[MtnMan307]

Finally got the Modius. Testing it now paired with the Jotunheim.

First few of quirks I noticed:

• the front LED indicator seems to stay powered on at all times
  • it doesn't appear to be as bright as the Jotty but looks like the only way to get it off is to unplug the cables
    • I currently have it on both USB and SPDIF
• the finish of the Modius is Satin compared to the brushed-aluminum of the Jotty. The Modius is also
• the micro-usb is too depressed downward
  • I had to "scoop" it up for the cable to properly fit and connect, I couldn't plug it a normal horizontal manner
• it is hella light at 2 pounds lol I got keyboards 3 times as heavy as this
  • it is more suited to be the bottom piece of the stack otherwise it is easily moved with a small yank of the cable

I must be the only one who likes the LEDs on Schiit gear. I've never thought they were too bright.

 

[MtnMan307]

Since I bought the Lyr 3 in 2018, I enjoyed it more than the Jotunheim with both fed by the Modi Multibit.

Out of the Modius, I think I like the Jot more. It is really a good amp that I considered selling for a while after buying Lyr 3. Now I'm glad to have kept it.

 

[Asahi Templar]

Have people not been able to discern DS and R2R DACs in blind testing? I do believe differences between DACs are wildy overstated and I believe those differences shrink very much when listening blindly, which is why I said I was joining the expectation bias club when I placed my order for the Mobius LMAO. But from what I've heard it seems like DS vs R2R is more like tube amplification vs SS in that they have a distinct, easily recognizable sound signature.

Yes, there are some blind tests were people could such as this one. That website also has some more blind tests between Hersey and Magni 3+ were people were again able to tell them apart as a bonus but no faraday cage was used so obviously "THEY DID IT WRONG!" . You can find some informal accounts from others such as one at the Schittr between the Modi MB/Modi 3 and Gungnir D/S vs MB wherein most people actually preferred the D/S dacs with the Gungir D/S being the most preferred overall.

Honestly it is very difficult to find any results from blind tests one way or the other. I always find it amusing to see "objectivists" demanding blind tests to back up someone claims when really there arent that many blind tests demonstrating people cant hear a difference either. All the sample sizes are too small to reach a conclusion one way or the other..but that doesn't match "THE NARRATIVES" so every one ignores that point.

 

[CoryGillmore]

Yes, there are some blind tests were people could such as this one. That website also has some more blind tests between Hersey and Magni 3+ were people were again able to tell them apart as a bonus but no faraday cage was used so obviously "THEY DID IT WRONG!" . You can find some informal accounts from others such as one at the Schittr between the Modi MB/Modi 3 and Gungnir D/S vs MB wherein most people actually preferred the D/S dacs with the Gungir D/S being the most preferred overall.

Honestly it is very difficult to find any results from blind tests one way or the other. I always find it amusing to see "objectivists" demanding blind tests to back up someone claims when really there arent that many blind tests demonstrating people cant hear a difference either. All the sample sizes are too small to reach a conclusion one way or the other..but that doesn't match "THE NARRATIVES" so every one ignores that point.

Because of the nature of bias, you wouldn't want the objectivists participating in the tests. The only participants should be people who claim they can hear differences. As anyone else would have reason to lie or understate differences rather than admit they were wrong.

The few blind tests I've read about, however, have not fared well for audiophiles. Mainly the one conducted at the Harmon Research Facility where audio pros/reviewers couldn't reliably discern a budget DAC from a TOTL DAC. I've also read about a blind test that Toms Hardware conducted, with the same results.

Regardless of any of that, I just enjoy new gadgets. The first line of my signature is not a lie haha.

 

[hiImGrant]

I must be the only one who likes the LEDs on Schiit gear. I've never thought they were too bright.

Compared to the RNHP, they’re invisible lol.

I have zero issues with schiit lights

 

[Asahi Templar]

Because of the nature of bias, you wouldn't want the objectivists participating in the tests. The only participants should be people who claim they can hear differences. As anyone else would have reason to lie or understate differences rather than admit they were wrong.

The few blind tests I've read about, however, have not fared well for audiophiles. Mainly the one conducted at the Harmon Research Facility where audio pros/reviewers couldn't reliably discern a budget DAC from a TOTL DAC. I've also read about a blind test that Toms Hardware conducted, with the same results.

Regardless of any of that, I just enjoy new gadgets. The first line of my signature is not a lie haha.

I am not familiar with the harmon one, but the toms hardware one was seriously seriously flawed. They decided to put 4 devices in the mix and they even failed to volume match one of them, making its inclusion just an unnecessary confusion. 4 is..too many imo, asking someone to hold 4 different sound signatures in their head and then identify them over the course of 8 listens is unnecessarily difficult. They only actually tested with 4 different tracks as the other tracks they list couldnt be played by some of the devices and their sample size was..one. They got two people but didn't have them do the same tests or at least failed to publish listener Bs data on most of the tests.

Also in spite of all this some interesting data points emerged. Listener A actually got them all perfectly right on Daft Punks get lucky! They then repeated the test several days later and he failed so they just assumed "He got lucky" Trouble is based on their comments it looked like Daft punk was the final test that day, so one cant discard the possibility that he got them right because he finally figured out the sound signatures and thus could get them correct. Coming back several days later he no longer remembered them and thus could not get them right again.

