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Magni 3 Impressions
Nov 6, 2017 at 2:21 AM Post #871 of 2,593
Merkurio said:
Anyone use the Magni 3 connected direct to the PC motherboard?

I like how the ALC1220 audio codec sounds on my PC, but the amplifier section is somewhat weak with my KNS-8400.
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Didn't have the Magni3 back then but used my Asgard2 with the line out of Asus ROG mobo back a few years ago, can't remember the model but it was an LGA-1150 version. I also used a Asus STX card to drive my HD700 when I was playing games more often but it was also able to drive my HD650 to a decent level but it like the HD650 paired with a Bifrost Uber + BH Crack much better.
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 6:49 AM Post #872 of 2,593
UPDATE: I spent some time A/Bing tonight: I tried running my DAC (Momby) either directly into the back of my Stax 727A, or into the Magni 3, then to the Stax via the preamp outs (with the Magni set to 100% volume and low gain). Headphones are Stax Lambda Pros, for music I've been going through some of the best sounding 320 kbps mp3s in my collection. I listened only to EDM.

I am pleased to report that I can detect NO DIFFERENCE in sound quality, regardless of whether I used the Magni or bypassed it. It effects the signal not at all.

Great work Schiit! This is my first Schiit amp, and I couldn't be happier with it. If the Vidar is similarly good, I might not even demo other amps!
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 4:46 PM Post #873 of 2,593
Played the stack some more last nite. I have it hooked to a windows 7 laptop and tweaked the settings turning the gain all the way up and I had forgot there is a little tiny switch on the back of the Modi for higher quality sound and you have to install a driver which I did. Much better. All of the brightness and grain went away and it is finally sounding smooth but with some impact. Does almost make music sound like you are listening live.
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 5:14 PM Post #874 of 2,593
mmmadog said:
there is a little tiny switch on the back of the Modi for higher quality sound
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I think you mean the switch on the Magni? Congrats on discovering one of the biggest causes of subjective bias in audio.

That switch does not affect the sound quality, BTW. That's the high/low gain switch. You perceived that it sounded better after you flipped to high gain because it was louder: humans perceive a LOUDER signal as being CLEANER, even though the sound quality is the exact same either way.

This is the reason volume matching is so important, when comparing gears. If one is even 1dB louder than the other, it's going to sound better to you, even though it isn't better. Speaker salesmen know this and exploit it to get customers to buy the more expensive stuff, they just play it slightly louder on your demo to trick you
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 5:27 PM Post #877 of 2,593
DJ The Rocket said:
I think you mean the switch on the Magni? Congrats on discovering one of the biggest causes of subjective bias in audio.

That switch does not affect the sound quality, BTW. That's the high/low gain switch. You perceived that it sounded better after you flipped to high gain because it was louder: humans perceive a LOUDER signal as being CLEANER, even though the sound quality is the exact same either way.

This is the reason volume matching is so important, when comparing gears. If one is even 1dB louder than the other, it's going to sound better to you, even though it isn't better. Speaker salesmen know this and exploit it to get customers to buy the more expensive stuff, they just play it slightly louder on your demo to trick you
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I think they mean the e/s switch. modi.PNG
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 5:52 PM Post #879 of 2,593
DJ The Rocket said:
Yep that's definitely not present on my Multibit. What does it do, exactly, and again, why would anyone use the lower quality setting for any reason ever?
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I’m pretty sure the S is for Standard and the E is for Expert.... as in install. Expert install requires drivers to be installed on PC and allows for higher quality files to be played. So, they would choose “lower quality” if they didn’t want to use the option of installing drivers.
 
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Nov 7, 2017 at 5:55 PM Post #880 of 2,593
-ImageX said:
I’m pretty sure the S is for Standard and the E is for Expert.... as in install. Expert install requires drivers to be installed on PC and allows for higher quality files to be played. So, they would choose “lower quality” if they didn’t want the option of installing drivers.
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The "E" setting enables 24/192 playback, which requires a driver install on Windows machines.
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 6:27 PM Post #882 of 2,593
fyi If you are running the Win10 creator's update from last year, you theoretically do not need the driver as USB Audio Class 2 drivers should come packaged with windows now.
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 7:32 PM Post #883 of 2,593
Yep, Windows 10 automatically installed a driver for my Mimby as soon as I plugged it in
 
Nov 7, 2017 at 7:35 PM Post #884 of 2,593
The real reason three or so years ago goes like this:

At that time, MACs, Linux, and most Android machines did not require drivers for 192KHz (Expert) mode. Windows, up until the recent Creator's update, did require drivers for Expert (AKA UAC2) mode, which could be, as any Windoze driver, finicky to install. Since Modi2 was a product aimed at entry level users who were less likely to twiddle with their computers, we sent the units out at 96KHz and below (Standard) mode.

Since Microsoft with their Creator's update now has finally brought their Digital audio output up to the level of most phones, it really is time to correct the default ship mode of all Modi DACs to Expert, which will happen effective now. However, since there are thousands of Modi DACs in the field, it may be necessary to verify that the switch is set to Expert.
 
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