No DSD on Tidal.
And no clicks here between tracks, ADI-2 Pro, latest firmware.
Tidal from iDevice.

Only clicks I have with the Pro is On/Off, and when inserting headphones.
I am using the latest firmware.

And yes, ESS is only in the newer DAC units. Older DACs and all Pros are AKM only.

There are no known 'click' issues. You need to find out what exactly that click is, or in what exact situation it occurs. Your description is not clear enough.

The ADI does not know if a song is paused or not. If that makes a pop then I expect this to be caused by the player software or app. You mentioned sample rate changes before - these are shown directly in the screen, lower right, so you can easily check if that happens in that moment (pause).

diana wrote:

i have found out that this isn't an issue with the rme adi-2 but i am still confused on why i get a pop occasionally when i instantly put a stop to audio (muting, closing a tab, pausing), could anyone help?

You need to clearly describe such a scenario where this happens, sorry but your descrition is too vague.

For example you say simply
"mute" .. but mute in which application ? Which drivers are involved (Windows, ASIO .. ?)
"Closing" .. but which tab in which application ?
"pausing" ... what means pausing, which application, which button what is the surrounding condition, which audio/song, audio file type, do you play using what player, what driver is involved, etc

While you are on the way finding / describing clear steps to trigger the problem maybe more things becomes clear to you when it happens, when it doesn't happen.

How loud is the click / pop noise you’re experiencing, louder or lower than the music?

Does it happen:

1. As part of the music signal, like the noise you get at the begginning when hard-cutting instead of fading in the music after an intermediate stop?

2. Or is it “Click” - “Pause” - “Music”, with the pause ever so short but noticeable ?

What kind of music, pop, rock, classical, or all kinds?

diana wrote:

KaiS wrote:

...1. As part of the music signal, like the noise you get at the begginning when hard-cutting instead of fading in the music after an intermediate stop

i think the noise comes from what is described in number 1. stopping a track instantly and hearing a "pop", this is usually quiet but sometimes, rarely, loud...

Now it’s clear:

This switch-noise, a single click or pop, is completely normal when the player software hard-mutes and un-mutes the signal without a little fade, and is not related to ADI-2 at all.

It’s random, because, depending of the waveform at the very moment the un-mute happens, it might be stronger - zero to very loud within no time - or inaudible - zero to a low part of a waveform.

Specially audible when un-muting in the middle of a strong bass-note, as the click contains higher frequencies that are not covered by the music then.

There’s nothing you or RME can do about it, it’s a lack of the used player software.

diana wrote:

... would u mind listening to a clip of the sound just so i know for sure that we're on the same page and i can stop putting energy into trying to stop this? https://streamable.com/zpq3pn (listen for when i pause)

This is exactly the switch-noise I described.

Tidal from iDevice does the exact same thing here, no matter what DA-Converter I use.

So don’t worry about it, I wouldn’t even call it a fault of the player software, just a lack of the little extra feature.

E.g. in Studio recording software too, we don’t have this automatic fade in/out, because it would unintentionally miss a little part of the music.

I have my ADI-2 connected to an iDevice, and it doesn’t happens with Youtube through Safari, as there is an audible little fade out/in when mute/un-mute.

On a 2nd try with Tidal App, with different music: there is an audible fade in/out too that supresses the click, at least partly.
With Bach’s organ music there is a little click, with Al DiMeola’s Egyptian Danza not.
Don’t ask me why

EDIT: with higher sample-rate on Tidal the fades are faster, so more click.
Same track, Al Di Meola Egyptian Danza from “Essence Of ...” - 44.1: no click, from “Casino”, Master 88,2 kHz: light click.

I don’t use the YouTube app, and can’t test with computer connection, as I use an iDevice for music listening.

As mentioned, from you audio example: what you hear is kind of normal, and nothing can be done about it.

diana wrote:

https://streamable.com/g56bya here it is on youtube, i'm guessing, again, u will say it's normal

Yes it is.

This is how a hard cut into audio sounds.

Might be more annoying when you listen quite loud, but I don’t.
My listening level is comparable to the level of a normal human conversation, maybe slightly above.