• Registered: 2023-05-22
  • Posts: 16

Topic: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

I suppose that this issue is either too trivial and I severely miss something here or I once again encounter something rare which is supposed to be actually a non-issue:

With a brand new, sealed ADI-2/4 Pro SE, I noticed a slightly "worn" screen (in German I'd would say "leicht verschrabbelt") which looks like the often witnessed state of a protecting plastic film, supposed to be removed of course to recover any pristine screen underneath.

https://i.ibb.co/q9XjSQk/Adi-2-4-Pro-Display.jpg

Only that although it somehow looks like such a factory installed plastic film (especially nearby) the buttons, I don't see any easy way to get a grab on removing anything without risking to cause damage.

Neither could I find any unboxing video which shows the removal of any plastic film in regard to ADI-2 devices from RME.

So I wonder what the surface material is and whether the state shown on the picture is considered to be normal as while the stripes and light scratches are hardly during normal operation, they definitely are when the device is turned off and thus "know to bother".

  • From: Milan, Italy
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Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

Peel it off carefully with a fingernail? That's what I always do.

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  • ramses
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Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

In keeping with any protective film, there is a possibility to carefully peel it off with your fingernail, gradually and increasingly, somewhere along the edge or in a corner. Since you have correctly recognized it as a protective film, the remainder should not be too difficult now.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
  • Registered: 2023-05-22
  • Posts: 16

Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

Guess I've been taken in by the overly precaution paranoia which often goes along with brand new stuff and luckily fades out over time.

Thanks a lot to you guys!

5 Reply by MC

  • MC
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Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

The protection film is usually removed before packing and shipping, sorry for that.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2023-05-22
  • Posts: 16

Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

Hi MC, isn't that kind of protection film rather supposed to protect the screen all the way to the customer?

At least, a replacement which I received (on the photo, independently of the screen, one can also see the slightly damaged encoder knob to the right), also had the same film attached, by the way.

However, I sadly have to say that I ended up returning the replacement as well because the new one had other (slight) flaws:

- slight wobble when put on the table
- slightly misaligned screws on the top
- tiny streak on the buttom
- clicking sound when turning the device as mentioned here and there.
- (perceived?) higher noise levels than the former one and a weird left/right offset of a few dB, despite using the same cabling and end-devices (can't rule out another problem though, especially when not having both devices to compare so I want to stress out that indeed this might be a layer 8 / user problem)*

That together with the somewhat bit cheap-appearing power adapter which sounds like a little siren when it is idling while the ADI is in standby (allegedly due to EU regulations), the quality end-control and haptic isn't on par with prices above 2000€ I think.

For that, I expect absolute haptic perfection (without using a magnifying glass of course).

* here, it would be interesting if RME could comment on the built tolerances between the units - do you guys fine-tune the inputs/outputs to the last fraction of a dB or is there a measurable spread to be expected?

  • Muffin
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  • Posts: 193

Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

little-endian wrote:

Hi MC, isn't that kind of protection film rather supposed to protect the screen all the way to the customer?

At least, a replacement which I received (on the photo, independently of the screen, one can also see the slightly damaged encoder knob to the right), also had the same film attached, by the way.

However, I sadly have to say that I ended up returning the replacement as well because the new one had other (slight) flaws:

- slight wobble when put on the table
- slightly misaligned screws on the top
- tiny streak on the buttom
- clicking sound when turning the device as mentioned here and there.
- (perceived?) higher noise levels than the former one and a weird left/right offset of a few dB, despite using the same cabling and end-devices (can't rule out another problem though, especially when not having both devices to compare so I want to stress out that indeed this might be a layer 8 / user problem)*

That together with the somewhat bit cheap-appearing power adapter which sounds like a little siren when it is idling while the ADI is in standby (allegedly due to EU regulations), the quality end-control and haptic isn't on par with prices above 2000€ I think.

For that, I expect absolute haptic perfection (without using a magnifying glass of course).

* here, it would be interesting if RME could comment on the built tolerances between the units - do you guys fine-tune the inputs/outputs to the last fraction of a dB or is there a measurable spread to be expected?

The ESS version of the ADI-2 DAC has a high pitched whine for some samples but that is not from the PSU. There is a hardware fix, though.

