[glpsace]

FWIW, when I mentioned quality USB cables I didn't at all mean spending a few hundred dollars on a cable. I simply mean finding cables with adequate gauge (thickness), proper shielding/grounding, and chokes, all of which can be found on relatively affordable cables. I have a lot of very expensive gear and I can honestly tell you that you end up paying thousands of dollars for basically that last 10% or so of performance and I totally agree that for the vast majority of people that improvement isn't worth the money and for many it will largely go unnoticed.

I can also say quite sincerely that if I had to ditch all my gear and keep a single affordable desktop rig, I could be totally happy with a pair of Hifiman Edition XS or even HE560s with my Schiit Lyr or Asgard and MMB2. Everything above that is essentially extras because I enjoy the journey and the experiences that happen along the way and have the expendable income to afford it. I think limiting yourself to what you're comfortable with and ignoring the constant pull to spend beyond that is an intelligent and totally acceptable way to approach this hobby and still have tons of fun. Especially these days, you can get incredible performance that would've cost you a couple kidneys and your first born child not too long ago for very affordable prices. In the sub-€1k price range you mention there is literally a whole treasure trove of killer gear out there to experience.

Lastly, I think you're 100% correct about the transducer (HPs, IEMs, speakers) being the most important and most influential part of a setup. Once you have a solid chain that gives you reasonable power and a good DAC, you can have a great time trying all kinds of different tunings, driver types, materials, etc. Sure, you may not have the capability to run some of the outliers like the HE6 series headphones, but there are so many great options out there that I don't really see that as being very limiting at all. The R26 is a step up in price, but given what you've said about your use case and your economics I will also tell you that you'll likely never need another DAC unless you and your desires change because it offers resolution/technicalities, range, flexibility, and features that make it an easy endgame level DAC for anyone not trying to ring every last drop of performance out of super high-end gear. That said, I also suspect that you would be just fine grabbing the Wiim and working on finding your sweet spot in the transducer side of things before you worry about building a more expensive chain. That's a question you'll have to answer for yourself though.

Lastly, who says the Gilmore isn't a good amp? I don't own one myself, but I know I few folks in the hobby that do and they have always said good things about them to me. I mean, it's not the most powerful and the measurement chasers have their criticisms, but there are plenty of owners out there that have been using them for years and find the Gilmore Lites to be perfectly serviceable amps.

All of that to say, do your thing, have fun, and don't let opinions and FOMO push you into spending more cash than you're comfortable with because there's plenty of cool gear and experiences to be had in the price range you are comfortable with.

Thank you for the reply that was lovely to read.

yes, indeed you are absolutely right about the cables and I wasn´t referring to you when I was "lost" in my thoughts and rambling about. I was just remembering many endless threads and discussions about that topic.

What you say makes total sense but sometimes it is kind of hard, for the less knowledgable as myself, to understand what a good cable is. So, in this matter, if you could mention one or two possibilites, either for a Usb cable, Coax or RCA, I would really appreciate it.

Anyway, you are absolutely right about what you wrote. A R26 would be totally an end game for me, no doubts about that. Nevertheless, for now, I will just enjoy what I have. Get a streamer and improve connections for sure.

Cheers.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Thank you for the reply that was lovely to read.

yes, indeed you are absolutely right about the cables and I wasn´t referring to you when I was "lost" in my thoughts and rambling about. I was just remembering many endless threads and discussions about that topic.

What you say makes total sense but sometimes it is kind of hard, for the less knowledgable as myself, to understand what a good cable is. So, in this matter, if you could mention one or two possibilites, either for a Usb cable, Coax or RCA, I would really appreciate it.

Anyway, you are absolutely right about what you wrote. A R26 would be totally an end game for me, no doubts about that. Nevertheless, for now, I will just enjoy what I have. Get a streamer and improve connections for sure.

Cheers.

Sorry that I somehow missed this. Tell you what, give me an idea of where you'll be looking to order from and I'll see what's available for you. Basically, I don't want to give recs for stuff you can't get so shoot me the retailers or websites you generally buy from and we'll go from there. Sound good?

