[sennfan83261]

A CTH owner PM'd me to compare the CTH, Piety, and SW51+, so here goes:

The chain is Musicbee (FLAC) (WASAPI) > Modi 3 (USB) > Amp > HD6XX
Notes:
- CTH uses a non-stock tube (Sylvania 6C8G) + socket saver + adapter (6922/6DJ8 to 6F8G) and I used its 4-pin XLR output
- Piety set to high gain (low gain sounds too thin, even on the HD6XX)
- I also tried the Grado Hemps on the Piety, which I didn't really like. I do not know whether I didn't like Grado Hemps on the Piety or those headphones in general.
- Stock tubes on the SW51 sound very nice. I tube rolled a little bit and the ones that I tried made the treble a tad warmer.

Key:
> = Slightly better/splitting hairs
>> = Noticeably better but still fairly close

Bass impact: Piety > CTH >> SW51
Timbre: SW51 > CTH >> Piety
Imaging: SW51 > CTH >> Piety
- There's more hard left/right panning with the Piety
Soundstage width: CTH > Piety >> SW51
Clarity: SW51 > CTH > Piety
Treble: CTH > SW51 > Piety
- Personal preference. I tend to like warmer treble as evidenced by my love for Cavalli amps in my signature.
Bang for the buck: CTH > Piety > SW51
Dynamics: Cannot really tell. Maybe the SW51 is a little bit softer than the rest but I don't know if I can distinguish the three on this property.

Verdict: Unless you hate the thought of purchasing replacement tubes for the CTH, I would say stick with it, especially if you find a tube that you like with the CTH. Out of the differences, I think the Piety sounded the most different out of the three. However, the Piety timbre sounded a little bit wonky to my ears at first, which is why I put it aside for awhile. Eventually, I think my brain adjusted but I still recall the first time that I tried the Piety with the Hemps or HD6XX.

I understand that the CTH may develop the notorious "scratchy volume pot syndrome"--I know mine did after a few months of ownership! The solution is to unscrew the rear screws of casing (you may need to unscrew the bottom screws too), take out the circuit board (push or pull, I forgot), and work in a bit of Deoxit in the volume pot shaft. It has been more than two years since I did that on mine and there hasn't been any issues with the volume pot since then.

Songs (randomly picked when scrolling through my headphone testing playlist of 486 tracks):

Mandolin Orange - From Now On

To me, a good track for testing female vocals because of Emily Frantz's closely mic'd vocals at 0:18 as well as testing vocal separation when Andrew Marlin comes in at 0:47.

Vocals sounded great on the CTH and SW51+. I cannot say the same with the Piety because Emily's vocals at 0:18 had this (how can I describe) unnatural sheen to it. It is more subtle than I'm making it out to be. To me, I enjoyed this track equally with the CTH and SW51+

Lou Barlow - Home

Piety displayed its greater percussive impact here compared to the CTH and the SW51+, especially against the SW51+. The Piety and CTH are pretty close in this regard. However, this track sounded the grandest and most expansive with the CTH. With the Piety, it sounded a little bit hollow and the SW51+ too closed in. So, the CTH takes the nod here.

Just my 2c. My opinion is in no way definitive, just what I hear on my chain.

EDIT: cleaned up some typos.

 

[Slade01]

A CTH owner PM'd me to compare the CTH, Piety, and SW51+, so here goes:

The chain is Musicbee (FLAC) (WASAPI) > Modi 3 (USB) > Amp > HD6XX
Notes:
- CTH uses a non-stock tube (Sylvania 6C8G) + socket saver + adapter (6922/6DJ8 to 6F8G) and I used its 4-pin XLR output
- Piety set to high gain (low gain sounds too thin, even on the HD6XX)
- I also tried the Grado Hemps on the Piety, which I didn't really like. I do not know whether I didn't like Grado Hemps on the Piety or those headphones in general.
- Stock tubes on the SW51 sound very nice. I tube rolled a little bit and the ones that I tried made the treble a tad warmer.

Key:
> = Slightly better/splitting hairs
>> = Noticeably better but still fairly close

Bass impact: Piety > CTH >> SW51
Timbre: SW51 > CTH >> Piety
Imaging: SW51 > CTH >> Piety
- There's more hard left/right panning with the Piety
Soundstage width: CTH > Piety >> SW51
Clarity: SW51 > CTH > Piety
Treble: CTH > SW51 > Piety
- Personal preference. I tend to like warmer treble as evidenced by my love for Cavalli amps in my signature.
Bang for the buck: CTH > Piety > SW51
Dynamics: Cannot really tell. Maybe the SW51 is a little bit softer than the rest but I don't know if I can distinguish the three on this property.

Verdict: Unless you hate the thought of purchasing replacement tubes for the CTH, I would say stick with it, especially if you find a tube that you like with the CTH. Out of the differences, I think the Piety sounded the most different out of the three. However, the Piety timbre sounded a little bit wonky to my ears at first, which is why I put it aside for awhile. Eventually, I think my brain adjusted but I still recall the first time that I tried the Piety with the Hemps or HD6XX.

