• Registered: 2024-09-20
  • Posts: 1

Topic: ADI-2 Pro FS R Settings Advice

Hi everyone,

I’ve built a hi-fi system around the RME ADI-2 PRO FS R. I’ve tried to do as much reading as possible on this forum and read the manual a couple times but some of this is complex and I’m trying to wrap my head around all of it.

Here is my setup:

MonoPrice HDMI 4k 18Gbps Switch -> Optical Out / In -> Wiim Ultra -> USB Out/In -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R (Basic DAC Mode / Autoref (+4Dbu) -> XLR Out/ In - 2x Buckeye AMP PURIFI 1ET7040SA Monoblock (Low Setting) -> Bananas -> Perlisten R7Ts

Perlisten R7Ts
Sensitivity          90.0dB / 2.83v / 1.0m
Impedance        4Ω nominal / 3.1Ω min

Available Buckeye Amp Settings
4 ohm - 25.5dB/2.4Vrms (High), 20.5dB/4.2Vrms (Medium), 15.5dB/7.5Vrms (Low)
8 ohm - 25.5dB/2.4Vrms (High), 20.5dB/4.2Vrms (Medium), 15.5dB/7.5Vrms (Low)

What would be the best settings for this setup to maintain the lowest noise / distortion will providing as much power as possible to the speakers? Should Auto Ref be set to a different dBu Setting?

ADI-2 Heat:

The ADI gets quite hot during usage. Seems to average from 105 to Hi (my thermometer says High above 110 degrees F) . Is this a problem for long term usage especially if I am using it 8 hours a day? Any suggestions on passive external heat sinks? I believe the case itself is the heat sink but not sure if I need to use additional measures.

Optical Ins:

Instead of feeding the HDMI Switch Optical Output to the Optical In of the WiiM Ultra, would it be more advantageous use the Optical In of the ADI and take advantage of its SRC function and anti jitter capabilities or would the outcome be the same? All sources going into the switch are set to output PCM rather than DD and DTS.

Calibration:  For loudness calibration, are there any settings in the RME to do speaker trims? I didn’t see anything in the manual so I’m guessing not but wanted to double check.

Any advice is appreciated.

2 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2024-09-20 23:20:15)

  • KaiS
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2020-02-05
  • Posts: 3,523

Re: ADI-2 Pro FS R Settings Advice

Your gain settings are already optimized:
Auto Ref Level “On”, power amp’s lowest gain setting.


If you don’t need the streaming functionality (I doubt) of the Wiim Ultra, you can take it out of the chain, it’s not needed or improving anything.
If you leave it in, make sure it’s set to unity gain (in=out) and disable any signal manipulation.


ADI-2 gets a little hot, that’s normal.
If you still can touch it, it’s OK.
Just make sure it’s vented all around, and no warm device is placed underneath.


ADI-2 Pro’s SRC is meant as a problem solver, not for signal conditioning.
Leave it off if not really needed.
ADI-2’s FS-clock perfectly cares for signal de-jittering.


Loudness:
As a starter, note the ADI-2 Volume dBr value for the loudest listening you typically enjoy using, e.g. -15 dBr.
Now set Low Vol Ref 20 dB lower than this value, e.g. -35 dB.
This way Loudness is only chiming in when you’re listening quieter, as it’s intended.

Play around with Loudness’ Bass-/Treble-Gain and fine-tune Low Vol Ref until you’re satisfied with the result on various listening levels.
The ear is the only judge.

KaiS's Website