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Yet Another DAC Of The Month in the house.This time the RME ADI-2 DAC FS is in the audio rack. This thing is complicated but everything is set to defaults and it's sounding pretty good. I'm surprised because I was expecting a thin clinical analytical un-musical 'pro audio sound'. $1299 MSRP.
In recent months I've had:
- RME ADI-2 FS
- Chord Qutest
- Denafrips Ares II
- Topping D90I still have my six year old PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC so no, it's not about not being satisfied. It's about trying out different gear for fun which I've been doing for decades. Picked the RME up used on Audiogon.
Edits: 09/23/21Follow Ups:
Abe, I have been following your thread regarding the RME. Do you have have a concrete impression about this Dac? I ordered one a couple of weeks ago, but canceled due to getting cold feet. My current Dac is Ayre QB 9 DSD. I use HQPlayer/ Roon and I wonder if the RME would work better with HQPlayer due to higher rates. What are you thoughts between the two dac's I know you used to have the QB. Appreciate any insight. Thank you , Sam
Sorry I didn't see your post until now - almost a week later.I watched a RME YouTube video that described in technical detail the AKM vs ESS implementation and my takeaway was that the RME engineers were able to do a few design modifications to bring ESS up to par with AKM in the ADI-2 FS DAC.
As for technical implementation the RME should be superior to the older Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC which I also owned. But in sonics I think they are comparable but I'm not doing anything special with very hi-res PCM, DSD, or DSP upsampling and filtering. I no longer use HQPlayer.
That being said, I think the RME "gets it right" on sonics which I cannot say was the case with many "DAC of the month" units I've had in my listening room over the past year.
To this day, I love my six year old PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC which is what I kept when I sold the Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC but my only reason was that I ever so slightly preferred the PS Audio voicing. It is ever so slightly warmer and more robust sounding in the mids but the Ayre was probably just a little more resolving with finer detail. They were very close.
And now comparing the RME to my PS Audio and Ayre I think I like it just as much with the RME being slightly more transparent. It's a difficult call. All of these sound fantastic and in my opinion it comes down to personal preference.
So in summary I think you'll like the RME a lot but I don't think it will be a clear winner over what you already have in the Ayre QB-9 DSD.
But to put this into context again, I listen mostly to PCM CD rips, a handful of 24/96 or 24/192 Tidal and Qobuz streams, and rarely ever tinker with hi-res DSD or HQPlayer anymore.
Edits: 10/13/21
Thanks Abe I appreciate your time in explaining in detail your experiences. Sounds like in the price range of Dacs under consideration, it would be a side ways move.
Sam
My 2-cents worth:- RME ADI-2 FS DAC = Newer & Technically Superior. It's a very nice sounding DAC but does it sound better than some older greats ?
- Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC = Older but sounds fantastic even up against many newer DACs. Comparable to the RME ADI-2 FS DAC.
Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC in my office. PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC to the left.
RME ADI-2 FS DAC in my basement system.
Edits: 10/14/21
I am not Abe, but I do have an ADI-2 Pro FSR and I use Roon and HQPlayer. Although my main DAC is the Holo May, I have a configuration for the RME to function as DAC for vinyl replay with Purevinyl as a DAW. The advantage of the RME is the DAC direct functionality of the AKM 4493 converter. DSD in from HQP is simply passed directly to a low-pass filter and the chip performs extremely well in the REM implementation, particularly at 256x. I would think that it would be a step up from the Ayre at this point becuae of that specific feature. In the Ayre, you have an older receiver chip and no direct decoding.
Paul thanks, that helps. I notice the newer RME pro no longer uses the AKM 4493 chip. They now use a ESS chip, will it function in the same way with HQPlayer by going direct
Sam
It appears tghe 9038 does have a DoP or native DSD input capability and processes in DSD mode. In the right designer's hands it is very, very good.
It appears tghe 9038 does have a DoP or native DSD input capability and processes in DSD mode. In the right designer's hands it is very, very good.
Ok! Appreciated! Sam
Abe,
A friend has their Audio Interface and uses it for recording. I have had pretty much time on it and would agree with their house sound and yes that is complicated as well and has a ton of inputs and outputs up to 24/192.
Thanks,
Gordon
J. Gordon Rankin
Gordon,
The last "complicated" DAC I had was the Lynx HiLo USB with lots of signal routing capability for pro audio use but I found it cumbersome for a 2-ch home audio setup. I believe it was also an A/D converter.
RME ADI-2 DAC FS has very useful and unique feature - bit perfect test built in it's HW. To use it you need to download test file (http://www.rme-audio.de/download/bit_test_wavs.zip) and play it. You will get confirmation on DAC's screen if test is passed for various sample rates. This means there is no DSP in signal path. If not passed, think about the differences in sound when using different audio platforms.
One more toy- download DigiCheck NG for macOS X - preview v0.85 (available for M1 as well) from RME Site. You will get nice spectrum analyzer and other tools on your MAC screen with DAC connected to your MAC via USB, the only limitation the source of audio must be spdif.
And to find out which chip is used you should check serial number, if you find 'C' at the end, then it's ESS, if not - AKM.
There is an interesting video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kkU49sRLo) on differences between two.
This is a very feature rich DAC with lots of learning ahead! And it sounds excellent. Thank you for the additional information and links.
My RME ADI-2 DAC FS has a "B" at the end of the serial number so it looks like it has AKM inside.
