Not sure what that means Joachim...?
R

I agree he does a pretty good job. In the end, reviews can only give you an idea as to what any product truly offers. If they are informative and entertaining, then I will watch them. I always have to remind myself though, that even if a bunch of 'professional reviewers' agree (good or bad) and form a 'consensus', they can still all be wrong. This why I do not classify myself as an 'audiophile', because 'audiophile' reviewers can be the worst. They will try to tell you that if you like a certain piece of gear or a certain type of sound or music than you are somehow ill informed, less refined or not as smart as they are. Like they are the first and last word in what is or is not 'hi-fi' or whatever nonsense. I am personally a bit of a technophile' and a music lover.

A good example of how a whole bunch of 'audiophile' gatekeepers ('reviewers') can all be wrong- When I first got into 'real' headphones a few years ago, I read everywhere that the HD800 were over rated, old, out dated etc. Worst of all, these 'reviewers' made statements about the HD800 like "the peak at 6k makes these un listenable" or "they don't have any bass". So I stayed away from the HD800/S for two years. Then I had an opportunity presented to buy a set in pristine condition for......$400! So I said they can't be that bad, I will give them a try. I loved them! Nice tight and clean bass, THE BEST MIDS EVER and treble that is nearly perfect. World class comfort and build quality and of course a soundstage of the gods. My favorite open back to this day and I have tried Susvara, LCD-5, Utopia et al. Could they be a tad sharp at times? Sure, like one in thirty songs. That is what my RME ADI-2 DAC is for!

Moral of the story? Even if a "trusted" reviewer informs you, the only way to truly know if you will like something (or not) is to try it yourself. No amount of reading or watching videos will replace listing to YOUR music on the the gear for evaluation.

The review isn‘t too bad, but:

If one does a review he should at least know and use the correct name of the product:

RME ADI-2 DAC FS.

As we all know there are 3 totally different ADI-2s:
ADI-2 FS
ADI-2 DAC FS
ADI-2 Pro

with some variants over the time.

No, even the written title is wrong.
He murmurs some complaint about the name in the beginning, then reverses DAC and FS, no simplification.

Further on, he totally misses the opportunity to compare the sound of the different DAC filters.
Maybe he can’t hear the difference

He recommends the product, at least something :-) But overall I didn't like the review.

I also noticed that he didn't even get the product name right, but if only that had been it..

EDIT: I am not sure if such kind of reviews are really useful for the product, because after looking at it, it is not clear for the buyer what he pays more money for. That it is quite important features that can provide him with a better quality and really support him in the operation of the device or even in troubleshooting and thus provide real added value.

He just scratched the surface, but unfortunately completely left out the most important product features that make this device so unique and special in the market so that everybody gets a well understanding, why the price is justified and why you can not simply compare this device to a €400 device which is lacking many of those things.

He could also have mentioned a little bit about RME's background in the studio area. Where on earth do you get nowadays still such nicely written manuals in two languages which are very informative and also instantly updated?
Also nothing about:
- RMEs long term firmware and driver support
- the excellent involvement and support from RME in the RME User Forum
- RME DIGIcheck and it's features that you also get for free

With RME you enter a long term relationship. How many excellent ideas and wishes from customers have been picked up by RME from forum and implemented. The many firmware updates and that even the 1st devices from 5y ago can make use out of all the new stuff.

Unfortunately, you also won't find any references to his test methodology, so his statements about sound or sound differences may be based on psychoacoustic effects. Of course, in his reviews you can also find a cable comparison with a recommendation, it looks like a similar problem.

Also missing a note about the ADI-2 Pro FS R BE. Many audiophiles also want to be able to archieve their analog or digital treasures on DAT tapes or to connect balanced phones. Therefore he should have named the Pro and its unique features, because you can save a lot of money if you get the Pro and do not have to buy separate devices to get analog inputs, sample rate converter, AES I/O and so on... Or just the space savings of having everything in one device that is just as compact as the ADI-2 DAC FS.

Otherwise, he seems to have done everything right on YouTube. Not a single negative click and everyone thanks him. He just seems to say exactly what everyone wants to hear and presents the whole thing in a nice package: British audiophile, nice living room, intellectual touch.

I want everyone, most especially our friend Bocky, to realise that everything written below, is done in genuine good will and not meant to offend anyone.

To promote perspicacious thought, which I trust will be helpful to everyone.

