RME ADI 2-DAC has anyone tried it?

I'm sure people in the pro audio field have heard of the German audio company RME. They have now entered the home hi-fi end w/this DAC. My local dealer had one hooked up over the weekend and it was very good. Sound was dynamic w/a solid bottom end. Very detailed. It was hooked up to a Bluesond Node 2. The DAC was connected via balanced cable to a Luxman 505 powering a pair of Spendor A7's. The RME ADI 2-DAC also has inputs for a Headphone and a Inner Ear Monitor (IEM). Also has a hand remote and it comes w/a 65 page instruction book to explain the various options available. Cost is $1099.

 

The pro-audio gear I've tried has offered excellent sound and excellent value. When buying the pro stuff, one avoids paying for the extravagant (and sometimes hideous) casework and subsequent 3x markup of much audiophile gear. Also, one is pretty well assured of avoiding the dubious audiophile "improvements" that sometimes amount to extra harmonic distortion or crosstalk. There has been a rash of reviews in Stereophile lately of costly gear that measures very poorly.

Items I've used include the Lynx Hilo AD/DA, Benchmark DAC3, Weiss EQ-1 Mk2 digital equalizer, and Mutec MC-3+USB reclocker. Bryston amps, of which I've used a couple (including a 4B3 now), and which have pro versions, can be included here. Also, I use Mogami balanced interconnects and AES3 cables meant for pro use. (I'm not referring to pro gear meant mainly for sound reinforcement.)

So while I haven't tried the RME unit, I would put it on my list if I were in the market for a new DAC.

 

Isn't that nice to know?

 

It sure is -- it's one of the reasons I keep renewing.

In my Don Quixote moments, I wonder if ear training (as given to professional recordists) for reviewers should not be provided by the magazines (with their overflowing coffers -- I know), as a requirement for the job.

 

Went to my dealer yesterday and took the RME home to demo in my system. My 2 channel set up consists of a pair of Aerial 5T's, Bryston 2.5 SST-2, Bluesound Node, Linn TT w/Lingo 3 and a Luxman CL38U-SE tube preamp. As nice as my system was this DAC pushed it up to another level. More dynamics ruler flat bass, wider deeper soundstage. Background music and vocals had more prominence. One nice feature this DAC has is Dual EQ. Being for many people hearing is not the same in both ears The EQ can be adjusted for each ear. Also the 5 Band parametric EQ is suitable for speaker and room correction. The use of loudness is interesting. The user can decide how much maximum gain in bass and treble occur at lower volume settings. The user sets the Low Volume Reference, where maximum gain is achieved. A 20db range has been defined as a range for maximum gain to no gain while increasing volume. I'll be returning the demo today and getting this DAC. It's worth a listen if your looking for a DAC. Check out the RME website. Also Sound on Sound had an excellent review on this item.

 

Went back to my dealer today and picked up the RME. It was his last one. Sold 3 in one week. One thing I noticed w/this DAC is the amount of air between the singer and the instruments. Getting music outside the speakers. CSNY the singers were spread out having their own space. If you use RCA's they only take the small terminals. The big one's don't fit.

 

@Luxmancl38

Congratulations! This sounds like an excellent unit.

The parametric EQ should be quite useful for reducing room-induced peaks below the Schroeder frequency (~300 Hz), though you'll need measurement gear to do that right. I think that incorporating it into a DAC, where it can be done in the digital domain, is the right way to do it.

 

Its bigger/pro brother with ADC interested me, until I spotted there was no remote.

Apparently 'because pro' and you'll be sitting next to it...

Understand their logic, but wasn't really convinced that adding an IR sensor and control functionality would compromise their product that much…

I'm hopeful that the next version will add remote and then if i'm still considering a DAC/ADC/DSP box, it'd be on the list for sure.

 

No compromise w/the remote on this unit. This particular DAC that I have is their first jump into home audio. Would help sales for those looking at the bigger unit for home use. I've had it a few days and the SQ is outstanding. Plenty of air between musicians and singers. Ruler flat bass. Top end is detailed but not harsh. When I was at my dealers we A/B'd it w/a $2000 Chord. He laughed and said "looks like I'm going to lose some Chord sales". For those just looking for a quality DAC this should go on the list. Excellent product.