[MrMateoHead]

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Um... Am I missing something here or does that have better specs and more wattage than an Asgard?

Awesome specs, awesome price. Where was this when I was picking out an O2? Lol. Nice to see them publishing specs that actually make sense to a consumer.
 
But I am not sure it is more powerful than the Asgard - it has a +- 15V power supply. SNR and THD are rated at 1V RMS, so it remains to be seen how the amp behaves at its limits.
 
Did anyone notice the Modi:
 
http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=14
 
That is a $100 DAC. So now someone has to test the $200 dollar combo and get back to us. Its cheaper than an ODAC setup. But is it better?

 

[Barry S]

Huh?  Schiit thinks either flavor of SPDIF is better than USB.  The Mjolnir is a pretty good amp as far as resolution and it's very hard to hear any difference between SPDIF (optical or coax) and the USB implementation on the Gungnir.  Have you compared SPDIF vs USB on either the Bifrost or Gungnir?
 
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If they can't hear a difference between Asynchronous USB and Optical, then the Asynchronous USB implementation is really bad.   More likely they don't know what to listen for.

 

[kstuart]

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Huh?  Schiit thinks either flavor of SPDIF is better than USB.  The Mjolnir is a pretty good amp as far as resolution and it's very hard to hear any difference between SPDIF (optical or coax) and the USB implementation on the Gungnir.  Have you compared SPDIF vs USB on either the Bifrost or Gungnir?
 
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If they can't hear a difference between Asynchronous USB and Optical, then the Asynchronous USB implementation is really bad.   More likely they don't know what to listen for.

First, I defer to any equipment designer's recommendations for their own products.
 
Having said that, in my system, the biggest ever improvement in digital audio sound quality was changing from optical to Asynchronous USB.   The likely reason is the reclocking of the audio stream, largely eliminating jitter.   To my ear, this is essentially the difference between analog audio and digital audio - the "hard cold" sound is due to jitter.   Similar comments are made on Amazon about the V-LINK which does the same thing.
 
Again, I don't know any technical details about the Schiit products, so I won't make any further comments.

 

[kstuart]

http://schiit.com/schiit-faq/about-magni/
 
says:
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Did you say this thing will drive orthos?
Many of them, yes. The HiFiMan HE400 and HE500 do well with Magni, as well as the Audeze LCD2. The popular Fostex T50RP mods (Mad Dog, Paradox) are also a good match. HE-6, not so much.

I ordered one and will report back on how well it works with HE400.

 

[MattTCG]

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First, I defer to any equipment designer's recommendations for their own products.
 
Having said that, in my system, the biggest ever improvement in digital audio sound quality was changing from optical to Asynchronous USB.   The likely reason is the reclocking of the audio stream, largely eliminating jitter.   To my ear, this is essentially the difference between analog audio and digital audio - the "hard cold" sound is due to jitter.   Similar comments are made on Amazon about the V-LINK which does the same thing.
 
Again, I don't know any technical details about the Schiit products, so I won't make any further comments.

 
Huh? Most will tell you that optical will sound better than usb, but that's only if you got the kind of hearing to appreciate the differnce...not trying to start anything here. 
 
I went from the odac (usb) to the bifrost (optical) and got a nice sound improvement across the board. I also was able to completely eliminate my jitter issues which constantly plagued the odac.  So honestly I just don't get what you're saying here. I previously owned the music streamer ii with asynchronous usb and I heard no difference. Jitter also was a huge problem with the MSii. 

 

[Barry S]

Ahh, I got ya. Schiit reclocks the input regardless of whether it comes from  USB or SPDIF.  Usually people around here either can't hear a difference or prefer SPDIF, but I've seen some preference for USB.  And that's on the same equipment. 

 
Quote:

First, I defer to any equipment designer's recommendations for their own products.
 
