You may not be wrong.
<- start conspiracy theory ->
With all the cheap DACs that connect via USB, who knows if they are also DAQs that collect information from your machine.
<- end conspiracy theory ->
2 Likes
lmao from China… wouldn’t surprise me 
After looking a little bit more into the Asgard 3… i feel myself leaning that way. Reading some reviews i see people raving about it comparing it to the sound of amps much more expensive amps. And the simplicity of a all-in-one unit (in black too! lol) does look appealing.
I thought this one comment by Wushuliu on Head-Fi was funny:
IMO once you hear good Class A-biased gear, whether tubes or fets, it’s really hard to go back. There are always exceptions of course (Neurochrome?). Put another way - I have the Cavalli Liquid Spark, which is FUN. Man, I love that thing. So cute and sounds so good. It also costs $110. The Asgard is only $90 more. The Asgard 3 kills it with fire, stomps on it, grinds it bones, and eats the ashes. It should not cost $199. I’ve been in the hobby long enough to recognize that right away, even if it’s not quite my preference sonically. Blockquote
Or do i say f’it go bottom of the barrel $49 Fulla 2 and revisit a “real” amp/dac later… hmmm?
I don’t know about that statement, but yes the Asgard 3 is good lol
Lol i thought it was hilarious - someone reallyyyyy thinks it destroys the Liquid Spark! 
Look if you want to go minimum imo the fiio k5 pro. The fulla 2 for that price is really good but. I really don’t like how it sounds. People seem to blame it on the dac implementation but to me just doesn’t sound that good.
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I mean one is available and $100 less than the other but i totally get ya on that. If i could actually buy a K5 Pro and call it a day for $100-$150 i prob would.
Wasn’t even thinking of this before… are there any special requirements for the USB A-B cable that will be required with most PC-to-DAC connections?
Can anyone recommend quality, inexpensive, short A-B cables? Or is it fine to use the cheap Amazon ones?
The amazon ones are very nice, I would use those. Really any decent cable would work just fine
Cool, i figured just wasn’t sure if the DACs needed some special requirements. WIll be making a decision later after work today. It’s either the Asgard 3 or Modi/Magni 3+. Leaning A3 slightly for the one-box solution and nicer amp… and 9"x6"x2" is smaller than the comparison pics made it seem.
So personally I would spend the 100 bucks over the schiit stack for the asgard 3 (this is if it was me), but it might be a tad overkill for the 4xx (some might say that but I don’t think so lol)
Before lunch i was on one of the other hifi forums (cant find it now dont remember which) and saw 3 or 4 people in the Asgard 3 thread saying how the internal DAC card (non multi-bit) doesn’t sound as good or is as “loud” as an external Modi paired with it. That has me, again, second thinking myself as a big part of the Asgard appeal is one-box. Anyone have experience with the A3 paired with a Modi 3 and an A3 with internal DAC?
These differences are often overstated, I would just stop worrying and order something.
Volume is really not going to be an issue with anything you drive with the Asgard.
I assume it’s the same DAC module as used on the Jot and others, in which case it’s actually a balanced DAC, where as the Modi won’t be. It might have measurably more noise because it’s inside the same box with the PSU, but I doubt the differences are significant.
I have the 4490 DAC card on my Jotenheim, and it’s fine for a Delta Sigma DAC, I was using an external DAC for a while, but I swapped back. Can I tell the difference? yes, do I have a preference? yes, is one better than the other? I don’t really know.
And something is always better than nothing just plugging straight into my Mobo. You’re right i just need to decide lol.
I personally think the dac inside the a3 is actually better than the modi, as it doesn’t really have the schiit sound sig like the modi 3
People were saying that the A3 with internal DAC sounded more “musical” or “rounded” or something compared to the Modi that was more “crisp” etc. But that it rounded off the extreme ends? Prob 100% something id never notice personally with my inexperienced ears.
Does schitt use compression on any of their other amps and dacs? do they have that high treble sound?
I hope not lol - not a fan of that.
Found the “negative” reviews of the A3 with build-in DAC from another forum i’m on (keeping names off in case they don’t want to be transcribed and called out) …
The internal MB card is smooth and organic but it severely lacks dynamics , transparency , detail and it is rolled off at both lows and highs.
Tested this with Lyr 3 and it was holding the amp back.
The only benefit I see for this instead of modi 3 is lack of space.
Yes, my impression was as well that the MB card was tonally nice but lacks dynamics & transparency in comparison to my Modi 3 D/S
Some people here says that using the modi multibit instead the MB card gives more volume and air and space to the sound. (I think it’s just the usual appreciation when you compare something with more volume, it seems to sound better).
I don’t really think that’s the case, but it’s all subjective
Currently yes on their higher end products. I would wait until they come out with their new versions