[FrivolsListener]

Thank you for simple and concise feedback.

So Magni 3 with modi multibit, including RCA cable and shipping would be about 380~390.
Within that price range, we have NFB11 or R2R 11 as its competitor, in terms of price.

Any feedback on this one? Thank you.

No knowledge, sorry.

Previous DACs of any significance were Schiit delta-sigma DACs (1 bit) and M-Audio prosumer ADC/DAC. The multibit DACs from Schiit are far better.

 

[Cer3lakIller]

No knowledge, sorry.

Previous DACs of any significance were Schiit delta-sigma DACs (1 bit) and M-Audio prosumer ADC/DAC. The multibit DACs from Schiit are far better.

Reviews and Impresons of recognized audiophiles (kindly joking here) gave both nbf11 and r2r really good marks, for real those things from audiogd seem to be really nice in both subjects, dac and amp, watch the z reviews or some other reviews on YouTube, I'm getting my hands on the 11 as soon as can.

 

[FrivolsListener]

Reviews and Impresons of recognized audiophiles (kindly joking here) gave both nbf11 and r2r really good marks, for real those things from audiogd seem to be really nice in both subjects, dac and amp, watch the z reviews or some other reviews on YouTube, I'm getting my hands on the 11 as soon as can.

Are you going to get a Schiit multibit stack to compare them to?

 

[Cer3lakIller]

Are you going to get a Schiit multibit stack to compare them to?

No, I already own a Sanskrit, a xonar DX old but trusty as medium reference line, and another decent audio interface for music production with some good enough dacs, a mica origen for portable, and some other cheaper ones that I dont use much, the combined dac and amp from adg product might be endgame to me, hopefully, I do plane to order a magni 3 in the future if regular consent is that is good enough , but since I don't have any extremely hard to drive headphones im in no hurry

 

[FrivolsListener]

No, I already own a Sanskrit, a xonar DX old but trusty as medium reference line, and another decent audio interface for music production with some good enough dacs, a mica origen for portable, and some other cheaper ones that I dont use much, the combined dac and amp from adg product might be endgame to me, hopefully, I do plane to order a magni 3 in the future if regular consent is that is good enough , but since I don't have any extremely hard to drive headphones im in no hurry

The multibit DAC is key. Everyone else is getting their DAC chips from the usual suspects. The multibit DACs are truly unique creations of @Baldr and stand apart. I certainly like Schiit amps and their price/performance is out of sight, IMO, but the DACs are unique and can't be bought at any price elsewhere.

 

[Cer3lakIller]

The multibit DAC is key. Everyone else is getting their DAC chips from the usual suspects. The multibit DACs are truly unique creations of @Baldr and stand apart. I certainly like Schiit amps and their price/performance is out of sight, IMO, but the DACs are unique and can't be bought at any price elsewhere.

Yeh, I'm certainly sure it's an awesome equipment im just not that good at finding differences in sound quality from already good enough dacs to the outstanding all in megasuperduper techie ones, amps on the other hand I find more things to enjoy about theme, each one does it's own little coloring, crap I'm even thinking of geting a Loki mini with that magni 3, so u can make the impresión, I like things transparent in the dac and fun on the amp

 

[FrivolsListener]

Yeh, I'm certainly sure it's an awesome equipment im just not that good at finding differences in sound quality from already good enough dacs to the outstanding all in megasuperduper techie ones, amps on the other hand I find more things to enjoy about theme, each one does it's own little coloring, **** I'm even thinking of geting a Loki mini with that magni 3, so u can make the impresión, I like things transparent in the dac and fun on the amp

I can post a link that'll show you the difference. It was what floored me. And at $250, the modi multibit is a steal.

(no, I don't get a commission; I'm just an enthusiastic believer in what Schiit did. Hearing was believing!)

 

[Cer3lakIller]

I can post a link that'll show you the difference. It was what floored me. And at $250, the modi multibit is a steal.

(no, I don't get a commission; I'm just an enthusiastic believer in what Schiit did. Hearing was believing!)

Jeje, okay men I'll take your word on it, but you know it's a hard on the pocket hobby

 

[DavidA]

I can post a link that'll show you the difference. It was what floored me. And at $250, the modi multibit is a steal.

(no, I don't get a commission; I'm just an enthusiastic believer in what Schiit did. Hearing was believing!)

Is the link to tracks that can show you the differences between DACs or just some reading with just charts and graphs to prove a point?

 

[erics75]

I know this is impressions guide, but quick question.

I am currently tired of waiting for Modi 3, which is unlikely to come out any sooner I think. I am considering either:
1. Magni 3 and Modi Multibit
2. Jotunheim with Dac.

Any opinions on this matter? I am willing to throw down max $500, but no more honestly.

I have K712 Pro and HD6xx on the way.

I do understand that balanced output is only +@ in some ways, and I might buy some in future if worth.

But I just want amp dac to be completely finished with after this purchase, and I may also buy speakers. Like famous JBL.

But for now, I will be using headphones most of the time.
Sound quality, benefits of balanced and such would be nice area to be covered.

Or even any other suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

PS. and what is that passive phono or something?

i wouldnt hold your breath on a modi 3 anytime soon (having said that i'm sure schiit will announce one tomorrow....), go with the modibit, it's exceptional. the magni 3 pairs well with your headphones so you're set. if you were to get a jotunheim, go amp only and get a modibit with it. either amp, get the modibit, it's awesome. i own all three and can say with the modibit doing dac duty, the differences between the m3 and jot are subtle. you really have to know your gear and music to appreciate the differences, as they're not smack you upside the head noticeable, at least to these old ears. the main difference between them is the jot is brighter and has more emphatic bass delivery. the m3 is smoother, more even toned, and makes nice with just about everything i've plugged into it. the jot tends to exacerbate bright headphones, like my th900. unless you know for sure you want that extra sparkle and extension up top, i'd say go m3, you wont be missing anything.

