Mastering Converter Shootout with the ADI-2 Pro FS
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Mastering Engineer Marc Einstmann specialized in high-end mastering and restoration services gives us an insight into his setup and why he uses different AD/DA conversion technologies.
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Merry Christmas everyone!
Thanks for the test! Very few audio companies make shootouts like this. Great work RME!
Thx :-)
RME is the best, clear, transparent and has the best bass
I really feel like the HEDD and the AD122 are rounding off a little bit and smoothing while the RME stays more focused and punchy. Especially in the mids I feel like the RME is way more "in your face" and the lower frequency seems to have less sustain, which suits the song better than the others. Might be biased this early in the morning but thats what I feel.
Very good job RME!
Yep.... completely agree.... it got successively worse from the rme, the dullest being the hedd ....... maybe they need re-capping?
🔹 BASS: RME is the only one that stands out making the bass sound not louder, but deeper, more solid and more "at the bottom" of the mix,leaving the whole space "on the surface" for mids and highs. HEDD and AD122 have the bass put more "closer" to you, back up from the bottom. As if RME separates the bass from the rest and puts it into a cellar (where it belongs =) In addition to all that - the bass on RME sounds more MONO than on the others.
AD122 has the quitest bass, RME the most detailed and deep, HEDD the "roundest" in the mix.
🔹HIGHS: the highs on HEDD and AD122 are clearly louder in the mix than on RME. AD122 sounds harscher than HEDD, HEDD has some "softer" highs than AD122. The ballance between highs and mids is more even on RME though. Here you can hear the "surgical-ness" of RME, as if you`d have the bass on the floor and mids and highs on the operation table.
🔹MIDS: on the AD122 the mids are the most present, because the bass is the weakest. On the RME the mids are clear and even with the highs, but are getting overshadowed by very spectacular and precise bass. Mids on HEDD are present, well rounded and are the most well ballanced in the mix.
🔹Conclusion: The real competitors here are RME and HEDD, each sounds amazing on it`s own, but totally different - while HEDD sounds more "ready" and "sweet" - RME is more "disected", "clinical" and "surgical" (not in a bad way). The bass from RME is something different (wow!).
AD122 could not impress. Lacks cool stuff (rme`s bass, or hedd`s highs-magic), but has weak stuff (lackluster bass, harsh highs).
Listened on RME Babyface Pro FS, DT 880s and Yamaha HS 80s.
I don't have the best listening situation, but to me the HEDD felt punchy compared to the others and the AD122 felt the most "open" in the highs. But definitely agree, the control that RME has over the bass is untouched. Would you agree?
That’s my professor at Berklee for my mastering course! Hey Marc!
Mine is arriving tomorrow. Can’t wait to unleash the beast.
Merry Christmas! Enjoy your time with the ADI-2 Pro :-)
RME Audio Merry Christmas to you too. I can say that RME ADI-2 Pro FS is amazing unit, and definitely a keeper for many more years to come.
That’s actually pretty amazing. The difference is big imho and I’ve used them all. Been putting off getting one but not any longer. Thx
Would love to see a shootout with samples vs the Merging Anubis, Lynx Hilo, & Prism Lyra 2 as they seems to be the most serious direct competitors (price & reputation).
Simply you will not go wrong w MT or Prism
@@atta1798 all Dacs are good in their own way.. prism is great but nowhere near top of the line
@@Gang-25j once you get enough experience..let's say ... 35+ in mastering, I will believe you :) ... I hope you realize you just discredited your self w that sentence ... :)
prisms are great, but they're strength is their interface design, not their conversion design. There are plenty of references from mastering engineers 35 years plus that would affirm that statement@@atta1798
Prism Lyra 2 👌
That kind of review has to be a standard for reviewing any product! Thanks!
You‘re welcome!
Im listening when tired on a pretty good system though with nice high end Dynaudio's. To be honest they are all probably great converters like Marc explains this is just a reference and you would probably mix differently into each but in my opinion this particular track sounded much clearer without any of the A/D conversion on this occasion. Funny how subjective it is... Everybody has their own taste. Great video thanks for sharing.
After listening with fresh ears I prefer the sound of The Lavry Gold & The Hedd. Thanks for the video.
