1 (edited by yuvisarora 2019-11-20 02:12:39)

Topic: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

Just connected the ADI-2 DAC to a deep cycle battery, used solid core 20 gauge Thermostat wire from Home Depot.
Soldered the wire to DIY DC plugs.
System is a 1.7i Magnepan Planar Speakers connected to Bryston 7bST monoblock amps.
Instantly, it's like a veil lifted from the sound, dynamic range of the music increased, edges on notes smoothed over, resolution increased, and the biggest improvement was to the Vocals, which now sound even more lifelike.
Noise overall decreased substantially.

XLR Cables 20 gauge Solid OCC Copper. Power cables (6x per conductor) 20 gauge Solid copper. Speaker cables 12 gauge Solid OCC Copper. USB is (2x)28 gauge Solid OCC Copper.  All DIY.

This RME DAC is just stunning, and like others have already said on this forum, an upgrade to the power supply takes this DAC to another level. I had a Deep cycle battery laying around, so the entire upgrade cost me 10 bucks smile

Naysayers will come here and scream that what I am saying is a placebo effect, and other that have reported the same thing are snake oil morons, and delusional......The only thing I can say is, give it a listen for yourself....and find out.

Thank you for all the other people that reported the change in sound quality, I would have replied in the original threads, but they have been closed for a while now.

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

How can you hear that noise overall decreased substantially?
I cannot hear any noise from the Rme by default.

Adi-2 Pro, Adi-2 Dac Fs

3 (edited by yuvisarora 2019-11-18 07:40:18)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

Viennacalling wrote:

How can you hear that noise overall decreased substantially?
I cannot hear any noise from the Rme by default.

A/B listening to the DAC with the different DC ends.
I had a buddy of mine help me do a blind test, and I was able to pick out the Battery power 100% of the times. It was very easy to do so.
Whatever sound you are listening to, your ear gets used to it, and the difference is only audible when you can do a comparison.
On my Speakers the difference in noise out put and resolution is plain as day, not subtle.
Vocals had the biggest improvement.

4 (edited by Viennacalling 2019-11-19 13:09:49)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

You have perfect ears if you hear 120 dBA

Adi-2 Pro, Adi-2 Dac Fs

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

difference in noise out put and resolution is plain as day
I am not disputing your experience in any way, but I do find your description questionable at least. What you are describing is like going from early 8 bit systems to 16 bits. Even going from non linear 12bit 32k (dat tape long play) to 16 bit linear(dat) was subtle at best.

Vincent, Amsterdam
https://soundcloud.com/thesecretworld
Babyface pro fs, HDSP9652+ADI-8AE, HDSP9632

6 (edited by yuvisarora 2019-11-20 00:20:08)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

Viennacalling wrote:

You have perfect ears if you hear 120 dBA

Couldn't care 1 bit what you think. This post is not for you, it's for people that actually try stuff before bashing it.
You have no idea what I am hearing or not hearing... only one way to find out, and you sure as hell are not going to put the effort in to find out.
Peace out and don't bother replying back.

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

yuvisarora wrote:
Viennacalling wrote:

You have perfect ears if you hear 120 dBA

Couldn't care 1 bit what you think. This post is not for you, it's for people that actually try stuff before bashing it.
You have no idea what I am hearing or not hearing... only one way to find out, and you sure as hell are not going to put the effort in to find out.
Peace out and don't bother replying back.

Your claims are questionable and your response is pathetic...  Maybe you need a new battery yourself.

8 (edited by N00b 2019-11-21 11:59:14)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

About the benefits of improving the ADI-2 DAC power source, I've red elsewhere on this forum, from one of the guy who designed the ADI-2 DACs (MC), that:

The point here is that a slight 'hum & buzz' is just that, and not some mysterious 'sound' change or possible improvement (glare, stage width, depth, separation - the usual audiophool stuff up to the all explaining jitter).

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 70#p141170 (All the thread is interesting BTW.)

But who cares about engineering, science and facts? I trust my ears and my brain. From my own experience, sound engineers and specialists have cotton ears. They can't ear the improvements beyond 120 dB of dynamics. lol They can't ear the dreadful distorsions and ringing of DAC filters. roll

I was not happy with the crappy low- end PSU of my ADI-2 DAC: narrow soundstage, lot of veils between me and the musicians. I've tried the battery upgrade: less veil, more truth, but sound was a little contaminated and heavy... Even after 3 cycles.