 

[erics75]

I'm wondering if the Magni 3 would be a good option for me.

I've been using the dragonfly black for my headphones (NAD Viso HP50, Brainwavz HM5s) and have found it has significantly improved my audio. But these are low impedance phones, so I run the volume on my computer pretty low (I raise the DFB volume to max, system volume down). I've also put in an order for SHP9500s, which are easy to drive, but would probably benefit from amping.

Now I'd like to set up a dedicated amp/DAC at home on my desktop like the Magni 3 (DAC undecided yet). Would it be a good choice if my headphones are all low impedance? I'm worried that even in low gain it might be a bit much. I'm strongly considering the massdrop O2 amp instead because it offers zero gain at low. I might buy some harder to drive headphones in the future but probably the HD650 at most, which should be easily driven by the high gain on the O2 amp.

What other differences might I expect between the Magni 3 and the O2 amp in terms of sound - the O2 is supposed to be "clean", does the magni have a distinctive signature or is it too subtle to tell?

first, run your source (windows) at 100% volume and lower the amp volume, you'll get better performance.

with the headphones you have, and are buying, i'd get something else. i just sold my hp50, but listened to it quite a bit with the magni 3 (m3), and even on low gain i had the volume really really low. it was total overkill, honestly. if you can grab a used grace m9xx or m900, that would be an awesome dac/amp combo for your setup. or even a schiit fulla 2. the o2 is another good option as well. if you have room for it, the good old asgard 2 would be a great amp as well. i found the gain much more reasonable on my old A2, i could plug in very efficient headphones on low gain and have lots of volume control without being at the bottom of the dail. it's class A though so it's HOT...

 

[FrivolsListener]

Is the link to tracks that can show you the differences between DACs or just some reading with just charts and graphs to prove a point?

It's a single track. I'm trying not to break fair-use rules. This particular track isn't famous, but it made me sit up and take notice since I know the album well. The difference in how the tambourine sounds blew me away.

Here it is: http://www.pinewood-wireless.net/demo.flac

 

[Cheffy]

first, run your source (windows) at 100% volume and lower the amp volume, you'll get better performance.

with the headphones you have, and are buying, i'd get something else. i just sold my hp50, but listened to it quite a bit with the magni 3 (m3), and even on low gain i had the volume really really low. it was total overkill, honestly. if you can grab a used grace m9xx or m900, that would be an awesome dac/amp combo for your setup. or even a schiit fulla 2. the o2 is another good option as well. if you have room for it, the good old asgard 2 would be a great amp as well. i found the gain much more reasonable on my old A2, i could plug in very efficient headphones on low gain and have lots of volume control without being at the bottom of the dail. it's class A though so it's HOT...

Wow this is perfect, thanks for the response. JDL has free shipping right now and B-stock, so I think I'm going to go with the Objective O2 Amp and OL DAC.

 

[kotomikun]

It's a single track. I'm trying not to break fair-use rules. This particular track isn't famous, but it made me sit up and take notice since I know the album well. The difference in how the tambourine sounds blew me away.

A single track doesn't demonstrate anything unless they switch DACs at least once while playing it (otherwise the difference between that and some other copy of the song could be due to some other device, compression, volume, etc.). If they did that somewhere in there, I couldn't hear it. And even if it does sound different, it's not necessarily better... which would be fine, except multibit devices seem to cost at least $100 more than non-multibit ones. I haven't heard any fancy DACs yet, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but multibitness reeks of snake oil to me.

I bought a Topping D30, which should get here tomorrow, to see if it combined with a Magni 3 makes enough of an improvement to keep the pair of them, instead of just running an HD650 straight from my laptop. Measurements of that one seem good. Compared well to the ubiquitous ODAC. And it's half the price of the Modi-bit. (Also, the regular Modi seems to have some issues, and it's hard to say whether the multibit version does away with all of them.)

 

[FrivolsListener]

A single track doesn't demonstrate anything unless they switch DACs at least once while playing it (otherwise the difference between that and some other copy of the song could be due to some other device, compression, volume, etc.). If they did that somewhere in there, I couldn't hear it. And even if it does sound different, it's not necessarily better... which would be fine, except multibit devices seem to cost at least $100 more than non-multibit ones. I haven't heard any fancy DACs yet, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but multibitness reeks of snake oil to me.

I bought a Topping D30, which should get here tomorrow, to see if it combined with a Magni 3 makes enough of an improvement to keep the pair of them, instead of just running an HD650 straight from my laptop. Measurements of that one seem good. Compared well to the ubiquitous ODAC. And it's half the price of the Modi-bit. (Also, the regular Modi seems to have some issues, and it's hard to say whether the multibit version does away with all of them.)

Are you serious?

You listen to the track. You get to know it. You switch DACs and listen again.

This track is what gave me the WOW! reaction to the multibit DACs. As it turns out, Mike had used this album (this issue, this mastering) as a reference for one of the Theta Digital DACs.

So pick your DAC. Doesn't have to be Modi. If it's a 1-bit delta-sigma DAC, this recording will show you a difference. A big one. All you have to do is listen.