Cavalli LC v1 - Massdrop x Cavalli LCX - Schiit Asgard 3
Schiit Modius discussion - $199 balanced AK4493 DAC
- Thread starter Mightygrey
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All my gear is listed in my signature.What phones !Asgard 3 and modi multibit is a nice pairing I will admit.
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CoryGillmore
Headphoneus Supremus
So you haven't heard the Modius balanced? If that's the case I would strongly suggest trying it! Everyone has said the SE and XLR outputs are totally different.
I can confirm, SE is not the same as it’s XLR output. Also it’s optical input sounds different from usb.
I like your review and I’m awaiting my bifrost2 to see how r2r sounds against this thing. I have a feeling even through the xlr the modius will be much more clinical than any Multibit dac.
I’ll probably just keep them both as I can imagine someday using it in an alternative setup
I did listen to it from it's balanced outputs with my LC v1 and LCX, which are both balanced amps, and I used a balanced cable with my TH-610.
And the difference in SQ between the RCA and XLR outputs has been greatly exaggerated, IMHO. There is a very slight difference between them, but nothing that fundamentally changes the SQ of the DAC. I thought that the XLR output only offered a very subtle improvement over the RCA output. There was no "night and day" difference between them, at least not to my ears.
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acbarn
New Head-Fier
My Modius arrived on Friday. My subjective impression so far is that it’s a fair step up from the internal 4490 card in my Asgard. I’m enjoying what I perceive as improved detail and clarity, better instrument separation, and a broader soundstage.
The physical footprint of the Modius is exactly the same as the Asgard, though it’s shallower and the build is slightly different; the top is a thinner material and the build is less robust overall, though not to the point of being a problem.
A few nitpicks: the front selector button rattles, the included USB cable is flimsy (I know, choosy beggars and all that), and micro USB is meh. Overall though, it’s seems like a very nice DAC that sounds great and measures great for $199. I’m happy with the purchase.
The physical footprint of the Modius is exactly the same as the Asgard, though it’s shallower and the build is slightly different; the top is a thinner material and the build is less robust overall, though not to the point of being a problem.
A few nitpicks: the front selector button rattles, the included USB cable is flimsy (I know, choosy beggars and all that), and micro USB is meh. Overall though, it’s seems like a very nice DAC that sounds great and measures great for $199. I’m happy with the purchase.
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CoryGillmore
Headphoneus Supremus
I’ll be coming from the integrated 4490 in my Jotunheim and am expecting some improvements as well. Whether they’re real improvements or in my head....who cares! Improvements are improvements!My Modius arrived on Friday. My subjective impression so far is that it’s a fair step up from the internal 4490 card in my Asgard. I’m enjoying what I perceive as improved detail and clarity, better instrument separation, and a broader soundstage. The physical footprint is exactly the same as the Asgard, though it’s shallower and the build is slightly different; the top is a thinner material and the build is less robust overall, though not to the point of being a problem. A few nitpicks: the front selector button rattles, the included USB cable is flimsy (I know, choosy beggars and all that), and micro USB is meh. Overall though, it’s seems like a very nice DAC that sounds great and measures great for $199. I’m happy with the purchase.
Asahi Templar
100+ Head-Fier
I got mine into today but unfortunately my Aeon 2 open had to go back to the mothership for repairs so I am stuck with only a Koss gmr-54x to do listening tests with..which is not ideal lol. Surprisingly even with the lowly Koss the Creative G6 and Modius sound noticeably different to me. I compared the G6 to the Modi in the past and the G6 won as I found it to be a more exciting sound whereas the Modi was more subdued and well "velvety" . That is still kind of the case with the Modius but I am finding it noticeably better than the Modi was for me.
The things that are clear to me thus far are that the Modius has more detail than the G6. little nuances like breaths,whispers, small background noises pop much more on the Modius and are far easier to make out. Instrument separation is also clearly better. The Modius sounds airer than the G6 does, everything other than the vocals seems to fly away from you more with the Modius. The airy quality makes the soundstage seem more open or wider than on the G6. Vocals are more intimate on the G6 though, they are a bit more diffuse sounding with the Modius.