I understand that the CTH may develop the notorious "scratchy volume pot syndrome"--I know mine did after a few months of ownership! The solution is to unscrew the rear screws of casing (you may need to unscrew the bottom screws too), take out the circuit board (push or pull, I forgot), and work in a bit of Deoxit in the volume pot shaft. It has been more than two years since I did that on mine and there hasn't been any issues with the volume pot since then.

Songs (randomly picked when scrolling through my headphone testing playlist of 486 tracks):

Mandolin Orange - From Now On

To me, a good track for testing female vocals because of Emily Frantz's closely mic'd vocals at 0:18 as well as testing vocal separation when Andrew Marlin comes in at 0:47.

Vocals sounded great on the CTH and SW51+. I cannot say the same with the Piety because Emily's vocals at 0:18 had this (how can I describe) unnatural sheen to it. It is more subtle than I'm making it out to be. To me, I enjoyed this track equally with the CTH and SW51+

Lou Barlow - Home

Piety displayed its greater percussive impact here compared to the CTH and the SW51+, especially against the SW51+. The Piety and CTH are pretty close in this regard. However, this track sounded the grandest and most expansive with the CTH. With the Piety, it sounded a little bit hollow and the SW51+ too closed in. So, the CTH takes the nod here.

Just my 2c. My opinion is in no way definitive, just what I hear on my chain.

EDIT: cleaned up some typos.

I think your comparisons / review are spot on with these amps. I mainly roll with the CTH, and just bought the Piety for a 2nd time. I've had the SW51+ in the past. My chain source is a Bifrost 2/64.

I re-acquired the Piety mainly to run Grado headphones (RS2e) and the synergy between them is fantastic. I had found my RS2e to have a bit too much grain in the treble with the CTH. I would agree with you that with the Hemps, they may be too much of a good thing there.

Also agree that the SW51+ is very polite with dynamics compared with the other two amps.

I have an HD650 - while it does sound good with the Piety, I feel its better on the CTH (or the SW51+), and of course just best with an OTL.

You made a good point about the Piety's timbre. I think in high gain, the Piety's timbre takes a step back, being less natural sounding, and almost slightly metallic. Putting the BF 2/64 in NOS mode mitigates this a bit. So I guess between your dac, and how bright your headphones are in play when it comes to this aspect.

 

[sennfan83261]

I think your comparisons / review are spot on with these amps. I mainly roll with the CTH, and just bought the Piety for a 2nd time. I've had the SW51+ in the past. My chain source is a Bifrost 2/64.

I re-acquired the Piety mainly to run Grado headphones (RS2e) and the synergy between them is fantastic. I had found my RS2e to have a bit too much grain in the treble with the CTH. I would agree with you that with the Hemps, they may be too much of a good thing there.

Also agree that the SW51+ is very polite with dynamics compared with the other two amps.

I have an HD650 - while it does sound good with the Piety, I feel its better on the CTH (or the SW51+), and of course just best with an OTL.

You made a good point about the Piety's timbre. I think in high gain, the Piety's timbre takes a step back, being less natural sounding, and almost slightly metallic. Putting the BF 2/64 in NOS mode mitigates this a bit. So I guess between your dac, and how bright your headphones are in play when it comes to this aspect.

Oh, definitely the Modi 3 is the weakest link in my chain. I do not doubt that the Piety will likely synergize better with an R2R (chip/ladder) DAC. Then again, the CTH and the SW51+ just sound so darn good already. I was actually surprised how I enjoyed my CTH with the HD6XX. Then again, maybe I should not have been surprised because my Utopia 2020 goes straight into the CTH whenever I bring those cans to work. Anyways, I still prefer my home setup .

 

[artur9]

How much difference would it be to switch my Piety's headphones from the DT-770 Pro at 300 ohms to the DT-770 M at 80 ohm?

(or switch to the (ick) JVC HA-RX700)

 

[Empyah]

Oh, definitely the Modi 3 is the weakest link in my chain. I do not doubt that the Piety will likely synergize better with an R2R (chip/ladder) DAC. Then again, the CTH and the SW51+ just sound so darn good already. I was actually surprised how I enjoyed my CTH with the HD6XX. Then again, maybe I should not have been surprised because my Utopia 2020 goes straight into the CTH whenever I bring those cans to work. Anyways, I still prefer my home setup .

The Piety sounds really good with a Modi+, nice synergy and doesn't brake the bank.

 

[AstronomerXI]

I posted this in the Schiit Happened thread this morning, but it really belongs here:

Before I called it a day last evening, I switched the output for my main Schiit schtack (I can only hear that in Sean Connery's voice) to the little Magni Piety. Previously, the Piety lived beside my Mac Studio Max and I used the HD650's for headphone listening there. I had tried the Sundaras with it but the combo had a wall-of-sound effect that at the time put me off. I had only briefly tried it before moving them to the main stack. In hindsight, I should have given it a longer listen.

