[barontan2418]

dBu V
-10 0.245
-9 0.275
-8 0.309
-7 0.346
-6 0.388
-5 0.436
-4 0.489
-3 0.549
-2 0.616
-1 0.691
0 0.775
1 0.870
2 0.976
3 1.095
4 1.228
5 1.378
6 1.546
7 1.735
8 1.947
9 2.184
10 2.451
11 2.750
12 3.085
13 3.462
14 3.884
15 4.358
16 4.890
17 5.487
18 6.156
19 6.907
20 7.750

13dBu - 10dBu = 3dBu = 1.095V

Balanced output is 6dBu higher

Thanks technobear. I did take the Euforia off my RME just in case damage might have been caused but it looks to be safe enough from the above chart. Once again thanks for your help.

 

[George Hincapie]

Don't think so. Quote from RME forum:

This power supply is different in its concept and will appeal to some (as nearhos prooved), but we will never state that it sounds better or such. BTW, the 2/4 Pro will ship with the current SMPS in a 40 Watt version, and no longer two prong but IEC socket with PE ground to finally fix the leakage current issue.

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=35329

If it doesn't sound better then what's the point? Am I missing something?

 

[DarginMahkum]

Removed.

 

[spnc]

in September

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?pid=190999#p190999

September? Based on a video from a while back though. Bet it doesn't arrive until later than that.

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?pid=191008#p191008

Which is quite a safe bet these days. Nevertheless we make good progress. Maybe already next week I can upload the 2/4 Pro manual (it's only 114 pages...), with tons of details, final specs and features. So anyone interested can take a deep dive-in on this unit.

Matthias Carstens
RME

 

[spnc]

I did hear the release date at Canjam London but I can't remember it. I'm sure it's very soon but I can't find it at any dealers yet. I didn't listen to it.

As for the Hugo2, since no-one else has chimed in, I was led to try Hugo2 because of dissatisfaction with the sound from the ADI2-DAC (and the iFi Audio iDAC2). I have owned and used all three together for two years now. The ADI2-DAC has a couple of flaws to my ears. The first is the soundstage which is rather 2-dimensional. It is wide but doesn't have much height and has very little depth to it. The Hugo2 puts the stage in a sphere around your head with better height and much better depth. The second flaw occurs whenever the recording contains any harshness, squeal, screech, sqawk, metallic sheen or undue sibilance. The ADI2-DAC makes it worse and is fatiguing to listen to for those tracks. It makes me want to turn it down or listen to something else. The Hugo2 is far more refined. It doesn't add distortion of its own to what is already distorted. It just sounds natural and unfatiguing because it is far more accurate in time than the RME. You can still hear the flaws in those recordings. They are just not thrown at you in an unpleasant way.

The best I can describe it is that when I first got the Hugo2, I found myself tensing and flinching for faults I was expecting to hear, only for them not to occur. I quickly learned to stop flinching and tensing and just relax knowing that the Hugo2 was not going to offend my ears. I wrote somewhere else (but can't now find it) that the Hugo2 is what I've been waiting 40 years for digital audio to sound like. The ADI2-DAC is still a good and very versatile piece for it's price, but I'm afraid the Hugo2 plays on an altogether loftier plain and is worth every penny of its asking price. Of course if you already have a headphone amp, you could save some by getting the Qutest.

On the subject of USB, neither ADI2-DAC nor Hugo2 are perfect here. Both can be improved by addition of an iPurifier2/3 (disclaimer: I own a bunch of these, other decrapifiers are available but the iFi ones are very good in my experience). I feed my DACs by optical or coaxial where those options are available.

EDIT: one more thing on latency. The ADI2-DAC has a couple of short delay filters - SD Sharp and SD Slow. Be sure to use those. Personally I use both the ADI2-DAC and Hugo2 on optical with the TV and have never had any lipsync issues.

