• Registered: 2019-05-03
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Topic: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Dear RME engineers,
First of all - thank you very much for your great work. I've been interested in your company since some people I trust (both in my country and on the internet) recommended RME DACs as well designed, solidly made, no cheap tricks products. Then I was thrilled by ADI-2 DAC - not only because according to all reviews I know it sounds just great, but also because of all these useful functions. Last but not least, as EU citizen (I'm a Pole) I do believe we Europeans should support our own economy. And when it comes to ADI-2 DAC, honestly priced, I know what I pay for.

So, now I'm collecting money for RME DAC. It will take some time, probably not less than half year, so I'm wondering, maybe I don't collect cash for ADI-2 DAC, but for a successor, some ADI-2 DAC II? smile In December it will be circa 2 years since ADI-2 DAC debut, maybe you plan a refreshment?

Since you choose Asahi Kasei Microdevices D/A converter for ADI-2 DAC, maybe you are going to use it's newest chip in new ADI-2 DAC? When it come to technical specifications, AK4499EQ looks great: https://www.akm.com/akm/en/aboutus/news … d=link5074

I noticed in some topic below, MC didn't say "no":

"The 4497/99 are forced replies to the ESS chips and their marketing efforts and success. But the 4497 did not cut the cake for various reasons. The new 4499 is much more promising due to its four channel architecture, and might get more popular than the 4497...in the long term, so far this chip is not yet available."

Well, the last sentece is (or almost is) not valid anymore. According to AKM, "Engineering Samples will be available in January, 2019, and Mass Production starts from May, 2019." Hey, it's May already!

Can we expect ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ? big_smile

PS. Sorry for my poor English, but my German is much worse hmm.

  • Registered: 2018-06-29
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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Actually I prefer to deal with companies that provide excellent products that are not replaced every other year by the latest buzz just for the sake of it. I gave up on the endless quest for imperfection called highend. If you look at the adi-2 line of products you will find excellence in all those areas that count, and that sets those products apart from the rest of the field.

I feel no need to hurry replacing that AKM chip with the latest crop that delivers just incremental improvements.

3 Reply by MC

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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Right said. But Moriarty is badly informed. The 4499 is the absolute top-of-the-pops AKM superchip, and costs a fortune. You will not see any units below 3,000 $ having it implemented. That means the OP will have to save money for the next two years wink

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2019-05-03
  • Posts: 6

Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Thank you for explanation, Matthias. You are right, I wasn't aware of such big prices differences across AKM chips range. Damn, 3000 USD is much to much. No audio equipment is worth a divorce! smile

Well, it is bad, but also good news. Now, with peace of mind, I don't have to worry about different, unexpected scenarios.

  • Registered: 2019-05-03
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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

joachim.herbert wrote:

I feel no need to hurry replacing that AKM chip with the latest crop that delivers just incremental improvements.

I also don't change audio equipment often. My last rig - loudspeakers, amp and CD-player - served me for circa two decades. When I buy DAC, I'm going to use it for many years. But thats exactly why this choice - I hope the best possible - is so important to me.

Now I have nice tube amp (EL34 PP with NOS valves), 3-way loudspeakers with very good SB Acoustics drivers, but source is not on the same level. It's not-so-bad Marantz CD6006, but I hope RME ADI-2 DAC will help a lot here (i'm going to use Marantz as CD transport untill I will be able to replace it with something much better). Hey, sounds like a plan! smile

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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Moriarty wrote:
joachim.herbert wrote:

I feel no need to hurry replacing that AKM chip with the latest crop that delivers just incremental improvements.

I also don't change audio equipment often. My last rig - loudspeakers, amp and CD-player - served me for circa two decades. When I buy DAC, I'm going to use it for many years. But thats exactly why this choice - I hope the best possible - is so important to me.

Now I have nice tube amp (EL34 PP with NOS valves), 3-way loudspeakers with very good SB Acoustics drivers, but source is not on the same level. It's not-so-bad Marantz CD6006, but I hope RME ADI-2 DAC will help a lot here (i'm going to use Marantz as CD transport untill I will be able to replace it with something much better). Hey, sounds like a plan! smile

I seriously doubt that changing transport will change the sound of your set up...

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

N00b's Website

7 Reply by bejoro (edited by bejoro 2019-05-05 07:16:41)

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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

With modern and very well designed DACs, like the ADI-2 PRO/DAC and its FS-Master-Clock (Steady Clock FS), there is absolutely no difference regarding sound quality with different digital sources, no matter what price range. It is technically impossible, as long as the digital signal is free of errors, dropouts etc. which is almost always the case if your player is not defective (Jitter on the digital source signal has no effect any more).

So every cheapest CD/DVD... whatever player will be perfect. And it also does not matter which connection you use, optical, AES or coax, it will make no difference. I would always prefer optical TOSLINK, no ground loops or electrical issues (high frequency noise etc.).

So, please save your money and stay with your Marantz player. The HiFi high-end discussions about Jitter etc. are history with DACs like ADI-2 PRO/DAC.

bejoro's Website

8 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2019-05-05 08:59:36)

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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

N00b wrote:
Moriarty wrote:
joachim.herbert wrote:

I feel no need to hurry replacing that AKM chip with the latest crop that delivers just incremental improvements.

I also don't change audio equipment often. My last rig - loudspeakers, amp and CD-player - served me for circa two decades. When I buy DAC, I'm going to use it for many years. But thats exactly why this choice - I hope the best possible - is so important to me.

