[Gerafone]

Thx Gerafone, I was actually trying to figure out the end price with duty and shipping and you answered my question.

I didn't have to pay any customs duty, though I did ship with USPS (not sure if that makes a difference). The currency conversion is what gets you, as the CAD is pretty weak.

 

[blacke13]

hope you enjoy them, dang good stuff

 

[Lethe]

*breathes in deeply*
 
My Modi 2U/Magni 2 stack has arrived today. After 6+ hours of listening through them...I have formed...certain early impressions of my stack...
 
I've listened 16/44 and 24/96 flac files on MediaMonkey with WASAPI output to my stack and out through my primary headphone which is the Denon D5000. Music listened to includes everything except pop and all of its subgenres. The Modi 2U is connected via usb (will try optical later) to my laptop. The Magni 2 is set on low gain.
 
 
First look:
 
Did you (owners of the M2/U stacks) get surprised when you first pulled them out of their boxes? I never knew how small these puppies were; 1 of my hands could cover the top plate entirely. They're so small and ADORABLE

 for desktop units, and they barely take up any space on my desk. I was quite pleased.
 
The Modi 2U sports an aluminum chassis while the Magni 2 has one of painted steel. Both of them are really sharply dressed units; the Modi 2U gives off a brighter, slightly golden sheen, and the Magni 2 has a grayer luster. 
 
Upon closer inspection there are some obvious cosmetics that do show their "budget" price point. The machined slot that the volume pot slides into of the Magni 2 is about a millimeter too big, which leaves a large enough gap to garner a peek at the internals from the front. The button in front of the Modi 2U that switches between different outputs is slightly wobbly when it's pushed. The indicator notch of the volume pot isn't very visible at times because it's almost as reflective as the surface of the pot, not much contrast to stand out. But those are just very minor nitpicks, in general, these look really pretty. 
 
 
First listen:
 
I made the mistake of setting the gain to high and I was really glad that I exercised extreme caution and set the volume pot all the way down to 6 o'clock first, because the subsequent incremental adjustment got surprisingly loud. I switched it to low gain and found my listening range to be between 8 o'clock and 11 o'clock, which is much better.
 
First thing I heard (after that whole high gain scare) was the presence of silence. Coming from a laptop, this alone is a great improvement as my laptop's audio output has really audible hiss.
 
As I put on my music, I thought "where on earth did the bass go??". The bass on my D5ks is probably the most notable thing of the headphones: they are warm, luxurious and laid back, but loose at times and a bit fat. What the stack did was that it took one look at the bass and ordered a diet plan and a workout regime for it, and now it's fitter, faster, snappier and punches harder than before, not by a huge margin but enough to be quite noticeable. That makes the lower end a little more athletic and strips it of a layer of fat, giving it a bit more definition and texture than before.
 
Sometimes when I play tracks that require speed, my D5ks seem to lag behind as they prefer to jog instead of run. The Modi 2U/Magni 2 however, comes right in and makes the D5ks to pick up the slack. They won't make it sprint, but they do make it jog fast enough that it can be considered running.
 
I can't tell if the stack did anything to my mids, there wasn't any difference to my ears as I A/B'ed between stack and no stack. They do fire up the highs a bit, especially on tracks with spiky trebles from electronic and chiptune music and fatigue did settle in after 5-6 hours with trebly tracks. Overall they help a bit with imaging and separation, especially with how they slim down the bass slightly to provide more room for the other frequencies to play with.
 
 
First early conclusion:
 
The Modi 2U/Magni 2 stack is a cute little dac/amp stack which looks sharp and elegant (with certain cosmetic mehs). They didn't blow me away right off the bat sonically, and even after a day of listening, they did not wow me. Although the improvements they bring to the table are small and incremental, they are significant enough to make me happy, and I'm sure they'll continue to surprise and delight me as I keep using them.  

 

[Mr Rick]

  *breathes in deeply*
 
My Modi 2U/Magni 2 stack has arrived today. After 6+ hours of listening through them...I have formed...certain early impressions of my stack...
 
