[jasonb]

Not everyone lives down the block from the Vanderbilts (Hyde Park humor) and is willing to blow a wad of cash on an Amp which would be unlikely to sound any better. I'd save the money for another pair of cans.
This is in your neck of the woods.

I actually moved to the Wilmington area of North Carolina last fall. I guess I forgot to update my profile on here.

 

[Jimster480]

 
i'm not talking about volume, but dynamic and authority...
how can it be that a magni2 can compete with an amp that costs 650eur?

Because cost really is irrelevant in this day of technology. With $100 you can do so much its not even funny.

 

[lentoviolento]

 
Define dynamic and authority and what properties of an amp delivers this? To answer your question, "easily."

 
i can't in english... (i mean i don't know the words) , let's say that an headfier told me that higher frequencies are easily driven from an amp, but in order to have an impactful bass you must have a lot of power. at least 4watt for my lcd2...

 

[StanD]

   
i can't in english... (i mean i don't know the words) , let's say that an headfier told me that higher frequencies are easily driven from an amp, but in order to have an impactful bass you must have a lot of power. at least 4watt for my lcd2...

Do you believe that?

 

[lentoviolento]

  Do you believe that?

 
i don't know what to believe no more... maybe i am not able to hear the differences... maybe i haven't golden ears...
if all that power is useless why even schiit has in his lineup lyr2 or asgard2..........

 

[StanD]

   
i don't know what to believe no more... maybe i am not able to hear the differences... maybe i haven't golden ears...
if all that power is useless why even schiit has in his lineup lyr2 or asgard2..........

The Asgard 2 has a drop less power at low impedances than the Magni2 Uber. I own an A2, it doesn't make any practical difference. When people are willing to buy something, it will get produced. Don't be bothered with all of this banter, just enjoy what you have. At least Schiit doesn't gouge their customers wallets.

 

[Reputator]

 
i'm not talking about volume, but dynamic and authority...
how can it be that a magni2 can compete with an amp that costs 650eur?

 
It's insane. I've been away from the world of personal audio since about 2010, and just recently got back in. Literally in just the past seven years, the market has exploded with more equipment makers, better options, more popularity (perhaps due to Youtube and this place), and all the competition has led to better equipment for a lower price.
 
I repurchased my DT990 600ohm that I used to own for less than $200. It used to be a $400 headphone. It's a steal at its new price.
 
I paid $200 for a Xonar Essence STX, and $670 for a Meier Concerto. My $400 Modi/Magni combo sounds better than those.
 
And my new Shure SRH1540 is the best headphone I've ever owned, and I used to have a pair of $700 Hifiman HE-5LE.
 
In fact, Hifiman and Audeze had JUST emerged onto the market back then, bringing with them a sort of revolution of magneplanars. Now planars are everywhere, improved and available at many price points. It's an amazing time to be into this hobby.

 

[juanix]

I recently picked up a Magni 2 Uber and Modi Multibit. I hooked it up to my Macbook Pro and tried to A/B the sound from the standard 3.5mm output on the Macbook to the Schiit Stack using my Fostex TH900s. I must admit, I had a hard time hearing any obvious difference. I feel like I might not have a "trained ear" to be able to immediately recognize the difference, but I believe there is one. What kind of things do people look for when evaluating new amps and dacs?

 

[jasonb]

  I recently picked up a Magni 2 Uber and Modi Multibit. I hooked it up to my Macbook Pro and tried to A/B the sound from the standard 3.5mm output on the Macbook to the Schiit Stack using my Fostex TH900s. I must admit, I had a hard time hearing any obvious difference. I feel like I might not have a "trained ear" to be able to immediately recognize the difference, but I believe there is one. What kind of things do people look for when evaluating new amps and dacs?

 
The Macbook Pro will have a better DAC and amp section than a lot of laptops. The headphone jack on my laptop, which is an Acer Chromebook R11 is pretty weak and won't get many headphones to a decent level. The TH900 is 25 ohms with a sensitivity of 100db/mw which isn't really all that hard to drive. 
 