The Modius has a bit of a warmer tone than the G6 does, take the track Jason by The Midnight for example. On the G6 Nikki Flores sounds cuter/sweeter wheras she sounds sexier,/sultrier on the Modius. Her lines "OOOOH Jason" and "tell me what you chasin" are all a bit grating on the G6 where it sounds perfectly pleasant with the Modius. The Saxophone that comes in is very aggressive and in your face on the G6 whereas with the modius the initial attack hits you then it flies away into the distance.
Overall the Modius is less fatiguing sounding than the G6 but that can be good or bad depending on perspective. Listening to Slipknot for instance, I am not sure which I prefer, as the G6 gives you the aggression its supposed to have IMO but the Modius keeps a good amount of the attack from the guitars and shaves off the irritation. One area the G6 is pretty clearly better to me is bass impact, its got more impact,bass just seems to hit harder. Modius is noticeably softer in its impact, though I have to say it is stronger than the Modi was in this regard. The Modi imo had a "bloom" in the lower mids to upperbass that made bass guitars sound sort of mushy or one notish, the Modius appears to have gotten rid of that. Now its just kind of a softer hit than the big punch the G6 gives.
Need to get my Aeon back before I can make a final judgement on the two, but I am liking the Modius a lot, it is a clear improvement for me over the Modi.It has still got some of the "velvet sound " thing associated with the newer AKM dacs going on but with less "velvet" and more "sound". That should be the tagline "Now with 30% less velvet!"
If the words airy,warm, open, non fatiguing, and detailed appeal to you, Modius is very likely going to make you real happy. If your looking for facemelting,cold, aggressive, intimate, and slamming maybe not so much.
I used both the Creative G6 and the Modius with the Asgard 3, dont have any balanced amps atm so cant compare the XLR out. I also had the Modi before with the Asgard 3 which is why I mentioned it, though it has been some time and I cant do a direct comparison.
. That is still kind of the case with the Modius but I am finding it noticeably better than the Modi was for me.The things that are clear to me thus far are that the Modius has more detail than the G6. little nuances like breaths,whispers, small background noises pop much more on the Modius and are far easier to make out. Instrument separation is also clearly better. The Modius sounds airer than the G6 does, everything other than the vocals seems to fly away from you more with the Modius. The airy quality makes the soundstage seem more open or wider than on the G6. Vocals are more intimate on the G6 though, they are a bit more diffuse sounding with the Modius.
The Modius has a bit of a warmer tone than the G6 does, take the track Jason by The Midnight for example. On the G6 Nikki Flores sounds cuter/sweeter wheras she sounds sexier,/sultrier on the Modius. Her lines "OOOOH Jason" and "tell me what you chasin" are all a bit grating on the G6 where it sounds perfectly pleasant with the Modius. The Saxophone that comes in is very aggressive and in your face on the G6 whereas with the modius the initial attack hits you then it flies away into the distance.
Overall the Modius is less fatiguing sounding than the G6 but that can be good or bad depending on perspective. Listening to Slipknot for instance, I am not sure which I prefer, as the G6 gives you the aggression its supposed to have IMO but the Modius keeps a good amount of the attack from the guitars and shaves off the irritation. One area the G6 is pretty clearly better to me is bass impact, its got more impact,bass just seems to hit harder. Modius is noticeably softer in its impact, though I have to say it is stronger than the Modi was in this regard. The Modi imo had a "bloom" in the lower mids to upperbass that made bass guitars sound sort of mushy or one notish, the Modius appears to have gotten rid of that. Now its just kind of a softer hit than the big punch the G6 gives.
Need to get my Aeon back before I can make a final judgement on the two, but I am liking the Modius a lot, it is a clear improvement for me over the Modi.It has still got some of the "velvet sound " thing associated with the newer AKM dacs going on but with less "velvet" and more "sound"
. That should be the tagline "Now with 30% less velvet!"If the words airy,warm, open, non fatiguing, and detailed appeal to you, Modius is very likely going to make you real happy. If your looking for facemelting,cold, aggressive, intimate, and slamming maybe not so much.