I was intrigued by your feedback since it's the first time I come across such an excessive negative review of the ADI-2 - although it seems that it is the DAC version being discussed here (I'm actually looking to buy the most expensive of the line - the Pro, and specifically the upcoming ADI-2/4 Pro) - but still, your description worried me, in particular the lack of height and depth, and recessed soundstage, which for me as a producer mostly spending 95% of my time with my headphones is a no go.

So out of curiosity I referred to your feedback on RME forum and actually it didn't get any popular lol:

"What kind of reply do you want by posting BS like this from head-fi.org?"

"Best to get a unit in and try it yourself, rather than relying on some unknown audiophile's POV on the internet."

"Now my collegial tip, as an audio engineer:

These claims do not stand the test of reality.
In a blind, level matched A/B comparison you will have a hard time finding sound differences between high quality pro audio stuff.

I did that 100’s of times, have a rig handy to do it."

"The poster here has just shared a bunch of nonsense, totally irrelevant to using RMe products and technologies for various audio use cases."

So I'm still trying to figure out if this 2-dimensional stage claim is valid, especially since I researched the Hugo2, which is almost twice as expensive - and that you claim has a better soundstage/transparency and softer details, but apparently is not so good in the experience of many users (it seems it just didn't click for them soundwise), so I'm really at a loss here. I'd rather spend less with a more reliable and popular brand like RME than splash 2'500 bucks on the Hugo2 that seems to be niche and hit or miss?

 

[Another Audiophile]

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?pid=190999#p190999

September? Based on a video from a while back though. Bet it doesn't arrive until later than that.

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?pid=191008#p191008

Which is quite a safe bet these days. Nevertheless we make good progress. Maybe already next week I can upload the 2/4 Pro manual (it's only 114 pages...), with tons of details, final specs and features. So anyone interested can take a deep dive-in on this unit.

Matthias Carstens
RME

That what I was told by your representatives in Canjam London.

 

[spnc]

That what I was told by your representatives in Canjam London.

The folks at RME probably better than any 'representative' out there... considering the current delays in supply chains and all I would be surprised it's delivered on time. By the end of the year seems more realistic. Hopefully October.

 

[dougq]

I was intrigued by your feedback since it's the first time I come across such an excessive negative review of the ADI-2 - although it seems that it is the DAC version being discussed here (I'm actually looking to buy the most expensive of the line - the Pro, and specifically the upcoming ADI-2/4 Pro) - but still, your description worried me, in particular the lack of height and depth, and recessed soundstage, which for me as a producer mostly spending 95% of my time with my headphones is a no go.

So out of curiosity I referred to your feedback on RME forum and actually it didn't get any popular lol:



So I'm still trying to figure out if this 2-dimensional stage claim is valid, especially since I researched the Hugo2, which is almost twice as expensive - and that you claim has a better soundstage/transparency and softer details, but apparently is not so good in the experience of many users (it seems it just didn't click for them soundwise), so I'm really at a loss here. I'd rather spend less with a more reliable and popular brand like RME than splash 2'500 bucks on the Hugo2 that seems to be niche and hit or miss?

His experience and what he hears is just his and not actually a trait of the rme. You will have to listen on your own.

 

[technobear]

...for me as a producer mostly spending 95% of my time with my headphones is a no go...

As a music listener, I would encourage you as a producer to get the RME so that you can more clearly indentify the faults in your product (music) and fix them before they are inflicted on the public.

The RME is not a bad DAC of its type. It was plenty good enough to bring me to tears with the shear musical beauty I was hearing through the RAAL|requisite headphones at Canjam. It enables me to enjoy movies and the music within them on a daily basis. However, when it comes to listening to my music collection for pleasure and enjoying it warts and all without fatigue, the Hugo2 wins hands down.

 

[spnc]

As a music listener, I would encourage you as a producer to get the RME so that you can more clearly indentify the faults in your product (music) and fix them before they are inflicted on the public.

