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RME ADI-2 fs DAC Review & Chord Qutest Comparison
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2020
- Website: Believe-hifi.com
RME ADI 2 fs DAC Review & Chord Qutest Comparison
I greatly enjoyed my time with the RME ADI-2fs DAC, it has great sound and versatility and is a contender for the best all-in-one DAC + AMP (Headphone amp) combination at the price point.
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Song: Believe - Notaker
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![ARES II vs D90 vs Bifrost 2 vs ADI-2 vs Gungnir vs Qutest [Mega DAC Roundup & Comparison]](/img/n.gif)
Nice video, very good point about the crossfeed feature on those Blue Note records from the 60s
Yes indeed!
I have been a recording engineer for about 17 years, and listened to tons of audio gear
RME was my latest DAC I tried, and although it is flatter than most Chinese DACs such as Topping and SMSL, it is still harsh somewhere in 1khz-2.5khz, when I say "somewhere", it that no matter how much I tried to EQ out that harshness (without killing clarity of sound), the harshness remained.
Also, sound is further back from you, like you are listening at the distance.
It does color the sound, but I can't say in a good way.
The transients are very clear, and sharp, which can be painful for long sessions.
I hear all kinds of details, but the sound is too bright to enjoy
Bass is also missing something that was there when I listen through my Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 interface, where I had full lush bass, but transients were not as snappy as RME.
I personally would go for an interface or another DAC that is less harsh.
The problem with almost ALL Chinese DACs is that they are all hyped in the low end and highs.
SMSL SU-9 Pro was the one that was dead close to my Saffire Pro 40 in bass response, but had harsh sounds at the high frequencies, and missing midrange.
Topping E90 Velvet had similar sound, but much more muddy and less clear. But bass was a bit less pronounced than SMSL SU-9 PRO. Still better than RME imo.
My RME ADI-2 DAC had AK4493 chip, which is better than the one they got into Gen 3 model.
Sound of ADI-2 DAC is too cold, it's not neutral, it's kind of harsh, and I wanted to keep that unit, because input and output latency (round trip latency) is 2.063 ms.
Which is incredible, but I don't like the sound. It's not neutral enough to keep for recording, and it's too harsh to keep for listening to music and video games.
I feel it in my ears, as pain after hours of listening to ADI-2. Maybe some won't be bothered, but I can feel it. My ADI-2 is being returned, as did Topping and SMSL DACs.
This has really helped my purchase decision, thanks for the in depth review!
Glad I could help!
@John Gian why it’s a crap?
I bought an RME ADI-2 and returned it - I didn't like the sound (too "digital"). I next bought a Chord Qutest, which I liked and kept. I think the Qutest sounds more like a true analog source, and I can listen to it for extended periods with no listening fatigue.
great to hear you found the right DAC for your system :)
Its a nice thing about the audiophile world theres no exact science here.
I had the opposite experience
Great review. Very complete and clear. Keep on the good work!
This is a great review so in-depth!! Thank you!
You are so welcome!
The sound is smooth like German 🍺 beer! I just got this couldn't stop listening to it with its built in headphone amplifier via USB from computer. Next I am going to hook it up to my cd transport and my amp & speakers to see how well it performs as a preamp. Very impressed so far 👏 👌 👍
Dayum you're so good on vid man!
thanyou kindly
Yewww! great video
Awesome review! Makes alot of sense now.
Glad it was helpful!
Nice review. However I believe that comparing RME ADI-2 to Chord Qutest is not correct. They are similar in price level, however equipment itself are completely different
Qutest is an unbalanced DAC only product. And that’s it. RME ADI-2 is DAC, headphone amplifier and balanced output pre-amplifier. With many other features too long to mention. I’d say that a more direct comparison would be to Chord Hugo TT2. In this scenario price difference is huge. So you get the best bang for buck with RME.
That would be the case if they sounded similar. But it's only youtube where they do. In reality qutest is 2 heads above.
And this is actually the reason why they have close price with different feature level.
Yeah I understand but as I said it was a price point choice.
The Qutest does beat it technically ofcourse which I did state in my video but the RME just sounds more natural and inviting in the mid range. It is an interesting AB comparison if you have the chance to try it
@@BelieveHiFi Great review Theo. To the other replies Theo is totally right about detail and mid range of the RME. The RME isn't anywhere near as good as a TT2 as you'd expect at price, so no it isn't comparable. You can compare another product to another if the DAC is an equal but it has additional features that you might use in future, or just good to have as a bonus. On the other point, the Qutest is not 2 heads above. I have both and have compared them in lots of headphone systems like the HiFi Man Electrostatic Jade 2 system, and many hifi set ups. I prefer the RME into my Hegel / PMC system, by a decent margin. It is cheaper too. A number of people on the Hegel facebook group are saying the same thing. An interesting comparison will be Denafrips v Chord which I'm doing next. If you buy the pro version of the RME you can get Analogue to Digital Conversion too for ripping vinyl etc.
@@13thnotehifireviews7 Nice to hear from you, I have been enjoying your videos. The recent production quality was a real step up too!
The TT2 is a wonderful DAC I used to own it with the M-Scaler as my headphone stack.
Very keen to see the Denafrips v Chord video. A good friend of mine had the terminator in his system and it was very very nice sounding!
@@BelieveHiFi thanks very much. They do take lots of effort. Bw simon
I compared the headphone output of ADI 2 with the similarly priced Lehmann Audio Linear USB, and the Lehmann was the better headphone amp by a large margin. Of course, it is solely a headphone amp, not a signal processor.
