2020, Chapter 15:
One Small Leap…
So, we have a new DAC, and it’s called Modi 3+.
If you want to spin this totally pragmatically,
Modi 3+ is Modi 3 with Unison USB™. (Well, and a few more under-the hood things that improve performance.)
If you want to spin this in complete corporate-marketing-speak style,
Modi 3+ is the highest-value DAC made today, offering three inputs for exceptional convenience, complete with what is arguably the best USB interface for the vast majority of music, offering even higher measured performance than the uber-popular Modi 3, at the same $99 cost, while being made (for real) by happy, well-paid employees in the USA.
Or we could do what you expect, and just tell the story of this DAC, in true Schiit fashion. Because, even though it looks just like Modi 3, the new Modi 3+ incorporates lots of stuff we’ve learned along the way.
And it showcases some of the things that make us special (or at least I think so).
So let’s save the pragmatism, cut the marketing, and tell the story.
A Small Nuclear Weapon
That’s pretty much the effect the original Modi 3 had on the DAC market.
Nobody—and I mean nobody—was expecting us to drop a $99 DAC that provided great performance, offered all three common digital inputs, and was made in the USA. We’ve spent almost the entire time since the introduction of Modi 3 trying to keep up with demand.
Even today, there’s really nothing else like Modi 3 out there. There are products that cost the same, but have less inputs, or there are products that cost more, and are made in low-wage countries. And that’s about it.
Surprised? You’re in good company.
I was being interviewed recently, and the question of “how Schiit was going to deal with the onslaught of low-cost products from China” came up.
I laughed. “But we
already cost less.”
The reviewer blinked and went silent for a while. “Hmm, wow, I guess that’s right,” he finally admitted.
“And that’s something we’re really proud of,” I added. “Without making things in low-wage countries—where the advantages aren’t just in wages, but in lower component costs, and increased efficiency from having your foundry and chassis guys literally in the same industrial park. We’re less expensive than that—while really making stuff here in the USA.”
A bit more silence, as that sank in.
Of course, we went back and forth a bit, and I allowed that yeah, not everyone cares about making stuff in the USA (especially if they don’t live here), and if they have a whole lotta DSD or want to listen to MQA, we’re going to be more restricted in terms of formats and such.
But.
$99 DAC. Made in California.
Ah come on.
It really doesn’t sink in, I think. It’s that surprising. I was talking with a member of the press recently, who said they had a recent conversation with a prominent designer at another audio company, who bemoaned “how impossible it would be to make a $99 DAC.”
“Well, Schiit is doing that right now,” he told the designer.
“Yeah, I don’t know how they do that,” the designer said, and breezily went on about how the high end needed more affordable components, and how terribly painful and unpossible that was, even if they were made in low-wage countries.
Yeah. Just totally dismissed. If you can’t look straight into the fireball, maybe best to close your eyes. Or something like that.
Because Modi 3 is just amazingly, stunningly good. It’s inexpensive. It measures well. It sounds great. It has all the popular inputs. We could have kept making it for another two years. Or more. There’s no reason to make it even better.
So what did we do?
We made it better.
Of course.
This is Why They Hate Us
Okay. So let’s say you develop your own USB interface. I mean, you spend two person-years developing the code, implementing it on a 32-bit microprocessor, ensuring it’s compatible with UAC2 (USB Audio Class 2, the accepted standard for audio over USB) up one side and down the other, doing alphas and betas and larger tests in flagship products.
You do this, and you realize why 99.9% of all audio companies out there just go and buy a USB interface from XMOS or C-Media and be done with it. It’s a lot of work, involving engineers who have been working in digital audio for 3-4 decades (yes, decades) and a PhD to delve deep into the algorithms and code. It involves being a USB-IF member (we’re one of a handful of audio companies there.)
Aside: Let’s face it, we’re a loooong way from the garage here.
