Advice on DAC upgrade

[mansr]

I have only heard good things about the RME ADI-2. Perhaps something to consider.

[mansr]

3 minutes ago, Dr Tone said:

I’ve owned a few RME pieces, and still do.  As per the OP’s requirements, warm isn’t normally an RME attribute, but I haven’t heard the ADI-2.

A DAC has no business being warm. If warmth is desired, one should use DSP or possibly a tube based (pre)amp.

[mansr]

2 minutes ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

idac2 is on the radar.  My only reservation is I would need a preamp if I want to playback dsd directly because the volume is not ordinarily controlled by by the player.  There are a few DAC's where JRiver can control the volume, but I don't know if this is one of them.  (I would plug the idac2 directly into my power amp and use the player to control volume.)

The idac2 has fixed level RCA outputs and 3.5 mm headphone jack with volume controlled by the knob on the device. Software control of the volume is not possible. You can of course always use a software volume control that modifies the audio data sent to the DAC.