Has anyone upgraded from the RME ADI-2 DAC?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by CarmineRed, Nov 13, 2022.

  1. CarmineRed

    CarmineRed I promise I'm very nice in person Thread Starter

    Sad to say that I never really “shopped” or listened to a lot of DACs. All I knew was that the RME killed my old Schiit Modius, as it should, but wondering if anyone has had luck upgrading from the RME and how much they had to spend to see a big upgrade.
     
  2. tIANcI

    tIANcI Wondering when the hifi madness will end

    Location:
    Malaysia
    Moved from RME to a Matrix Audio X Sabre Pro. It suits me better. But to be fair, the X Sabre costs quite a bit more. Difference is what I call the ‘nuance’.

    Found the X Sabre to have more body in the mids and does not have as much ‘digital glare’ as the RME. But I do like the RME’s PEQ etc. That’s really good.

    RME is a superb value for money DAC. I enjoyed reading the manual too. Lol

    Want a really wow effect? You get that with something like a MSB Discrete DAC. Wow in its sound and its price. :laugh:
     
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  3. Francois1968

    Francois1968 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Netherlands
    I did not upgrade the RME DAC, never owned one either, but yet I feel free to give my 2 cents on the subject since I've been upgrading almost my complete system over the past 2.5 years, including amps, DAC, CDP and loudspeakers.
    With every new component I bought there was an improvement in my system, but the only thing that changed it significantly was after replacing the speakers.
    This transformed my system from something that reproduces "say a picture of the music" to a living recreation of the music. Now there is a holographic, almost palpable reality.

    Knowing that the basics of the system are great this makes it easier for me to judge the quality of the different sources like CD players and DAC's. I've come to the conclusion that there are mainly subtle differences and I do like them all. The cheapest DAC in my system did cost 700 Euro (including the S-Booster power supply) and the most expensive CDP's over 3k.
    It very much depends on the recording which CDP /DAC makes the recording sound preferable to my ears.
    This doesn't mean I don't believe there are no differences in quality, but I have come to the conclusion that, at least for me, it is not worthwhile to spend more money on DAC's / CDP's than I already did. I'm also convinced that a great DAC can be had for under 1K.

    As I see it, you do own a very nice system. The only way I can imagine seeing you improve it a lot would be by buying even better loudspeakers than those you already have.
    Do yourself a big favor, go out and audition several DAC's, preferably by testing it in your own system.
     
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  4. Gi54

    Gi54 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Two years ago I trialled a few dacs at home - RME, Chord Qutest and Exogal Comet.

    Whilst the RME was very competent and transparent it didn't produce as large and 3D sound stage as the other two. A bit of glare also present but I'm sure all those filter / tuning options would have smoothed that out eventually. Neither did it sound particularly different from the dac in the Primare CD32 which can also be more analytical than warm.

    The Qutest was initially first choice - lots of dynamics and slam with a special Chord musical sauce via its filters. I'm sure it's even better with a good LPSU. No balanced out though, and would need to go to a Hugo for that.

    However the Comet eventiually won me over with its beguiling holographic soundstage. Less slam but my slamming days are fewer.

    Now, this Comet was a 3k DAC with PSU but secondhand can be had for half or less. Its OS is poor but I just have it mainly in 1 USB mode so can live with that - streaming Qobuz now surplants the CD player. If you want to know more about the Comet feel free to DM.

    At 2k to 3k there's a whole host of DACS that have all different flavours - Denefrips R2R have a lot of advocates as does Gustard - lots of threads on here. Holo May also.

    I suggest not getting too caught up with different / better chips (and measurements) - whilst useful to a degree, their implementations and analogue sections seem to give more differential in sound character. Also which inputs you need and work best. Some do USB extremely well, others Coaxial. With those Ardens I'd search out DACs leaning more towards holographic soundstage where those DCs really come into there own.