I know a lot of people think Schiit’s a silly place with a silly name, but the depth of knowledge we have in digital filtering, perceptual algorithms, USB interfaces, and implementation of both multibit and delta-sigma DACs really is second to none. You can argue with our approaches, but not with the underlying talent.
So, anyway, as I was saying, let’s say you develop your own USB interface. Where would you put it? In your most expensive DAC, of course.
But in a $99 DAC? No. That’s totally crazy. Imagine all the beancounters pulling their hair out, screaming about unamortized R&D costs! Imagine all the marketers yelling at you for undermining the perceived value of their top-of-the-line products!
Yes. That’s totally and completely bananas.
And that’s exactly what we did. Modi 3+ now features Unison USB™, just like Yggdrasil.
(Good thing we don’t have beancounters or marketers, eh?)
Now, with the exception of our gaming products, we are 100% Unison USB across the line. So, with Modi 3+, you’re getting arguably the best USB interface available anywhere, for the vast majority of music out there.
“But I have 8,000 SACDs I ripped to DSD,” someone says.
Yeah, well, then you’ll want a different DAC. Sorry.
“But I want to play MQA, because I totally believe in it and I also believe that it will continue to be available in the future,” someone says.
Well, if you want to play MQA, that’s totally fine. Modi 3+ will play it, as will all of our DACs. It just won’t do any unfolding/disorigamiing/defolddespindledemutilating or whatever processing the MQA licensees pay for. So that’s your own choice.
Someone frowns. “How can I get my audio nervosa on if I can’t play 10,000 unicorn formats?” they ask.
Well, maybe that’s the point. Worrying about formats seems to be about the least fun thing in the world. We don’t like nervosa for the sake of nervosa. It seems positively Cromwellian. (And man, if they bring in a foreign king to get rid of your residual un-fun-ness, holy moley you must have sucked.)
But then again, as I have said many times, we may be crazy. You decide.
Poking Around Under The Hood
“So Modi 3+ is a Modi 3 with Unison USB,” someone says.
Yep, that’s literally the second line of this chapter. But it’s also an oversimplification. We learned a lot from our time tweaking the Modius, so we applied some of the tricks we learned to Modi 3+. The result is that it measures better, and sounds better, than the outgoing Modi 3.
So what did we do? Nah, sorry. Buy one and reverse-engineer it, like anyone else can. It’s only $99. Not that big of a deal.
What I can say is that we did stick with the AK4490, rather than moving to the AK4493 DAC. The AK4493 is fairly similar to the AK4490, and, when well-implemented, they measure very close to each other. I’d call the AK4490 a “classic” DAC chip, in that it’s a very good part, and it’s hard to do much better than it without throwing a whole lot of money at a design. So it’s totally appropriate that we kept it for Modi 3+.
I can also say that we’re using the exact same codebase across Unison USB implementations, from Modi 3+ to Yggdrasil. Yes, as in the exact same code. The different functionality necessary for various products is incorporated into the codebase. We just tell it what unit it’s in, and it’s off to the races.
This has the side effect of simplifying Modi 3+ production. Now, Modi 3+ needs to be programmed only once. The outgoing Modi used separate firmware for the motherboard and the C-Media receiver. Now, program it once, and the single Microchip 32-bit processor does everything—including housekeeping stuff like input switching, muting, etc.
Now, as you’re poking around under the hood, you may notice we kept something you might want to complain about, so let’s get that out in the open: the USB Micro ports.
Yes, Modi 3+ is USB Micro. Yes, I know it’s 2020.
However, USB-C connectors, at least from reputable, not-fly-by-night manufacturers, are still pretty pricey. So that killed the idea of going to USB-C.
Aside: that doesn’t mean we’ll never go to USB-C. In fact, I’m certain you’ll see it soon, starting on the transport and continuing on some other products. It’s a better connector, and I’m happy that it’s almost time to start using it. Just not on an already price-constrained $99 DAC, thank you.
