Recording - March 2021 - 40

REVIEW

RME ADI-2 DAC FS

Ultra-Fidelity PCM/DSD 768 kHz DA Converter
An excellent hi-fi audio companion
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.

I

n the November 2020 issue of RECORDING, Justin Perkins reviewed
the ADI-2 Pro FSR AD/DA converter from RME. He found it to be a
great-sounding and flexible tool, especially for the mastering studio.
This month, we look at a second model in the ADI-2 series, the ADI-2
DAC FS, a two-channel digital-to-analog converter.

All in the name

The RME ADI (Analog Digital Interface) line is this German company's
popular and long-standing series of
digital converters. The ADI-2 models are
the two-channel family members. There's
the original silver-face ADI-2 FS, the updated ADI-2 Pro FS mentioned above
(which sports a new sleek black look
and adds a high resolution, full-color
display), and the ADI-2 DAC FS.
The ADI-2 DAC FS is a two-channel
D/A converter and class-compliant USB
2.0 interface. The FS designation denotes
the use of improved RME SteadyClock
technology with internally supported
sample rates from 44.1 kHz up to 768
kHz, with a highly efficient jitter suppression of >50dB (2.4 kHz); full DSD (Direct
Stream Digital) playback is supported.
40 RECORDING March 2021

All in the family

Visually, the ADI-2 Pro FS and the ADI2 DAC FS are nearly identical, sharing
the same 8.5 " x 2.05 " x 5.9 " matte
black enclosure, hi-res display, stepped
multi-function encoders, and function buttons. The only difference is that one of
the two balanced 1/4 " headphone outs
on the front of the unit has been replaced
by a dedicated 1/8 " IEM (In-Ear Monitor)
output, which we will look at below.

The ins and outs

On the rear of the unit is a choice of
coaxial or optical stereo S/PDIF digital
inputs, along with balanced XLR and
unbalanced phono (stereo cinch) outputs. You will also find a USB 2.0 socket
and a 9-15v DV input for the external
power supply.

You can feed the converter directly from
your favorite digital device (CD player,
DAT, media player), or you can use it via
USB with your Mac, PC or iOS device.
Despite its DAC status, the unit is also an
audio interface and can record incoming
signals from the S/PDIF digital inputs.

Features and functions

This little half-rack box is one of the
most full-featured DACs I have ever
used. Its display includes stereo metering, an onboard spectral analyzer, and
a 30-band bi-quad filtered analysis tool.
It has a five-band parametric EQ as well
as a simple bass/treble EQ. There's a
loudness filter, M/S processing, de-emphasis (handy if you have any early
1980s CDs in your collection), D/A filters (SD Sharp, SD Slow, Sharp, Slow,
NOS and SD LD), and adjustable or
automatic I/O reference levels. You can
also adjust stereo width, sum to mono,
reverse the polarity, adjust balance, and
more. Each of these adjustments can be
set individually for the line, headphone
and IEM outputs, and you can also store
user presets.
Recording - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2021