    Good luck & look forward to hearing how the DAC journey goes.
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2022
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  5. Oddiofyl

    Oddiofyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    I have the RME adi2 , it's a great DAC. Amazing what it can do, excellent sound quality.... probably one of best values in DACs period. I replaced it with the LAB 12 DAC 1 Reference at almost 3x the price . I bought it for a few reasons, I had a nice trade allowance toward it. It can be traded in for full credit within a year toward something 2x in price.
    I liked it a lot during a lengthy demo, and it sounds great in my system. It's a great sounding DAC. Zero listening fatigue but still lots of detail. The most analog sounding digital source I've ever owned . I can only recommend if you can audition in home, it is not for everyone. Has a tube output, probably a deal breaker for many . It has fixed output and zero features , so it is very different than the RME. You quickly get spoiled by the RME, the LAB 12 is as bare bones as it gets. But if you can do without the features its a good fit in the right system

    I ended up connecting the RME to my headphone amp. Would have been silly to sell it. Always regret selling good gear like that.
     
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  6. Tone?

    Tone? Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I look at DACs as the ‘ spice’ in my audio chain.

    I don’t want it to or expect it to add or subtract too much.

    the word ‘ upgrade’ also is such a marketing ploy.

    just get a bunch of DACs and listen to them to see which one you like the most.

    and don’t forget to have a ton of fun doing it.
     
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  7. tIANcI

    tIANcI Wondering when the hifi madness will end

    Location:
    Malaysia
    And get more confused? Hehehe
     
  8. bever70

    bever70 Let No-one Live Rent Free in Your Head!

    Location:
    Belgium
    I tried many different dacs before I bought my RME. I liked the Denafrips Ares2 very much, but there was always something missing. Then I measured my room and found 2 dips (and 1 peak) in the 20hz-200hz range. Which is why I bought the RME because it has a Parametric Equalizer.
    Imho too many people with room issues keep on buying dacs and stuff without realizing what they are missing because of room issues.

    My advice, do some kind of measuring at your listening position! If you find some issues (and most people that don't have a dedicated room certainly will), DO use the PEQ of the Rme to make things better. And I guarantee that when you use the PEQ to correct things...NO other dac will give you better sound at your listening position! Not even a $10k dac (unless you find one with PEQ but I doubt there are any dacs around like the RME with such a well implemented PEQ). The PEQ is the secret weapon of this RME dac and what makes it better (if you have a need for it!) than any other dac out there!

    To answer your question: unless I get a dedicated listening room or find another way to correct the room issues between 20hz-200hz at my listening position, I will never upgrade from this RME dac, because there simply is no upgrade possible (in this particular case).
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2022
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  9. Luxmancl38

    Luxmancl38 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manchester NH
    I've had the RME for five years. I see no reason to change. Satisfied w/the results.
     
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  10. CarmineRed

    CarmineRed I promise I'm very nice in person Thread Starter

    That is my next step, I’m not using the PEQ right now and I know I should be.
     
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  11. Tone?

    Tone? Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco

    REW is your friend


    :righton:
     
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  12. Gi54

    Gi54 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    I kinda like the slight accentuated mid and upper bass / lower mids of the Eatons as they're located just now - they're not boomy or bloated and depict the full range of upright bass well. It took a lot of positioning to get there and WAF (GF really) of having speakers quite prominent in room away from walls was not an issue. Whilst I could have PEQ'd with the RME to all sorts of flattening, recessing and enhancing sections of SQ - and i did try - but it still didn't give me that 3D soundstage and very wide sweetspot that I was looking for - and that other DACs did provide. I've done headclamp speakers & set ups before and over time it has ultimately grated me more than enhanced the appreciation of the music. The Eatons where trialed to see if I could escape that and it worked. Having a multitude of options to fiddle with would not have brought me happiness personally - I'd be forever tweaking it.

    Horses for courses - the RME is certainly an amazingly capable and diversly tuneable SQ of a DAC and clearly works for many people and their setups.
     
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  13. Oddiofyl

    Oddiofyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    A lot of people don't realize the RME can record any digital input via USB to disk, thumb drive, external drive. What is amazing is that all of this tech is in a 1/2 width , 1u size form factor. If there is anything i don't like about it is how small it is. No better DAC for the money in my opinion. A steal when they were $999 everywhere over the summer.
     
