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User’s Guide ADI-2/4 Pro SE – v 1.0 

89 

 

Brickwall 

All the above filters intentionally violate a rule 
of digital technology  - at half the sample rate 
the filter should already have maximum 

stop-

band attenuation

, i.e. at 44.1 kHz sample rate 

at  an  audio  frequency  of  22.05  kHz.  But  in 
practice  there  are  no  disadvantages  with  a 
slightly higher filter (24 kHz). However, the fil-
ter is further out of the audible range (good for 
the ears), and easier to implement in hardware 
(good for the chip manufacturers) - that's why 
most  filters  are  implemented  this  way.  As  an 
alternative,  the  Sharp  filter  can  also  be  se-
lected with a matching stopband attenuation - 
under the name 

Brickwall

. The measurements 

show that the filter is absolutely the same, but 
starts a bit earlier, because the peak is slightly reduced 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  filter  called 

Super  Slow

,  whose  impulse  re-

sponse looks perfect. But checking the output signal with an Oscilloscope reveals steps that are 
more typical for so called Non-OverSampling (NOS) devices

. That’s why this filter is called 

NOS

 

within the DAC filter menu. 
 
Note that there is no audible distortion, the steps equal high frequency harmonics that are mostly 
higher  than  20  kHz.  Please  also  note  that  Slow  and  especially  NOS  filters  cause  much  more 
aliasing into the audio band and out-of-band noise than Sharp filters. 

 
Since the NOS filter is very popular in Hi-Fi and audiophile circles, but generally missing in ESS 
DACs, RME has emulated the filter of the AKM DAC, and loads the appropriate filter coefficients 
into the ESS chip in real time when NOS is selected. Miracle of technology... 

 
 
 

 

Содержание ADI-2 Pro

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

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

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

Страница 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...

Страница 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...

Страница 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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