I found the review! Headfonia was reviewing the Modi/ Magni from the point of view of the T1 (seems kinda weird to me since the T1 isn't as main stream).
http://www.headfonia.com/schitty-magni-and-modi/2/
"The Aune T1 DAC/amp sounds almost identically the same but due to tube customization and it being both a DAC and a very good amplifier all by itself, I am going to say the Schiit combo is a step or two behind the Aune in quality. I think the T1 offers more."
Alright, so I've repatriated the Magni and Modi stack. I've got the Schiit Magni (1) hooked up to the Aune T1 (mk1) via RCA and am switching back and forth between them to compare amplification, both are using the T1's DAC. To be honest, I didn't expect to hear a significant difference. Here's my thoughts going back and forth the Magni & T1 amplification.
Using
Hifiman 400i:
The Magni definitely sounds 'cleaner' than the T1. The T1 has a sort of 'muffled' sound to it, first time going from Magni to T1, I thought 'molasses' for some reason... The Magni has a noticeable edge in terms of detail/clarity, for instance, the decay of piano can be lost on the T1 and very clear/detailed on the Magni. The highs also seem to have a bit more shimmer than the T1, might have to do with the 'muffle' sound described earlier, but the Magni's highs are definitely 'sparklier'. The bass is a little bit better controlled on the Magni, drums for instance feel a lot tighter on the Magni, while the T1 seems to add some weight to the bass, but it is definitely less controlled. Imaging also seems more precise on the Magni, the T1 seems to smear a bit everything making every sound seems 'wider' & a tad bigger. The T1 also seems to have a bit darker sound to it.
In other words, it sounds like I was not mistaken in my impression of T1 vs Magni. The Magni does indeed sound much 'cleaner'... Tighter, more controlled, better defined, there is a significant difference between both, and IMHO, it is clear that the Magni's amplification is better than the T1's! I thought all these attributes might have come from the Dac's tube, but nope, the T1's amplification is at least partially guilty for the difference of sound of Schiit vs Aune. That said, the 400i I think is pushing the T1 maybe beyond its limits.
Switching to
Sennheiser 598.
Right away, to match the volume of 400i, Winamp's volume (flac) went from 100% to about 40% which should help out the T1 if it was having trouble with the 400i. First impression is that the difference is a bit less than on the 400i, but after going back and forth a couple of times, I'd say that pretty much everything said above holds true. The Magni definitely still holds the edge vs the T1. Everything seems a bit 'lighter' on the Magni, the T1 does have a darker sound, with everything being not as detailed/precise as the Magni.
Then time for the venerable
AKG Q701.
Wow those suckers keep pleasing, even vs 400i, which given retail difference of both, shouldn't be that fun to listen to, are... *great cans*. Anyway, keeping this short, same story. Definitely sounds cleaner. In french, there's a word; "grossier": "coarse". I think it defines well the difference between between Magni and T1's amp sections, the Magni's is definitely 'finer'. The decay is much better, everything is tighter, better defined, more detailed, just a level above.
AKG 550
I don't have them at the moment, but I've done a
lot of listening of them with the T1. My daily work workhorse. The impression I had when listening to them on the Schiit stack was; wow, that's a lot clearer/cleaner. Again, I assumed the tube was the culprit, but thinking back, the amplification very likely played an important role. The bass was much less emphasized, better defined, the sound was definitely 'lighter', bit more effortless & just clearer/cleaner.
So, yeah... IMHO, the Magni's amplification is better. The difference is not huge. Without quickly alternating, it would be hard to identify the differences, think I was mentioning that in this thread that I
thought the Schiit did a better job driving them, so wasn't even entirely sure. But when going back and forth, it's imho evident that the Magni is the better amp. Logical given the price, (paid 120$ on massdrop for T1 vs 198$ for the modi+magni), but I was kinda expecting them to sound pretty much the same, given that transistor amps shouldn't sound very different from one another, but... Sigh... There's a difference.
Would it be worth 100$ for T1 owners to get a Magni? Tough question... Would I get one if I just had a T1? Honestly, not sure... Some had suggested to spend more than 100$ and get something better than the Magni, I think I'd agree with that. It's definitely not a huge difference, and maybe spending 200$ on an amp would give you a greater improvement. If a 200$ amp improved over the Magni like the Magni improved over the T1, that would definitely be worth 200$, and be a
serious upgrade. Do you get that though for 200$? I don't know...!
Still, only got 100$, is the Magni sound improvement worth 100$? Well 100$ isn't a lot in the world of audio, and given the actual cost/improvement vs cables & other much less obvious 'upgrades', probably yes. It's a real, audible, significant upgrade. I wouldn't lose sleep about using T1 amplification though!
I'll try to compare the Schiit stack vs T1 and post my final impressions on Schiit stack vs T1.
Hmm.. And maybe T1 vs modi should also be interesting. Could I go Modi line out -> Aune line in -> Aune line out -> Schiit Magni? Hmm! Think I'll try that.. (edit btw doesn't work, making comparison a big hassle...)
Note: Knowing that level match is important, the volume was ear matched. But to be sure the Magni didn't get a volume advantage, when it became clear that the Magni was getting the upper hand, I increased the volume of the T1 so that it was clearly louder than the Magni, and going back and forth between amps, slightly reduced the T1's volume until its level was very slightly above the Magni...