Great comparison with some other heavy hitters! I recently went over to the ADI2 ProFS for the same purpose, AD after analog summing/sweetening. This was after using my UFX for the AD cycle previously. The classical sessions sound fuller and tighter than ever, rock mixes are clearer with slightly more dimension. The extra input sensitivity really helps keep that headroom intact. I'm using the DA for monitoring and that's sounding better than ever too. Primo for vinyl record transfers to DSD as well!
Glad you enjoy your ADI-2 Pro!
I'm gonna get one. Great demo!
I find the ADI2 Pro FS really shines compared to other converters I auditioned with orchestral strings and especially the basses and cellos. Not overhyped or muddy or confused in any way. I really like that HEDD magic in the high end though!
Glad you enjoy it!
With rme I can hear more of the room, especially when listening to the kick drum. All 3 converters are nice. Thank you for your presentation. Nice mastering room. Take care.
Thank you Howard!
This product is absolutely sensational! I love RME products!
It is :-)
This is what i am looking for. Bullseye! Thanks a lot RME!
You're welcome :-)
The AD122 seems to be warmer with less slam on the bass, the Hedd has a boosted low end. RME seems to be at the middle of the road, quite balance sounding between all three.
thanks for the wav files @RME !!! really interesting to get to compare
since specs only mean so much. from my quick listening, ADI has stelar
clarity. easiest to hear in separation of kick and bassline in lowend I find. HEDD was 90% as clear but also had a nice punch. AD122 sounded "fat" for lack of a better word, quite "glued". I was considering to go with rme pcie and crane song solaris but damn, now I'm really not so sure :D
You're welcome. Hopefully you sort everything out ;-)
You could always go with the RayDat and the ADI ;)
6:35 Original
7:05 RME
7:35 Lavry
8:05 Crane Song
8:38 Quick A/B of all
The RME sounds the most accurate to the original, yet slightly enhanced but not foward, and reproduces the the attack of every instrument the most accurately based on the original but with an ever so slight enhancement in overall detail. (You hear stuff that you didn't even know was in the original🪄🎩)
The Lavry seems to not impart any enhancement attributes, does seem to impart a smoothness of rhe overall material, the attack of all transients seems slighty slower which make the low end sound emphasized and seems to cause a somewhat smeary sound of material like this.
The Crane Song sounds even slower than the Lavry and sounds like maybe the DC filter has a different enough shape to let more sub frequencies through. Seems to give overall good detail but with somewhat lowend build-up sound.
If someone offered me all of these for free, i'd sell the Lavry and Crane Song and keep the RME.
i reallllly appreciate this video, sir. Good Stufffff. THANKS.
Glad you like it :-)
Ooh that Lavry is nice. RME one sounds a bit focussed / compressed. Hedd's a bit warm / dull sounding.
OG: 6:34 - 6:50 / RME: 7:04 - 7:20 / lavry : 7:34 - 7:50 / CS: 8:05 - 8:20
The lavry gold def translates the best . Infact it makes it sound better than the original. Especially with drums.
The rme clearly beats all due to price and also has better sound than the HEDD imo.
Yeah surprised HEDD was very clearly the worst sounding (A/Bing the downloaded samples) given its reputation, but the HEDD completely changed the tone of the midrange in comparison to the Lavry/RME. Also, transients weren't as crisp, sharp... The HEDD samples sound rather flat and transients sound a bit smeared imo.
That description is so vastly different from what every professional I've seen would have of Cranesong stuff, makes me genuinely question if RME mixed up the samples or did something in the processing that yielded a subpar result for the HEDD.
nah... he is the most distorted of them all he round everything included the best that's not what is aimed for mastering... the ADD112 clearly is not suited for that track let's be honest 5 minutes
I was lucky enough to get direct feedback from Marc when I studied at Berklee Online. To me the AD122 as well as the hedd sounds muddy and smeared. That goes for the whole register and is especially noticable in the low end where the RME is the only DAC that keep it together.
Marc is an amazing tutor :-)
HEDD enhancing some harmonics that are adding excitement in the song.
AD122 is almost similar to the original but a bit more glued. RME is thin sounding.
