[tincanear]

Budget is around 500 to 600. Aside from sound bar, i will use it together with my upcoming Sennheiser HD800S.

for headphone amp, solid state (Asgard 3 or Jotunheim), all tube (Valhalla), or tube hybrid (Lyr 3) are all good choices to work with the HD800S, which are 300 ohm HP's with good sensitivity. choice may be driven by your music genre preference(s)

 

[tincanear]

i saw Asgard only have input and pre-out, how i going to connect to my pc and my soundbar?
At the momenr, my sound card is connected to soundbar via optical out

Modius DAC input would connect to the PC via USB. Modius DAC output via RCA or XLR cables to HP amp input, then HP amp to soundbar using HP pre-amp RCA outs.

What headphone cable(s) are included with the HD800S? and what type of connectors (e.g. 4-pin XLR, 6.3mm TRS, 4.4 pentaconn)

 

[cycheang]

Modius DAC input would connect to the PC via USB. Modius DAC output via RCA or XLR cables to HP amp input, then HP amp to soundbar using HP pre-amp RCA outs.

What headphone cable(s) are included with the HD800S? and what type of connectors (e.g. 4-pin XLR, 6.3mm TRS, 4.4 pentaconn)

Which means i need to purchase a DAC (Modius) and HP Amp ( choices: Asgard 3/Jotunheim/Valhalla/Lyr 3), to get it work.
But my soundbar only have optical in.
By the way, HD800S now come with 6.3mm TRS and 4.4mm balanced cable.

 

[Racheski]

Which means i need to purchase a DAC (Modius) and HP Amp ( choices: Asgard 3/Jotunheim/Valhalla/Lyr 3), to get it work.
But my soundbar only have optical in.
By the way, HD800S now come with 6.3mm TRS and 4.4mm balanced cable.

You can buy an adapter for RCA in to Toslink Out:
Musou RCA Analog to Digital Optical Toslink Coaxial Audio Converter Adapter with Optical Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HGHNCMW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_kFI7EbH06QFM1
There may be ones with better fidelity, but I’m just showing an example.

 

[mykeldg]

Looking forward to my Modius being delivered today.

Looking forward to your impressions since you also have the Modi 3, Mimby and Bifrost 4490. Thanks in advance!

 

[hodgjy]

Which means i need to purchase a DAC (Modius) and HP Amp ( choices: Asgard 3/Jotunheim/Valhalla/Lyr 3), to get it work.
But my soundbar only have optical in.
By the way, HD800S now come with 6.3mm TRS and 4.4mm balanced cable.

You can buy an adapter for RCA in to Toslink Out:
Musou RCA Analog to Digital Optical Toslink Coaxial Audio Converter Adapter with Optical Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HGHNCMW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_kFI7EbH06QFM1
There may be ones with better fidelity, but I’m just showing an example.

This sounds like way more trouble than it's worth, and it won't turn out the way you expect. Just keep running your sound bar from the optical port on your sound card. Most sound bars aren't high enough quality to hear incremental improvements from better downstream gear. Most are noisy class D amplifiers and small speaker cones.

Plus, if you place a Modius and separate RCA to optical converter in your chain, you're going to have the following signal path --digital--analog--digital--analog. That's a huge mess and will absolutely degrade quality. The dac in the sound bar will be inferior to Modius and you'll lose any improvements you hoped to achieve.

 

[Racheski]

This sounds like way more trouble than it's worth, and it won't turn out the way you expect. Just keep running your sound bar from the optical port on your sound card. Most sound bars aren't high enough quality to hear incremental improvements from better downstream gear. Most are noisy class D amplifiers and small speaker cones.

Plus, if you place a Modius and separate RCA to optical converter in your chain, you're going to have the following signal path --digital--analog--digital--analog. That's a huge mess and will absolutely degrade quality. The dac in the sound bar will be inferior to Modius and you'll lose any improvements you hoped to achieve.

If the poster was going for convenience, he'll have to switch audio sources on his PC depending on whether he wants to use the soundbar or headphone amp.

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

Very happy with the Modius right out of the box. I'm using it as external DAC on my older Marantz CD5003 deck connected with a coax cable. Using a Magni 3+ headphone amp and Sennheiser HD650 headphones. My first DAC with the AKM4493 in it, my other schiit DACs were the 4490, besides the Schiit multibit DACs. I'm going to let it play and listen more.
In my opinion Schiit has lived up to its reputation for delivering a lot of bang for the buck with the Modius.

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

Looking forward to using the XLR connections on this DAC. Of course the Magni is out of the question so I ordered the Rupert Neve headphone amp.

 

[hiImGrant]

Looking forward to using the XLR connections on this DAC. Of course the Magni is out of the question so I ordered the Rupert Neve headphone amp.

RNHP has an excellent reputation. I found the amp doesn’t sound it’s best with the modius driving it. Interested to hear your impressions. I have heard some with the lake people g111 like the modius but I have not heard that combination myself

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

One thing that I'm noticing with the Modius is the air and separation between the instruments. Each one is so well defined in its location.
Great soundstage too in my opinion. The bass really sneaks up on you too. Not overwhelming but just right for me. I'm enjoying this DAC much more than the Modi 3 or Bifrost 4490.

 

[cycheang]

Dear guys,

Thanks for the valuable comments and advise. I think i will just stick to sound card for time being.

 

[bigbenrfan99]

I finally got around to comparing my Modius with my Modi Multibit. I'm glad that I do hear a definite (albeit small) difference between the DACs. I'm using a Lyr 3 and a Grado GH4. The Modi Multibit has a more aggressive, intimate sound with more forward mids and possibly slightly more bass quantity. The Modius has a slightly larger soundstage and better imaging with a more laid back sound signature. The Modius helps to smooth some tracks which can sound harsh with the GH4. I don't really hear any more detail or objectively better quality with either DAC. In my case with the GH4, which already has a constricted soundstage and an aggressive, mid-forward sound signature, I think the Modius complements its strengths well.

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

I finally got around to comparing my Modius with my Modi Multibit. I'm glad that I do hear a definite (albeit small) difference between the DACs. I'm using a Lyr 3 and a Grado GH4. The Modi Multibit has a more aggressive, intimate sound with more forward mids and possibly slightly more bass quantity. The Modius has a slightly larger soundstage and better imaging with a more laid back sound signature. The Modius helps to smooth some tracks which can sound harsh with the GH4. I don't really hear any more detail or objectively better quality with either DAC. In my case with the GH4, which already has a constricted soundstage and an aggressive, mid-forward sound signature, I think the Modius complements its strengths well.

That's really close to what I think the differences are. For some reason the word cohesive popped Into my brain.when I was thinking about the soundstage. I'm not even sure what that means. It's like there is great separation between the instruments but the musicians are all in the same room. That makes no sense but I cannot describe what I'm hearing.
Anywho, I'm enjoying this DAC.

 

[MtnMan307]

I do think the Modius is a lot more resolving than Modi Multibit, but that's not saying the MM can't resolve detail in music.