One major 'nugget' of information I heard from the RME engineer in the video, summarized in my own words:
- AKM is generally superior especially in the area of 'digital headroom' to avoid clipping. RME did some product hardware modifications to accommodate ESS shortcomings in the area of 'digital headroom'. The end result is now just as good as AKM.
And quoted directly from the RME engineer in the video:
"It is well known that today's DAC chips are so good that the main difference in sound comes from the analog output circuit instead" .
The analog output circuit in the ESS based ADI-2 remains unchanged.
because they had no choice as the AKM factory burnt down and not because it made no difference which chip they used (ESS might have been cheaper?).
That they seem to feel they were successful with their work-around is good to know.
Yes, from what I've seen and what RME have said, the units that have a "C" at the end of the serial number are using ESS chips because they can't get AKM.
RME says they had to make some hardware design changes in the ADI-2 DAC FS to get 'digital headroom' for ESS up to par with AKM and they've succeeded. The analog section remains unchanged.
It's also interesting to note that the Topping D90 is now the Topping D90 SE because they can't get AKM and had to switch to ESS. Of course Topping doesn't say this, they just introduced the "SE" version as their latest model and jacked the price.
Who says the Chinese aren't good capitalists?
"It is well known that today's DAC chips are so good that the main difference in sound comes from the analog output circuit instead".
Sorry. Well known to whom!?!?
Try different clocks and clock qualities on different DACs.
Different power rails and regulation.
Try different ON-DAC filters.
ASF ASF.
I never liked the ignorance (arrogance ??) of RME. I've been running a Fireface for years on my 2x3 channel active system.
I was happy after I sold that DAC. It wasn't bad. Just solid pro-Audio equipment. Beside that all their tools were not compatible with Linux, that's why I had to use the annoying on-dac screen and controls.
I never listened to the ADI-2 though. I read the reviews. I never felt tempted.
Enjoy.
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blog latest >> The Audio Streaming Series - tuning kit pCP
"It is well known that today's DAC chips are so good that the main difference in sound comes from the analog output circuit instead".
Sorry. Well known to whom!?!?
Try different clocks and clock qualities on different DACs.
Different power rails and regulation.
Try different ON-DAC filters.
ASF ASF.
I never liked the ignorance (arrogance ??) of RME. I've been running a Fireface for years on my 2x3 channel active system.
I was happy after I sold that DAC. It wasn't bad. Just solid pro-Audio equipment. Beside that all their tools were not compatible with Linux, that's why I had to use the annoying on-dac screen and controls.
I never listened to the ADI-2 though. I read the reviews. I never felt tempted.
Enjoy.
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blog latest >> The Audio Streaming Series - tuning kit pCP
Is it an older RME with the AKM chip or a newer version with ESS chip?
I'm not Abe, tho I play him on TV...
The FS is the newest model.
Unless Abe knows something I don't,
and he probably does!
If I'm not mistaken, the original (non FS) used the AKM 4490, the improved (clock) FS switched to the AKM 4493 and more recent FS's (still the same name) are now using ESS9028Q2M due to the AKM fire.
So you can have an FS with either the AKM chip or the ESS chip depending on when it was (originally) purchased. There may in fact be other changes in the newer ESS version that I'm not aware of.
But, as I said, I may be mistaken and someone can jump in and correct me if I'm wrong.
I don't know which chip is inside my RME ADI-2 FS but I do know it's sounding pretty nice. Is there a way to tell short of opening it up?P.S. I don't have a ESS/AKM DAC CHIP preference. I've owned DACs that sound excellent and only OK regardless of which CHIP the DAC was designed around.
Edits: 09/25/21
Apparently the ESS version has a small "c" at the end of the serial number.
nt
.
nt
.
Cut-Throat already owns his forever DAC ;-)
the Gustard doesn't cut the mustard?
So long as it doesn't start cutting the cheese, not cutting the mustard is OK.
.
Abe, if you decide to sell the RME,
I'd like to be first in line!
It will get DSD 256 on Mac due to very high PCM rate.
Edits: 09/23/21 09/23/21 09/23/21
I'll try to remember to give you first shot if I sell it.
Wouldn't surprise me if you kept it, I've read excellent reviews.
I've read excellent reviews on the Chord Qutest, Topping D90, Denafrips Ares II, and many others! So far straight out of the box with factory defaults I think I'm liking the RME ADI-2 FS better. It's much closer to the sound I like from my six year old PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC but the RME is a little more extended up top, faster tighter bass, maybe a little less midrange energy but by no means lean sounding in the mids.The RME will require more listening time and comparison.
BTW, this DAC has hundreds of DSP settings including PCM and DSD filters, EQ and multiple EQ presents, pro audio and consumer settings for signal levels, etc. The learning curve is steep but other than playing with a little EQ just for grins, I don't think I'll be exploring it too deeply.
Made in Germany. Go figure. I've had German cars with lots of complicated tech - sometimes unnecessarily complicated! Find the RME owner's manual online and you'll see what I mean.
Edits: 09/24/21
Reviews let us know more about what's out there.
Still up to us to find what works for our ears!
I'm interested in the Direct DSD setting, DSD 256, w/HQ player.
That's what Miska , the HQ Developer, suggests.
Also does PCM at over 700 Hertz, double most Dacs.
The Price is certainly Right!
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