Topic: Upgrading from 2i2 to ADI-2

Hello,
I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, and at the moment I am mixing music with Beyerdynamic DT990Pro 250Ohm headphones.
I am planning to invest and upgrade my interface to ADI-2 DAC FS.

How significant and noticeable will the upgrade be soundwise, and can I use the ADI-2 as a fully fledged audio interface?

2 (edited by Muffin 2023-01-01 19:49:46)

Re: Upgrading from 2i2 to ADI-2

McSong wrote:

Hello,
I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, and at the moment I am mixing music with Beyerdynamic DT990Pro 250Ohm headphones.
I am planning to invest and upgrade my interface to ADI-2 DAC FS.

How significant and noticeable will the upgrade be soundwise, and can I use the ADI-2 as a fully fledged audio interface?

None of the ADI-2 models are audio interfaces so if you need a mic pre-amp that is not included. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 have only line out for monitors so not that suitable as a mic-preamp for the ADI-2 DAC FS.

The audio interface Fireface UCX II has an onboard mixer/FX that is controlled by the TotalMix FX software, something that none of the ADI-2 have. Very nice functionality for a little more money than the ADI-2 DAC FS, including many more channels.

The headphone amp on the UCX II is quite powerful and will drive your DT990 to very loud levels, about 3dB more than the ADI-2 DAC, if you wonder about that.

I use both the ADI-2 DAC FS and the UCX II myself, as well as owning several 205 Ohm Beyerdynamic headphones.

Re: Upgrading from 2i2 to ADI-2

Much appreciated for your reply, cleared up misinformation I was into.
So overall I think the headphone output DAC on Scarlett 2i2 is just fine, should I upgrade my Headphones, to say Beyerdynamic DT1990Pro?
I'm looking to upgrade my headphone mixing monitoring setup.

4 (edited by ramses 2023-01-01 20:30:01)

Re: Upgrading from 2i2 to ADI-2

I would sell the Focusrite and get an Babyface Pro FS or UCX II recording interface instead with TotalMix FX.
Later at any time you can expand this solution with either ADI-2 DAC or Pro FS if you want the special features of these units.

The Focusrite is very limited and has not even a digital port to integrate the ADI-2 DAC FS into the setup.

A better approach is to get a good recording interface first with TotalMix FX like the UCX II.
It has already superb Mic Preamps with 75 dB gain range, an excellent phones output and very good features like DURec and Autoset. Also add-on software free of charge: DIGIcheck, TotalMix Remote.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: Upgrading from 2i2 to ADI-2

Hi McSong welcome to the forum. I did a similar upgrade last year and wasn't sure what to expect. Went from a Focusrite 2i4 to a Babyface Pro FS for my Ableton + guitars setup. My cans are Beyer 1990DT and Sennheiser 650HD and I monitor with JBL305s + sub.

I initially was set on the ADI-2 Pro but after testing it realised that while sounding amazing it doesn't serve me well as a recording and mixing interface. The ADI-series are converters ideal for monitoring and AD in mastering or measurement contexts. But they lack key features necessary for recording. I then tested the Merging Anubis, which was sounding nice indeed but behaved way unstable and fuzzy on my Mac.

Eventually I bought the aforementioned Babyface and am very happy. The headphone amp is very good and the device has much lower latency than the Focusrite. I still own the latter but rarely use it anymore. It's not a bad interface but the BFP is clearly better when it comes to sound and features. The pre's on the BFP are especially good, much better than the 2i4 ones even with my lowly mics (57/RE20/NT5s).

The only "negative" was the steep learning curve with Totalmix. It's not self-explanatory and despite some videos online it took me quite a while to figure out. Very powerful but RME could do better UI-wise here.

Re: Upgrading from 2i2 to ADI-2

Agree, except your comments about TM FX.
TotalMix FX is not difficult if you approach it with an open mind and take the trouble to read the manual.
What's important to understand:
You don't have a limited mixer in front of you, where - from a few aux paths - everything more or less ends in a stereo sum.
Here, every HW output is equal, like many AUX channels and has its own submix.
You select the audio channels from the inputs or from the computer to be routed into the submix. Similar to AUX ways of a mixer. You could also say TM FX has as many AUX channels as it has HW outputs.
An overview and a recommendation on how to approach TM FX can be found here:
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=34394

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13