Topic: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

Did you think I could this model (RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter) as an audio interface?

2 (edited by ramses 2019-07-25 05:34:01)

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

Yes. But you should perhaps add more details about your setup and intended use cases.

Did you read already the product page and the manual of this device ?

In the manual typical use cases are explained in chapter: 1, 4, 5.5., 6. Features see chapter 8:
https://archiv.rme-audio.de/download/adi2dac_e.pdf

My use cases you can see here in this blog: https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … her-EN-DE/

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

ramses wrote:

Yes. But you should perhaps add more details about your setup and intended use cases.

Thank you Ramses. After many years of studying at the conservatory of music, now I am planning to compose an album for sale. I want to create the album independently from scratch. My style is a fusion of electronic music and classical instruments. It is all created by the computer, except for (probably) saxophone and vocal, which will be recorded live. All tracks will have vocals though. What would be the best audio interface for my needs that enables me to do all I want from the beginning to the end? Best.

4 (edited by ramses 2019-07-25 19:58:24)

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

You should find out 1st what type of ports and how many inputs and outputs you need.

I think we can forget about the ADi-2 DAC, it's not a recording interface, has no mic inputs, has no routing software, etc.

What is your budget BTW and what is your opinion, which amount / type of ports you require ?

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

SeaOtter:
May be it would be worth to dedicate hour or two of your time to check what a basic digital recording "studio" consists of. Than it will be more clear to you what types of products you need and choose from them according to your requirements and budget. ADI-2 DAC is not for your intention. It has no digital inputs.

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

Now that these guys have provided you with homework, how about a recommendation?

Seems like the Babyface Pro will perfectly meet your needs. Take a look here:
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/babyface_pro.php

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

7 (edited by ramses 2019-07-26 08:33:24)

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

Many thanks Jeff for jumping in here.

At the moment I am personally not sure whether a recording interface with only two mic preamps will be sufficient for his current and future demands. Maybe he also needs more analog ports, too. Many things unknown at the moment, whether he needs i.e.:

  • to record vocals and sax as mono tracks only ?

  • 2 additional mics to record also in stereo to have later the freedom to decide how to arrange the song,  based on mono tracks or whether he wants to use electronic devices to be added to the stereo recording, etc

  • additional analog ports to connect maybe hardware synths/keyboards

  • even to connect outboard equipment or a second pair of monitors

  • 1 or 2 phones outputs

At the moment too much is unclear to make a good recommendation.

I also was shortly before recommending an UFX II, so that he doesn't buy too small and has options.

By this he would have all the nice things that the UFX II offers like

  • DURec to have a backup recording esp for live performances

  • autoset if he wants to use it during a recording

  • the possibility to use the UFX II standalone or maybe standalone in combination with TotalMix FX for an iPAD

  • and a lot of useful things to grow (more ports, features)

I think we need to know more about his current and maybe also potential future requirements and his budget situation.

To buy too small also makes no sense and the top of the line interfaces like i.e. UFX II have some really cool useful features and a little bit more quality on top.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

@SeaOtter I’m afraid I can’t help you with your question, but I am a big fan of music at the interface of electronic and classical and I look forward to your album.  Have you already put out singles or EPs I might be able to hear?

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

Jeff wrote:

Now that these guys have provided you with homework, how about a recommendation?

Seems like the Babyface Pro will perfectly meet your needs. Take a look here:
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/babyface_pro.php

Jeff, Thank you. I would buy this if it had Thunderbolt 3.

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

ramses wrote:

Many thanks Jeff for jumping in here.

At the moment I am personally not sure whether a recording interface with only two mic preamps will be sufficient for his current and future demands. Maybe he also needs more analog ports, too. Many things unknown at the moment, whether he needs i.e.:

  • to record vocals and sax as mono tracks only ?

  • 2 additional mics to record also in stereo to have later the freedom to decide how to arrange the song,  based on mono tracks or whether he wants to use electronic devices to be added to the stereo recording, etc

  • additional analog ports to connect maybe hardware synths/keyboards

  • even to connect outboard equipment or a second pair of monitors

  • 1 or 2 phones outputs

At the moment too much is unclear to make a good recommendation.

I also was shortly before recommending an UFX II, so that he doesn't buy too small and has options.

By this he would have all the nice things that the UFX II offers like

  • DURec to have a backup recording esp for live performances

  • autoset if he wants to use it during a recording

  • the possibility to use the UFX II standalone or maybe standalone in combination with TotalMix FX for an iPAD

  • and a lot of useful things to grow (more ports, features)

I think we need to know more about his current and maybe also potential future requirements and his budget situation.

To buy too small also makes no sense and the top of the line interfaces like i.e. UFX II have some really cool useful features and a little bit more quality on top.

Ramses, Thank you. I need one microphone, one headphone and speakers output with thunderbolt 3 approx $1000. what do you think about Synergy Core - Antelope?

