ADI-2/4 Pro SE Discontinued? (Page 4 of 5)

If you look at RME’s long history and overview the current line of offerings – top notch quality with reasonable pricing – there’s no serious doubt that it WILL be worth the wait.

There will be an ADI-2/4 Pro SE follower, and ADI-2 DAC will be continued in some way, I bet.
The upped-specs have the potential to carry some amazing surprises.

Dropping the in-between ADI-2 Pro would be a logical move too.

And don’t forget:
The new models won’t take the faintest from the enormous quality the current line already presents.

Some time it was quite common to use announcements as teaser to keep people from buying a competitor’s product – then delay the release for an endless time.

RME never did that.

Alto Music is taking orders for the RME ADI-2 Pro. It says “On Order With The Manufacturer”.

https://www.altomusic.com/products/rme- … er-adi2pro

Same with AVL Gear with shipping by June 2026:

https://avlgear.com/products/rme-adi-2- … wn8tzUftbQ

I’m going to contact my Sweetwater sales representative to see if he has an update from RME about stock.

Here we go: a new lineup of DAC and DAC/ADC combos are out! They’re the ADI-3 family. RME have upped their game with exceptional new features, mind blowing specs (136dB SNR!!), and a price point about 30% cheaper than the previous versions! Holy moly, I cannot believe that, thank you RME!

Is the password "April 1" ?

I've stop believing at "ADI-3": the "2" in ADI-2 is the number of channels, not the version of the machine

In the current range it is: ADI-2, ADI 2/4, M32 etc.
But I must confess I didn't know this nice ancester!

Follow Apple, ADI-26 if release in 2026

To anyone at RME reading this:

PLEASE MAKE THE ADI 2/4 PRO SE HAVE THE SCREWS FOR RACK MOUNT ATTACHMENTS THAT THE ADI 2 PRO SE HAS

I do mastering, all I need is two inputs and four outputs. 2 in/2 out for an analog hardware loop, 2 out to my monitors. But I need it racked up with my gear.

I decided to buy a used Lynx Hilo instead of the ADI 2/4 Pro only because of the rackmount situation, and now one input just died so I'm on the market for a new unit. I'd prefer to buy RME over the Lynx Hilo 2 but I'm not leaving that on a desk top when I have open rack space and my desk is already ergonomic.

I know theres that rackmount tray that I could attach from the bottom but its ugly and leaves a large hole in the rack.

The RME ADI-2-Pro EX just arrived. I'm hyped!

You are totally right.
I'm just happy to finally see the first variant of the updated generation being released.

Why didn’t go for a higher-end ADC/DAC model?
ESSTECH also offers the MPRO (ADC) and the PRO (DAC) version.

Yes, but the MPRO version with MQA FOQUS.

There must be a design decision on RME’s part behind this. I’d just like to understand it. In your opinion, they could have stuck with the older DAC chips.
For me, that rules the new product out.

I disagree, as I'm in the process of setting up my home recording studio again.

The design decision is that there are no plans to implement this proprietary technology, and therefore, there is no need to use converters that support it. You've asked this before:
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=42955

An actual mic-pre would also support 48v phantom power for condenser mics, which the ADI series does not have, hence the limitation of the analogue inputs to dynamic mics.

From what I can see, the chips with a "PRO" in the name are all 8-channel converters, which the ADI does not require...
https://www.esstech.com/products-overvi … hile-dacs/
"ESS SABRE PRO DACs are designed for premium home theater equipment including Blu-ray players, preamplifiers, all-in-one A/V receivers, and more."
The ES9039Q2M is a suitable choice.

You do understand, though, that it's about having an ultra-high sensitivity setting for the line input with gain then being controlled purely in digital domain (and I suspect, in a limited range)? So it might not be suitable for all use cases and not for all microphones. A proper mic preamp has a true variable gain control.

In my opinion the DAC Chip itself does not matter that much if you are already at the current state of the art. It's more important that surrounding circuits and the integration in the product is done nicely. You can get the chip itself pretty cheap, but that does not give you a matured product.

+1 Fully agree.

It’s just like in Formula 1: the most powerful engine alone is no guarantee of victory.
It’s all about the overall design, a sensible choice of components, PCB layout, clean implementation, fine-tuning of the components in relation to one another. The converters must be driven in such a way that there is sufficient headroom for OVRs. The analog stages that bring the converter’s output signal to various line levels must also be of high quality, etc etc.

A good design choice in all areas, plus RME-specific technology (e.g. SteadyClock EX), finally results in an outstanding product.

As was leaked the next 2/4 Pro EX will have a digital gain without RIAA option, extending the Ref Levels on Line input down to -35 dBu. In that setting SNR is still 90 dB - CD quality, no audible noise. Other than typical mic preamps you get full bandwidth and super low THD. So it's more than good enough to connect a (2) dynamic mic(s), or 2 condensors if you have a phantom power supply, and use it for whatever is needed.

This is a usefull 'tool' addition, not a replacement for dedicated, professional mic preamps.

And to answer the next obvious question: these new RIAA centered features were possible due to the updated ASP in the updated ADC chip, so can most probably not be back-ported to existing 2/4 Pro SE.

The choice of AD and DA chip matters a lot from a marketing perspective. I think it's still better use the newest flagship chips available, then optimize and tune the implementation around them. Although the mid-tier and older chips can achieve the goal perfectly.

The actual cost difference of the chip itself usually has only a small impact on the final profit margin. However, using older or mid-range chip can lead many potential buyers to perceive the product as less premium, regardless of how good the real world performance is. Audio is a very subjective field, people believe in all kinds of things, like what chips being used.