I used both the Creative G6 and the Modius with the Asgard 3, dont have any balanced amps atm so cant compare the XLR out. I also had the Modi before with the Asgard 3 which is why I mentioned it, though it has been some time and I cant do a direct comparison.
mykeldg
100+ Head-Fier
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Thanks for this -- just the review I needed. I've been on and off the DS vs Multibit bandwagon for quite a while (D30, D50s, E30, Modi 3) and I always tend to go back the Modi Multibit despite the non-hi-res sound. I have the E30 (technically the same chip used by the modius) and while it is nice, I find the age-ing modi multibit to be the more life-like and cohesive sounding device.- - Schiit Modius Mini-Review - -
Well, as much as I hate to say it, it looks like the sound of the Modius just isn't for me.
Nobody wanted to love the Modius more than I did. It had all of the features I was looking for along with a very affordable price. But unfortunately, to my ears, it just couldn't dethrone the Modi Multibit in SQ.
I've been trying to think of a good analogy to describe the differences between the Modius with its delta-sigma chip and the Modi Multibit with it's R2R chips and proprietary digital filter. I thought about all of the usual audiophile analogies we've all read a hundred times before, but none of them really seemed to fit. So I came up with an unusual analogy that seemed the most apropos to me, so here goes. To me, the difference between these two DACs is like drinking some pretty good store-bought orange juice and drinking some fresh-squeezed orange juice you get at a farmers market that was just made that day. While the store-bought OJ is still very enjoyable, it has been strained, frozen, thawed, pasturized and homogenized before you ever get to taste it. But with the fresh-squeezed OJ, it comes directly from the source with almost nothing having been done to it. Sure, you may get more pulp than you might otherwise prefer, and maybe even the occasional seed or two, but God DAMN is it delicious! There's just no comparison, in my opinion. But surprisingly (to me, at least), there are many people that actually prefer the taste of the store-bought OJ because it has a smoother texture, it's less acidic, it doesn't have any pulp or seeds in it, and the list goes on. While I understand where they are coming from, I personally would much rather have my OJ fresh-squeezed, even if that means getting the occasional little bits of undesired stuff that will inevitably come along with it.
The Modius is a very good sounding DAC, and an excellect value at it's price. But it still very much sounds like a delta-sigma based DAC. It doesn't rewrite the rules for what a good quality, entry-level DS DAC is capable of, so you shouldn't expect any miracles in that regard. The Modius does have a somewhat larger soundstage and it images a little better when compared to the MM. But the MM has that "Multibit Magic", primarily in the mids and treble, that in all honesty, I've now become quite addicted to. And just to be extra thorough, I listened to the Modius with all three of my amps using it's RCA and XLR outputs, and I heard the exact same sonic traits and differences with all of them.
So for me, it looks like I'll be sticking with R2R DACs going forward, which now makes me really wish Schiit would hurry up and release a "Modius Multibit" ASAP! While I would still recommend the Modius as a great entry-level DAC, it's not without some caveats. To sum it up, I think the Modius will be a better fit for those who usually prefer the smoother, easier to drink store-bought OJ over the more acidic, pulpy and occasionally seedy (?!?) fresh-squeezed stuff.
Yep. That’s pretty much how I hear it as well.
CoryGillmore
Headphoneus Supremus
So is MB vs DS sorta like vinyl vs hi-res? Whereas MB may not be as accurate or measure as well but the sound is just more pleasing to some?
My Modius didn’t get delivered this morning so I hope to pick it up tonight.
CoryGillmore
Headphoneus Supremus
I ordered mine Saturday morning. Have yet to receive a shipping confirmation or anything...can't find an order status section on the site either. How does that work? Do they just send an email when its shipped or what?
EagleWings
Headphoneus Supremus
Yes. You’ll get a shipping notification email, as soon as a shipping label is generated and it will go out that evening.
I was kind of regretting ordering the Modius, as what I really wanted was a Bifrost 2, especially after reading the Modius vs Mimby comparison in the last page. And now that Bifrost 2’s ETA has been pushed to 06/30, it makes me feel a little better. Still hoping to try Schiit’s multibit sound sooner than later.
I was kind of regretting ordering the Modius, as what I really wanted was a Bifrost 2, especially after reading the Modius vs Mimby comparison in the last page. And now that Bifrost 2’s ETA has been pushed to 06/30, it makes me feel a little better. Still hoping to try Schiit’s multibit sound sooner than later.
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