Aside to the aside: y’all know that USB-C is just a connector, right? As in, if you want to do all the crazy stuff that USB 3.1 can do, including the super-high-power stuff and super-high-speed stuff, you need a USB 3.1 interface, which is far and away beyond the valley of overkill for audio products, I mean it’s literally like building a 20-lane superhighway so your Glorious Leader can ride a single 10-speed bicycle alone down the middle of it.
Aside to the aside to the aside: wait a minute, you don’t know that USB-C is just a physical part and USB 3.1 is a protocol that requires tons of handshaking and highly specific layout and specialized parts and stuff, and that literally NO audio product uses it? Yeah, weird world, huh? But I do agree that USB-C is worth doing just for the reversable connector alone.
The Development Two-Step
As in, it was two steps: Dave put Unison USB into the Modi 3, then we did a rev that added a few analog tricks from the Modius, and that was it. I mean, Modi 3+ uses the
same chassis as Modi 3.
Yes, that’s about the most boring development story ever.
And yeah, it does gloss over the code work that Dave had to do to make sure that Unison USB worked with Modi 3+. And some of the back and forth on parts tweaking.
But…there really isn’t much to talk about.
Sometimes you get lucky. Or you get better. (Nah, you get lucky.)
Looking Into the Future
So what comes after Modi 3+? Heck, I don’t know. Like I said, it’s really the highest-value DAC out there right now. Or at least it’s arguably the highest-value DAC out there. So this is a DAC we could make for years and years.
Unless something changes.
If better D/A converters come out, we’ll have to take a look at them.
If improved analog components come out, we’ll have to listen to how they perform.
If making the Modi 3+ in Texas means we can offer more value, we’ll have to see what we can deliver.
If I get to make a common chassis architecture for Magni, Modi, and the other small products like we did with Magnius/Modius (complete with formed-in standoffs), I have a few tricks I want to try to see if we can simplify their construction (and make them look even better). But that’s blue-sky stuff, I’m not sure if it will even work.
One thing’s for sure—we’ll keep improving the Modi (and Magni, and Fulla, and Yggdrasil, and every other product we make) as much as we can, to provide the best-possible, fun, affordable audio experience out there.
For now, Modi 3+ is the best we can do in a $99 DAC.
We hope you enjoy it!
Reprise: The AKM Disaster
Because it’s 2020, and because I wrote this chapter in advance of the Modi 3+ launch, of course something had to happen, like a garbage meteor from the 20th century, coming home a thousand years later: the AKM factory, as in t
he factory that makes the AKM 4490 D/A converter used in Modi, burnt to the ground…and they won’t be shipping parts for a year or more.
Yeah. **** you 2020, **** you bigtime.
Thankfully, Schiit is run on a very rational (er, I mean paranoid) basis, with a realistic (I mean terrified) future viewpoint, so we over-buy nearly everything. Which means we have a little over 1 year of AKM DAC stock before we’re boned.
So what does this mean for Modi 3+? Well, to continue the theme from the beginning, if you want to spin this totally corp-speak, it means: we’re going to work closely with AKM and their distributors, in the hope they will be able to supply parts for Modi 3+, Modius, Hel, Fulla, and the AK4490 DAC card before we run out of stock. And, at the same time, we’ll be exploring other options that ensure our popular, affordable DACs and DAC/amps continue to be available, and deliver the same high performance they are known for.
Or, I can be direct and say, “Yeah, fingers crossed, AKM delivers and the creek don’t rise, but in any case, Plan B boards have already been designed and sent out, so we have plenty of refinement time in case we need to swap out AKM for a different manufacturer.”
Aside: you guys wonder why I’ve been scarce for a while? Yeah, that’s part of it, because I did Fulla, Hel, and the AK4490 module. So I needed Plan Bs for those.
Which brings us back to what the future looks like. Well, it’s simple: at this exact moment in time, we have a truly spectacular Modi 3+. It may change sometime in the future. Or not. But regardless of where the path leads, I can guarantee you that it will be a fun, affordable, and high-performance DAC!
