Topic: RME ADI-2 PRO FS - which DAC used if using analog inputs & SACD player

Apologies if this question has been answered before but this if my first post and new at this.

Intered in the RME ADI-2 PRO FS solely for heaphone listening and wanted to know if listening through headphones and connecting my SACD player via RCA to XLR cables to the analog inputs, if the PRO FS will use the DAC built in on the SACD player on the DAC from the PRO FS.

I would like to use the analog input to connect my SACD player to the ADI-2 PRO FS and use the DAC from the SACD player and not the one built-in in the RME. For regulars CDs and connecting a computer to the RME, I would use the USB connection to use the DAC in the RME but I would like to use the DAC from the SACD player when listening to SACDs.

What would I need to do to get the DAC from the SACD player be used for headphone listening? Is it enough connecting the player using the analog inputs via XLR or need to change some settings?
Will the volume control work with SACD using the DAC from the palyer (No conversion to PCM) and analog inputs?
I also read that signals from DSD will get converted to PCM (which I would like to avoid) when listening through headphones. Is that correct? Can that be avoided?

Thanks in advance,

2

Re: RME ADI-2 PRO FS - which DAC used if using analog inputs & SACD player

The Pro FS is not a usual analog headphone amplifier. When you use its analog inputs the signal is AD converted, DSP processed, than DA converted. While we claim this to be a transparent process due to the high quality of the AD/DA conversion, it most probably is not what you want.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: RME ADI-2 PRO FS - which DAC used if using analog inputs & SACD player

Thanks Matthias. that is the answer I was looking for.

Re: RME ADI-2 PRO FS - which DAC used if using analog inputs & SACD player

Just to counter this - I run my turntable through a phono stage and then into the RME ADI-2 PRO fs, and then out again to my power amp - using the RME as a pre-amp, which also happens to be doing an A/D-D/A conversion. It sounds fantastic, no complaints.

5

Re: RME ADI-2 PRO FS - which DAC used if using analog inputs & SACD player

And this way is the only one to use all the nice DSP based features. An analog through input also would have needed an additional analog volume control. Seeing the stellar quality of the ADIs AD conversion it was an easy choice for us.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME