[-ImageX]

Its 100% getting used to it as break in does not occur for integrated circuits or power transformers.

I know the difference between “getting use to it” and a drastic change in output. Regardless if it were break in or a problem correcting itself.... it was 100% NOT just getting use to it.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

I think so. I would stop using it until you get the proper power supply.

As others have noted, Schiit actually ships the 14V with the Modibit sometimes. But I did order the correct 16V supply from Schiit anyway, and the only change I can detect clearly is that it's putting out a full line-level signal now; it was lower before, so now it gives me a little bit more headroom on the magni 3, which is worth it to me, since I use a lot of power hungry planars.

Subjectively I FEEL like Modi might be a little more crisp sounding too now, but I have a low confidence about that (I don't have tools to volume match within 1dB anyway) and I'm not going to bother ABing it

 

[DJ The Rocket]

Question for others using the preamp outs on their Magni 3: where do you set the volume on the Magni? 100%? Which happens to be WAY above line level...

I'm using it as a "preamp" for my Stax amp, which doesn't truly need one, but it's more convenient than switching cables. Should I just get an RCA Y-cable to plug the DAC directly into both amps at once? FWIW I'm not sure but I think I can detect a difference in quality: using Magni 3 at 50% volume (and the Stax at 12:00) doesn't sound as good as turning the Magni up and the Stax down (100% and 10:00). Yeah, keeping the Magni at 100% sounds damn good. I'm pretty sure my Stax is rated to accept twice line level, which is probably about what it's getting. Does anyone know for sure?


Edit: My Magni is easy to reach, my much larger Stax amp not so much. I've set the Stax to the max. volume I'm going to want, and I'm using the Magni for most adjustments. As long as I keep the Magni above 75% I can't tell any difference in the sound quality.

 

[DJ The Rocket]

I've experienced similar things myself with much less powerful amps getting much louder even if they can't power them fully. I've owned and heard a lot of amps, so not surprised by his findings.

Is this possibly a volume vs. gain thing? More gain = more volume, effectively, but that comes with problems such as raising the noise floor with the volume. And as you point out, gain cannot replace actual power!

My Jot definitely was better sounding after a few days...no doubt about it.

Using what headphones? Better sounding in what way? This is a comparison I'd like to hear more about! Or wait, were you only talking about "burn in"?

I don't want to say you're wrong, I don't know enough to say that burn-in shouldn't have an effect on an SS amp, but what could possibly be happening in there? An amp is not a mechanical device, there are no moving parts that need to be seated together. I've heard that brand new capacitors can sometimes "burn-in" with use, but if I understand right Schiit didn't put any in the audio path

 

[thaimeo1]

Hello guys.
Have anyone tried magni 3 with HE400i. i have been looking for an amp for my HE400i, i have not tried the Magni3 as the shipment to my country takes so long.

P/S I have been considering buying the Jotunheim thanks to its XLR output( which will cost me $150 more for upgrading my cable as well). Does the improvement worth the money difference?

 

[DudeImBetter]

Hello guys.
Have anyone tried magni 3 with HE400i. i have been looking for an amp for my HE400i, i have not tried the Magni3 as the shipment to my country takes so long.

P/S I have been considering buying the Jotunheim thanks to its XLR output( which will cost me $150 more for upgrading my cable as well). Does the improvement worth the money difference?

I'm not an expert on amps or headphones in general, but I currently have the fiio q1 dac -> magni 3 -> he 400i. It sounds pretty good, definitely a big jump from on-board amp or the q1 amp. Compared to the magni 2 it sounds smoother if that makes sense, and the highs are a little more tamed but not much more than the magni 2. I wouldn't be able to compare it to the Jotunheim, but if you're currently using the 400i's without amping them this is definitely gonna make a big difference. Off topic but in the mean time try these equalizer settings on the 400is with the new plugs https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-he-400i-impressions-and-discussion.698974/page-533, they reduce the harshness in the highs which is more present without an amp, mids sound much cleaner too in my opinion.

 

[DavidA]

Hello guys.
Have anyone tried magni 3 with HE400i. i have been looking for an amp for my HE400i, i have not tried the Magni3 as the shipment to my country takes so long.

P/S I have been considering buying the Jotunheim thanks to its XLR output( which will cost me $150 more for upgrading my cable as well). Does the improvement worth the money difference?

Tried the Magni3 with HE400i a week ago at a friends house, pretty good to great for the price IMO. I wouldn't get the Jot for the HE400i due to it being a bit bright to me and while the allure of a balanced output on the Jot is nice I didn't notice any difference in sound quality from the SE output after level matching with the HE400i. Note that the differences between the balanced and SE output might be different for different headphones but for the HD800, HE560 and T1 that I tried on the Jot it was just too bright and made all 3 a bit harsh in the highs so any gains in bass, mids, sound stage or instrument separation, etc is moot since the highs were harsh to me.

 

[Panimation]

Mine arrived today! Really happy with it

 

[Tuneslover]

Is this possibly a volume vs. gain thing? More gain = more volume, effectively, but that comes with problems such as raising the noise floor with the volume. And as you point out, gain cannot replace actual power!



Using what headphones? Better sounding in what way? This is a comparison I'd like to hear more about! Or wait, were you only talking about "burn in"?

I don't want to say you're wrong, I don't know enough to say that burn-in shouldn't have an effect on an SS amp, but what could possibly be happening in there? An amp is not a mechanical device, there are no moving parts that need to be seated together. I've heard that brand new capacitors can sometimes "burn-in" with use, but if I understand right Schiit didn't put any in the audio path

Bifrost Multibit > Jotunheim > HD650 (balanced) and HE500 (balanced).

On initial listen the amp sounded quite dark. Also the soundscape sounded very left channel, right channel centric. My initial impresseion was that the amp sounded very strange so I just left it on all day and night fed by a source in continuous play mode. The next morning I gave a listen and the soundscape was noticeably more expansive with considerably more detail, almost a bit bright sounding compared to initial listening. Over the next number of days the change wasn't as starkly noticeable however the amp seemed to settle in nicely becoming cleaner more refined sounding. When I push the volume up the headphones sound very clean and there is no harshness to the sound (unlike the Magni and Magni 2U I owned earler). I can attest that the HD650's do indeed scale with improved amplification as they sound very good indeed with no hint of veil in their signature (once again, unlike my first Magni).

Call it what you want, burn-in, breaking-in period, settliing-in...whatever? All that I can say is that there was a noticeable (and memorable) improvement in sound quality with this amp.

 

[ScOgLiO]

mine arrived today and I'm happy for two reasons.
First, I noticed an improvement in the sound (namely, a wider soundstage and a tad more clarity) I get with my HD25 II, meaning it actually wasn't running at full potential with the integrated amp of my X-Fi HD. I just can't wait to hear what this little amp (man, it's seriously tiny!) is capable of, when I'll get my hands on some higher tier cans.
Secondly, I got lucky and did not have to pay custom charges! By the way, kudos to the fellas at Schiit for shipping super quickly! At the end of the day, I got the amp in just 2 days (Cali to the Netherlands!) and even saved a few €s compared to what I would have paid had I decided to wait for the European sellers to get new stock.

Now I'll enjoy my rig and plan a headphones update to join the big boys and squeeze some real juice out of the Magni

 

[mmmadog]

After listening some I must say this Schiit really does sound good on my 600ohm dt880. At first I thought it was a little bright but I think its just brighter than what I was use to and the 880's are know to be somewhat bright. Low sub bass and bass in general has some good slam and really surprising when you look over and this little amp that could fit in your front pocket is sounding so good. I do feel like the mid range can get a little congested when there is alot going on in a song but other than that I think Schiit has a winner in the Magni 3

 

[sennsay]

Bifrost Multibit > Jotunheim > HD650 (balanced) and HE500 (balanced).

On initial listen the amp sounded quite dark. Also the soundscape sounded very left channel, right channel centric. My initial impresseion was that the amp sounded very strange so I just left it on all day and night fed by a source in continuous play mode. The next morning I gave a listen and the soundscape was noticeably more expansive with considerably more detail, almost a bit bright sounding compared to initial listening. Over the next number of days the change wasn't as starkly noticeable however the amp seemed to settle in nicely becoming cleaner more refined sounding. When I push the volume up the headphones sound very clean and there is no harshness to the sound (unlike the Magni and Magni 2U I owned earler). I can attest that the HD650's do indeed scale with improved amplification as they sound very good indeed with no hint of veil in their signature (once again, unlike my first Magni).

Call it what you want, burn-in, breaking-in period, settliing-in...whatever? All that I can say is that there was a noticeable (and memorable) improvement in sound quality with this amp.

Agreed. My own experience was almost identical. I'm just getting on and enjoying it now.

 

[niknik]

mine arrived today and I'm happy for two reasons.
First, I noticed an improvement in the sound (namely, a wider soundstage and a tad more clarity) I get with my HD25 II, meaning it actually wasn't running at full potential with the integrated amp of my X-Fi HD. I just can't wait to hear what this little amp (man, it's seriously tiny!) is capable of, when I'll get my hands on some higher tier cans.
Secondly, I got lucky and did not have to pay custom charges! By the way, kudos to the fellas at Schiit for shipping super quickly! At the end of the day, I got the amp in just 2 days (Cali to the Netherlands!) and even saved a few €s compared to what I would have paid had I decided to wait for the European sellers to get new stock.

Now I'll enjoy my rig and plan a headphones update to join the big boys and squeeze some real juice out of the Magni

So you saved money on ordering from overseas, huh? What about import taxes? Was just seeing they don't have it on the EU site.. (I'm in Scandinavia).

 

[ScOgLiO]

So you saved money on ordering from overseas, huh? What about import taxes? Was just seeing they don't have it on the EU site.. (I'm in Scandinavia).

Yep, exactly. I also checked beforehand on their EU website, on Schiit-Europe.com and on a UK-based website whose name I forgot...no Magni 3 on sale at the moment, all of them out of stock!
Anyway, I would have spent €150 to buy it and the PYST RCA cable from Schiit-Europe.com, I ended up spending the equivalent of roughly €145 (a bit less than that) buying it from Schiit with the fast FedEx shipping.

The point is, European resellers already factor in their prices custom charges (given they import from the US) and then some. I understand that, because they're in for making a profit, but if you get lucky like me (i.e. not paying custom charges) you end up saving money buying directly from the US!

Clearly, a big chunk of the final price comes from the outrageously expensive shipping (about $44, which is A LOT given the price of the amp...) so us Europeans are clearly bound to get less of a deal out of buying Schiit products. Of course, for the American fellas an amp like the M3 is a no-brainer. But I think that, even considering shipping and custom charges (if you are forced to pay them, as it is most likely), this little amp is still a great value for price item.

As we can read in this thread, it is absolutely great with most headphones, even hard-to-drive ones, and I bet it might be the end game for a lot of people. So, probably worth the money anyway, even if we don't get the incredible awesome price people from the US get.

My 2 cents

 

[vampirehunterd]

After listening some I must say this Schiit really does sound good on my 600ohm dt880. At first I thought it was a little bright but I think its just brighter than what I was use to and the 880's are know to be somewhat bright. Low sub bass and bass in general has some good slam and really surprising when you look over and this little amp that could fit in your front pocket is sounding so good. I do feel like the mid range can get a little congested when there is alot going on in a song but other than that I think Schiit has a winner in the Magni 3

Totally agree. Similar setup except the 250 ohm DT880s and I'm really enjoying the sound for my office setup. Limited desk real estate makes a Schiit stack ideal for quality sound with a small footprint. I'm glad Schiit makes products like this for those of us with limited expendable income.