Now I have nice tube amp (EL34 PP with NOS valves), 3-way loudspeakers with very good SB Acoustics drivers, but source is not on the same level. It's not-so-bad Marantz CD6006, but I hope RME ADI-2 DAC will help a lot here (i'm going to use Marantz as CD transport untill I will be able to replace it with something much better). Hey, sounds like a plan! smile

I seriously doubt that changing transport will change the sound of your set up...

True. Expensive CD players are overhyped. simply get one that is silent, reacts fast and has a nice remote control. I personally take a good bluray player to combine listening to / watching: CD, DVD, Bluray.

For listening to music I ripped all of my CDs with EAC and am using my PC as player (we all know that CDs are not a reliable archive medium for approx >10y). There I have a RME audio device connected to (UFX+) and use a 15m TOSLINK cable to connect to the ADI-2 DAC. MusicBee is a nice player supporting also ASIO.

With a little 4:1 TOSLINK switcher in front of the ADI-2 DAC / HiFi (which is alsi available with remote control) I can use it for all DA conversion tasks. From PC, Bluray player and TV. Film Music also sounds very good over HiFi because it's often produced in High Quality.

At the end even for MusicBee a remote control application exists for android so that you can control playback of your play lists or auto playback lists ("all flac files rated over 4 stars" or "all songs from genre jazz of type flac file and rated 5-star).

My setup is described in this blog article:

http://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/inde … her-EN-DE/

If you want a fast bluray player get one of the last Oppos.

If you want a reliable audio interface for your pc or laptop to hook up with the ADI-2 DAC via TOSLINK and reliable ASIO driver, then the new Digiface USB is a very good choice. It's unique feature is that all 4 ADAT ports allow for optical SPDIF which enables you even to compare between up to 4 DAC's in parallel shall you want to test multiple.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14

9 Reply by bejoro (edited by bejoro 2019-05-05 12:51:59)

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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Sorry for off topic again.

I would not recommend Oppo as player any more. Oppo has abandoned production and development of all player platforms and products last year. So no firmware updates any more, no repairs in the future, no spare parts etc. Very sad.

bejoro's Website

  • ramses
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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

bejoro wrote:

Sorry for off topic again.

I would not recommend Oppo as player any more. Oppo has abandoned production and development of all player platforms and products last year. So no firmware updates any more, no repairs in the future, no spare parts etc. Very sad.

I know and it's good that you mentioned it.

On the other hand: AFAIK they still offer service for the bought devices and I currently see no other good alternative in terms of quick reacting and silent devices together with a nice remote control and good functions.

The last bluray player that I bought required no firmware upgrades at all and simply worked. So an Oppo with Multiregion support and a mature firmware can still make sense. Depends where your priorities and preferences are.

I am also not using any special Bluray's where compatibility problems might arise. The typical Bluray that I use are mostly from Live events of Bands, nothing special and never had any form of compatibility issue.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14

11 Reply by bejoro (edited by bejoro 2019-05-05 16:20:00)

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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Oppo players are relatively expensive and it is foreseeable that the service will end and spare parts will be unavailable. So a lot of money for an abandoned product. Oppo had some severe problems with their power supplies in the past (caution with used/2nd hand products).

Because of copy protection, new and interactive content of new BluRays, new menu scripting, firmware updates are essential.

There are very good and versatile UHD players from Panasonic, Pioneer and Sony.

But that's not a discussion for this thread.

bejoro's Website

  • Registered: 2019-05-03
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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Thank you all for the advice and comments, guys. It's good to know CD-transport is not important anymore, so I can save some money. This Marantz I have now is fast and quiet, also nice looking and I hope will serve me well for many years.

  • Registered: 2020-10-24
  • Posts: 1

Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

The costs of the AK4499EQ compared to the AK4493EQ per unit is 14 x higher, but by far not so expensive as I thought. It seems to me to be a worth investition. But maybe the implementation is a bigger task.

AK4499EQ - 63 Euros / 75 USD
AK4497EQ - 40 Euros / 47 USD
AK4493EQ - about 4 Euros / 5 USD

https://www.digikey.de/product-detail/d … ign=buynow

https://www.digikey.de/product-detail/d … ND/6235385

https://www.digikey.de/product-detail/d … ign=buynow

14 Reply by Curt962 (edited by Curt962 2020-10-25 03:36:43)

  • Registered: 2019-01-07
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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Seems like an Old Thread needlessly revived. But...I chime in nonetheless. sad

As an RME owner?  Until the Next Gen AKM DAC includes a Human Hearing upgrade?  I'm quite satisfied right where I am. Bandwidth from "DC to Daylight"   S/N exceeding the Limits of Human Hearing.  THD?  Below measurement thresholds.

More needed you say?  wink 

DO show Data!

I say enjoy the current RME, and worry more about which recording to play.

Real Easy.

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

15 Reply by srsmith (edited by srsmith 2020-10-26 03:15:10)

  • Registered: 2020-06-04
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Re: ADI-2 DAC successor with AK4499EQ?

Curt962 wrote:

Seems like an Old Thread needlessly revived. But...I chime in nonetheless. sad

As an RME owner?  Until the Next Gen AKM DAC includes a Human Hearing upgrade?  I'm quite satisfied right where I am. Bandwidth from "DC to Daylight"   S/N exceeding the Limits of Human Hearing.  THD?  Below measurement thresholds.

More needed you say?  wink 

DO show Data!

I say enjoy the current RME, and worry more about which recording to play.

Real Easy.

Here to echo the above + add a bit.

I have a balanced DAC with the 4499 and do not find it superior to my ADI-2. In fact, quite the inverse with respect to features, IEM support etc. *and* listening pleasure.

I do have a nit or two re: the RME, but absolutely none with its intended purpose.