11 (edited by ramses 2019-07-28 18:13:00)

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

SeaOtter wrote:
Jeff wrote:

Now that these guys have provided you with homework, how about a recommendation?

Seems like the Babyface Pro will perfectly meet your needs. Take a look here:
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/babyface_pro.php

Jeff, Thank you. I would buy this if it had Thunderbolt 3.

Thunderbolt is not really necessary, as RME USB drivers operate close to the performance of PCIe.
I ran two UFX+ via USB3 which is 2 x 188 channels.
RME supports up to 136 channels via USB2 (MADIface).

Rather than that I would also take a closer look how good the monitor software is.
RME optimized TotalMix FX since over 20 years and it has been designed to be highly efficient
and has extremely cool features.

The whole package is what makes RME superior: HW, driver, TotalMix FX, TotalMix FX Remote, Digicheck,
very good support and documentation. Very customer oriented company.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

12 (edited by ramses 2019-07-28 18:37:44)

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

SeaOtter wrote:
ramses wrote:

Many thanks Jeff for jumping in here.

At the moment I am personally not sure whether a recording interface with only two mic preamps will be sufficient for his current and future demands. Maybe he also needs more analog ports, too. Many things unknown at the moment, whether he needs i.e.:

  • to record vocals and sax as mono tracks only ?

  • 2 additional mics to record also in stereo to have later the freedom to decide how to arrange the song,  based on mono tracks or whether he wants to use electronic devices to be added to the stereo recording, etc

  • additional analog ports to connect maybe hardware synths/keyboards

  • even to connect outboard equipment or a second pair of monitors

  • 1 or 2 phones outputs

At the moment too much is unclear to make a good recommendation.

I also was shortly before recommending an UFX II, so that he doesn't buy too small and has options.

By this he would have all the nice things that the UFX II offers like

  • DURec to have a backup recording esp for live performances

  • autoset if he wants to use it during a recording

  • the possibility to use the UFX II standalone or maybe standalone in combination with TotalMix FX for an iPAD

  • and a lot of useful things to grow (more ports, features)

I think we need to know more about his current and maybe also potential future requirements and his budget situation.

To buy too small also makes no sense and the top of the line interfaces like i.e. UFX II have some really cool useful features and a little bit more quality on top.

Ramses, Thank you. I need one microphone, one headphone and speakers output with thunderbolt 3 approx $1000. what do you think about Synergy Core - Antelope?

I re-edited my text.

Well I do not have that much confidence with Antelope. In reviews I read about laggy mixer software, missing documentation for the mixer and even bad support. As nice as it looks on the 1st glimpse, I personally would stay with RME, because the whole package and quality is simply better.

RME makes many many things simply right. Look alone how open RME communicates technical data of their equipment, its all documented in detailed manuals. I didn't see anything comparable with Antelope.

At the end of the day you need to work every day with your software mixer so I prefer good functionality there.
I think its also a misconception to load plenty of Effects into a unit (I have nothing against basic EQ, Reverb, Delay, Compressor). This scales much better on your PC as CPUs are very powerful these days.

Support and driver support is excellent with RME. The newest TotalMix FX software with the new "TotalMix FX Remote" is now available for devices from 2001 and the ARC USB remore control can now even be used by recording devices which initially even didn't have any remote control.

TotalMix FX has been optimized since over 20y and has stunning features and high maturity.
RME did it very right to design it from ground up to deliver best performance and to work very efficient.

Other vendors did the "mistake" to develop mixer software for certain products, so these SW products do not have the the same quality maturity as a product, that has been designed for all recording interfaces and been optimized over 20y. Thats simply a different quality.

My advice, do a side by side comparison on your own and take what you like most. Some shops offer to you money back for 30d. This is a fair chance to learn the basics of the mixers and the features of the devices.

In regards to TotalMix FX I would suggest to make yourself familiar with the basic concepts (Submix Mode) so that the operation of the device will be smooth.

I can offer to you 3 sources of intormation to you, to make yourself familiar with TotalMix FX (and the product) upfront:

1- blog article about 1st steps and to setup TotalMix FX
    https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … rnal-equi/

2- RME tutorial videos which present the features in a very nice way to the point
    https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … al-Videos/

3- a collection of videos about the products
    https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/ind … Videos-EN/

Regarding to your Port list:
> I need one microphone, one headphone and speakers output

I am wondering that you think that you need only one mic.
You said you want to record vocals and sax.
So you need at least two mics if not four if you also want to make a stereo recording.

I am not sure whether you are familiar with audio production. If you want to make a mix of live instruments and electronic music, each of the tracks in the DAW should represent one instrument / voice. Otherwise its not possible to work on each "voice" individual.

Based on your requirements I think the following RME recording devices would be feasible for you:
Babyface Pro
UC
UCX
or if you want to have DURec, autoset, latest and greatest in terms of analog section, stand alone capabilities:
UFX II

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

ramses wrote:
SeaOtter wrote:
ramses wrote:

Many thanks Jeff for jumping in here.

