[willowbrook]

I've heard Amazon USB cables are not too sturdy these days. People recommend http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004Z5T2?keywords=belkin%20usb%20a%20b&qid=1456102468&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3 this cable. If you can find any decent shielded cable, it will do. If you're worried about interference noise, ferrite core helps too. Also, IMO PYST RCA cable unnecessary. RCA from monoprice does excellent job. There are some reviews that are bad, but that was years ago. I ordered mine a month ago and it's quality is outstanding. All you have to do is make sure both cables are not too long. Shortest preferred.

 

[Krutsch]

  Yup, the modi 2 uber is a dac that leans to the bright side.  The older bifrost was similar in that regard but better.  The new Bifrost 4490 and Bimby are much different than the older Bifrost sound and both do not lean to the bright side to the degree the modi2 uber does.

I am growing weary of the brightness of the M2U in my 2-channel system. Your comment makes me want a 4490, but do I want to spend more for the Bimby?

 

[bixby]

 
I am growing weary of the brightness of the M2U in my 2-channel system. Your comment makes me want a 4490, but do I want to spend more for the Bimby?

that is a tough decision.  I only heard the 4490 for a bit, so my thoughts on it are precursory at best.  But I think my ears can gauge rather quickly.
 
I am in the same boat.  got rid of my Modi2 uber and now have a borrowed Havana being fed by a very good usb / spdif bridge.  Way more $ there than I will ultimately spend.  
 
how does it sound?  Very good indeed.
 
what is on my short list for a lower cost dac, nothing at the moment 

 

[willowbrook]

that is a tough decision.  I only heard the 4490 for a bit, so my thoughts on it are precursory at best.  But I think my ears can gauge rather quickly.

I am in the same boat.  got rid of my Modi2 uber and now have a borrowed Havana being fed by a very good usb / spdif bridge.  Way more $ there than I will ultimately spend.  

how does it sound?  Very good indeed.

what is on my short list for a lower cost dac, nothing at the moment 

Ever considered smsl m8?

 

[bixby]

Ever considered smsl m8?

It looks interesting enough, but I tend to shy away from Chinese companies who have not invested in a US distributor for their product.  I would only consider a dac from a Chinese brand if they did have US sales and support, like Matrix.
 
That and the reviews on Amazon about support is quite discouraging.  And then there is the 23% 1 star reviews.  My negative radar goes off above 10%
 
But hey, all the Massdrop guys will be the real test pool, I suppose.

 

[tamleo]

Hello,
I had some experience with some Schiit amps paired with my LCD-2 r2 and want to share Sorry for my English
I bought the Mjolnir 1 after selling the Asgard 1. I loved the combo Lcd-2+Asgard+Hrt music stream ii so much but my greed in me just wanted to hear something even better.
I was wrong. Because with the Mjolnir i did not enjoy my music as before.. I di'n't know why it happened. The Mjolnir was more clean and have more authority in the sound. The amp also enhanced the treble and bass region on my LCD-2 very much.
But after a long periods of time, i think the reason is caused by the mids on the Mjolnir was underwhelmed by 2 other enhanced ranges. Make the sound incohesive and monotonic. And the amp had too much 3d effect (or artificial huge soundstage ? ) that really distracted me from focusing on the music.
The amp boosted the treble range and made the LCD-2 sound like another shrill headphone. I felt they sounded artificially (IMHO).
Recently i have sold the Mjolnir and managed to buy an used Asgard but i could not have found one. So that i have bought a Magni 2 and a Magni 2 uber instead.
Just enjoy the music as before
The Uber version has more treble and is more sparkle and cleaner than the non-uber version. And it sounds really familiar to the Mjolnir.
The non-uber sounds warm, cohesive and natural just like i remember about my old Asgard Three audio fq ranges just transfer into each others very smoothly. I definitely keep this little amp.
The difference between 2 magni versions is not huge but noticeable.

 

[JBassFox]

Does anyone use the Modi/Magni 2 Uber stack with DT990s? I have a pair of 32 ohm premiums coming in and I'm highly considering buying this stack.

 

[willowbrook]

  It looks interesting enough, but I tend to shy away from Chinese companies who have not invested in a US distributor for their product.  I would only consider a dac from a Chinese brand if they did have US sales and support, like Matrix.
 
That and the reviews on Amazon about support is quite discouraging.  And then there is the 23% 1 star reviews.  My negative radar goes off above 10%
 
But hey, all the Massdrop guys will be the real test pool, I suppose.

It's actually been out for a while and not really a test pool anymore. Some will always have problems and I hope Massdrop will take care of that. SMSL after support is not so great, but Chinese products have really stepped up in performance/price these days.
However, it's your choice after all ^^ I just couldn't find a DAC like this except for the Modi 2U and I'm not fully satisfied so...not many choices in the low cost standalone DAC area.

 

[bixby]

yes, stuff can have problems, I just prefer the owner of the problem to be represented in the US.  
 
But thanks for the suggestion anyway, appreciate it.
 
And you are right not much happening in the low cost area at the moment.

 

[ColtMrFire]

  I currently have an Audioengine D1 driving my HD 558 Senns.  My Magni 2 arrived this morning.  I couldn't afford the stack quite yet, so wanted to at least get the Magni amp, because the D1 is a bit of a lightweight in terms of power, especially when it comes to downmixed surround tracks for movies I play in JRiver.  For now the Magni 2 paired with the D1 is fine until I get the Modi 2 which should be soon.
 