I've listened 16/44 and 24/96 flac files on MediaMonkey with WASAPI output to my stack and out through my primary headphone which is the Denon D5000. Music listened to includes everything except pop and all of its subgenres. The Modi 2U is connected via usb (will try optical later) to my laptop. The Magni 2 is set on low gain.
 
 
First look:
 
Did you (owners of the M2/U stacks) get surprised when you first pulled them out of their boxes? I never knew how small these puppies were; 1 of my hands could cover the top plate entirely. They're so small and ADORABLE

 for desktop units, and they barely take up any space on my desk. I was quite pleased.
 
The Modi 2U sports an aluminum chassis while the Magni 2 has one of painted steel. Both of them are really sharply dressed units; the Modi 2U gives off a brighter, slightly golden sheen, and the Magni 2 has a grayer luster. 
 
Upon closer inspection there are some obvious cosmetics that do show their "budget" price point. The machined slot that the volume pot slides into of the Magni 2 is about a millimeter too big, which leaves a large enough gap to garner a peek at the internals from the front. The button in front of the Modi 2U that switches between different outputs is slightly wobbly when it's pushed. The indicator notch of the volume pot isn't very visible at times because it's almost as reflective as the surface of the pot, not much contrast to stand out. But those are just very minor nitpicks, in general, these look really pretty. 
 
 
First listen:
 
I made the mistake of setting the gain to high and I was really glad that I exercised extreme caution and set the volume pot all the way down to 6 o'clock first, because the subsequent incremental adjustment got surprisingly loud. I switched it to low gain and found my listening range to be between 8 o'clock and 11 o'clock, which is much better.
 
First thing I heard (after that whole high gain scare) was the presence of silence. Coming from a laptop, this alone is a great improvement as my laptop's audio output has really audible hiss.
 
As I put on my music, I thought "where on earth did the bass go??". The bass on my D5ks is probably the most notable thing of the headphones: they are warm, luxurious and laid back, but loose at times and a bit fat. What the stack did was that it took one look at the bass and ordered a diet plan and a workout regime for it, and now it's fitter, faster, snappier and punches harder than before, not by a huge margin but enough to be quite noticeable. That makes the lower end a little more athletic and strips it of a layer of fat, giving it a bit more definition and texture than before.
 
Sometimes when I play tracks that require speed, my D5ks seem to lag behind as they prefer to jog instead of run. The Modi 2U/Magni 2 however, comes right in and makes the D5ks to pick up the slack. They won't make it sprint, but they do make it jog fast enough that it can be considered running.
 
I can't tell if the stack did anything to my mids, there wasn't any difference to my ears as I A/B'ed between stack and no stack. They do fire up the highs a bit, especially on tracks with spiky trebles from electronic and chiptune music and fatigue did settle in after 5-6 hours with trebly tracks. Overall they help a bit with imaging and separation, especially with how they slim down the bass slightly to provide more room for the other frequencies to play with.
 
 
First early conclusion:
 
The Modi 2U/Magni 2 stack is a cute little dac/amp stack which looks sharp and elegant (with certain cosmetic mehs). They didn't blow me away right off the bat sonically, and even after a day of listening, they did not wow me. Although the improvements they bring to the table are small and incremental, they are significant enough to make me happy, and I'm sure they'll continue to surprise and delight me as I keep using them.  

You hit on a key point when upgrading to something like the Modi / Magni stack. That is the absolute lack of any hiss, hum, or static compared to what you may have had. That change alone has added much enjoyment to my listening experience.

 

[SeEnCreaTive]

You can always plasti dip it in whatever colour you want and it's non permanent and will actually protect the chassis to boot. Just search plasti dip Schiit. I am considering doing this eventually though I certainly wouldn't use black.
Also for any Canadians considering the Uber stack it ends up being about $512.

 
Heh, plast-i-dip. I use it on everything. So much fun, expensive up here in Canada, but that's what I have an American girlie for xD
 
 
Im Canadian, and I have a Uber stack. Would have cost $47 for shipping, un-insured, untracked, gets here when it gets here. or $11 to ship it to my fore-mentioned girlfriends just across the boarder.
 