At the moment I am personally not sure whether a recording interface with only two mic preamps will be sufficient for his current and future demands. Maybe he also needs more analog ports, too. Many things unknown at the moment, whether he needs i.e.:

  • to record vocals and sax as mono tracks only ?

  • 2 additional mics to record also in stereo to have later the freedom to decide how to arrange the song,  based on mono tracks or whether he wants to use electronic devices to be added to the stereo recording, etc

  • additional analog ports to connect maybe hardware synths/keyboards

  • even to connect outboard equipment or a second pair of monitors

  • 1 or 2 phones outputs

At the moment too much is unclear to make a good recommendation.

I also was shortly before recommending an UFX II, so that he doesn't buy too small and has options.

By this he would have all the nice things that the UFX II offers like

  • DURec to have a backup recording esp for live performances

  • autoset if he wants to use it during a recording

  • the possibility to use the UFX II standalone or maybe standalone in combination with TotalMix FX for an iPAD

  • and a lot of useful things to grow (more ports, features)

I think we need to know more about his current and maybe also potential future requirements and his budget situation.

To buy too small also makes no sense and the top of the line interfaces like i.e. UFX II have some really cool useful features and a little bit more quality on top.

Ramses, Thank you. I need one microphone, one headphone and speakers output with thunderbolt 3 approx $1000. what do you think about Synergy Core - Antelope?

I re-edited my text.

Well I do not have that much confidence with Antelope. In reviews I read about laggy mixer software, missing documentation for the mixer and even bad support. As nice as it looks on the 1st glimpse, I personally would stay with RME, because the whole package and quality is simply better.

RME makes many many things simply right. Look alone how open RME communicates technical data of their equipment, its all documented in detailed manuals. I didn't see anything comparable with Antelope.

At the end of the day you need to work every day with your software mixer so I prefer good functionality there.
I think its also a misconception to load plenty of Effects into a unit (I have nothing against basic EQ, Reverb, Delay, Compressor). This scales much better on your PC as CPUs are very powerful these days.

Support and driver support is excellent with RME. The newest TotalMix FX software with the new "TotalMix FX Remote" is now available for devices from 2001 and the ARC USB remore control can now even be used by recording devices which initially even didn't have any remote control.

TotalMix FX has been optimized since over 20y and has stunning features and high maturity.
RME did it very right to design it from ground up to deliver best performance and to work very efficient.

Other vendors did the "mistake" to develop mixer software for certain products, so these SW products do not have the the same quality maturity as a product, that has been designed for all recording interfaces and been optimized over 20y. Thats simply a different quality.

My advice, do a side by side comparison on your own and take what you like most. Some shops offer to you money back for 30d. This is a fair chance to learn the basics of the mixers and the features of the devices.

In regards to TotalMix FX I would suggest to make yourself familiar with the basic concepts (Submix Mode) so that the operation of the device will be smooth.

I can offer to you 3 sources of intormation to you, to make yourself familiar with TotalMix FX (and the product) upfront:

1- blog article about 1st steps and to setup TotalMix FX

2- RME tutorial videos which present the features in a very nice way to the point

3- a collection of videos about the products
   

Regarding to your Port list:
> I need one microphone, one headphone and speakers output

I am wondering that you think that you need only one mic.
You said you want to record vocals and sax.
So you need at least two mics if not four if you also want to make a stereo recording.

I am not sure whether you are familiar with audio production. If you want to make a mix of live instruments and electronic music, each of the tracks in the DAW should represent one instrument / voice. Otherwise its not possible to work on each "voice" individual.

Based on your requirements I think the following RME recording devices would be feasible for you:
Babyface Pro
UC
UCX
or if you want to have DURec, autoset, latest and greatest in terms of analog section, stand alone capabilities:
UFX II

Ramses, Thank you so much for your time and I appreciate your input.

Re: RME ADI-2 DAC 2-Channel DA Converter

Before selecting the recording interface one more suggestion.

I think it is necessary, that you gather information 1st, how you want to perform the live recordings.

As I mentioned already it could also be that you need 4 Mics instead of only two.

There are several possibilities how to record and how many microphones you need.

It starts with a simple stereo recording, eventually X/Y recording, but it could also be the case that you need
two room mics and two close-up mics to record each performer individually to avoid any bleed (*).

(*) "bleed" is the occurrence in sound recording (particularly in close miking) and live sound mixing whereby sound is picked up by a microphone from a source other than that which is intended. Spill is usually seen as a problem, and various steps are taken to avoid it or reduce it.

Or could you clarify your expectations in terms of quality as I think you mentioned that you only need to record with one mic (mono) ? If you want to record a life performace, do you really want to have 1 mono track with vocalist and sax together on one track ?

It would be nice if you could clarify your requirements.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13