merkil
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2012
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I've been doing some critical listening with a pair of HD650's tonight running the Magni and Modi, and also feeding the Magni, Lyr, and Mjolnir out of the Gungnir as a reference. This all gets a little complicated, but let me start to tease out the good stuff.
The Magni fed by the Gungnir sounds great. Powerful, good dynamics, nice resolution, slightly (but not overly) bright. Lots of air and space around the instruments. The Modi is pretty good, but doesn't have the air and resolution during complex passages that the Gungnir presents. Bottom line--the Magni scales up with a better dac.
The Lyr sounds better than the Magni, but at $550 with a good pair of tubes vs. $100--the Magni is a tremendous value. The Lyr is warmer and has more air and dynamics than the Magni, but it's a difference of refinement.
Feeding the Lyr with the Modi reduces some of that air and dynamics, but it still sounds great. You could start with the Magni and Modi and upgrade either side and get a nice step up, but if I had to choose, I'd lean towards upgrading the dac first. If only I had a Bifrost handy.
The HD650 is very enjoyable with the M&M. I spent most of the day listening to this combination at work and it delivers a high end listening experience. More to come....
So which combo do you believe would be better sounding Asgard/Modi or Magni/Bitfrost?