Hey guys,
To answer some questions:
1. About new Modi Multibit firmware: contact
Amy@schiit.com and she can help you out. I believe it’s $35 to bring it up to current (which has not changed since February 2018.) This is the only running change on Modi Multibit. Mike (and many others) are of the opinion that it makes no sonic difference.
2. About Unison USB™ already being out in the wild. No. LOL. Ha. That’s still in beta testing. When it’s released, you’ll know it, because it will have a different VID/PID, as well as a new identification string, and a BIG press release. Also, you may not want it. It will only support Windows 10, MacOS, most popular Linux distros for streamers, iOS, and Android from N and up. It will not have a Windows 7 driver. For this reason, we may roll it out slowly, only on one model to start, or as an option. And there won’t be a Unison Eitr, Eitr is pretty much dead as a product due to slow sales (like Wyrd) and will probably not be made anymore. But YMMV. Always in motion the future and all that, this is 100% guesswork based on our current knowledge. Hell, additional glitches in Phase 2 of the beta test could push Unison out beyond summer for the first product.
3. About changes to other DACs: read Slouching Towards Kaizen again. Everything gets tweaked, most of the time due to need rather than want. There’s nothing that’s been “upgrade worthy” worth announcing. Remember, an upgrade to a Multibit product means replacing a bunch of expensive parts, so we don’t do it lightly.
4. About QC, grounding, transparency, etc. I think I’ve done a chapter before on this, and there are Tony’s videos. The short primer is that literally everything is checked on instruments and ears, and anything from Asgard 2 on up gets 1-4 day burn-in and recheck as well. We also have extensive test equipment, including 6 Avermetrics and one APx555, the Avermetrics mainly used for in-line testing. In terms of grounding, when we were made aware of one Jotunheim that appeared not to be grounded, we instituted a 100% test of new, repaired, and refurbished units for this possible defect across the entire line, not just the slide-top chassis. And in terms of transparency, please point me at another audio company that shares more about their process, their ongoing trials, their successes, and their failures.
Hope this helps a bit,
Jason