[Tuneslover]

I have to say that this topic makes the phrase "beating a dead horse" clear.

 

[rutter]

It's more like two dead horses that refuse to pass on. Anyway, if you're on a budget the Magni 3 at $100 is an excellent choice. I think I can agree with Schiit that it can leave you satisfied. I'll take a Modi 2 and Magni 3 for $200 over an iFi Micro Black Label or a Chord Mojo for $600-$550, and from what I read it stacks very well against other desktop choices.

 

[DavidA]

It's more like two dead horses that refuse to pass on. Anyway, if you're on a budget the Magni 3 at $100 is an excellent choice. I think I can agree with Schiit that it can leave you satisfied. I'll take a Modi 2 and Magni 3 for $200 over an iFi Micro Black Label or a Chord Mojo for $600-$550, and from what I read it stacks very well against other desktop choices.

I think the choice between the Modi2uber or Modi MB + Magni3 or the Mojo or iFi Black is also dependent on the headphones that one has since some headphones sound better with certain amps and its also a personal preference.

 

[eruditass]

Does anyone get a low frequency hum? It does waver in amplitude and harmonics over time, but mostly remains lower frequency. My Ety ER4P picks it up. EDIT: also hear it on all of my headphones (even the 2016 LCD2F and DT880 on high gain)

It's not the typical noise floor that sounds like white noise and changes with the potentiometer. It is amplified by the gain switch.

Could this be ground loop? I did try switching to a different wall socket from everything else and it remained.

My SOHA II in either wall socket does not have this issue (but does have a higher white noise floor).

Source is Laptop -USB-> E-MU 0404 (has it's own power supply) -> Amp

 

[mabuk]

Bought a SMSL M6 dac/amp for my old Sennheiser HD600's a few years ago and it was a massive improvement over what I'd been using previously. It did become a little fatiguing to listen to at the levels I wanted - not particularly loud, overall good value. Wanted something with analogue inputs so I could plug other stuff into it and decided to go with the Magni 3. Could immediately play at decent levels without it sounding annoying, was obviously more pleasurable to listen to.

Then bought a Topping D30 to use as a source to free up the smsl to be plugged in elsewhere. Couldn't tell any difference between the topping and the smsl dac when plugged into the magni, thankfully.

 

[eldus]

Does anyone get a low frequency hum when connecting high sensitivity headphones? It does waver in amplitude and harmonics over time, but mostly remains lower frequency. My Ety ER4P sometimes picks it up, but my 108 dB IEMs and earbuds makes it always noticeable, especially on high gain.

It's not the typical noise floor that sounds like white noise and changes with the potentiometer. It is amplified by the gain switch.

Could this be ground loop? I did try switching to a different wall socket from everything else and it remained.

My SOHA II in either wall socket does not have this issue (but does have a higher white noise floor).

Source is Laptop -USB-> E-MU 0404 (has it's own power supply) -> Amp

Yes, I do as well. Even when nothing is connected to it; The pot does nothing to change the buzz and hum. Old house, '54. I'm guessing its dirty power. sometimes its non existent. I've tried every outlet in the house while turning off the A/C. Interestingly enough, When I put my Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) into battery backup mode (by unplugging it) its absolutely fine, no noise (not sustainable in the long run obv). So in my case, its the unit not liking the power. My Kenwood receiver has no issue with hum on the same outlet and thus power source.

Or maybe the power supply is picky/cheap. idk if its safe to try out different wall warts

 

[riffrafff]

Yes, I do as well. Even when nothing is connected to it; The pot does nothing to change the buzz and hum. Old house, '54. I'm guessing its dirty power. sometimes its non existent. I've tried every outlet in the house while turning off the A/C. Interestingly enough, When I put my Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) into battery backup mode (by unplugging it) its absolutely fine, no noise (not sustainable in the long run obv). So in my case, its the unit not liking the power. My Kenwood receiver has no issue with hum on the same outlet and thus power source.

