I hope they come out with something like the Asgard 3, but with balanced output.
2 Likes
It occurred to me that @DagoRed has said the Modius is the only DAC heās tried that makes the THX 887 sound good. @M0Nās comment here would align well with that since the Magnius seems to be attempting to beat THX at its own game.
3 Likes
This is real truth right here. I suspect the two were co-developed more than we know.
2 Likes
Vastly different sounding to me in my setup, when I get some time today I do have the v280 on hand to double check
Shits hard lol, Iām no English major, itās really hard to explain what you hear esp with higher end gear. The gsx would be pretty different for sure
I mean tbh at this point I canāt really explain what I truly listen for, this is just something I pick up on in dedicated listening, I donāt really try and listen for specific things, I more listen normally and the differences just tend to come to me with time. In terms of spatial recreation I guess I would listen for how a room is portrayed in a recording and how accurate to that in real life it is, how things are laid out in front of me and the space between those sounds, and how they tend to interact with each other in an acoustic space and if that is true to how it would work irl. It also ties into lower level detail and speed and stuff as well. Itās honestly really hard for me to try and describe how I listen for things, itās more something that I have just developed over the years
2 Likes
Since the chips are similarā¦ Iām mostly curious if this Magnius can replace my RNHP. The answer is leaning heavily in the āNoā category.
I say that because of:
So unless @M0N makes an explicit statement to my question lost much earlier in the thread. Can the Magnius replace the RNHP? I trust M0N in saying a definitive NO.
Yeah thatās a definitive no lol, same with the L30 and A90 as well. Just because it uses the same chip does not even remotely mean it could sound similar. Could you prob use the same chip and make an amp that sounds like an rnhp? Most likely yeah, but itās all dependent on implementation, same with dac chips and stuff
1 Like
Mine just shippedā¦just have to see for myself how these stack up to the B2 with LYR3 and JOTā¦etc
Next week for meā¦
Alex
3 Likes
So spending some time with both I can confidently say they are pretty different amps lol. To keep things fair I used 3 dacs, the dac1421, bifrost 2, and modius. In mostly every situation it was pretty easy to tell them apart, although I will say that the closest thing might have been timbre but even then I still think the v280 is my preference in that regard. The v280 had way more to offer in control over the driver, much more distinct separation and speed, more impressive impact and a sense of largeness, a more spacious and accurate soundstage, and detail retrieval was clearly on a different level from the magnius. I will say though that with the bf2 and modius, it doesnāt really jive as well with the vio gear, the 1421 was a much more enjoyable and accurate experience with the vio. With the bf2 and modius it felt too smooth or dulled almost compared to what I normally expect out of the vio, itās a pretty picky amp dac pairing wise. The 1421 also sounded pretty bad on the magnius lol, but as expected the bf2 and modius paired pretty well, but the magnius didnāt really showcase as much as the dac can do as did the vio (and the asgard 3).
7 Likes
Interesting. Iām not in the camp of āall ss amps sound the sameā, and I can hear a difference between the magnius and gs-x mini, but I canāt seem to hear much in it with the v280.
Iāve had to pack it all up for the next few weeks while we are preparing to sell our home and there may be strangers near my deskšæ. But Iāll spend some more time with it and see if I can make more of a distinction. I think Iām more interested in how different it will sound against the BF2/mini. That contrast may give me a bit more to train my ear against.
Thanks for your thoughts on this @M0N, I appreciate you taking another listen.
1 Like
I mean if you arenāt getting the value you want out of the v280, I would suggest selling it, I personally wouldnāt keep something around if I didnāt get as much value from it compared to my other amps. But curious if spending more time with it changes anything for you
I like the v280 quite a lot, just not as much as the mini. I do plan to sell it. Maybe someone misses this next drop, and really wants one, Iāll be there to help them out.
So, to you the GSX-Mini is so much better than the V280 that you are just going to get rid of it?
Are they different enough that they would complement each other as a 1-2 punch in the collection?
I find my LP and Violectric V220 to be so different that I think they cover the majority of what I want from an amp and so I will keep them both.
1 Like
I think it fits my gear and taste better, thatās all it is.
1 Like
Its interesting we are comparing a $199 amp with a $1600 V280 (drop version = $1100 +/-) .
Very interesting indeed!
Question is what āsoundā suits your āearāā¦and look at the cost differential!
To be fair, I only make that comparison because itās what has landed on my desk over these wild past few months. I donāt think many people would cross shop these, like almost none.
3 Likes
So far, my impressions are still in line with how Iām feeling, been using it exclusively for the past few days. Some at least semi interesting pairing notes below, but if I donāt mention a pairing it was prob meh/followed my general impressions above
With a 58x itās actually pretty nice for something simple and good, overall enjoyable in that regard for something neutral and quality sounding
One pairing I really didnāt like was the adx5000, extremely lifeless and boring, pretty bad
Balanced 880 600 ohm was solid enough but again I think they took off more on the asgard 3 (although the magnius was more neutral here so potentially what I might lean towards for studio use over the asgard, but honestly I might prefer something like an el amp ii or lake people g103s instead for something more neutral and clean with the 880s in the same price range)
The Gjallarhorn was pretty pleasant because no noise or unusual coloration which I had issues with compared to some of my tube amps, sounded cleaner than the a3 but I think the a3 had better control it felt like and also emphasized the more unique presentation of the kennerton. But if you find the kennerton too colored the magnius will give it a more neutral tone
Grado ps2000e was a no go lol, not super pleasant and sounded wrong
Tried the mysphere 3.2, now that was weird tbh. It didnāt sound as bad as I was expecting, but it did make the myspheres sound real cheap and not worthwhile lol, like they lost most things that made them special but did retain a good sense of control and technicality level, but like lost refinement somehow? idk
Uh dac wise I found myself using a lampizator golden gate ii, nagra hd dac + mps, and the modius most of the time. Other dacs werenāt worthwhile to use or were poor matches. Although the allo revolution dac was an interesting choice and when I tuned the allo dac to give more bite in the treble while giving a bit more warmth and body it was pretty nice
6 Likes
How do you feel about the mysphere 3.2? Iāve seen some mixed opinions on it. I wonder if it just happens to be very picky when it comes to its amp and source.
It is extremely picky electronics and fit wise, but Iām really loving it tbh. So much so that I really want to buy the 3.1 for my tube amps as well lol. I much prefer it over the raal sr1a (but thatās also a very good headphone as well). If you have the electronics for it, itās probably the closest you can get to a nearfield setup on your head in terms of presentation, soundstage, and naturalness/speakerlikeness
Although initially itās like wearing a vice grip on your head, needed to have them wear in
1 Like
94dB sinad because of a 2khz harmonic distortion vs 120dB sinad for XLR is not what I would call a bad 1/4 out by any meansā¦ probably virtually indistinguishable by human ears (Edit: according to @M0N itās not the case, oh well ā 90dB sinad still doesnāt mean something sounds bad).
I heard this one sounds chocolatey. 
sorry
The SP200ā¦ because itās āfakeā balanced lol.
Oh and schiit, Iām late to the party.
Just saying it didnāt sound as good as the balanced out, itās not like there were obvious issues with it, just sounded a bit more dull and boring compared to the balanced out, no issues with noise or distortion. Sinad isnāt really going to reveal much about the sound of an amp tbh, I have things with low 80s sinad that sound excellent, really mostly anything above 70 is going to be just fine, you are taking an audible quality loss in other ways when you use the se out on the magnius
1 Like