The AD122 is the only one that sounds like a true analog desk. Besides the original mix which is actually amazing
I guess you had to clock them all together? Which is the master clock?
Tolles Review! Danke dafür!
I love my ADI-2 Pro.
We love it too ;-)
can you compare the DA of ADI , to the DA converter of PURE 2 or Apollo ? i need it for mixing and mastering , tnx :)
White Sea Studio UA-cam channel brought me here.
How do you set up your mastering chain with your Rupert Neve buss for example? Hardware connection and routing in Totalmix?
HEDD - it seems that certain frequencies pop out but together with mids and kinda colored low end sounds more positioned, it contains space. When there is a switch from RME to AD122 my ears shift from all the sounds to the specific sounds and the tails both high and low end are felt more. RME does sound crisp, like everything is there and than other two are defining the sound in a different ways. I do like the first one, the gold one, i like non perfect music tho.
Cheers
I like the RME and HEDD
Then you'll love some future content ;-)
@@RMEAudio Which content???
Dig the shirt! Thanks for the review.
You're welcome :-)
Haha. Yes. I was checking it out as well. The man's got style!.
An ARTIST for sure!
Can you please explain the setup/connection for the ADC's and how to listen to them.
Is it possible, that the HEDD and the Lavry got hit a little hard? On headphones i could hear a "smearing" kind of Distortion on both of them. With the RME not so much, but there a slight accentuation on the (very clean) low end.
I was listening on a galaxy note 9 and you can hear the difference. The Lavry sounds way more 3d, adi isn't bad at all, but for this particular song I prefer it over the HEDD. Now thats not something that I would have expected because I've seen the HEDD kill many converters...
Interface wise I think I'll give adi a 2nd look
I just level matched the clips on my daw and the original file clearly sounds best. Much much better than the converted files... Maybe it's the sound of the Manley Console that adds a bunch of low end... Once said that, I like the RME more than the other concerted files
6:35
7:05
7:35
8:05
I'm wondering how do the tc dbmax converters stuck up against the others? Those old tc units had some amazing converters in them!
Thank you for this comparison/shootout. I love and own some Crane Song gear, however a good mate is interested in the new RME converter, I also own some RME cards and converters. By the way; can anyone tell me what camera this was filmed on please! The quality is sensational!
Thanks!
You're welcome :-)
AD122 sounds like it sucks a bit of the low end punch of snare while enhancing lower frequencies. Prefer the HEDD on this one overall. Both very high quality. Thanks very much for this comparison. Need more of these high quality examples of the various mastering chains.
You're welcome :-)
Agreed, would like to hear the HEDD with quantum dac upgrade, might blow them all away
So why doesn't RME market this as a high quality 2 channel interface for DAWs like Pro Tools, Ableton, LogicPro and Studio One? Seems like it would make a good studio computer interface for a hybrid system.
I assume they market the likes of the Fireface UC/UCX etc for DAWs as these have a lot of inputs which obviously relate to DAW recording use. These DACs are also used for music production, mixing and mastering and are focused on the output dynamic range for critical monitoring. They do have stellar input for A/D conversion. i.e if you have some analog equipment or tape that you want to capture at the highest quality possible for archiving or whatever, then you'd definitely use this ADI-2 Pro over a regular interface with a lot of inputs. Although this ADI-2 Pro has less inputs than say the UCX, it can capture A/D at crazy high 768kHz sample rate. I hope this makes sense.
hello, i bought the rme adi 2 pro fs r for my external processor loop for mastering. but already having a ucx rme interface. do I have to connect the 2 machines in adat in and out? because so far I have connected each of the 2 machines directly to the usb of my imac and I have created an aggregated device in imac and I have mi adi 2 pro fs r as reference clock in the settings. does this change the level of quality that i go directly through usb? or do i absolutely have to use adat or spdif cables for better quality?
Was für ein Unterschied zwischen Original und RME ADI-2 Pro FS! Nach den vielen guten Bewertungen hätte ich nie gedacht, daß derart viel Verlust auftritt: "Räumlichkeit" deutlich eingeschränkt und verhangen, trotzdem aggressiv, steril. Nein, das ist nicht "mein" Wandler.