So, the chain is the Mac Mini=>S.M.S.L M300SE DAC (soon to be retired)=>Freya N=>Lokius=>Sys=>Asgard 3 or Piety. I turned on the Freya's tube stage and let it warm up. The main tubes are Brimar Triple-Micas from 1956. First up was Neil Young and Crazy Horse's "Ramada Inn". The grunge got grungier, but in a very good way. The already distorted guitars always sound better via the Freya's tube stage, but adding the Piety cranked it to 11! The guitars sounded amazing, yet vocals and Ralph Molina's cymbals and high-hat taps were clear. The bass was a bit murky, but that's also normal for Crazy Horse. I'll switch up the tubes tonight to see if that attenuates.

Next up were 2 pieces by John Scofield (I highly, highly, recommend his new collection "Uncle John's Band"): "Back In Time" and "Old Man". It's a very well recorded and clear album. Through the Freya/Lokius/Piety/Sundara it kept the clarity but it sounded like I was in a small club with a couple of Marshall amps and John playing 8 feet away. I now understand the term "euphonic". The weaving of the drums, bass, and guitar was hypnotic and 3D. The soundstage is intimate, but not claustrophobic, and the tones were rich, thick, and shimmering. The measurement worshippers would hate this stack!

"India", by Joshua Redman was a treat. It starts with the rich tones of one brass instrument solely in one ear, then saxophone in the other ear, and they interact in rapid notes, shortly followed by the rest of the band. This one had me grinning from ear to ear.

"The Storm" by the Tedeschi Trucks Band again gave me the impression of being in a small club with several Marshall amps fed via distortion pedals and the band right there in front of me. The interplay of the 2 drummers, one on each side of the soundstage, was hypnotic, the guitar notes again rich and thick with Susan Tedeschi's voice perfectly clear over the instruments.

"In a Light" by Supernatural Buffalo is a stoner's dream with the euphhonics everywhere and the repetitive rhythmic foundation overlayed with some very good ringing lead guitar.

I'll do a much deeper dive in this chain over the next few days, and compare it with the the wider soundstage and neutrality of the AKG 712 Pros.

I can only imagine what this audio chain will sound like when I replace the S.M.S.L with the Gumby in ~3+ weeks.

 

[artur9]

I ridiculously had my MagPi on my Gumby for a weekend. Could ... not ... get ... anything ... done.... had to put the Gumby away.

 

[theveterans]

I ridiculously had my MagPi on my Gumby for a weekend. Could ... not ... get ... anything ... done.... had to put the Gumby away.

Especially if that Mini Closed is the one being used with Piety . At work, it's hard for me not to get distracted with BF2 OG, Piety, Mini C combo. Just pure addicting sound

 

[AstronomerXI]

I ridiculously had my MagPi on my Gumby for a weekend. Could ... not ... get ... anything ... done.... had to put the Gumby away.

I'm greatly looking forward to trying that soon, with the Freya N added to the chain.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

My Piety is currently doing preamp duty feeding a Gjallarhorn which, in turn, is driving my Tangent RS-4 speakers. I bought these speakers new in 1973 and have driven them with many amplifiers over the years but they have never sounded better than with this combination.


JC

 

[saujamhamm]

new to the piety scene - sitting with the no1 in front of me with no4 (the big one) on order and arriving whenever it arrives...

man this thing has the gain of sagA* and i ain't kidding... to run this thing on high gain i have to pull the volume down with my dac or else i have no control over the volume pot!

i own 20 pair of cans and all of them are enjoyable well below 11am on this amp. that small size is hiding all manner of grunt.

love the sound - especially how the two gain modes have their own character. like having two amps in one (just like a fast switching schiit lyr+)

so far my fav combo is any dac to piety to sony cd900st - almost too sharp still but the P brings the mids and bass around like a heated blanket.

 

[rodel808]

Patiently waiting for no4 as well. No1 + Hugo2 + he400 (og) has been pretty much my daily for the past 3 months. The bass from this setup satisfies my basshead cravings. The little Piety continues to impress. Can't wait to hear the big brother.

 

[PlanarBunny]

View attachment IMG_0415.jpeg

So fellas, what’s your favourite headphones combo’d with piety? Currently running my 580 on it with a modi multibit 1 dac. Luckily all my cans sound great out of it. I’ve got Elex, 600, 660s2, LCD-X. All kick ass.

 

[tamleo]

So fellas, what’s your favourite headphones combo’d with piety? Currently running my 580 on it with a modi multibit 1 dac. Luckily all my cans sound great out of it. I’ve got Elex, 600, 660s2, LCD-X. All kick ass.

Hd800s. Actually even my hd650 and my LCD2 sound ok with my Piety but they are just not comparable to my hd800s. The hd650 on my crack is a different story though

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

So fellas, what’s your favourite headphones combo’d with piety? Currently running my 580 on it with a modi multibit 1 dac. Luckily all my cans sound great out of it. I’ve got Elex, 600, 660s2, LCD-X. All kick ass.

The Piety works well with all my headphones. Sounds really nice with my HD 600's, Fostex T60RP and T50RP MK3, as well as my Hifiman HE4XX.