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  14. gingerly

    gingerly Change Returns Success

    I haven't found anything in its price range to match the ADI-2. Despite that, I have a Meitner MA3 on long term loan, so the ADI-2 is not getting airtime. For those who are wondering if there is a difference between $1-$3k DAC's and the top of the heap, I will tell you that there most assuredly is, and it will kill me to hand the Meitner back when/if it is requested. Only the EMM Labs DAC2 or the higher end DCS products best it. There is a fineness to the way the images are constructed and how delicate and detailed individual elements in the sound are presented, and and a richness of instrumental color that the less expensive DACs I have heard can't manage.
     
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  15. Harris11235

    Harris11235 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    I moved my RME ADI-2 FS from my main system to my office system. I replaced it with a Terminator II, which produces a much more spacious and organic sound than the RME. It has been running DAC and preamp duties in my office, feeding an AHB2 into some ATC SCM 11v2 speakers.

    I'll be starting a new experiment tomorrow when a Benchmark HPA4 and DAC3B arrive to replace the RME. I don't know if, or how much better, the combination will sound over the RME. If I end up keeping the Benchmark gear, I'll keep the RME as a headphone amp. As mentioned above, it's too good to get rid of.

    I may decide to return the DAC3B and use the RME to feed the HPA4. I compared the two DACs once before in my main system and the RME won that fight. But, the system synergy with an all-Benchmark stack may change that opinion.
     
  16. Tone?

    Tone? Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco

    What ever you do, do one change at a time to see the differences.
    If that makes sense.

    i think you will be blown away by the HPA4.
    I tried the DAC3 and it had the best low end detail I’ve ever heard. But the sound was a bit flat.

    cheers
     
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  17. Oddiofyl

    Oddiofyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Best suggestion ever. Only one change at a time.
     
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  18. Tone?

    Tone? Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco

    Yeah cause the LA4 preamp I have , which shares the exact same pre as the HPA4 , blew me away in sound.
    I didn’t know how impactful a preamp could be.
    the timing of the benchmark LA4 was astounding. Which makes the timbre sound spot on

    interested to hear your assessment of it
     
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  19. Harris11235

    Harris11235 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Yes, good advice for sure. I've confused myself that way in the past. I was planning on:
    • Starting with RME > ADI2, as it has been for a year
    • Full swap to Benchmark stack DAC3 > HPA4 > ADI2, burn in, listen and compare
    • Swap in the RME, listen and compare
    I had the same feeling about the DAC3 - detailed but a bit flat as compared to the RME. I'm interested to see what happens with the synergy between all of the Benchmark components. It's very possible that I still prefer the RME, but maybe it won't play as nice as the DAC3 in that chain.

    I will admit to some bias toward the DAC3 in this audition because I like the idea of a single-brand stack that's made to work perfectly together.
     
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  20. Tone?

    Tone? Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco

    I aaaalmost did that but ultimately liked my Marantz DAC much more than the benchmark. So it stayed and I sent the benchmark DAC3 back.

    hopefully benchmark will make a newer DAC with either a new AKM or Cirrus chipset.

    I do have to say tho that the DAC3 did not have the ESS glare.
     
  21. Oddiofyl

    Oddiofyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    I didn’t realize how different DACs can be until having two side by side with a high quality source.

    I like them both, Nothing wrong with owning more than one DAC..... people buy different cartridges and mount two tonearms to enjoy different flavors
     
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  22. Oddiofyl

    Oddiofyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Another great thing about the RME is if you have an older unit you can buy the new remote, do the firmware update and you can enjoy the enhanced remote and new features. No one in the price range has ever supported a product so well.
     
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  23. Harris11235

    Harris11235 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    The Benchmark stack is hooked up and making sounds. Only about 20 minutes on it, but it already sounds better than the RME > ADI2.
     
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  24. gakerty

    gakerty Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Been an RME-ADi-2 user (and very happy with it) for a few years. I have a Lumin T3 arriving this week to replace my custom PC -> RME ADI-2 streaming setup. (I am excited!) I will revisit this thread to give my thoughts. I will be keeping the RME for general 2 channel in Windows/movies/Youtube TV...etc. since it excels in that department.
     
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  25. Tone?

    Tone? Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco

    Yeah it’s a good DAC.
    What stuck out most to me was the low end detail was amazing.

    which RME DAC do you have ? The AKM one or the newer ESS?
     
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