designed to measure well, not to sound good, as subjective as that can be, nothing more authentic either.

 

[Lolito]

Has anyone compared, owned and listened to one of these RME and one Denafrips ARES II and can comment about the differences based on actual long experience with both? thanks a lot!!!

 

[Steve Wilcox]

Lies, damned lies and statistics! The world's obsessed with false objectivity. There's more people falling ill with Covid now than at the outbreak according to the stats. Of course it's just that more people are being tested. In Hi Fi, scientific equipment can measure a tiny fraction of what our ears can hear and our brain perceive, but because they're 'objective' they take on far more weight than they merit.

 

[Lolito]

Lies, damned lies and statistics! The world's obsessed with false objectivity. There's more people falling ill with Covid now than at the outbreak according to the stats. Of course it's just that more people are being tested. In Hi Fi, scientific equipment can measure a tiny fraction of what our ears can hear and our brain perceive, but because they're 'objective' they take on far more weight than they merit.

Exactly, and this dac measures very very well, and the features are amazing, and you can feel this is german product, not chinese, whis will last, and it has no audiphile bull, and all things considered, the price is low. But the sound is really nothing better than a 140$ topping E30. Now it has proper XLR, it has headphone amp... great device, but soudns just like any other good current delta sigma dac, nothing more than that really. My 100$ current dac do that already. The 650$ denafrips ARES 2 is supposed to be way better than this RME in sound quality. it has more depth in the sound, more natural, and more 3D. This or the topping or most delta sigma have a 2D presentation, a wall of sound, but flattish. Chord is different, denafrips also different, better.