RME Audio ADI-2 Pro User Manual Download

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User’s Guide

ADI-2/4 Pro SE

Conversion done right - again

2 Channels Analog / Digital Converter
4 Channels Digital / Analog Converter

AES / ADAT / SPDIF Interface

32 Bit / 768 kHz Digital Audio

USB 2.0 Class Compliant

2 Extreme Power Headphone Outputs

Digital Signal Processing

Advanced Feature Set

Extended Remote Control

32 Bit / 768 kHz

Hi-Res Audio

SteadyClock

SyncCheck

Summary of Contents for ADI-2 Pro

Page 1: ...Converter 4 Channels Digital Analog Converter AES ADAT SPDIF Interface 32 Bit 768 kHz Digital Audio USB 2 0 Class Compliant 2 Extreme Power Headphone Outputs Digital Signal Processing Advanced Feature...

Page 2: ...le Rate Conversion 15 8 7 Crossfeed 15 8 8 RIAA Mode 16 8 9 DSP Limitations 17 Basic and Stand Alone Operation Details 9 RME Multi Remote Control MRC 9 1 Keys and Functions 20 9 2 Other Remote Control...

Page 3: ...neral 52 21 2 Line Out TRS 1 2 53 21 3 Line Out XLR 1 2 53 21 4 PH Out 1 2 53 21 5 PH Out 3 4 54 22 Digital Connections 22 1 AES 54 22 2 SPDIF 55 22 3 ADAT 56 Installation and Operation Windows 23 Dri...

Page 4: ...S 83 34 9 ADI 2 4 Pro SE as Measurement Frontend 84 34 10 Noise Level in Hi Speed Modes 86 34 11 AD Impulse Responses 87 34 12 DA Impulse Responses 88 34 13 Frequency Response Preamp Mode AD DA 90 34...

Page 5: ...ures the ADI 2 4 Pro Special Edition was created which in many details is even more flexible and powerful than the Pro due to significantly increased hardware effort But is still an ADI 2 Pro a multit...

Page 6: ...channel Multi channel mode turns the ADI 2 4 Pro SE into a 6 channel Analog 1 2 AES SPDIF record and 8 channel Analog 1 2 3 4 AES SPDIF playback audio interface that even works as iPad front end up a...

Page 7: ...s pin 3 of the XLR jack should be con nected to ground Otherwise noise may occur caused by the unconnected negative input of the balanced input The analog inputs 1 2 include 6 dB digital gain control...

Page 8: ...able any possible source can be monitored independently from outputs 1 2 The unit remembers all settings and loads these automatically when it is switched on again To switch off press the Standby butt...

Page 9: ...e between them by pushing encoder 1 or 2 whenever any of them is dis played To quickly call them up simply press any of the 4 buttons several times In all these screens turning encoder 1 and 2 brings...

Page 10: ...is easy to do The combo XLR TRS sockets are designed for line and phono Moving Magnet MM signals Sources that require higher input impedances like guitars need an additional impedance buffer in front...

Page 11: ...erminals 6 3 mm should be available from various sources Special power banks in the range of 10 000 mAh and up can be found equipped with a 12 V output These offer a perfect solution for mobility as w...

Page 12: ...ransparent and crystal clear sound at any volume setting for any personal taste in any application And there is more The headphone sockets of the ADI 2 4 Pro SE have sensor contacts The unit always kn...

Page 13: ...ot only two but two independent phones outputs is that it offers a much better way to compare headphones But there is more to it see next chapter 8 3 5 band Parametric EQ PEQ 7 band with Bass Treble C...

Page 14: ...ong making the cones fall out while another one makes you think that really happened Producers and mastering engineers not only have their own taste they also sometimes fail in providing a mix that is...

Page 15: ...mbination of differ ent clock sources For example having the ADI 2 4 Pro SE synchronized to an AES signal a CD player connected to SPDIF input can only be used when the SRC is set to SPDIF It then dec...

Page 16: ...ry preamplification This can be activated in the menu I O Analog Input Settings RIAA Mode and you can choose between different gains The horizontal level meters in the analyzer show if the selected ga...

Page 17: ...at 768 kHz you need a DSP with 4 times the power of the better one Therefore there is no way around disabling some functions at higher sample rates Fortunately those limitations have only small impact...

Page 18: ...18 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0...

Page 19: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 19 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Basic and Stand Alone Operation Details...