The rest is just exchange. Haven't checked my credit card, but calculating with today's rate, shipping to me from Schiit it would be $455

 

[Gerafone]

Heh, plast-i-dip. I use it on everything. So much fun, expensive up here in Canada, but that's what I have an American girlie for xD


Im Canadian, and I have a Uber stack. Would have cost $47 for shipping, un-insured, untracked, gets here when it gets here. or $11 to ship it to my fore-mentioned girlfriends just across the boarder.

The rest is just exchange. Haven't checked my credit card, but calculating with today's rate, shipping to me from Schiit it would be $455

Oh right I also got the RCA and USB PYST cables because.

 

[DSchwartz88]

Has anyone used the Magni 2 with the Mad Dog 3.2? Heavily considering getting one and wondering how it pairs with the Mad Dogs. 
 
What about operating temperature wise? Does the Magni 2 run hot at all, like some of the other Schiit gear?

 

[Tro95]

 
What about operating temperature wise? Does the Magni 2 run hot at all, like some of the other Schiit gear?

 
My Magni 2 Uber doesn't run hot at all, not compared to most things. You can feel a little warmth on the top, but nothing close to what the other Schiits likely run at. I'll have my Valhalla soon so I can give you a definite answer then if you're still in doubts.

 

[plonter]

Do you guys leaving you headphones plugged in when switching the magni on and off?

 

[Mr Rick]

  Do you guys leaving you headphones plugged in when switching the magni on and off?

Yes, the Magni 2 and M2U have a relay to mute the output on turn on and turn off.

 

[DSchwartz88]

Quick follow up to my original questions: Is it worth it to upgrade to the Uber if all ill be using the Magni for is the Mad Dog 3.2? I won't ever be plugging active speakers into it, so this is strictly for the headphones. 

 

[Mr Rick]

  Quick follow up to my original questions: Is it worth it to upgrade to the Uber if all ill be using the Magni for is the Mad Dog 3.2? I won't ever be plugging active speakers into it, so this is strictly for the headphones. 

The U has some other features / upgrades you may be interested in.
 
 
Preamp Outputs: Uber has them, standard doesn’t.
Gain Stage: Uber has a complementary-input VAS, standard doesn’t.
Power Supply: Uber has 3x the transformer (24VA vs 8VA) and 1.6x the filter capacitance (6,400 vs 4,000uF), as well as more sophisticated regulators (programmable vs fixed) and a higher rail voltage (+/-16V vs +/-15V)
Chassis: Uber gets an aluminum top cover and solid aluminum milled knob, standard is painted steel and an aluminum-covered plastic knob.

 

[DSchwartz88]

  The U has some other features / upgrades you may be interested in.
 
 
Preamp Outputs: Uber has them, standard doesn’t.
Gain Stage: Uber has a complementary-input VAS, standard doesn’t.
Power Supply: Uber has 3x the transformer (24VA vs 8VA) and 1.6x the filter capacitance (6,400 vs 4,000uF), as well as more sophisticated regulators (programmable vs fixed) and a higher rail voltage (+/-16V vs +/-15V)
Chassis: Uber gets an aluminum top cover and solid aluminum milled knob, standard is painted steel and an aluminum-covered plastic knob.

The chassis upgrade is nice, but not worth the extra money to me. I'm not great at the audio engineering side of things, what do the Gain Stage and Power Supply upgrades mean in terms using it with planar ortho headphones like the MD's? 

 

[Mr Rick]

  The chassis upgrade is nice, but not worth the extra money to me. I'm not great at the audio engineering side of things, what do the Gain Stage and Power Supply upgrades mean in terms using it with planar ortho headphones like the MD's? 

I have no idea. Contact Schiit directly for that kind of information.

 

[plonter]

  Yes, the Magni 2 and M2U have a relay to mute the output on turn on and turn off.

Sweet!  so much value for money