Def give the modius some time, ime I wouldnāt judge a dac on itās first day, your amp and headphones are a great match too, which makes me think you should give the modius some extra listening time sometimes dac upgrades can be off putting at first, since you are getting different details and space than a previous dac.
Maybe, but i think it is on par with topping e30, the same sound tier, the sound signature differs, but the class of the sound the same:(
Iāve owned the Modius (sold it to a forum member here), currently own the RME ADI-2 Pro FS R, and had the Topping D90 on loan for a few weeks.
Imo, the Modius is the ābestā sounding of the three. The Modius has a more organic presentation than the other two mentioned. D90/RME have slightly better technicalities (such as detail retrieval), but I would be happier listening to the Modius because it just sounds better to my ears.
The flat staging is inherent to the AKM chips used in the three DACs, Schiit actually does the best with soundstage. If you want to enhance the soundstage a bit, the ifi Power X power supply helps (it also helps ātightenā the sound up).
Lastly, the Chord Mojo is a fantastic DAC. Chord have some of the most organic and holographic soundstage and presentation that Iāve ever heard. AKM isnāt even close in terms of soundstage. I myself prefer the Mojo to any of the AKM DACs that I mentioned, including the $2k RME.
You are right i think, but now, after mojo, i have no interest to turn back in quality:) im interested in upgrade:) From your post, i think i can erase rme and topping on my list, i liked the sound of ess 9038 in tweaked aune, it has its own taste, maybe i should look to more hi end aune products with 9038 chip and skip ak chips
Hey guys, do you think its worth upgrading from an ifi zen dac to a schiit modius? Will the difference be noticeable?
I have the magnius to match so it would save space and look better as a bonus. But Iām really not sure, maybe I should be spending in headphones rathen than a dac.
TBH, you just answered your own question, IMO. Modius is a slightly better sounding dac than Zen, but youāll get a bigger difference if you go for a headphone upgrade. What cans are you rocking now and what might you be interested in?
Thats a good point. Iām currently rocking ath-wp900 and hifiman sundara, a friend lent me his Beyer T1.2 which maybe Iāll buy from him, also I have a little dot mk2 arriving tomorrow and Iām about to buy a 6xx or hd600 to use it with.
Damn, dude. Thatās a mighty-fine mid-fi collection you got going there. If youāre buying the T1.2 and a 6xx with a LDmk2 coming I might counsel you just run with what you have for awhile. The T1.2 also takes well to a tube. If you end up liking the LDmk2 with the T1.2 and the 6xx you might be better off socking that $200 you would have spent on Modius away and getting a tube amp upgrade.
thanks mate I appreciate your opinion, Iāll go with it. Iām a big fan of your tube buffer vs darkvoice write up, which made me get an awesome cheap buffer. Iāve yet to hear the t1 tubed magic but I tought maybe the zen dac was holding it back in my current setup.
Hello all, first post on HiFi Guides.
I was wondering what the differences were between the Modius, and Schiits integrated multibit, in letās say, the Lyr3, but really anything that uses it.
They both cost $200. Is there any reason besides having more inputs to get the Modius if I already have the Lyr 3 with multibit?
Hi! Welcome to HFGF!
My understanding is that their audio performance is fairly similar, but Iāve not heard the MB module so Iāll let those who have comment further on that. At least for the Asgard 3, and itās probably the same for other amps, the MB module lowers the overall output level that can be achieved. The signal from module to amp is a little bit lower in voltage than the standard line signal from an outboard DAC so the amp wonāt go as loud. That may or may not be a concern depending on what headphones you have. The Modius would also give you 4 digital inputs.
Thanks for the reply.
Right now I have the DT 1990, and because I saw it on amazon for $1300 new, I bought the HD 800S. I was thinking of upgrading from the Lyr 3s multibit, but youāre probably right that itād be too similar to the MB. Looking strictly at Schiit products in this thought process because I donāt know the other brands that well, (and ecosystems are great right?) leads me to think the Bifrost 2 paired with Lyr 3 would be good for the 800 S.
That being said, I am sad I didnāt think of it beforehand, that I would want a balanced amp/dac of some kind.
Honestly if balanced is what you need, no reason to go after anything else in the DAC market. Measures exceptionally well, which equates to a clean listening experience. Bifrost 2 will just color your music with harmonic distortion and other issues, if the measurements are any indication. I personally do not want my source coloring anything. I will leave that to the headphone and maybe the amp (if tubes are your thing).
Will a loki work on a magnius/modius stack?
Also, would these things easily connect to an ipad pro, as thatās kind of my work setup. Donāt own a computer anymore.
Sorry for the beginner questions,
Iām really unfamiliar with all this.
Yes, if you use the SE connections instead of balanced.
They should. The Modius is useable directly plugged USB to a smartphone so it should be fine.
Thanks for the reply, real helpful
Lastly. Would there be a big difference between magnius/modius stack and Jotunheim with multibit?
That is, for someone that just needs a decent stack, but isnāt trying to do anything super fancy.
I just have some headphones that need power. Sundara and gl2000. But I only have the portable fiio q5s which doesnāt give em what they needā¦
IMO, yes, but not because of the Modius but because of the Magnius. Magnius is the best amp of its kind that I 've heard so far - itās kind being a measurement-focused amp. But, it gets thoroughly outperformed by its same-priced brother the Asgard 3. The Jot 2 is another semi-step up in performance from Asgard 3 but has the rare party trick in the price tier of having roughly equal performance from its SE and balanced headphone outs with slightly different signatures. I reviewed Jot 2 here. Iāve not heard the Schiit MB dac module but have heard conversation around that itās pretty close in performance to the Modius but the Modius gives you the flexibility of having more inputs and more upgrade paths. If you were willing to spend the money on the Jot 2 with MB module I would recommend the Jot 2 + Modius combo instead.
Thanks for the detailed reply, thatās very interesting and will take this into consideration.
And I take it I could than still have the loki with that combo if I use single ended? I just like to twist knobs
Youāre welcome. And sure. You can put the Loki between any amp and dac with SE connections. You wouldnāt be able to use Loki if you went with Schiitās MB card.
Perfect! Sounds a great solution for music madness