Page 20: ...near EQ PEQ active or off linear LD Loudness active or off B Increase or decrease Bass same as encoder 1 VOL Increase or decrease volume VOL Corresponds to pressing the VOLUME button on the unit Short...

Page 21: ...to check the state of digital input signals as well as the current settings with USB It also displays several warning messages which might explain why currently no sound is audible See chapter 15 3 f...

Page 22: ...er 1 B mutes the current output The text in the blue field shows Line Out 1 2 muted A second push exits the mute state The status bar at the bottom of the display shows the current dB value of both vo...

Page 23: ...se Invert Available settings are Off Both Left and Right Inverts the phase 180 on the corresponding channel M S Proc Activates M S processing Monaural content is sent to the left stereo to the right c...

Page 24: ...Hz bands 4 5 to 20 0 kHz in steps between 1 Hz and 100 Hz Band 1 5 Q Quality factor is adjustable from 0 5 to 9 9 in bands 1 to 3 and 0 5 to 5 0 in bands 4 and 5 in steps of 0 1 dB This equals a bandw...

Page 25: ...have a higher latency NOS is the filter with the smallest steep ness and therefore affecting treble more than the others but offers the best impulse response See the Technical Reference section for g...

Page 26: ...quality factor of the filter is adjustable from 0 5 to 1 5 Default 0 9 Treble Gain Current Treble amplification for the current channels as set by encoder 2 T Adjustable between 12 dB and 12 dB in ste...

Page 27: ...ll param eters of all bands quickly without the danger of changing any of them Push encoder 2 to move the cursor to the parameter line with all values shown in white color It is now possible to ad jus...

Page 28: ...and loaded comfortably Use encoder 1 to change between the subpages Analog Input Line Out 1 2 and Phones Out 3 4 These subpages have the following entries EQ Enable Default OFF Options are ON OFF L R...

Page 29: ...nd Turning the encoder further clockwise will change the line and function to Swap with push 1s Swap with push 1s Turn encoder 2 to select the preset that is exchanged with the preset formerly selecte...

Page 30: ...he device and via the remote control see chapter 34 26 The original function of the key entering the menu is still available by pushing the key for half a second Diagnostic Data Test Results Please ig...

Page 31: ...ection Default ON Option to deactivate the automatic DSD detection on SPDIF AES and USB 14 1 4 Clock Clock Source Choices are Auto INT Internal Master AES SPDIF Sample Rate Choices are 44 1 48 88 2 96...

Page 32: ...and black numbers text to black background and light grey numbers text Meter Color Green Cyan Amber Monochrome Orange Red Default Cyan Color of the level meters for PCM and DSD mode Hor Meter The hor...

Page 33: ...be changed Name Allows to edit the name of the Setup during the store process To edit an existing name load the respective Setup and store it on the same memory slot with edited name See EQ Name for...

Page 34: ...ters of the EQ and Analyzer the current peak hold value is displayed numerically on the right Levels below 119 dB appear as UFL Underflow 15 2 Analyzer The Analyzer is based on RME s famous Spectral A...

Page 35: ...e status bar always shows the current volume setting of outputs 1 2 and 3 4 the currently selected output for the Volume knob by a marker around the outputs the current clock source and the current sa...

Page 36: ...ructure For example the SRC might be active but SPDIF signal is dead audio wise A quick glance at the State Overview will reveal that the SRC was set to work on the wrong input AES 15 4 Dark Volume Th...

Page 37: ...and balanced phones operation Therefore plugging in phones into output PH 1 2 brings up a warning that this output is coupled to the rear out puts and should only be used if required PH 1 2 stays dea...

Page 38: ...this test fails USB will be deactivated with record and playback no longer functional In such a case please contact your local RME distributor The ADI 2 4 Pro SE also shows certain Info Messages durin...

Page 39: ...ll adapt to the detected source Auto USB or interface mode or USB DAC If USB is detected all inputs are routed to USB all outputs are fed from USB USB has priority over the converter mode In Setup the...

Page 40: ...ble and the new value will be remembered The below diagram shows that the analog input is sent to all digital outputs simultaneously Any DSP setting EQ phase etc of the analog input will affect all ou...

Page 41: ...tive by default assigned to SPDIF but switched off automat ically if a DoP signal DSD is detected Clock mode is slave to AES in but will adapt to the detected source Auto Note To simplify the diagram...

Page 42: ...256 are only available in 2 channel mode which is why this mode has been chosen as default 17 4 1 Class Compliant Stereo mode In 2 channel Stereo mode only the analog inputs are sent as USB record sig...

