[StanD]

  You are right. I shouldn't have expected miracles.
To be honest, I haven't done any A - B comparisons but I had the DF for around a year connected to my amplifier so my verdict is quite safe I believe.

Sometimes using an A/B switch with carefully matched volumes can be very surprising, no differences to be heard, We can't remember comparitive fine audio details for more than just a scant few seconds. Although there are times that not meeting impedance and driving requirements between cans and amp can case SQ issues, check the numbers

 

[HRHD700]

   
I have a 2011 MBP that I've been using with the built in sound card and alternately with an older Sound Blaster 24 Live USB external sound card.  I've used both connected to an inexpensive Yamaha mixing board, using the board as a headphone amplifier.  Doing some informal testing, I wasn't really able to tell the difference between the output of the MBP or the SB connected to the mixer.  Nor was I able to tell the difference between the MBP direct to headphones, versus through the mixer's more powerful output (at similar volumes).
 
People seemed to think a Modi2/Magni2 would make a difference for me, so I recently got the set.  Here's what I wrote just after getting them:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/616201/soundmagic-hp100-hp150-review-and-impressions-thread/1215#post_11580447
 
Brian.

Thanks a lot
I think I got a little mixed up! As you wrote in your headphone thread (the link above) you love the magni/modi set. In that thread it seems you compare the set with the Yamaha mixer. So how do you compare modi to the MBP's headphone output?
Suppose both used with mango as an amp.

 

[G_T_J]

  Sometimes using an A/B switch with carefully matched volumes can be very surprising, no differences to be heard, We can't remember comparitive fine audio details for more than just a scant few seconds. Although there are times that not meeting impedance and driving requirements between cans and amp can case SQ issues, check the numbers

I'm comparing by memory so there's always a chance I'm mistaken.
It's not really very easy for me to do the straight comparison, as the dragonfly was connect via a 3.5 jack to double rca cable (Belkin) while the modi is now connected via a double RCA cable in both ends(cheap one). Switching between the two, provides that I have to swap cables and that's time consuming - I doubt - as you say rightly- I will ''remember'' how each one sounds to make safe a assessement. 
 
I will give the new combo a few more listening hours as well as I will test it with the new cables and I will come back with an update.

 

[bgentry]

I think I got a little mixed up! As you wrote in your headphone thread (the link above) you love the magni/modi set. In that thread it seems you compare the set with the Yamaha mixer. So how do you compare modi to the MBP's headphone output?
Suppose both used with mango as an amp.

 
Well, I don't have the ability to do that right now, as my Magni2 has been sent back because it developed a problem.  I'm currently using the Yamaha mixer with the Modi feeding it.  Overall it sounds better than the MPB output, but some of the "magic" of the sound is gone.  It's still better than I remember with the MBP feeding the Yamaha, but not the same as the total package of the Modi2/Magni2.
 
Again, I have NOT done A/B testing on this.  These are just my general impressions.
 
Brian.

 

[starfly]

Question, does your Magni 2 Uber get hot when using it? Mine gets quite hot, is that normal?

 

[DarthFader]

  Question, does your Magni 2 Uber get hot when using it? Mine gets quite hot, is that normal?

That's perfectly normal. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Hardwired]

  Question, does your Magni 2 Uber get hot when using it? Mine gets quite hot, is that normal?

 
Mine barely gets warm. It sits alone on my desk with plenty of airflow and it's not sitting on a DAC, so maybe that's part of it, but it doesn't get anywhere nearly as hot as the Asgard 2, which I had to buy a desk fan for. My Magni 2 Uber just gets warm enough to let me know it's on. My Asgard 2 gets hot enough to worry me about spontaneous combustion.

 

[bikerboy94]

Mine which is stacked on top of the Modi get warm to very warm but never hot.

 

[tafens]

Mine which is stacked on top of the Modi get warm to very warm but never hot.

Same for me. Magni gets warm, as in no problem keeping my hand on top of it. Never hot so that I can't touch it or have to pull my hand away after a while. I also have them stacked, Magni on top.

 

[pearljam50000]

Do you feel theres a big difference un sound quality between Magni 2 Uber and Asgard 2?

Mine barely gets warm. It sits alone on my desk with plenty of airflow and it's not sitting on a DAC, so maybe that's part of it, but it doesn't get anywhere nearly as hot as the Asgard 2, which I had to buy a desk fan for. My Magni 2 Uber just gets warm enough to let me know it's on. My Asgard 2 gets hot enough to worry me about spontaneous combustion.

 

[Hardwired]

Do you feel theres a big difference un sound quality between Magni 2 Uber and Asgard 2?

 
Well, define 'big'. 

 
At work I listen to the Magni with high-quality MP3s out of an iBasso DX90 and at home I'm using the Asgard out of a Bifrost Uber USB with FLAC files, so I hope I can hear a difference.  That's not exactly fair to the Magni because it doesn't have the same quality of source, but I did listen to the Asgard out of the DX90 before I took it home (had them all delivered at work) and there is just a touch more bass, a bit more soundstage, and a scosh more detail as compared to the Magni. I try not to listen to music analytically any more because you lose the enjoyment of just listening but when listening at home there is a little more music than there is at work.
 
You notice I didn't use the word 'big' in any of that, so to answer your question the difference isn't big, but it's definite. If I had lesser headphones or ears, or cared less about squeezing the most out of my listening experience, I would be more than satisfied with the Magni 2 Uber as my only amp. It's that satisfying. The Asgard 2 adds a little more of everything to that, but it's not huge even with a better source.
 
Was that wishy-washy enough? 

 

 

[pearljam50000]

Excellent!
Thanks ^-^

 

[dorino]

As with hi-fi in general, there's diminishing returns. The difference between the Asgard and the Magni is nowhere near the difference between generic-onboard-soundcard's-amp and the Magni.

 

[Hardwired]

  As with hi-fi in general, there's diminishing returns. The difference between the Asgard and the Magni is nowhere near the difference between generic-onboard-soundcard's-amp and the Magni.

 
Yep. It's that first jump from crap to non-crap that's the big one. After that it's just fine-tuning the sound to be what you like. More bass? Less bass? More top end? Wider soundstage? There's an amp for that. 

 

[CaveManta]

Originally Posted by starfly /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Question, does your Magni 2 Uber get hot when using it? Mine gets quite hot, is that normal?

Mine gets hot as heck! Well, probably not that hot. I like to measure it with an infrared thermometer. Normal exterior temperature during use is around 113 degrees fahrenheit, interior is around 116-120 degrees. But when I hook it up to my Playstation 4 control's audio output, it gets even hotter! About 120 degrees on the exterior! I could almost cook with it. This is all in low gain.