Hello all.
I've just spent a lot of time doing AB comparisons between the RME ADI-2 DAC and the other DAC I was seriously considering, the Chord Qutest.
I previously had a £100 generic Chinese DAC and as I'm selling my CD collection and Musical Fidelity A5, it was time to get a better DAC. I got the RME from an online store, incredibly the chap at PuritéAUDIO let me borrow it without taking any card details. The difference between the RME and my £100 box was very apparent, so then went to Richer Sounds to compare the RME with the Qutest.
The salesperson there set up some Monitor Audios and a Roksan Caspian amp similar to mine. Digital signals were taken out of the CD player to the two DACs and I switched between them with the Roksan remote. I was quite shocked at how almost imperceivable the difference in sound was, and not only that, but it was impossible to say that one was "better" in any way. The sound was almost identical. The sales person there agreed and said I would be wasting 4 or 500 pounds getting the Chord as there was no noteworthy difference he could hear either. Both were effortless with superb separation.
I took the salesman's advice and did not buy from him! I now own the RME and am delighted with it... at the moment really liking tweaking the loudness function, which is unique as far as I know, in that you set the range for the loudness, for example from -35db to -15db and also the amount of bass and treble to be boosted at low listening levels... Then the magic where the RME ramps the loudness from maximum (according to your settings) when listening at -35db and gradually reducing the loudness to nothing at -15db... this emulates the reverse of what we hear at varying volumes, so in effect you are "hearing the same relative sounds" through the volume range. Love hearing the right amount of bass when listening at low levels!!
Anyhow, the point is, this is a fantastic DAC, up there with the best.
Mark
I've just spent a lot of time doing AB comparisons between the RME ADI-2 DAC and the other DAC I was seriously considering, the Chord Qutest.
I previously had a £100 generic Chinese DAC and as I'm selling my CD collection and Musical Fidelity A5, it was time to get a better DAC. I got the RME from an online store, incredibly the chap at PuritéAUDIO let me borrow it without taking any card details. The difference between the RME and my £100 box was very apparent, so then went to Richer Sounds to compare the RME with the Qutest.
The salesperson there set up some Monitor Audios and a Roksan Caspian amp similar to mine. Digital signals were taken out of the CD player to the two DACs and I switched between them with the Roksan remote. I was quite shocked at how almost imperceivable the difference in sound was, and not only that, but it was impossible to say that one was "better" in any way. The sound was almost identical. The sales person there agreed and said I would be wasting 4 or 500 pounds getting the Chord as there was no noteworthy difference he could hear either. Both were effortless with superb separation.
I took the salesman's advice and did not buy from him! I now own the RME and am delighted with it... at the moment really liking tweaking the loudness function, which is unique as far as I know, in that you set the range for the loudness, for example from -35db to -15db and also the amount of bass and treble to be boosted at low listening levels... Then the magic where the RME ramps the loudness from maximum (according to your settings) when listening at -35db and gradually reducing the loudness to nothing at -15db... this emulates the reverse of what we hear at varying volumes, so in effect you are "hearing the same relative sounds" through the volume range. Love hearing the right amount of bass when listening at low levels!!
Anyhow, the point is, this is a fantastic DAC, up there with the best.
Mark