Page 43: ...rovides USB playback of channels 1 2 when its Source is set to Auto default The option Digital Out Source Line Out SETUP Options Device Mode DSD sends the processed signal Line Out 1 2 to the digital...

Page 44: ...ack 1 2 the analog input is no longer available for recording A message in both the Analyser screen of the Analog Input and in the Status Overview screen reminds the user why no record signal is recei...

Page 45: ...mply patched from input to output but completely rebuilt It gets totally refreshed by SteadyClock FS and even clock decoupled or up down sampled with the SRC turned on Without SRC the included 24 bit...

Page 46: ...nversion always uses the last set sample rate of USB Phones Out 3 4 always monitor the same source signal as Line Out 1 2 but still have fully independent settings Vol EQ etc Class Compliant Stereo mo...

Page 47: ...mode requires headphones with separate cabling for left and right channel 2 wires each 4 wires in total Output PH 3 4 becomes the left channel out put with former left channel as L and former right ch...

Page 48: ...erefore is compatible to many programs like HQPlayer and JRiver but also to DSD recording software like Merging s Pyramix Sound It and VinylStudio 19 2 DSD Playback During a DSD playback all DSP funct...

Page 49: ...d monitored via DA Even a playback of DSD via channels 1 2 and simultaneous monitoring of AES or Analog In via output 3 4 is possible no matter whether the sources are PCM or DSD Limitations exist but...

Page 50: ...wers to a lot of questions Is there really a sonic difference between different DA filters with different im pulse response properties Just try it Does an AD DA converter chain sound different with di...

Page 51: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 51 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Inputs and Outputs...

Page 52: ...he basic signal to noise ratio of the ADI 2 4 Pro SE by the amount of the gain In real world applications this will hardly be any problem as the worst case SNR of 112 dBu 6 dB Gain 1 dBu is very diffi...

Page 53: ...maximizes the signal to noise ratio when using the Volume knob It changes to the next higher and lower reference level setting when the gain chosen via the Volume knob would suggest to set a better f...

Page 54: ...ack and as Penta conn see below In any mode 3 4 can be set to any input no matter which input is currently used by outputs 1 2 Using the SRC on 3 4 s input it can even run clock independent from outpu...

Page 55: ...mode the AES output becomes playback channels 5 6 see chapter 17 4 The output signal coding of the ADI 2 4 Pro SE has been implemented according to AES3 1992 Amendment 4 32 44 1 48 kHz 88 2 96 kHz 17...

Page 56: ...itors having digital inputs Pinout of the digital breakout cable see chapter 33 7 22 3 ADAT The optical SPDIF input is fully compatible with all ADAT optical outputs The internal receiver detects the...

Page 57: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 57 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Installation and Operation Windows...

Page 58: ...ver Simply install the new driver over the existing one Possible reasons why an ADI 2 4 Pro SE is not found automatically The ADI 2 4 Pro SE is not switched on The USB port is not active in the system...

Page 59: ...r the number shown will no longer be 0 An audio reset is performed automatically The counter is reset on start of playback record Sample Rate Sets the currently used sample rate Of fers a central and...

Page 60: ...pter 8 6 for details Under WDM the ADI 2 4 Pro SE will has to set the sample rate Therefore the error shown to the right can occur An AES SPDIF or ADAT signal with a sample rate of 48 kHz is used as s...

Page 61: ...annel modes If one of these is selected the software sends the decoded analog multi channel data to the ADI 2 4 Pro SE On some soft ware it is not necessary to select the Loudspeaker in the Sound pane...

Page 62: ...cation examples Peak level measurement RMS level measurement over detection phase correlation measurement dy namic range and signal to noise ratios RMS to peak difference loudness long term peak measu...

Page 63: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 63 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Installation and Operation Mac OS X...

Page 64: ...ation of the ADI 2 4 Pro SE is mostly done directly at the unit When set to Clock Source Internal Mac OS X will set the current sample rate Via Launchpad Other Au dio MIDI Setup the ADI 2 4 Pro SE can...

Page 65: ...ttings dialog 28 DIGICheck DigiCheck NG Mac The DIGICheck software is a unique utility developed for testing measuring and analysing digital audio streams Although this software is fairly self explana...

Page 66: ...66 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0...

Page 67: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 67 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Installation and Operation iOS...

Page 68: ...e to the Camera Connection Kit Lightning adapter iPad Pro Start the i device and plug the Kit adapter into the i device s socket If everything works as expected the unit will be used for all audio I O...