So I've tried my ADI-2 DAC with a DIY patatoes battery!
https://reho.st/self/23dbbacba3ba5a5ddb7cd4c19bfd6b805bbfc192.jpg

And I don't care about what most of you are going to think: IT DOES IMPROVE SOUND QUALITY. Like a lot. After a few hours of burning in, the sound is much more crispy, organic, natural. Two or three veils are lifted at least. The musicians are in your room! Even my wife, who is not into audio, noticed the difference when she came back from work (she was not happy about the fact I used all the potatoes she has planned to cook for the supper, but that is a different story).

My first cell was with 3 big potatoes, but with 12 medium sized potatoes, the sound was really more balanced, powerful and full-bodied. I've found certified audiograde potatoes at my local (and honest!) hi-fi seller, they sound more transparent to my ears. But if you can't find audiograde potatoes, normal ones are already a nice improvement in SQ.

So I advise you: stop wasting your time with audio engineers BS (room treatment and corrections, quality and placement of speakers...) and focus on what really matters: gauge capacity of your power cord, quality of your USB cable (happy O&1= better SQ!), battery upgrades and the crucial choice of the DAC filter.

Best regards,

ADI-2 DAC (with stock PSU) - Neumann KH 310 A monitors - Cheap USB and XLR cables

9 (edited by N00b 2019-11-21 14:32:48)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

A friend of mine, who was sceptical at first about my findings, has just left home. We made blind comparisons and he's now deeply convinced. He has the kindness to publish a mini-review in the next Curt-Hifi review.

I've auditioned a plethora of top-tier Potato Batteries, but none approached the NoobTronics in sheer naturalness of timbre. The NoobTronics unit reveals an extremely Creamy, Rich, and Buttery rendering of tone color that is a welcome departure from the many Power Sources that impart a synthetic, "plastic" character to the sound. Midrange textures through the NoobTronics are rich, fluffy, and complex dark, complex — even voluptuous. The tendency for typical PSUs to sound a bit mechanical and artificial is replaced by an organic flow and ease with the NoobTronics in the system. Similarly, the treble is the antithesis of bright, hard, forward, and thin. The top octaves call no attention to themselves; rather, the upper registers become a natural part of an instrument's timbre rather than a separate component.

His multi-talented son wants me to get the thing on the market and sent me this concept...
https://reho.st/medium/self/4e42d1ce2d61ba5af936e252862b2ace29faa5d5.jpg

I will keep you posted...

ADI-2 DAC (with stock PSU) - Neumann KH 310 A monitors - Cheap USB and XLR cables

10 (edited by Curt962 2019-11-21 15:12:02)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

Noob,

Many thanks for the Pre-Release Sample of the NoobTronics "Organi-Power" Unit to audition.  My initial skepticism was quite literally Roasted, Whipped, and Mashed!   

From the First Notes that emerged, I felt myself transported to the Original Event.   As if my listening room no longer had boundaries, the Soundstage expanded to dimensions that simply defy science.   I felt myself repeatedy drifting to the Open-ness of a Sunny Field, immersed in an Earthy, Summer like Warmth reminiscent of countless afternoons in the Garden. Omitted from my intial review, was the precipitous decrease in noise levels!   From merely "inaudible", to STUNNINGLY inaudible.   In my system, this was Plain as Day. 

At a mere 1495 Euro Price, The NoobTronics OrganiPower unit is a most worthy addition that should whet the appetite of any Serious Music, and Food Lover.

Curt.  smile

Vintage 2018 ADI-2 DAC. "Classic AKM4490 Edition"
Cables:  Red, and White Ones.
Speakers:  Yes

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

N00b wrote:

A friend of mine, who was sceptical at first about my findings, has just left home. We made blind comparisons and he's now deeply convinced. He has the kindness to publish a mini-review in the next Curt-Hifi review.

I've auditioned a plethora of top-tier Potato Batteries, but none approached the NoobTronics in sheer naturalness of timbre. The NoobTronics unit reveals an extremely Creamy, Rich, and Buttery rendering of tone color that is a welcome departure from the many Power Sources that impart a synthetic, "plastic" character to the sound. Midrange textures through the NoobTronics are rich, fluffy, and complex dark, complex — even voluptuous. The tendency for typical PSUs to sound a bit mechanical and artificial is replaced by an organic flow and ease with the NoobTronics in the system. Similarly, the treble is the antithesis of bright, hard, forward, and thin. The top octaves call no attention to themselves; rather, the upper registers become a natural part of an instrument's timbre rather than a separate component.