To be honest, initially, I didn’t understand the “Oh Well…” comment.

So, I watched the review all the way through.

And my first thought was.

Oh Well…

That’s the absolute truth!

I’m writing for a special reason.

This thread has concerned me somewhat.

Because the forum has a rule concerning SPAM!

According to Bonky, he has communicated with the reviewer.

Therefore, it follows that some level of relationship exists between them.

According to his website, the reviewer has 58 patrons earning him £452 per month.

He is not simply giving reviews, but MONETISING his output, to generate an additional income.

Therefore, the salient question to ask is whether this thread is acting as an agent of the reviewer, promoting SPAM!

It may be that our friend Bonky, is unwittingly, unknowingly, unaware, that by posting the link, inviting and encouraging discussion.

He has become an agent for asymmetrical promotion of a third party.   

I am not accusing Bocky, of directly benefitting from such promotion.

But it would be naïve to imagine that such promotion benefits no one. 

Quote; “I have no idea whether he has or which chipset he had on the review model.”

Well, I know what chipset he has, simply because I watched the video, where that chipset is stated.

Therefore, with respect, its crystal clear that a review is being promoted by an individual who either: Has not watched the video at all. Or who watched it but never really paid it, proper attention, but none the less chose to promote it regardless.

That begs the question WHY?

With respect.

Clearly, the actual purpose of the video.

Is to promote the reviews business which one can pay to subscribe to.

It’s not actually about the RME product, or any of the many, many other products referred to.

Everything mentioned and discussed throughout the video is in reality, but a means to an end. To get you to subscribe to his channel.

Better to save the money and buy some expensive high-end cables!

Quote: “The best reviewers are here at this forum, THE REAL USERS.”

A powerful observation. Well stated!

Throughout the motor industry, the famous JD Powers Vehicle Dependability Survey is the one ALL the manufacturers, really take very seriously.

Because, it represents a year-long study of all the faults of models from every manufacturer, as experienced and reported by THE REAL USERS.

A company, is simply a mirror of the individuals, that work within it.

Thus, a company is no better or worse than the people who are responsible for its direction, that run and manage it and work for it.

In that respect, designing and manufacturing products is like recording music. If you have great musicians and great music goes into the mics, great music will eventually come out of the speakers.

So, the tremendously high esteem and regard with which RME is held globally, is in reality, simply a reflection of the excellence and dedication of everyone involved with the RME team, from top to bottom, throughout the company.

After a while, one gets a feel for a company, its ethos, its values, its principles, its culture, its mindset, its ideology, its mentality, its attitude.

In short. The company's SPIRIT!

A good reputation is extremely hard to earn and incredibility easy to lose.

But there's a point, where a company’s reputation is such, that reviews of the kind posted here, as interesting as they might be to some.

Are completely superfluous, to customers who have experienced the conceptual brilliance and sheer genius of RME’s ground breaking innovations.

The sheer excellence of its products design and reliable build quality. The high calibre of its people and their superlative commitment, to provide unparalleled customer service, which entirely transcends, industry norms.

The essential point about the products manufactured by such companies, is that the products sell themselves.

Rather than requiring any marketing and sales people to actively sell them.

When you can purchase a product from a company like that!

What need have you of third-party reviews?

Quote: “Maybe he can’t hear the difference”

All through the review, I was wondering what the resonance from his fire place up through his chimney, would have been?

Its a novel way to share the love of music with the neighbourhood, but what's Father Christmas going to make of it?

Or Rudolf awaiting, red nose glowing, at the chimney top?

It's all a bit pretentious if you ask me!

> So to return to my original question, what do others think makes the best 'synergistic'
> partnering equipment (esp the amp)... and why?

That has nothing to do with each other. This / a DAC has no "personal preferences" for any amplifier. The sound is being reproduced transparently and in very good quality. You connect the DAC to the pre- or power amp (or active speakers) of your choice.

The design of the ADI-2 DAC/Pro with the 4 different reference levels and the feature auto reflevel offers you the greatest possible flexibility for this.

What kind of amplifier you take depends on many other factors and finally the price, but really not on the DAC, which reproduces everything transparently and has no "signature sound".