Page 69: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 69 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Technical Reference...

Page 70: ...mV Additional 0 to 6 dB Gain in steps of 0 5 dB via Trim Gain Maximum input level 14 dB 11 1 mV 13 dBu Maximum input level 20 dB 22 3 mV 19 dBu Maximum input level 26 dB 44 5 mV 25 dBu Maximum input l...

Page 71: ...00 Ohm or up 21 5 dBu 9 2 V Minimum load impedance IEM 1 dBu 4 Ohm Minimum load impedance Lo Power 7 dBu 8 Ohm Minimum load impedance Hi Power 19 dBu 24 Ohm THD 20 dBu 32 Ohm load 1 9 Watts 124 dB 0 0...

Page 72: ...ptical according to IEC 60958 Format Consumer SPDIF according to IEC 60958 Sample rate 44 kHz up to 200 kHz 33 5 Digital Clocks Internal AES In SPDIF In ADAT In Jitter suppression of external clocks 5...

Page 73: ...vel This is the same as when using a TRS jack with ring connected to ground The XLR outputs do not operate servo balanced When connecting unbalanced equipment make sure pin 3 of the XLR output is not...

Page 74: ...lation This state is called Sync and also shown in the State Overview screen if present Example The ADI 2 4 Pro SE is set to 44 1 kHz internal clock and a CD player is connected to its input The State...

Page 75: ...01 0 005 These values represent an important step in further reducing the latency in the computer based recording studio The added latency at least from AD and DA conversion can simply be ig nored US...

Page 76: ...r A USB Root Hub can be seen which then connects all USB devices including the ADI 2 4 Pro SE By reconnecting to a different port this view immediately shows at which of the two controllers the ADI 2...

Page 77: ...nventional stereo Therefore the ADI 2 4 Pro SE also offers the functionality of a M S decoder Activation is done in the Settings panel of the Hardware I Os via the option M S Proc The M S Processing a...

Page 78: ...SPDIF and the Emphasis bit is set in the incoming Channel Status The State Overview screen can be used to track this state a WARNING SPDIF EMPHASIS message will be shown Why warning Because when using...

Page 79: ...dBu would rise to 25 dBu a gain of 6 dB Now only few might have a headphone that requires that level 13 8 Volts in output volt age But when the phone is driven at the same volume and effective level...

Page 80: ...4 the rear outputs can still output an independent signal via DAC 1 2 The True Balanced mode takes advantage of an important feature of the ADI 2 Pro as well as DAC the symmetrical balanced circuit de...

Page 81: ...press com tutorials power impedance etc Starting on page 11 Solderdude describes and calculates crosstalk as a problem of the common ground line in headphones What is missing is the contact resistance...

Page 82: ...idth R dB L dB X dB 1 00 114 8 0 114 8 0 99 46 0 1 45 9 0 98 40 0 14 39 9 0 97 36 5 0 2 36 3 0 96 34 0 2 33 8 0 95 32 0 3 31 7 0 9 26 0 4 25 6 0 8 20 0 9 19 1 0 7 16 5 1 4 15 1 0 6 14 1 9 12 1 0 5 12...

Page 83: ...th less than 2 ns jitter lower graph blue The signal processed by SteadyClock is not only used internally but also used to clock the digital outputs Therefore the refreshed and jitter cleaned signal c...

Page 84: ...n through battery power very small level tolerances versa tile handling and configuration the ADI shines on both desk as well as in the measurement lab Tips for optimal measurement results Improve the...

Page 85: ...ection has a low DC offset which is detected by the ADC and shows up in the recorded audio signal as a fixed DC component If this offset is too high click noises occur at the beginning at the end duri...

Page 86: ...m 20 Hz to 20 kHz so called audio bandpass the value would be 121 dB again This can be verified with RME s DIGICheck The function Bit Statistic Noise measures the noise floor as Limited Bandwidth igno...

Page 87: ...ate that must be removed from the aliasing filter of the ADC Therefore it is not possible to digitize such a signal at 44 1 kHz sample rate without added rounding or pre post ringing SD Sharp and SD S...

Page 88: ...ulse Responses The screenshots show the analog output signal of the oversampling DAC filters stimulated by a digital single sample impulse at 44 1 kHz sample rate While Slow has the most perfect respo...

Page 89: ...ed in level So the filter is not as Brickwall suggests steeper but simply shifted a bit downwards See also chapter 34 15 NOS Non Oversampling SuperSlow The AKM DAC of the ADI 2 Pro includes another fi...

