In my case (Musical Fidelity amp) the settings have to be different between RCA and XLR. RCA setting was pumping too much voltage into the amp and reducing headroom. At first I thought that the balanced cable I used was to blame (for RCA I used AQ Colorados, that I don't need anymore since I switched to XLR). Finding the correct setting brought the sound to perfection. I think the Marantz (in spite of its price doesn't offer balanced in)
External DAC?
Hey guys,
Here's my current setup: Node 2i > Marantz PM KI Ruby > Dynaudio Special 40.
I am considering getting an external DAC and bypass the Node's DAC. I have seen great reviews for the Topping D90 but the MQA only works via USB (node 2i doesn't have usb out). Not that big of a concern because I can always use Qobuz HiRes instead and to be honest, I can't tell much of a difference on most tracks.
Anyway, is the Topping D90 a worthy upgrade to the node 2i? Or should I spend more and go for the trusted Chord Qutest? I will be stretching my budget with the Chord but I am to wait and save up if it is worth it. Any other DACs in this price range?
Please advise!
Here's my current setup: Node 2i > Marantz PM KI Ruby > Dynaudio Special 40.
I am considering getting an external DAC and bypass the Node's DAC. I have seen great reviews for the Topping D90 but the MQA only works via USB (node 2i doesn't have usb out). Not that big of a concern because I can always use Qobuz HiRes instead and to be honest, I can't tell much of a difference on most tracks.
Anyway, is the Topping D90 a worthy upgrade to the node 2i? Or should I spend more and go for the trusted Chord Qutest? I will be stretching my budget with the Chord but I am to wait and save up if it is worth it. Any other DACs in this price range?
Please advise!
Showing 4 responses by ghjuvanni
Congrats on the good decision to keep the RME. Try headphones and IEMs with it too. Manufacturers charging more than RME's price are in trouble :-) I believe that with digital to audio conversion you can only do so much... Even if you were spend 1 million dollars, what can it do "even better"? The rest depends on the quality of the recording itself, speakers, headphones etc. WRT output levels consult the excellent https://forum.rme-audio.de/index.php Setting is different between using RCA cables vs balanced. I am getting better results w/ balanced cables into MF M6si. I change volume both on the RME and the amp. |
I typically just leave the volume on the integrated amp (which has balanced input; Marantz doesn’t seem to have it) at about 9. It can be controlled from a remote but very ergonomically, so it is simpler to adjust volume from the (great) remote that now comes with the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. I sometimes also adjust balance, a control that my MF M6si does not have. Volume is changed in the digital domain so it’s perfect. Withe the remote you can also dim the display which is a great feature. This DAC is great with my beyerdynamic headphones and IEMs! I don’t remember my settings for balanced vs RCA but can find out that discussion https://forum.rme-audio.de/search.php?search_id=657718769 I found it: "I just changed line out reference level to +1dB, as XLR out adds 6dB, to achieve the recommended +7dB" So for balanced, I use +1 dB out ref level (higher levels were leading to distortions). I don't use line out any more but the ref level was higher. It is important to get this right! |