[TJ Max]

I'm comparing the rig pictured to my experience with Gen5/Gumby/A2. No experience with the other products you mentioned, sorry.
The Modi MB has very decent instrument definition / clarity, out of the box.
That was my goal with this purchase (for my son-in-law). He will love it (compared to an iPod).

Since USB will be the source for this rig, I went with an Eitr as well ... it greatly improves the stability of the overall rig IMO.
On my Gumby rig, I had went to optical with the old Gen2 USB, which sucked.
When I got the Gen5 USB, I went back to USB. It beats optical SQ. YMMV.

Oh yeah I noticed toslink optical sounded veiled, the coax output is noticeably better. I heard the Gen5 usb is greatly improved over the previous gens. But following the theory of garbage-in-garbage-out. I'm skeptical of how much improvement there can be if both sending and receiving interfaces are not of equal quality and spec. I also didn't want to deal with drivers and differences in USB cables as well additional noises from the USB controllers. So I went straight Coax which is design specifically for audio transmission.

 

[RickB]

I leave my Modi Multibit on all the time for best sound quality. It doesn't take long at all to warm up, but it costs very little to leave on.

 

[RickB]

Thanks. I assume, like all Schiit MB DACs, that the Modi MB improves with age.
Is that your experience

I haven't noticed a sound quality improvement with age, but it does need a warmup period. After it's been on for an hour or two, it sounds its best. The warmup time does decrease with age, though.

 

[RCBinTN]

Oh yeah I noticed toslink optical sounded veiled, the coax output is noticeably better. I heard the Gen5 usb is greatly improved over the previous gens. But following the theory of garbage-in-garbage-out. I'm skeptical of how much improvement there can be if both sending and receiving interfaces are not of equal quality and spec. I also didn't want to deal with drivers and differences in USB cables as well additional noises from the USB controllers. So I went straight Coax which is design specifically for audio transmission.

Makes perfect sense. Since I'm using a Macbook as music source, it's USB or optical direct. I prefer nothing else in-between.
I do have a very nice USB cable ... Wywires Platinum, as are all my cables. They are great quality cables.

 

[RCBinTN]

So net, out of the box, I'm thrilled with the music details presented by the Modi MB. Amazing, for a $250 DAC.
Well done, Mike and Schiit Audio!

 

[Guidostrunk]

My mimby has been on 24/7 since May. Lol

 

[Tuneslover]

My mimby has been on 24/7 since May. Lol

It's also a good idea to power off & power on your MB DAC's once in a while for good measure.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Plenty of power outages along the way to cover that. Lol.

It's also a good idea to power off & power on your MB DAC's once in a while for good measure.

 

[tcellguy]

Much better unboxed and connected with the Schiit PYST cables.
The rig is driving my HD800 quite well - !
The gear has a nice, full, rich SQ to it. Do y'all leave the Modi MB powered on all the time?

Glencairn glass provided for gear perspective and added listening pleasure LOL.

I find scotch improves bass response and tames the treble a bit

I leave mine on all the time. The timing seems slightly off and the treble a bit etched for the first 30 minutes after turning on from cold.

 

[joeexp]

I'm comparing the rig pictured to my experience with Gen5/Gumby/A2. No experience with the other products you mentioned, sorry.
The Modi MB has very decent instrument definition / clarity, out of the box.
That was my goal with this purchase (for my son-in-law). He will love it (compared to an iPod).

The Modi MB without the EITR via USB sounds like a***.
You have done the right thing!

 

[joeike]

I find scotch improves bass response and tames the treble a bit

I leave mine on all the time. The timing seems slightly off and the treble a bit etched for the first 30 minutes after turning on from cold.

Good looking stack Don't know about the rubber band I would definitely at least warm it up for an hour or two but I don't leave mine on PS I thought I was on drunkhifi on Reddit for a second there.

 

[RCBinTN]

Naw us Head-Fiers like our whisky and whiskey, too. I'm especially fond of well-crafted Kentucky bourbon

I cycle the power to my Gumby every time I listen to the rig. That resets the analog section.
Nobody recommended doing it, just seemed to make sense.

One thing I noticed about the Mimby is: it doesn't click (like the Gumby does) when the bit depth of the music changes.
May be the absence of the adapticlock system that's present in Gumby.
The Mimby was able to switch between 16/44.1 and 24/192 music effortlessly.

The wall warts are kind of frumpy. I need a power strip or something better than just an extension cord.
Any recommendations out there?

 

[438555]

Naw us Head-Fiers like our whisky and whiskey, too. I'm especially fond of well-crafted Kentucky bourbon

I cycle the power to my Gumby every time I listen to the rig. That resets the analog section.
Nobody recommended doing it, just seemed to make sense.

One thing I noticed about the Mimby is: it doesn't click (like the Gumby does) when the bit depth of the music changes.
May be the absence of the adapticlock system that's present in Gumby.
The Mimby was able to switch between 16/44.1 and 24/192 music effortlessly.

The wall warts are kind of frumpy. I need a power strip or something better than just an extension cord.
Any recommendations out there?

Chtulu awaits...
https://www.schiit.com/products/floor-wart

 

[RCBinTN]

Chtulu awaits...
https://www.schiit.com/products/floor-wart

Decent! Thanks for the idea

 

[CaptainFantastic]

The wall warts are kind of frumpy. I need a power strip or something better than just an extension cord.
Any recommendations out there?

Before I sold them I had the Modi Multibit, the Magni and the Loki. That was three rather big, cheap-ish wall warts on a power strip powering three units one of which at least gets very hot. I decided that as fun as that looked on the desk, I could come to regret it if my whole house burned down. I replaced them with the truly fantastic, EQ-able RME ADI-2 DAC. A single, well made plug to deal with now on a unit that does not get hot. Just my experience for others to consider.

Edit - the Schiit floor wart is not available for European voltages.