Or maybe the power supply is picky/cheap. idk if its safe to try out different wall warts

A different wall-wart might be an issue, unless you know of a source of AC-output wall-warts (most are DC switching supplies). All the rectification and filtering of the Magni 3 is on-board. Maybe try a Cthulu? Or an AC isolator/conditioner?

 

[ootrom]

Whasis "Mimby" you folks keep speaking of?

 

[JamminVMI]

Whasis "Mimby" you folks keep speaking of?

Modi Multibit - leadt dear of the Schiit multibit DACs at (methinks) 250ish...

 

[sennsay]

Whasis "Mimby" you folks keep speaking of?

Mimby, Bimby and Yggy are the three R2R (resistor to resistor) ladder DACs made by Schiit Audio; Modi Multibit, Bifrost Multibit and Yggdrasil.

 

[joeexp]

Mimby, Bimby and Yggy are the three R2R (resistor to resistor) ladder DACs made by Schiit Audio; Modi Multibit, Bifrost Multibit and Yggdrasil.

Not to forget the Gumby Multibit!

 

[sennsay]

Not to forget the Gumby Multibit!

Oh yeah Four of them.

 

[eruditass]

Yes, I do as well. Even when nothing is connected to it; The pot does nothing to change the buzz and hum. Old house, '54. I'm guessing its dirty power. sometimes its non existent. I've tried every outlet in the house while turning off the A/C. Interestingly enough, When I put my Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) into battery backup mode (by unplugging it) its absolutely fine, no noise (not sustainable in the long run obv). So in my case, its the unit not liking the power. My Kenwood receiver has no issue with hum on the same outlet and thus power source.

Or maybe the power supply is picky/cheap. idk if its safe to try out different wall warts

A different wall-wart might be an issue, unless you know of a source of AC-output wall-warts (most are DC switching supplies). All the rectification and filtering of the Magni 3 is on-board. Maybe try a Cthulu? Or an AC isolator/conditioner?

Looks like we just need to find one that outputs 14 VAC and at least 1.5 amps. But yeah DC switching ones are much more common

So it's even audible the Q701 and DT880 on high gain (not normally needed unless listening to high dynamic range classical music or using heavy EQ). I did find my laptop power brick (Dell M6800) going into my dock is causing most (but not all) of the noise: if I moved that to different breaker circuit (had to use an extension cord to another room) most of it goes away. Tried 3 other of the same power bricks, same. This house was built in the mid 80's.

Still, even with the louder noise, the SOHA II was dead silent, with similar output volumes. So perhaps the Magni 3's rectification and filtering is not as robust as others and an AC isolator/conditioner would solve it, which may not be surprising given the price. Though I'd like to know if some of ours are more sensitive than others before investing in one.

EDIT: also audible on my 2016 LCD-2Fs

Last night I started to hear a low hum coming from my M3 which I thought might be something wrong with it because it was only on high gain, which is all I use. Then I thought it was some kind of interference because it just happened so suddenly and thankfully that's all it was. It was something coming from my surge protector because when I plugged my Mimby and M3 into a different socket all was well.

Did you have hum on your Magni 2 or vali on the same surge protector?

Also what wall-warts do you have for which amps? XY-14001500AU? YP-088?

 

[eldus]

Looks like we just need to find one that outputs 14 VAC and at least 1.5 amps. But yeah DC switching ones are much more common

So it's even audible the Q701 and DT880 on high gain (not normally needed unless listening to high dynamic range classical music or using heavy EQ). I did find my laptop power brick (Dell M6800) going into my dock is causing most (but not all) of the noise: if I moved that to different breaker circuit (had to use an extension cord to another room) most of it goes away. Tried 3 other of the same power bricks, same. This house was built in the mid 80's.

Still, even with the louder noise, the SOHA II was dead silent, with similar output volumes. So perhaps the Magni 3's rectification and filtering is not as robust as others and an AC isolator/conditioner would solve it, which may not be surprising given the price. Though I'd like to know if some of ours are more sensitive than others before investing in one.

Its odd because today, its been just fine. Totally silent on high or low gain.

 

[riffrafff]

Do you (or know anyone who does) have an oscilloscope? Maybe there's noise visible on the line.