The RME is not a bad DAC of its type. It was plenty good enough to bring me to tears with the shear musical beauty I was hearing through the RAAL|requisite headphones at Canjam. It enables me to enjoy movies and the music within them on a daily basis. However, when it comes to listening to my music collection for pleasure and enjoying it warts and all without fatigue, the Hugo2 wins hands down.

Interesting thanks, I think this leaves me with no choice but to buy the two products and return the one I like the least haha - or keep them two for different purposes...

Btw there's more in response to your comment on the RME forum's thread...

I rarely take anyone's word for how something sounds as they never tell us how good their own hearing is. To me this is like a manufacturing claiming a bunch of stuff and not backing it up with specs. Would you buy anything from that manufacturer? Probably not. So take that claim about the ADI as an opinion only and you know what they say about opinions right....

Or if people are not informed about which mistakes to avoid when testing, so that psychoacoustic phenomena do not falsify the test result or make it completely useless and if this mixes with or boosts HiFi myths ...

 

[spnc]

As a music listener, I would encourage you as a producer to get the RME so that you can more clearly indentify the faults in your product (music) and fix them before they are inflicted on the public.

The RME is not a bad DAC of its type. It was plenty good enough to bring me to tears with the shear musical beauty I was hearing through the RAAL|requisite headphones at Canjam. It enables me to enjoy movies and the music within them on a daily basis. However, when it comes to listening to my music collection for pleasure and enjoying it warts and all without fatigue, the Hugo2 wins hands down.

By the way, did you try to compare with the ADI-2 Pro? That's actually the one I'd be interested in, not the DAC. Is there any difference between the two on this matter?

 

[technobear]

By the way, did you try to compare with the ADI-2 Pro? That's actually the one I'd be interested in, not the DAC. Is there any difference between the two on this matter?

Not knowingly. I don't own one of those. I thought all the units I heard at Canjam were ADI2-DAC but I could be wrong. I'm not totally sure what was on the RME/HEDD table when I listened.

Not surprised by any of those comments. I am after all just some guy on the internet. I'm also 62 years old and have been listening to hifi equipment since I was 13. I own around 600 CDs worth of music across quite a few genres. I know harshness and distortion when I hear it.

 

[Another Audiophile]

The folks at RME probably better than any 'representative' out there... considering the current delays in supply chains and all I would be surprised it's delivered on time. By the end of the year seems more realistic. Hopefully October.

I meant RME staff

 

[jamca]

I recently purchased Arya v2 and RME ADI-2 DAC (ESS version). I have to agree: it is a fantastic pairing. With equalization the sound is remarkably transparent, detailed, and smooth without the harshness. Soundstage and spatial separation are truly amazing. Depending on the recording, the stage can be more deep or more wide, but it is always airy and stereographic, with very precise natural placements for the instruments and the performers, never smooshing anything.

ADI-2 DAC has plenty of power to drive the Aryas beautifully. I first tried the Aryas with IFI iDSD MIcro BL, which also has enough power to drive them, but does not offer the clarity or the of ADI-2. Since Aryas are mighty large and open, and so are not exactly designed for strolls outside, esp. with the squarish torsion ribbon raised over the headband, the portability of Micro BL is not enough of an attraction to warrant its use. As much as I love it, I would say that Aryas may be a bit out of its league.

I have listened to classical, jazz, pop and rock. All of these work great, as long as the recordings are good. You will hear all of the flaws on old and poorly executed recordings.

ADI-2 takes a bit of time to learn, but it is worth it, especially if you have a pair of Aryas to drive.

Totally agree. RME and hifiman arya 2 is a great combo.

 

[szore]

Hello folks, just got home with my new adi-2 DAC! I love the sound, using my Jotunheim 2 amp with it and my Szalayi earphones....In any event, quick question, I notice the volume control changes the balanced output...is there a setting where I can set the output volume to fixed? I have the manual but I cannot find it....