RME ADI-2 Pro Discussion Thread

Well making an oi adapter or just using the eq shouldn't be too hard

 

Hi, my unit will arrive next week.
My headphone have a balanced stock cable ending with two mini jack 3.5
Now, if I want to connect in balanced mode I need two adapters.
From 3.5 to 6.3
Question is : adapters mono or stereo type ?
Please be clement with a newbie and not pro...

 

Stereo.

 

Thank you so much !

 

Check the manual. It will really pay to be familiar with it.

 

You can download it from their site. You can be a week ahead before even opening the box! And with something this complex, I'm sure that does indeed pay.

I downloaded it because, hey, audio porn: just for drooling! Congratulations on your purchase

 

Check out the Audioxpress review - http://www.audioxpress.com/files/attachment/2631

 

Has anybody tried this this with a Code X? Neutral with lots of power seems right up Luis alley.

 

Just read through the entire thread, @Armaegis: can I pester you for the review?

 

Argh, I'm so far behind on this. I have a few pages written up that I should post on headfi... it's a little too purple prose for sbaf.

 

Let's just say I'm on the edge, borderline, looking to make the plunge. You might just be the pirate that pushes me over the deck.

 

Same here. I wonder how much of an upgrade will be ADI-2 Pro over my Modi Multibit/Vali 2 with HD800/TH900. I also started implementing @atomicbob IVS and it is fantastic - huge thank for that (I haven’t tried a reverse phase trick yet though).

 

The Modi Multibit was a weird experience for me. On first listen I really really liked it, but it lost its shine for me very quickly. The ADI-2Pro was a little bit of a sleeper; my first few weeks with it didn't really impress although I could tell it had the technical chops. After a month I started getting annoyed with my other dacs and feeling like they were missing things and suddenly I found myself leaning towards the RME.

 

I also had the Modi Multibit, but preferred the PCI card I used to feed it, a RME 9632 card. I would assume the ADI-2Pro would be another step up from that.

 

For me ModiMB/Vali2 is a fantastic combo, but rather with HD650 than with HD800. The ADI-2 Pro is packed with nice features but comes with quite a hefty price tag. Rather than looking at it as an upgrade I'd see it as a directional change. I think you should give the ADI-2 Pro a listen before you decide to buy.

Having come from Yggdrasil and Mjolnir2 I found ADI-2 Pro to be very competitive, and here's what I really like:

• Small footprint (perfect for my office desk).
• Pre-amp outputs (perfect for running a pair of active monitors in my office).
• Press a button to switch between headphones and monitors.
• Great volume control.
• Running the balanced output of the ADI-2 Pro I have more than enough power for HD800.
• Clean sounding, borderline cold - but within the ecosystem of the IVS and PRT it reminds me of the musicality of Yggdrasil, yet with a bit more detail.
• Output specific EQ and output volume memory (will keep the latest volume setting used when changing outputs).

No claims of the ADI-2 Pro being better than Yggdrasil, but for me - especially because of the pre-outs and the small footprint - it's very good.

 

My experience mirrors yours, good gear tends to do that. With time I learned to be wary of the gear that tries to wow you within the first minutes of listening. When it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

 

The ADI-2 Pro has become my goto transportable audio interface combined with the RME QuadMic for microphone inputs, both measurement and recording. My observations:
1. clean, fast, low distortion, low residual noise ADC
2. clean, fast, low distortion, low residual noise DAC
3. calibrated gain knob - excellent for achieving specific levels repeatably
4. well thought out level and spectrum monitoring
5. useful features including reference levels

Use examples:
With HpW Works for electrical measurements similar to dScope with more resolution than QA401 though requires a decent DMM for calibrating levels.
Electro-acoustic transducer and room measurements with ARTA and REW.
Remote direct to 2-track recordings and voiceovers.
Recreational listening including my IVS with HD800 / HD6x0.
Driving small amp / speaker combos or powered monitors for transportable listening / monitoring.
Calibrated testing level changes such as 10mW, 100mW, 1000mW by adjusting gain control -20, -10, 0 dBFS respectively. Similarly looking at 65, 75, 85 dB SPL listening with appropriate gain staging.

So much functionality with such a small carry load. Sound is excellent, on par with my other high end DACs. I'm happy.

 

I have a suspicion that it might actually outresolve the dScope.

 

Will find out when Soekris ships DAC1421 and make a multi-way resolution comparison with several measurement devices.