The RME had a small, very forward, two-dimensional soundstage that sounded unnatural and “like a headphone.” It had plenty of resolution, but the music sounded digital. It performed much better as a DAC.
I then compared the Lehmann to the more expensive Violetric V280, and the soundstage improved further, and the music became even more effortless and natural sounding. Everything was as energetic yet somehow calmer and better composed or better behaved.
I ended up buying the Violetric. I do use the ADI 2 Pro version as a digital preamp, though.
Violetric V280 is a lovely amp! Great choice :)
Yeah Theo!
Great reaview and verry detailed!
Thank you kindly! Happy you liked it
I picked this unit up purely because where can you honestly find a digital preamp with bass & treble controls (not to mention a loudness feature) nowadays?
The great think about the EQ is that it will allow you to compensate for room coloration. I think one of the best things about the ADI is the eq
Totally agree!
Great video
Thanks!
Sold on the AD I 2 DAC fs
yeah I think its a nice stepping stone for alot of people with larger aspirations
Please try for Is (if u can of course) topping d90Se , or Metrum acoustic, or audio exclusiv P 0.8. thanks . Great job
Great review! Will you be reviewing any high-end headphones on this channel?
Hey Bruce, actually I have a review of the ZMF Verite Closed flagship headphone next on the list!
Subscribed!
Thanks Dan
Great Review ! Just wondering if someone can help? can i connect the RME ADI-2 DAC to a sub woofer while connected to active speakers ? So if im using the XLR's outs to the active speakers and the RCA out to the sub woofer ? if this possible?
Can this be done ?
Great review, thank you! How do you rate it as a pre-amp? I'm currently using an old Cyrus 8 with PSXR as a pre into two biamped Cyrus smart-powers. I was considering adding a Qutest to my existing setup, but it looks like this might enable me to get a better DAC (than the one that's in my Bluesound Node 2i) and pre-amp in one.
I don't quite know how it would compare with the Cyrus preamp.. I feel it is quite good for the price, it doesn't seem to color the sound and the digital volume control is quite good.
where can i get the best price for the RME ADI-2?
Hopefully when our webstore opens we can sort that out for you, for now I would head over to minidisc, they have a great team :)
How does it pair with planar magnetic headphones?
While it does sound good, some of the harder to drive models, like the Susvara, would prefer more power to really reach their potential.
Hi I have the RME and a pair of Fostex RP50's with the Shure 1540 pads the unit drives these phones in low power mode to realistic levels. I can recommend the unit with Planar headphones incidentally the unit seems to work best with 300 ohm headphones HD800s or interestingly the much more affordable MB Quart 400's which I believe are now rebranded German Maestro also I have tried it with my Monolith 1060 the lower impedance of these phones seems to degrade the sound
Did you also try out the Heed Products (specifically Elixir and Abacus DAC)? More in particular with the Harbeth P3ESR? Thx :)!
Have not actually!
But I am very keen to
it's probably not mid forward you just got used to HiFi equipment that is mid recessed and you perceive that to be linear. This is still a pro studio equipment designed to reproduce what there really is....
J'ai les deux appareils, le RME est plus versatile, complet et plus économique.
Mais j'ai franchement peine à croire que nos oreilles de simples humains sont capables de faire une différence à ce haut niveau de technologies utilisées dans ces DAC.
Si je disais à certains de poser une canette de bière sur leur appareil pour sentir une différence audible, je suis absolument sûr que quelques- uns la sentiraient sincèrement.
Il n'y a pas plus infidèles que nos oreilles.
Hello my friend!
Do you know how this dac compare to the Matrix mini i pro 3 ? Soundwise witch sounds better,? You think RME adi-2 dac is a Good pairing with Genelec speakers, 8030c/8040b ?
The dac will pair fine, I have not compared the 2 directly
Hello I was wondering if you could recommend a DAC under 1600 dollar for gaming? I want to use it for competetive gaming so I can pinpoint excatly where enemy is by sound.
Probably the Chord Quest....
How do some of the ZMF headphones sound on this amp and how does it compare to the Mytek Liberty DAC?
The sound of the 2 go really well together if you like really lush mids and slightly forward vocals. I really enjoyed my pairing with the Verite C, however I eventually opted for a little bit extra power for that particular headphone.
At the price point tho its a great match
Will this be better than a DAP for my andromedas?
The ADI-2fs is far superior to any DAP I have tried
Is the amp section good enough for most headphones?
While it will drive pretty much anything, I DO recommend an external amplifier if you want the optimal listening experience. Adding in a separate amp like the Violectric V281 improved the bass output and control, increased the scale of the sound and improved the soundstage considerably
This or the chord qutest as a standalone DAC?
I think the Chord Qutest is a technically superior stand alone DAC.
How would it compare to the Hugo 2?
hugo2 I think its technically superior and has better resolution, BUT the ADI2 has a different presentation that you may prefer fepending on system synergy and preferences
Would the Chord Qutest be a good upgrade over the Mytek Liberty DAC? Using it with the FeliksAudio Euforia and ZMF headphones. Or is the Hugo2 better?
Yes it will provide better detail and resolution. Chord make fantastic DACs especially for HPs
@@BelieveHiFi thanks for the reply man! Greatly apreciated🙌
Can this drive susvaras?
well.. They will play music however you definitely will not get the best from your Susvaras. I would suggest a far more robust amplifier.