Having said that, in my system, the biggest ever improvement in digital audio sound quality was changing from optical to Asynchronous USB.   The likely reason is the reclocking of the audio stream, largely eliminating jitter.   To my ear, this is essentially the difference between analog audio and digital audio - the "hard cold" sound is due to jitter.   Similar comments are made on Amazon about the V-LINK which does the same thing.
 
Again, I don't know any technical details about the Schiit products, so I won't make any further comments.

 

[Yekrut]

I have an odd request: does anyone own both the DT990 and the HE-400? If so, I was wondering if you could try to put the velour pads from the DT990 on the HE-400. I don't want to spend 34 dollars on the DT990 pads just to realize there is no way I'll get them to fit. The reason why I want to switch them is because I'm quite disappointed with the quality of the earpads on the HE-400. They aren't very comfortable and become bothersome after an hour or so of listening. I've tried many things to make them more comfortable but nothing is working as of now. I'm slightly disappointed in the quality of materials used in this headphone considering its $400; I may have to go back to the DT990!

 

[MattTCG]

You're not the first person to have this same experience and realization about the pads. The beyer pads will not fit. There is a third party company working on new pads for the he400. You'll have to wait it out like the rest of us. 

 

[kstuart]

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You're not the first person to have this same experience and realization about the pads. The beyer pads will not fit. There is a third party company working on new pads for the he400. You'll have to wait it out like the rest of us. 

That implies that, in general, all HiFiMan pads are not as good as some other high-end headphone pads - not just the HE400 (since HiFiMan doesn't specify model compatibility on replacement pads, implying that all models use the same).

 

[kstuart]

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Ahh, I got ya. Schiit reclocks the input regardless of whether it comes from  USB or SPDIF.  Usually people around here either can't hear a difference or prefer SPDIF, but I've seen some preference for USB.  And that's on the same equipment. 

In the process of ordering the Magni, I looked at their FAQs, and it seems clear that they do reclock, and, of course, that they are familiar with all these issues.
 
It's interesting that both Schiit and HRT consist of:
 
* Electronic designers previously from high-end companies making expensive audio gear
* Now trying to make the best audio gear per dollar for customers on a budget
* In Southern California
* Using wireless assembly techniques allowing them assemble in-house instead of in Asia
 
Despite that similarity, one group emphasizes the dubious aspects of USB, but then has circuitry to eliminate the problems introducted by the supported toslink connection, while the other group emphasizes the dubious aspects of toslink, but then has circuitry to eliminate the problems introducted by the supported USB connection.
 
And then you have Benchmark which says it doesn't matter which one you use, because we are going to reclock it anyway.

 

[bcpk]

http://schiit.com/schiit-faq/about-magni/
I ordered one and will report back on how well it works with HE400.

May you have a speedy delivery!

 

[itshot]

I don't like the way this thing feels on my head. -_-

 

[cssarrow]

I don't like the way this thing feels on my head. -_-

Hahahahahahaha! Ditto.

 

[MattTCG]

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I don't like the way this thing feels on my head. -_-

 
Then you should probably take it off and set it on the desk. The way they leak sound, it'll sound just about the same from the desk. 

 

[wje]

Like a big dummy, I sold off my HE-series balanced Canare cable.  I have the supplies to make a new one, with the exception of the sleeving that I've ordered and is supposed to arrive on or before this Saturday.  However, we have a headphone meet on that day and want to pack my HE-400s, but fret I may have to use a jury rigged cable as I don't want to assemble a cable, then rip it apart to install the jacket material.  Grumble ...
 
While I do miss my HE-400s, since they've essentially been on the headphone rack for a bit more than a week, I do have the AKG K167 Tiesto to keep me occupied. 

  Though, I want to get my HE-400s back up and running so I can make a decent comparison, the K167s are a great, closed bass-producing headphone.  The bass isn't just a "one note" bass maker either.  It is detailed and makes my ears happy.  I'm still breaking in the K167s, too, so until they've had a few weeks of burn-in time, I'm reluctant to provide a real critical review at this point in time.