Page 90: ...90 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 34 13 Frequency Response Preamp Mode AD DA Note 44 1 kHz to 192 kHz measured with filter Sharp on AD and DA 34 14 AD Frequency Response and Filter Curves...

Page 91: ...Filter Curves 44 1 kHz Note Sharp SD Sharp and Slow SD Slow are very similar but not fully identical NOS shows a very early drop SD Low Dispersion shows a somewhat early treble drop but also a very g...

Page 92: ...92 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 34 16 Loudness 34 17 Bass Treble...

Page 93: ...ADI 2 4 Pro SE which includes the analog input and output stages While the noise and modulation be havior is identical for all devices the AD and DA chips used have tolerances in the height and distri...

Page 94: ...20 dBu output level 32 Ohm equal 1 9 W per channel Crosstalk Phones Balanced Unbalanced From top to bottom all 32 Ohm load TRS extension cord 3 meter 9 8 ft TRS Phones Out 1 2 and 3 4 Phones Balanced...

Page 95: ...0 95 34 19 Extreme Power Charts Note Since the maximum undistorted output level is reached at VOLUME 2 5 dB the Hi Power measurements unbalanced and balanced were taken at this setting Low Power and I...

Page 96: ...he level increases This is not the case with many other headphone amplifiers So much for our marketing department In the following chapter we will show how that looks like in reality precisely measure...

Page 97: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 97...

Page 98: ...l can be issued by the device undistorted The reaction of the current limiter in the Extreme Power out put stages can be used to realize a simplified impedance de tection Which can then be used to re...

Page 99: ...ct an analog volume control has a theoretical advantage in only one point namely the max imum signal to noise ratio at a higher level reduction In reality current circuitry overturns the theory and th...

Page 100: ...d at a volume setting of 93 8 dB there are still 93 dB THD measurable These results clearly show that distortion products of the digital volume control are not drowned by the DAC s noise but are not g...

Page 101: ...Bit Test 16 bits 24 bits or 32 bits passed depending on the detected signal If the transmission path is not bit transparent or bit accurate the signal only min imally changed the message is not shown...

Page 102: ...s in a safe way Filter adds a special smooth 1st order high pass to the signal path which shows zero delay la tency very low distortion and lower phase deviation as standard digital filters This filte...

Page 103: ...lyzer starting at 0 05 unfortunately is not an ingenious low sub bass but actually DC between 20 dBFS and 14 dBFS This was probably overlooked during the otherwise very nice produc tion The effect of...

Page 104: ...for Line and Phones Here the currently used clock source is the one of the selected input In Basic Mode DAC I O Settings Line Output 1 2 AD DA Source determines the source of the monitored signal als...

Page 105: ...ernally converted to balanced directly after the first input stage On the output side RME uses a specially developed servo balanced DAC filter which provides both paths of the balanced design to have...

Page 106: ...4 5 dB More examples Volt dBu dBV Ref Volume 4 V 14 2 12 19 dBu 4 5 dB 2 V 8 2 6 13 dBu 4 5 dB 1 V 2 2 0 1 dBu 0 5 dB 0 775 V 0 2 2 1 dBu 1 dB 0 5 V 3 8 6 1 dBu 6 dB 0 315 V 7 8 10 1 dBu 9 dB Note th...

Page 107: ...key entering the menu is still possible by pressing and holding the button for a brief moment 0 5 s The Basic Mode DAC offers an alternative see first question My player does not switch the sample ra...

Page 108: ...supported Level Gain and Headroom To be compatible to the varying output voltages of different MM cartridges the ADI 2 4 Pro SE has several selectable gain levels in RIAA mode 14 dB 20 dB 26 dB 32 dB...

Page 109: ...of the bass section only RIAA Mono Bass found in the Analog Input menu causes almost no change to the sound but a significant reduction of background noise In the Analyzer the improvement can also be...

Page 110: ...110 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 34 28 Block Diagram...

Page 111: ...User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE v 1 0 111 User s Guide ADI 2 4 Pro SE Miscellaneous...

Page 112: ...spect that your product is faulty please contact your local retailer Do not open the device by yourself as it may get damaged It has been sealed with tamper evident material and your warranty is void...

Page 113: ...hone and Mac OS are registered trademarks of Apple Inc ASIO is a registered trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH Copyright Matthias Carstens 10 2022 Version 1 0 Current driver version Window...

Page 114: ...ference in a residential in stallation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in ac cordance with the instructions may cause harmful interfe...

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