As for wobbling devices my ADI-2 DAC FS and UCX II don't have that, and as I recall from posts RME replaces those units.

8 Reply by MC

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Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

little-endian wrote:

Hi MC, isn't that kind of protection film rather supposed to protect the screen all the way to the customer?

In an ideal world - yes. In reality we would see tons of reviews and YouTube videos of units with 'scratched' and blurry display (somehow your post is QED as you also were usure). Better shipping it without...

Regarding the rest - you must have gotten a unit that was in use before. Where someone also had fiddled with the settings already. We do not ship units with obvious scratches, or settings that cause channel deviations.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2023-05-22
  • Posts: 16

Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

Hi MC, thanks for commenting on that.

Well, given the more than obvious sticker for the power input, one way might be to just use a bigger protector with an easy to grab edge for removal to catch up. smile The current one is indeed difficult to see and also to grab without risking to damage the screen itself. Here, I'd suggest to give an additional hint in the manual.

As for the channel imbalance / noise floor, I am aware that there are tons of sources for user misinterpretation and misconfiguration as after all, it depends at least on the DC setting (RME, off), the dBu input gain setting and also the cabling to any given end device.

In my case, with the first 2/4 Pro I got around -112 to -110 dB when hooked to a Benchmark DAC1 via XLR (on or off didn't matter which isn't the worst sign for that device either) and - 108 to -105 dB via Cinch to a Panasonic DVD-Player.

It would be interesting to know which idle levels are to be expected depending on the setting on the ADI-2 Pro 2/4 in the best case (ideal source) but closed circuit cable-wise (given that the levels seems to be higher when nothing is attached). Also, if one would want to test the DAC part of a new device, would it be advisable to physically "loop" the output to the input on the ADI-2 Pro or in other words: how would you test a brand new device if you would want to rule out significant manufacturing derivations when not happeni to have an audio precision measurement beast lying around?

What is also strange is that the 2nd unit at first showed even worse levels and I saw the DC-filter to be turned off, although according to the manual, the RME filter is the default. After a "hard" reset, it indeed was, so somehow that one got shipped with the non-default setting despite being sealed and apparently not a pre-used one.

10 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2023-06-01 11:54:45)

  • KaiS
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Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

For measurement of ADI-2’s ADC, it’s input needs to be terminated either with a short or with 50 Ohm resistors between XLR pins 1+2 and 1+3.

If you don’t have an XLR plug prepared for this, a bent-to-fit paperclip, stuck in the pin-holes, can do.
Connecting just an open cable, or any other device won’t do.


For the measurement itself you need e.g. RME DigiCheck to see the RMS A-Weighted (dBA RMS) noise.
ADI-2’s built in meter is not suited, as it reads Peak Unweighted, which is non-standard for SNR-measurement.

Compare the result with the figures mentioned for each Reference Level in the manual.

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  • Registered: 2023-05-22
  • Posts: 16

Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

Thanks a lot for your elaborate suggestion, KaiS.

Maybe it would be a good idea and nice bonus if RME would provide such test termination plugs, together with a bunch of mono jack to cinch and XLR cables.

For sure, one can get them separately, but it would improve the perceived overall package value while costing RME almost nothing.

12 Reply by KaiS (edited by KaiS 2023-06-08 07:46:56)

  • KaiS
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Re: "out of the box" screen protector and condition

little-endian wrote:

Maybe it would be a good idea and nice bonus if RME would provide such test termination plugs, together with a bunch of mono jack to cinch and XLR cables.

For sure, one can get them separately, but it would improve the perceived overall package value while costing RME almost nothing.

I‘ve never seen XLR, Jack or RCA termination plugs for measurements offered separately. (*1)

My best guess is, whoever is into measurement of audio devices usually is capable of DIY terminations.
It‘s a one minute job to solder some resistors or wire bridges into a plug.



(*1) Exception: quite often phono / turntable inputs on amps came with RCA shorting plugs installed.
Put those on an RCA to 1/4“ Jack adapter and voila...

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09WXSRVQ4/ref … F9kZXRhaWw

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Mj++SFQBL._AC_SX679_.jpg

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