 

[glpsace]

Sorry that I somehow missed this. Tell you what, give me an idea of where you'll be looking to order from and I'll see what's available for you. Basically, I don't want to give recs for stuff you can't get so shoot me the retailers or websites you generally buy from and we'll go from there. Sound good?

Everywhere from within the European Union. I know there are some good American brands out there but either they are out of reach or just with ridiculous prices. No particular shops or websites, despite many German shops have usually good audio products.

Thank you and cheers.

 

[artur9]

Can someone remind me, does Unison have "galvanic isolation" (I know @Baldr hates that term) or whatever to keep electrical noise from propagating from my NUC to the DAC?

 

[adias]

Can someone remind me, does Unison have "galvanic isolation" (I know @Baldr hates that term) or whatever to keep electrical noise from propagating from my NUC to the DAC?

I do not know. But I know it works well.

 

[LobalWarming]

Can someone remind me, does Unison have "galvanic isolation" (I know @Baldr hates that term) or whatever to keep electrical noise from propagating from my NUC to the DAC?

Yes it does... as Schiit says in their deep galvanic voice: "Unison USB, our own USB input based on a general-purpose PIC32 microprocessor, using precision local clocks and complete electromagnetic and electrostatic isolation"

 

[dstea]

Great device since the first generation

 

[Digital Enigma]

Can anyone compare this to a modi+ or other delta sigma and tell me which handles sibilance the best?

 

[adias]

Can anyone compare this to a modi+ or other delta sigma and tell me which handles sibilance the best?

Neither has sibilance problems. However, the MMB2 is the better performer.

Sibilance is a recording issue. It can be exacerbated by treble peaking amps and speakers.

 

[Blindranger]

TLDR: I am strongly considering pulling the trigger on the MM2. Has there been any rumors of model updates on the near'ish term horizon?

Longer Story: I want to experience a multibit DAC to see if I like its sound signature better than a delta-sigma DAC. I am leaning towards using the MM2 to replace the built-in DAC in my living room system (WiiM Pro > Emotiva PT1 > Emotiva BasX A2 > B&W DM603 S2), but it could potentially replace my Modius (current model) in my office system (MBP > Modius > NAD 1700 preamp > bridged NAD 2100 amps > Elac UB52). Roon and Tidal streaming through my MacBook Pro or Wiim are the primary sources, but I do have a Fluance RT85 > Schiit Mani 2 and NAD C542 CD player in my living room system.

 

[adias]

No rumors. The MMB2 is a great DAC.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

TLDR: I am strongly considering pulling the trigger on the MM2. Has there been any rumors of model updates on the near'ish term horizon?

Longer Story: I want to experience a multibit DAC to see if I like its sound signature better than a delta-sigma DAC. I am leaning towards using the MM2 to replace the built-in DAC in my living room system (WiiM Pro > Emotiva PT1 > Emotiva BasX A2 > B&W DM603 S2), but it could potentially replace my Modius (current model) in my office system (MBP > Modius > NAD 1700 preamp > bridged NAD 2100 amps > Elac UB52). Roon and Tidal streaming through my MacBook Pro or Wiim are the primary sources, but I do have a Fluance RT85 > Schiit Mani 2 and NAD C542 CD player in my living room system.

In fact, the only rumors I have heard is that the MMB2 is likely to be the last Modi Multibit of this design using an Analog Devices chip. It sounds like at least in the near to medium term securing a supply for manufacturing would be impossible or prohibitively expensive.

I don't think you'll regret buying the DAC. It really is a killer little option and, if you wanted to resell it later for some reason, they seem to hold decent value on the used market. Let us know how it works out for you if you pull the trigger.

 

[HWB3]

I am strongly considering pulling the trigger on the MM2.

Do it!

 

[adias]

For those connecting a digital source to a DAC via SPDiF coax I recommend the Blue Jeans 75Ohm digital coaxial cable:

https://www.amazon.com/Coaxial-Digi...lue+jeans+coaxial+cable&qid=1708633245&sr=8-3

 

[twigfarm]

For those connecting a digital source to a DAC via SPDiF coax I recommend the Blue Jeans 75Ohm digital coaxial cable:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00287BNKE?starsLeft=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_0H94Q7SJ789FCWC73EQZ&tag=headfi-20

Why? And please check your link.