[Foodworx]

upgrading my audio system. currently using a titanium xfi hd and HD650s/DT990 600ohm/LSR305.

ive narrowed it down to JDS labs vs schiit. not interested in topping or SMSL due to quality concerns and willing to spend more than OL Dac/O2. im thinking of getting a jds labs el dac (kind of want the 32bit support, better dynamic range it seems, worse jitter than modi 2 multibit) and a magni 3 (for preamp outs, el amp is pass-through line out, cheaper by $179). ~400-450 USD limit.

 

[serman005]

I like the Mimby a lot and if you are going to get it, you might want to get a Magni 3 for compatibility purposes (not essential, but might be preferable). That said, the JDS Labs setup also sounds good. I'm just kind of partial to the Modi Multibit, myself. YMMV, of course.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

I really like the EL setup, it looks nicer and sounds superb

 

[Renato Fury]

I really like the EL setup, it looks nicer and sounds superb

Are you both already? I'm in doubt between Modi Multibit and El Dac, could you tell if one is better than the other and what are their differences?

 

[buke9]

Without having the Mimby to a/b it would be hard to say. The guys at JDS Labs were nice enough to lend me a EL Dac as my Yggy is going in for repairs and upgrade at the meet today and think it is one fine dac. It was on my main system with the Amps and Sound Kenzie and Cavalli Liquid Carbon running the HD-800’s,Ether-C’s and AB-1266 Abyss and thought it sounded just fine if not pretty good. It is well built looks good and sounds good. Didn’t get a chance to listen to the Element as I was having troubles with my 8 year old MacBook Pro and then a guy came in with a pair of Stax Sigma’s and SR-009’s so lost track of time sorry.

 

[Renato Fury]

Without having the Mimby to a/b it would be hard to say. The guys at JDS Labs were nice enough to lend me a EL Dac as my Yggy is going in for repairs and upgrade at the meet today and think it is one fine dac. It was on my main system with the Amps and Sound Kenzie and Cavalli Liquid Carbon running the HD-800’s,Ether-C’s and AB-1266 Abyss and thought it sounded just fine if not pretty good. It is well built looks good and sounds good. Didn’t get a chance to listen to the Element as I was having troubles with my 8 year old MacBook Pro and then a guy came in with a pair of Stax Sigma’s and SR-009’s so lost track of time sorry.

It's okay Grandpa, I'm not interested in Element anymore .... I know I know, I'm indecisive but from what I've been reading El Dac and Ol Dac have an identical signature, then why the hell would anyone pay 150 dollars more? Just for one more input and for the aesthetic part? Because if what they said is true then El Dac is a waste of money. What do you think?

 

[buke9]

Well didn’t listen to a OL Dac today so can’t so for difference. The EL dac will do 32 bit and the OL only 24 bit but since there is very little 32 bit music out there not a big problem. As for hat others have said don’t know I just know what I heard and the EL Dac is good. The other thing to look at is what were those reviews based on were they listening to both from what headphones and amps .

 

[Renato Fury]

Well didn’t listen to a OL Dac today so can’t so for difference. The EL dac will do 32 bit and the OL only 24 bit but since there is very little 32 bit music out there not a big problem. As for hat others have said don’t know I just know what I heard and the EL Dac is good. The other thing to look at is what were those reviews based on were they listening to both from what headphones and amps .

Can not you recall the days when you heard the Ol Dac? Because if what they said is true then I do not have to pay $ 100 more, since in my country the dollar is almost 4 times more expensive than the currency here. If possible ask someone who can compare both please, you will be helping me a lot.

 

[buke9]

Can not you recall the days when you heard the Ol Dac? Because if what they said is true then I do not have to pay $ 100 more, since in my country the dollar is almost 4 times more expensive than the currency here. If possible ask someone who can compare both please, you will be helping me a lot.

You would be fine with either. Not that big of difference between the two.

 

[Foodworx]

You would be fine with either. Not that big of difference between the two.