Comparing the Magni 2 Uber to my LG V10 is a much closer match. The V10 has ESS Sabre DAC and amp chips if you didn't know, so it's no slouch for a portable device. Compared to my V10 when using an HD650 it's quickly obvious that the M2U (Magni 2 Uber) has a lot more power, just as it should since we're comparing a cell phone to an AC powered desktop amp. I got the HD650 2 days before my M2U arrived and was listening to the HD650 at around the 40-55% range on the V10 which was pushing them to the volume level I prefer to normally listen at. So it was definitely getting them loud enough for me, and I still enjoyed the sound for those 2 days. When I first plugged the HD650 into the M2U (fed by an ODAC) there was definitely a slight improvement, not huge but noticeable and definitely worth the $150 price tag. Most obvious was the slightly deeper, better controlled bass, and better dynamic range. The better controlled bass, with better slam and impact was definitely obvious. I've been using the M2U on high gain at around the 9 o'clock position on the volume knob, maybe 10 o'clock on a quiet recording, so there is plenty of power there for an HD650.
 
I'd say continue to use the Schiit stack for a few days or a week or two and if you really don't notice enough of a difference to justify the cost then return them. No sense in wasting money if you don't hear a difference. 

 

[juanix]

   
The Macbook Pro will have a better DAC and amp section than a lot of laptops. The headphone jack on my laptop, which is an Acer Chromebook R11 is pretty weak and won't get many headphones to a decent level. The TH900 is 25 ohms with a sensitivity of 100db/mw which isn't really all that hard to drive. 
 
Comparing the Magni 2 Uber to my LG V10 is a much closer match. The V10 has ESS Sabre DAC and amp chips if you didn't know, so it's no slouch for a portable device. Compared to my V10 when using an HD650 it's quickly obvious that the M2U (Magni 2 Uber) has a lot more power, just as it should since we're comparing a cell phone to an AC powered desktop amp. I got the HD650 2 days before my M2U arrived and was listening to the HD650 at around the 40-55% range on the V10 which was pushing them to the volume level I prefer to normally listen at. So it was definitely getting them loud enough for me, and I still enjoyed the sound for those 2 days. When I first plugged the HD650 into the M2U (fed by an ODAC) there was definitely a slight improvement, not huge but noticeable and definitely worth the $150 price tag. Most obvious was the slightly deeper, better controlled bass, and better dynamic range. The better controlled bass, with better slam and impact was definitely obvious. I've been using the M2U on high gain at around the 9 o'clock position on the volume knob, maybe 10 o'clock on a quiet recording, so there is plenty of power there for an HD650.
 
I'd say continue to use the Schiit stack for a few days or a week or two and if you really don't notice enough of a difference to justify the cost then return them. No sense in wasting money if you don't hear a difference. 

 
Thanks for the info. I'll run the stack for a couple weeks before I decide what to do with it. Do the TH900s not benefit from a good DAC/Amp because of the low ohms and high sensitivity?

 

[StanD]

   
Thanks for the info. I'll run the stack for a couple weeks before I decide what to do with it. Do the TH900s not benefit from a good DAC/Amp because of the low ohms and high sensitivity?

High sensitivity means that you need less power to drive them. Most SS and IC Amps are of a low output impedance.

 

[cbl117]

Can someone please confirm: Latest revision Modi 2 Uber with 4490 chipset is self powered USB, which will allow the use of an iPad Mini with CCK as a source.

I'm looking to build this as a work rig, and want to confirm this will in fact work. Thank you.

 

[SomeTechNoob]

Can someone please confirm: Latest revision Modi 2 Uber with 4490 chipset is self powered USB, which will allow the use of an iPad Mini with CCK as a source.

I'm looking to build this as a work rig, and want to confirm this will in fact work. Thank you.

Pretty sure Modi 2 Uber uses an AC power brick.

You can see it in the picture here: http://schiit.com/products/modi-2

 

[cbl117]

Pretty sure Modi 2 Uber uses an AC power brick.

You can see it in the picture here: http://schiit.com/products/modi-2

Thanks, but that doesn't answer my question. I know it uses an AC wall-wart.

The older revision used the wall-wart to power the DAC, but the USB interface was still powered by the source. I've heard rumors on the forums that the USB interface is now self powered with the 4490 chipset, and as such, iDevices can be used. I want someone who has tried connecting a iDevice via USB to confirm if this is true.

 

[Letmebefrank]

He's talking about the usb chip being powered by the Modi 2 rather than the usb source.