Hi guys
How do I send and listen to the signal at the same time please ?
A null test with software "Delta Wave", the delta of both signals from ADI and Lavry is around -50 RMS. Nothing completely inaudible but far away from most allusive comments with golden ears here.
yes the lavry is kick ass real in the marrow but rme has a nice softer balance, it still kicks but dosent put you in a and e, not smeary now :)
We felt the same. Glad you like it!
I have a few questions. What is the difference between this device and the ADI-2 Pro fs R?
How do you route your speakers if you have more then 1 paur of monitoring speakers since this and the pro fs R have 2 outs for monitoring.
I am looking upgrade my sound and this seems to be the way!
the other 2 bass hits are soft and mushy ..like a salami whacking a sofa...The RME sounds like a bass drum you can hear the timbre of the drum skin and its movement and control....Big difference!!
great video! Im confused though: If he uses the Cranesong HEDD to transfer the da to the Manley backbone where 3 sets of stereos are outed toffee the 3 different AD convertors ... what interface is he using to capture the actual audio? none these apart from RME has a usb recording channel? so im confused about what device interface is used to capture the print. Surely the interface you capture with imparts a sound too?
I suppose any AES recorder? Where do you monitor from though the sound interface that is capturing the AES /Analog from the AD convertor ? I was considering the Dangerous convert + because it has a usb driver oni=it so can record straight to daw via usb. Your knowledge is greatly appreciated! )
I would love a comparison between older and newer RME converters ;)
We'll think about it :-)
I don't know if i just missed it or what, but WHAT exactly is the original??
Probably the direct output of the Manley console.
They just sound eq'd to various degrees and the one that cheats the most wins, reminds me of a little company back in the day but that's another story.
wow!! what’s the music?
Bester Mann!
Hey RME, just wanted to know how Marc is feeding the output of his Manley to all the converters simultaneously.
Check 6‘14‘‘
What is the device you are controlling at 0:43 ?
OG: 6:34 RME: 7:04 AD122: 7:34
Adi 2 dac pro FS is best than apogee quartet in DA conversion?
Hello question does the rme baby face pro fs has the same converter that the rme fireface 802?
ADD112 sound more distorted than others, the RME seem to be cleaner HEDD is the right balance between them but the 112 is really distorted it give drive but it miss a few point
add112 lose some high
on the HEDD as well but more arround 4k
the rme is more transparent but it miss some caracter for some genre of music because he don't warm the song at all but remember that's what we are aiming in mastering process ;)
Thank you for your comment. We make very neutral converters. No colouring and very transparent indeed. Therefore you have the extensive possibilities to colour the sound to your likings.
Downloaded the files. What is he using on the file name "AGGREGAT-Astroid_loop-15RX" ? that sounded amazing.
That is the mix straight from the DAW.
Dear RME, please can I actually buy one of your interfaces please?! lol Cant get any in the UK.
Hello, Im confuse which one to choose the UFX plus or the ADI 2 pro FS R AD DA converter. I already have a preamp. Can you please explain the difference about the two? and which one is better? :) Do the UFX plus have the same AD DA converter with ADI 2 pro? thank you
These are two completely different units and concepts. The UFX+ is a multi-channel interface (analog, ADAT, MADI, AES) with built-in preamps and excellent AD/DA conversion.
The ADI-2 Pro FS R is a high end AD/DA converter/interface, but it does not have TotalMix FX. If you need a professional consultation, please contact us on Facebook.
RME Audio thank you!
I hope all is well with you. What exactly are you using dbmax for? I noticed that delay was on, no dither, aes connections are in use, and external digital input in use. Stay safe everyone.
The dbmax plays no role in the signal path. It is simply hooked to one of the AES ports and is receiving the signal.
@@RMEAudio Wow. Thanks for response. For what purpose is it hooked to one of the AES ports and receiving the signal. I understand its not in path. Are you willing to test dbmax DA and AD conversion? You
Um, is this just the roundtrip (DA/AD) or was some "mastering" involved too?
round trip
I have the early non fs version of the ADI-2 pro. Should I upgrade to an FS version?
