RME ADI-2 or Benchmark DAC1?

[phileserver39]

What's crackin fellow audio addicts,

I am planning a pretty major upgrade to my 2 channel system. On the table are a couple of different options, namely; an RME ADI-2 or Benchmark DAC1 for my DAC. I would be coming out of my pc with an optical cable to the new DAC, then to my future Vincent Audio SP-331 Hybrid Power Amplifier.

The advantage of the RME would be being able to do some studio recording (which I do sometimes). However, I think that I am more after a quality D/A converter than having an A/D converter.

My question is; does the RME hold it's own when compared to the DAC1 when it comes to sound quality? The RME, btw, is $200 less than the DAC1.

Of course, if you have any other ideas for me I am always open to suggestions.

Thanks for your time and expertise,

Jason

[Ajani]

I suspect that you may need to ask that question on a pro audio site, as I doubt too many (if any) of us here have tried the RME ADI-2. I've owned the DAC1 for a few years and absolutely love it as a DAC, preamp and headphone amp. However I never even heard of the RME ADI-2 before this thread so I can't comment on how it compares...

As much as I love the DAC1, I don't like to just say "buy it" simply because of the abundance of DACs available around $1K now (that I've never tried)... The PS Audio Dlink iii has a reputation for smooth and appealing sound and currently goes for around $800 new... Also Wyred 4 Sound has their own DAC1 at $1K that is creating some buzz... I'd also love to audition the Musical Fidelity M1DAC $700 and Rega DAC $1K... Not to mention a few pro audio DACs like the Lavry DA10...

Have you auditioned any DACs so far? If so, which ones did you like?

[phileserver39]

Thanks for the reply Ajani. No, I have never tried any DACs before- just soundcards. My current sc is the ASUS STX with the opamps upgraded by yours truly. The sound is good but I know that getting removing the DAC from my noisy pc box will do wonders.

I will check out some of the reviews of the units you mentioned.

Best,

J

[Dawnrazor]

The sound is good but I know that getting removing the DAC from my noisy pc box will do wonders.

Perhaps but the real question is will moving the dac outside the box using toslink do wonders?

Imho that is trading one set of problems for another.

Working on the computer end of things might yeild better results than throwing money at a dac. True a new dac and a better computer environment would be a win.

Said another way, the environment of the pc plays a role even if the dac is outside it. Maximizing the pcs audio performance will help with existing hardware and with future hardware.

For instance you can build a fanless computer by undervolting and underclocking it. Removing the fans and their magnets helps the computer environment. Adding a 2nd psu for the drives and usb is pretty simple to do (hey, I managed it). Switching to sata drives over ide drives if you havent already helps, and they say ssd is even better.

Anyhow just do a google for cics memory player and look for the cmp2 homepage, it goes into it more than I can. But fwiw I followed the recipe there and using the same soundcard I was able to get much better sound.