I've been burning in the Magni for about 4 hours and have been very pleased.  It seemed a bit harsh out of the box, but after about hour 2, the sound got a bit warmer and more pleasing.  The amp totally outdoes the D1 for power... slightly bigger soundstage, but the biggest change is it sounds less "digital" and "closed in" than the D1.  I've heard the Modi 2 is a better DAC than the D1, so I can't wait.  I should add I used the sonar reference 3 plugin in JRiver, which opens up the Senns in a huge way for flat performance, and that makes a massive difference with the Magni.  At some point I'll upgrade to the HD 600s, but for now I feel I'm getting close to the best sound possible out of the 558s.

 
Modi 2 just arrived in the mail.  In the week or so I had to wait, the Magni 2 really, REALLY improved the sound of the D1 DAC.  To the point where I wondered if the Modi 2 was even necessary.  All the congested, digital sounding wall of noise that was a bit of a problem with the D1 seemed to vanish after about 4 or 5 days of burn in on the Magni.  And paired with the sonarworks reference 3 plug in (in JRiver/ASIO), I was in musical heaven for a few days.  Instruments that before seemed to blend into each other became separate units, and you could virtually close your eyes and imagine them in the room, or close to it... 
 
So having just plugged in the Modi 2 on expert mode (24/192), it sounds pretty good... but there seems to be a slight loss of expansion and a bit of congestion having returned, as well as a harsh edge I'm not a huge fan of... the Magni/D1 silky smooth/warm brilliance I had been getting used to seems gone.  Granted,  I've only been playing the Modi 2 for all of 20 minutes, so I'd need time for some burn in to give a proper review, but so far I'm not in love with the combo, and the Modi 2 seems to have a harsh edge I'm not digging either.  

 

[bixby]

   
Modi 2 just arrived in the mail.  In the week or so I had to wait, the Magni 2 really, REALLY improved the sound of the D1 DAC.  To the point where I wondered if the Modi 2 was even necessary.  All the congested, digital sounding wall of noise that was a bit of a problem with the D1 seemed to vanish after about 4 or 5 days of burn in on the Magni.  And paired with the sonarworks reference 3 plug in (in JRiver/ASIO), I was in musical heaven for a few days.  Instruments that before seemed to blend into each other became separate units, and you could virtually close your eyes and imagine them in the room, or close to it... 
 
So having just plugged in the Modi 2 on expert mode (24/192), it sounds pretty good... but there seems to be a slight loss of expansion and a bit of congestion having returned, as well as a harsh edge I'm not a huge fan of... the Magni/D1 silky smooth/warm brilliance I had been getting used to seems gone.  Granted,  I've only been playing the Modi 2 for all of 20 minutes, so I'd need time for some burn in to give a proper review, but so far I'm not in love with the combo, and the Modi 2 seems to have a harsh edge I'm not digging either.  

let it run in at least 48 hours, then listen, it should improve.  And keep it turned on.

 

[ColtMrFire]

Yeah, after 2 hours of continuous use, it seems to have opened up slightly.
 
I'm off to work in a few minutes, so I'll let it burn in while I'm gone and all night tonight and tomorrow (and just leave it running continuously for at least a week or so).
 
My next HP purchase will be the Senn HD 650s, so I hope it's a good match.  I used to have a pair of HD 600s but unfortunately had to sell them in a bind, and I was powering them with the D1.  Amazingly I was ale to get a pair of HD 558s for $50 on craigslist... and those have really done me well for the past few months (with JRiver/ASIO/sonarworks plugin/558 mod, they sound damn near close to the 600s, but obviously a step down)

 

[bixby]

  Yeah, after 2 hours of continuous use, it seems to have opened up slightly.
 
I'm off to work in a few minutes, so I'll let it burn in while I'm gone and all night tonight and tomorrow (and just leave it running continuously for at least a week or so).
 
My next HP purchase will be the Senn HD 650s, so I hope it's a good match.  I used to have a pair of HD 600s but unfortunately had to sell them in a bind, and I was powering them with the D1.  Amazingly I was ale to get a pair of HD 558s for $50 on craigslist... and those have really done me well for the past few months (with JRiver/ASIO/sonarworks plugin/558 mod, they sound damn near close to the 600s, but obviously a step down)

funny 650s just showed up here, too!.  Been 12 years or so since I owned a pair.  

 

[biggysmalls]

Currently rocking a Meridian Explorer with my He-400i. I obviously need to upgrade the Amp section and was looking towards the Magni as my solution.

My question is whether the Uber version is worth it? I don't have any speakers that would be able to make use of the extra outputs, but I'm more concerned with powering my He-400i?
 
How would the Modi compare to the Meridian Explorer?
 
Looking forward to your input
 
Edit: Really just looking for that kick in the nuts power and fullness to the music ...

 

[willowbrook]

Currently rocking a Meridian Explorer with my He-400i. I obviously need to upgrade the Amp section and was looking towards the Magni as my solution.


My question is whether the Uber version is worth it? I don't have any speakers that would be able to make use of the extra outputs, but I'm more concerned with powering my He-400i?

How would the Modi compare to the Meridian Explorer?

Looking forward to your input

Edit: Really just looking for that kick in the nuts power and fullness to the music ...

Magni uber provides 300mw more at 32 ohms. However 1.2w at 32ohms should be plenty for 400i. No need for uber unless you need preamp.