His multi-talented son wants me to get the thing on the market and sent me this concept...
https://reho.st/medium/self/4e42d1ce2d61ba5af936e252862b2ace29faa5d5.jpg

I will keep you posted...

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

Haha !

13 (edited by yuvisarora 2019-11-22 01:09:28)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

You potato heads are complete idiots.
Just because your text book doesn't say something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Everything you clowns think you know, is 2nd hand knowledge that you bummed off of someone else's hard work.
Unlike you, I actually have done the work, and my 15 thousand dollar sound system, and my ears are all the proof I need.

Like I said before this post is not for all you " i ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW" Clowns, it is for people that have an open mind and are willing to experiment.
So kindly, take your potatoes and shove them where the sun don't shine.......and buzz off.

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

@yuvisarora, you might want to tell what your exact setup looks like if you are hoping for meaningful responses.
Sound changes from supply changes are 99% a total system related phenomenon and only 1% may be an actual change in behavior of the component the supply was changed for.
For the RME Adi-2 Pro I did a lot of testing and measurements and the result was that the device *itself* is totally unaffected by the choice of power supply. But in a system, with typically a galvanic connection (unless TOSLINK) from the digital source and to the amplifer (if applicable), things get more complicated, especially when unbalanced connections are used. Key word here is "mains leakage currents".

Your notion of "Noise overall decreased substantially" is a clear indicator that your system setup/cabling is having signal integrity problems. But you can rest assured the output of your DAC proper did not change in the slightest way. Therefore you can't say the battery "takes this DAC to another level" when actually it only changed the behavior of the *rest* of your system.

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

Thank you KSTR, this is really good advice. I see posts about noise frequently on hifi forums and the problem is always eventually determined to be related to ground issues, cabling, etc.

For the potato guys, your suggested setup will not provide the desired signal quality improvements in the absence of grilled onions tongue

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=27006

RME ADI-2 DAC fs, Quad 606-2 power amp, Quad 2805 speakers, B&W PV1d sub with Antimode 8033 Cinema

17 (edited by Curt962 2019-11-22 20:09:08)

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

tubeaudio wrote:

Thank you KSTR, this is really good advice. I see posts about noise frequently on hifi forums and the problem is always eventually determined to be related to ground issues, cabling, etc.

For the potato guys, your suggested setup will not provide the desired signal quality improvements in the absence of grilled onions tongue

@Tubeaudio.  KSTR always has good advice rooted in Logic, and a Keen understanding of Tech.   

At NoobTronics, we dismiss "Science", and choose to insert our own Realities.

On the Grilled Onions issue, they will be offered as an added cost Accessory for the Organi-Power Model 1 Supply.   The Forthcoming "Signature" edition will be supplied with Grilled Onions AND Mushrooms as Standard.  Do understand however that Our Research within the Audio Community has decisively concluded that desired Sonic Improvements are typically realized as a Linear Function of Audio System Cost.  To summarize, the more you paid for your System, the more likely you are to perceive "Sonic Benefits"      To this end, our 24hr Money Back Policy can only be implemented after We've received Photo Copies of Purchase Receipts, and Magazine Reviews (4 Star Minimum.)

All the Best.

NoobTronics

smile

Vintage 2018 ADI-2 DAC. "Classic AKM4490 Edition"
Cables:  Red, and White Ones.
Speakers:  Yes

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

I really wanted to find out if it could battery would be any difference but the first post "yes, like day and gnight" made me stop reading right away. That what always kills credibility "my $140k system sounded like crap until I added this $3.99 battery" .
Sure

Re: Battery Upgrade for RME-ADI2 DAC

It IS "Night & Day"...IF your Neighborhood is wired like this technological masterpiece. smile

Else, the stock PSU is all you'd ever need.

https://i.ibb.co/gzf3pN1/SONY-DSC.jpg

Vintage 2018 ADI-2 DAC. "Classic AKM4490 Edition"
Cables:  Red, and White Ones.
Speakers:  Yes