The FS version of the ADI-2 pro has slightly better measured values. If one can hear a difference is a subjective matter.
Can we Use pro fs as a interface like can i use the inputs to record and the outs for monitor and headphones?
Yeah, look the usb mode in the manual
I love the song I want to hear the rest! And more!
So I heard 3 very different kicks, which means they all had a little something different going on very interesting. I'm pretty excited because I'll be getting a Babyface Pro FS in a couple of weeks and I am so looking forward to finally owning an RME product.
You won't be disappointed :-)
aggregat.bandcamp.com/album/ep-asteroids
@@RMEAudio OMG thank you I'm listening to it now - sounds just brilliant especially when the bass synth comes in - you really feel it.
Especially with the AD121 it sounds pure 80s gold
AD122 contain more space details sounds like 3D, ADI-2 like a 2D sound(listen to the hi-hat)
What brand is ADI22?
that's what I have heard, the hi hat sounds with more space with AD122 and also with the HEDD
AD122 sounds a little thin. RME thicker but may be a touch coloured in the low end. Hedd is more balanced but not perfect. Is the Hedd original spec or have you upgraded it to the quantum dac?
DBMAX requires it's own AD/DA... Isn't the signal path being polluted having this device in the output chain if we're comparing the ADCs of the comparison devices?
No, the DBMAX gets its own signal and is not in the actual signal path.
Awesome setup. I would love to hear how the dbmax would handle that conversion. I thought you were going to use dbmax for D comparison. Perhaps a video at a later time or send my files directly please. Lastly, what are you using the dbmax for exactly?
Can a turntable be connected to the adi-2 pro fs via pre, released via the EQ and enough for the analog output?
No. Use a dedicated phono preamp instead :-)
7:05 vs 8:05 (ADI 2 PRO FS vs HEDD)
Well, the Original has the most Dynamic. The ADI-2 stealed a lot. The AD 122 is very colored and sounds analog. Also it has Punch. The HEDD sounded best in the lows and lower Mids maybe colored the most. If had to choose one: AD 122.
Nice, would be great to se a shootout between a laptop/cellphone converter vs a hi end mastering converter becouse I find this differences are very subtle!
Just out of curiosity, what processing is being applied while in the analog realm? Captures are bottom heavy when compared to the original mix...just wondering if this is intentional or if perhaps it is just the sound of your transfer console?
None. As mentioned in the video, the HEDD is doing the DA conversion for all three examples.
It would’ve been interesting to throw in an Antelope converter and a Lynx Hilo
not a big difference to be obsessed over, felt the larvy oomph a bit more.
First, I'm a big RME fan and use their soundcards for over 15 years now, but I do have some questions with these kind of video's (not specificaly about RME).
1. youtube quality isn't suitable for listening to any serieus audio test on mastering engineering level of experience/quality.
2. I think a lot of responses here therefore are confirmation biased.
3. The music used in this example is far from "steady", being an organic acoustic recording. Something more electronic with equal frequency response per drumhit would be more suitable when comparing A/B. If you do want to use an acoustic recording A/B'ing would only really work when looping a single or double drumhit or 4/16th or 8/16th section.
Null testing the different audio examples straight form this video would be a good scientific aproach to test the first 2 points.
Sae 2022 New York, i listen to this at Audeze Booth. Man I was disappointed again from RME. It sounded good but not $1200 great! I love rme the company but this product compare against chord and others don’t stack up. I also got a link from zzounds to a demo being done with mastering and comparing it against 2 other interfaces. Man I was not impressed it falls short of RME standard. It ranks in the $600 range. Its good but not impressive. I see RME brought a forth generation out. At a whopping 2500 Just wouldn’t spend that kind of money on this particular series. Better off invested in chord. I listen to them at the same audeze booth but wow $3400 for the unit it was very impressive!!!!!
Lavry all the way for me
Wow! To be honest I am a bit shocked. I considered buying the ADI-2 Pro FS, but that is off the table. The mix becomes extremely unsteady, almost falls apart completely. It is completely out of balance. When you know that the low end is this much enforced, maybe you can counteract in the mixing process, but in this example the ADI-2 Pro FS is far far far behind the other two competitors. Best is the original track, followed by the ADI122, then follows the HEDD and with a lot of distance the RME.
wow, good ears :) It's the same as I hear it. The Larry Gold ist the clear winner.