OP here, i actually went with the schiit stack (magni 3 and modi multibit). i reaaallllyyy wanted a reason to get the el stack and found myself trying damn hard to rationalize the purchase (mostly because a e s t h e t i c and #DAT #KNOB #THO), but the marginal benefit was just far too little for me. for the price of just the el dac i can almost get the entire schiit stack. to be perfectly honest, am i personally going to notice the difference between 24 bit vs 32 bit or the very slight differences in jitter? no way, and from what i read on the people that can, they have to really be trying with multiple intense A/B tests to discern it. and if thats the case, then in everyday usage and music enjoyment, there's not a chance im going to notice at all, and i have hunch thats how it is for most people out there past a couple hundred dollars and much of discussion about dacs and whatnot is smoke and mirrors ad placebo or only applies if they're really trying hard to tell the difference instead of practical usage/enjoyment. also for 32bit, i decided theres not enough support for me to justify it. im sure theres people out there where its worth it to buy el dac, but the sheer value of the schiit stack vs el stack and given the gear i have, i got the schiit stack.

then again, did i spend the extra couple hundred i saved on anything meaningful? not particularly. a few nights out the bar and some dumb crap on ebay and thats it so i could have gotten it if i wanted.

EDIT: THEY EL DAC AND MIMBY COST THE SAME, I AM FULL OF crap. DONT LISTEN TO THE FALSE PROPHET.

 

[Renato Fury]

OP here, i actually went with the schiit stack (magni 3 and modi multibit). i reaaallllyyy wanted a reason to get the el stack and found myself trying damn hard to rationalize the purchase (mostly because a e s t h e t i c and #DAT #KNOB #THO), but the marginal benefit was just far too little for me. for the price of just the el dac i can almost get the entire schiit stack. to be perfectly honest, am i personally going to notice the difference between 24 bit vs 32 bit or the very slight differences in jitter? no way, and from what i read on the people that can, they have to really be trying with multiple intense A/B tests to discern it. and if thats the case, then in everyday usage and music enjoyment, there's not a chance im going to notice at all, and i have hunch thats how it is for most people out there past a couple hundred dollars and much of discussion about dacs and whatnot is smoke and mirrors ad placebo or only applies if they're really trying hard to tell the difference instead of practical usage/enjoyment. also for 32bit, i decided theres not enough support for me to justify it. im sure theres people out there where its worth it to buy el dac, but the sheer value of the schiit stack vs el stack and given the gear i have, i got the schiit stack.

then again, did i spend the extra couple hundred i saved on anything meaningful? not particularly. a few nights out the bar and some dumb **** on ebay and thats it so i could have gotten it if i wanted.

El Dac has the same value as Modi Multibit. In fact it could even cost $ 50 less if you bought the b-stock version, and as for the amp it might be the same Magni 3, but whatever you did made a great choice, but then, you're already with the Schiit stack in hands?

 

[Foodworx]

El Dac has the same value as Modi Multibit. In fact it could even cost $ 50 less if you bought the b-stock version, and as for the amp it might be the same Magni 3, but whatever you did made a great choice, but then, you're already with the Schiit stack in hands?

oh **** youre right, i mustve been thinking of el amp vs magni 3 then.

 

[ostewart]

Without having the Mimby to a/b it would be hard to say. The guys at JDS Labs were nice enough to lend me a EL Dac as my Yggy is going in for repairs and upgrade at the meet today and think it is one fine dac. It was on my main system with the Amps and Sound Kenzie and Cavalli Liquid Carbon running the HD-800’s,Ether-C’s and AB-1266 Abyss and thought it sounded just fine if not pretty good. It is well built looks good and sounds good. Didn’t get a chance to listen to the Element as I was having troubles with my 8 year old MacBook Pro and then a guy came in with a pair of Stax Sigma’s and SR-009’s so lost track of time sorry.

See that's what I like about the EL DAC, even in a high end system it never sounds like it is the bottleneck. I used mine with a Violectric V281 + HiFiMan Susvara and it sounded excellent.

@Renato Fury I have not tried the Mimby, so I cannot comment on the differences.