Schiit Jotunheim w. Internal Multibit Dac vs. External Modi Multibit

[mattlach]

Hey all,

So, I bought my Modi Multibit before I bought my Jotunheim for use with a tube amp. In the end I didn't like the tube experience so I ordered the Jotunheim without a DAC module to use together with it.

At the time I bough the Jotunheim, it only had a the standard DAC, and I kind of preferred the multibit experience so I figured since I already had the Modi Multibit, I'd just keep and use that.

I hadn't been paying attention for a while, and it turns out they came out with a multibit DAC module for the Jotunheim.

So, would I be better off switching to the internal Multibit module, or staying with my existing Modi Multibit?

The standard DAC module for the Jotunheim is balanced, but they make no such claims with the Multibit module. I am assuming it is single ended, is that accurate?

I always thought it would be nice to take advantage of the fact that my Jotunheim has balanced inputs and get a balanced chain all the way from source to headphones, but Bifrost doesn't have a balanced model, and the Gungnir Multibit is just a little too rich for my blood.

Any thoughts on this subject would be appreciated.

 

[wje]

From the image at the Schiit site, it appears that the multibit module is not a balanced module - there are not 2 separate DAC chips on the board. However, I would suggest that you contact Schiit to confirm that this is indeed the case.

https://www.schiit.com/products/multibit-dac-module

Also, in another audio forum, I found this user's opinion that you might take into consideration too. "The external Modi Multibit standalone box is significantly better than the multibit card in the Jot. The multibit card in the Jot is for convenience. I actually prefer the DS card in the Jot over the multibit card."

Best of luck to you in this journey.

 

[blackdragon87]

Thanks this is very interesting. Deciding to keep my separate mimby after reading that article even though I have a multibit jotunheim incoming

 

[DesignTaylor]

Outside of the convenience of an all in one package, I've come to really value separates. I have a Jotunheim that I got with the AKG Balanced DAC only later to realize that it was really holding the amp back. The amp sounds amazing now with an outboard balanced dac. Just nice to be able to swap things around to find the right combo without having to start over.

 

[blackdragon87]

Outside of the convenience of an all in one package, I've come to really value separates. I have a Jotunheim that I got with the AKG Balanced DAC only later to realize that it was really holding the amp back. The amp sounds amazing now with an outboard balanced dac. Just nice to be able to swap things around to find the right combo without having to start over.

Yeah, I am considering getting a modius as well even though I have a multibit jot coming in the mail right now

 

[Mozbach]

Yeah, I am considering getting a modius as well even though I have a multibit jot coming in the mail right now

so finally did you find the JOT+MB better than the MB standalone?