WoW
;-)
Orchestral (real orchestra) example with occasional casa and pauken would be much helpful instead of such recording IMO. Machine gun kicks...
Song name please!
It's unreleased, but we'll come back to you asap!
@@RMEAudio Aww, it's so fresh and tasty, please do, i need it! Haha, cheers
Any news on the song name or at least the artist name? :P
@@JohnMorProds aggregat.bandcamp.com/album/ep-asteroids
I think
ADI2pro-Fs Low-end is good, but I think it's too soft (attack?) for POP music
Lavry(DBtechnology) Narrow Low end, but Punchy big mid
HEDD Smart,Clear,Useful sound
RME is good maker.I think if Rme make good power supply(for example, clear and powerful Linear power supply.Heavy weight OK), RME's sound will be more great.
@KABAO I absolutely agree, I hope it will improve with the M2Tech Van Der Graaf / and or S-Booster external power supply... Fidelity audio one should be also perhaps even better... but pricier
Larvy gold is the God of ad da converters follows.by the old grandma midiman flying cow with its unique delta sigma converter
The Lavry won, more detailed, dynamic, and holographic
thanks, definitely not buying neither the Lavry nor RME
What is the purpose of this kind of comparison? If one is listening on own equipment, the experience is limited by this equipment only. Isn't it? The real deal happens only in the room with the real equipment, to compare and make an idea. Don't you think? If someone is listening on a budget interface with a budget monitors, how one can tell a difference? It's like trying to imagine how it is to drive a Ferrari while driving a Fiat 500. You can imagine a difference maybe, but you don't get the real experience.
I'm surprised there's a difference, tbh.
There are some differences in technical components :-)
@@RMEAudio No doubt. Cheers, RME. Congrats on your new Babyface Pro FS - I'll be a customer soon.
I don't know if rme thought that their product would beat the rest. probably they wanted to show that their quality is very close to the most expensive converters. Sorry Rme. It doesn't sound close (former adi-2 customer here)
As mentioned in the video, it is not about better or worse. It is about the right converter for the job. Hence, many mastering engineers have a set of converters at their disposal.
@@RMEAudio I hear you and i even can accept "genre oriented" arsenal of converters that a mastering engineer can have. Besides that, the video is a "shootout" which inevitably brings a matter of better, worse and/or a winner. That's what i expressed. But i should add that RME is a respected audio company and i don't want to imply that the adi-2 is a "consumer" level product.
OMG Hedd sounds so cheap and old, no depth across the whole freq. range. RME sounds flat and hard, no depth, not pleasant to listen to for longer period, it does something unpleasant to upper harmonics. Lavry sounds expensive, rich, analog, better than the original, but also not perfect, especially in the lowend and lower mids. Anyway, overall i prefer the Lavry. Lavry has such a natural, analog sound in the mids, upper midrange, and highs. Never heard this in any other converter before. The transient response, and percieved clarity and "moderness" is in some other converter better like for example Steinberg AX4R. But for me Lavry sounds more natural and analog. In the end for me it matters to which converter i like to listen longer, and this is definetevly Lavry.
I agree, the 11k piece of gear sounds better overall, but the RME shits on the Hedd and is close enough for me (budget-wise) to the Lavry.
Yeah I don't understand how the HEDD has such a great rep given how it sounds. Unless they did something purposefully to make it sound worse, because it's so very clearly the worst sounding and yet if you were to ask studio pros, I'd guarantee the majority would tell you to expect the HEDD to sound better than the RME and to even compete with the Lavry (which it in no way does).
Maybe the fact the HEDD rep was established before a lot of people had so much access to converter files for testing and good A/B plugins...shrug.
RME adi-2 very cool - super wide sound but far from the original and some phase problem in low and, Lavry & Hedd close to the original and better for me...
Can’t hear a bit of difference 👂
see an ear dr lol
This is just stupid, specially when you change "converter" when dynamic of music change so much
Thats what the comparison is all about: comparing different dynamics and how the converter reacts. Download the files and compare them yourself.