You should ask yourself
- are active monitors sufficient to me
- do I need perhaps another preamp or is the ADI-2 DAC/Pro sufficient to act as preamp
- if you want a separate preamp, do you want separate preamp and power amp or power amp as two mono blocks or maybe you want to have an intrgrated amp to save room and cost

Then this also depends on your listening habits and room acoustic in your home.
Maybe your partner has certain requirements in terms of sound, style, size etc.
Class A, AB or D or Tube amplifier ?
Some speaker designs might require a more powerful poweramp.

Well .. this is not so easy and wherever you will ask, everybody will tell you that his solution sounds good or the best .. you need to take care of that on your own.

Best to go into a shop, listen to some devices consider 3 or 4 that you like most and then try maybe 2 or 3 combinations at home in your room for the final selection.
This efforts you might have to pay, but its worth especially if you buy higher priced gear.

People here only want technical discussions concerning rme product itself.  Third party reviews/comments are not well received, especially with no technical data or measurements provided.

Hard to disagree with any of that. Thank you so much for such a detailed and thoughtful answer.

My DAC is paired with WD Valve amp (with a bit of 'tube rolling')and feeding very efficient LivingVoice speakers. To my ears it sounds sublime.

B

Well, you can't please all the people...

Let's all go back and listen to the music.

https://youtu.be/tMhyOvYzZM0

EDITED

Just take a look at the manuals table of contents, then you will see in what chapters your questions will be covered:
- Chapter 5: most important things with regard to initial use and quick start
- Chapter 6: valuable information on the power supply unit and the bayonet lock
- Chapters 20ff: an overview of driver installation and firmware updates under Windows
- Chapters 24ff: same for Mac OS X

Then I would like to go a little further, because RME manuals are of high quality, which is rarely found these days...

The manual for the ADI-2 DAC FS is very detailed and complete. It contains all the information you need to set up and operate the device. The manuals even contain recommendations and explanations that go far beyond the usual and thus provide real added value.

At this point, a big thank you to Matthias Carstens for taking the effort to personally write the manuals in excellent quality and even offering them in two languages. Besides that all RME devices come with a printed manual, which is no longer a matter of course nowadays.

As you can see from the table of contents, the manual is very well organized

In the case of a device with such a range of functions that can be used in a wide variety of application scenarios and even then it still depends on which features someone would like to use in a specific situation, you can only proceed as follows and organize the manual as it was done here nicely:
- organize the manual as structured as possible and
- according to a top-down approach, so that the most important information is at the front and the individual functions are described below up to very technical information.

You want to achieve quick results?

Everything is also a bit of a question of methodology!

I can only recommend first looking at the table of contents, reading through the first introductory chapters and then simply leafing through the manual and quickly skimming the text here and there with the aim to get a first impression of whats inside. You can better search for something later from that you know that it exists and how it's called.

After that, information can also be found very easily using the PDF reader's search function.

Like with many things in life learning new things simply take some time!

Additional recommendations in terms of methodology:

1. Don't make it too complicated at first, start with a basic setup that can be easily accomplished
2. Make yourself familiar with the manual as I told you already
3. Extract the most important for quick setup and driver installation.
4. A firmware update might be interesting to get new features, but you can do it also some time later (IF necessary).
5. Best to save the initial setup into a config slot of your choice, so that you can come back at any time; you could take the last one, so that the 1st ones cover your usual use cases.
6. Refine the setup step by step to best adapt the DAC to your setup and needs over time
7. Always save the latest status or also relevant steps in between.

Again, as in any relationship, you get to know each other over time

Still desperate, even after reading the manual?

It can happen. You can e.g. ask in this forum, this is one of the purposes of such a forum.

You can also use google search to search only this forum, then you do not have the wait time of forum search:

Basic Syntax to search only this forum:
topic(s) site:forum.rme-audio.de

For a full list of options, pls see google search syntax cheat sheet, e.g. this one:
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-goog … -tips-pdf/

Better not use the word idiot for a guide, or the term RTFM, it is not good, instead Please and Thank You are always better.

For example, the 2V question for HiFi users appears every fortnight... the manual is very clear in this matter, but some user still puzzled, why? because each individual amp has different specification. For example the top model Yamaha intergrated amp can take max. 2.8V, safe right? but if someone plug XLR in and have 6dB hotter feed to it which "can" create some problem, the XLR input of that Yamaha amp has an attenuator built in, switch to -6dB fixed the issue... so reading the manual of all equipment is important.

And, Merry Christmas to you too

Bonky, you are not rude, don't worry

Enjoy your RME dac with true sound and many functions the new FW provided.

Oh no ... dim display .....