If you read listener As comments. he was generally preferring the sound of the Asus xonar throughout the tests. He kept getting it wrong in the blind test because he was thinking the one that sounded best to him would be the most expensive and thus would name the Benchmark whenever he thought it sounded best. Which really shows the problem with these kind of test IMO, people may hear a difference but then logic themselves into naming the one they think is "better". If you just ask them which device they prefer you get much better and IMO more useful results. Especially if they have never heard any of these devices before. Also just stick to A/B, adding 4 in there is just complicating matters for no reason.

I think it was extremely misleading of Toms Hardware IMO to use that test to conclude "Anything Above $2 Buys More Features, Not Better Quality". You would need much more testing and samples to back up a claim like that. Even if it were a flawless test, such a small sample size should never be used to justify a claim like that, but hey gots to get them clicks.

I agree that the differences between dacs are often exaggerated, especially comparing D/S to D/S. For me at least Sabre, Cirrus Logic and the Realtek based dacs are all extremely similar. You might get some small differences but they will be hard to tell apart. AKM and Burr Brown based dacs differ the most for me and even that is not huge. For instance my Creative G6 sounds much closer to my AL1220 based motherboard than my Modius. I would love to see some blind tests comparing like a Modi to a Topping D10 or something like that, or maybe Modius vs SMSL SU-8 as I think those would be very revealing.

I dont think people should spend more than like 300 dollars on a D/S dac these days now that these affordable ones are so good. If you want to drop a bunch of money for a different experience, you should go multibit as thats the most likely to offer a different experience and they are just cooler . More I listen to the Modius, the more I am convinced people should not pay more than $199 plus shipping for a D/S dac as they should just buy the modius!
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733-19.html

 

[j0val]

Seems like many others received their Modius today too. Mine came in earlier in the afternoon. Upgraded from a Magni/Modi stack.

 

[Degree]

Seems like many others received their Modius today too. Mine came in earlier in the afternoon. Upgraded from a Magni/Modi stack.

Looks great!
Love seeing black schiits. Seems like some hate the silver knobs, but I think it makes a stunning contrast.

 

[j0val]

Looks great!
Love seeing black schiits. Seems like some hate the silver knobs, but I think it makes a stunning contrast.

I definitely agree with you. I really like the contrast between the silver and black. Personally, I think it would be a little too dark if the knobs were black as well.

 

[Marlowe]

Looks great!
Love seeing black schiits. Seems like some hate the silver knobs, but I think it makes a stunning contrast.

FWIW, I despise the silver knobs. IMO they look absolutely hideous. I'm still debating on the Modius, but if I get it, I'll probably get it in black and stick black tape on the sliver selector; I'll only be using the USB anyway.

 

[roskodan]

Yeah, put some tape on it, it's gonna look much better. I like the silver knobs and buttons on the black units. Makes em look bigger and more relevant. Matches the labels as well.

If only the volume indicating notch on the pots of Schiit's products was bigger, so I could feel it on touch.

 

[bboris77]

Hi, finally received my Modius today after a two day delay from USPS! Anyway, I have to say that this is a great sounding DAC especially considering it is only $200!

I have had it powered on for a few hours connected to my THX789 and using my HD800s and Hifiman Aryas. I also have another THX789 that is connected to my Bifrost 2. I am using my PC/USB as my source using flac files as well as Tidal. I am also running the system balanced with the power adapter plugged in just because. I have not tried the RCA outs.

Like most have said, this is definitely one airy DAC. I am mostly a multibit is better type of guy. I have had quite a few DACS in the past including Modi, Mimby, SU8, Sdac balanced, topping D70 and like I said I currently have the Bifrost 2 as well as a topping D90. I do prefer the Bifrost 2 to the Modius because multibit just has that "weight" that makes everything more substantial and real sounding. These two DACS (IMHO) are not too disimilar in how they sound which speaks volumes to the Modius's sound quality. The fact that there is a $500 gulf between the two, I wouldn't be unhappy with the Modius alone, in fact I could buy a couple more and have a system in every room! Diminishing returns and all that. I did have a Jot in the past with the built in balanced 4490 DAC and didn't like that DAC at all. Dont like all in ones either, prefer seperates.

I also have not directly compared this to the Topping yet but considering I love my Bifrost 2 (and Modius) I will be probably selling that soon!

This is similar to what I thought when I compared the Bifrost 2 to the Steinberg UR12 - the differences were really small. The reason why I used the UR12 for comparison was the fact that it has an adjustable output volume so I was able to level match it to the Bifrost 2. And this was not a blind test - I really wanted the Bifrost 2 to be vastly superior but it was not really. The only thing which was obvious was that the Bifrost 2 had a much lower noise floor, but that is at extremely high volume levels which I would never listen at.
I would be very curious to hear your opinions on the Modius versus the D70 and the D90. I’m currently running the D70 using its filter number 1 and am very pleased with it. Extremely low noise floor, neutral and natural sounding. It also has a good feature set, built in psu, rejects rfi well and is built like a tank. Also has a screen which is not a major thing for me but can be useful. I’ve been looking for an excuse to replace it with the Modius because I love Schiit but I just cannot find enough motivation to do so.
I guess I just like Schiit amps more than their DACs. I think the issue is that their top level gear (Yggdrasil) is where they go all out when it comes to DACs while even their cheap amps are special and unique.

 

[schneller]

@bboris77 funny as I have heard many others say the opposite: their DACs are great, their amps not so much. Do you really think there is a "gulf" between BF2 and Yiggy? Everyone seems to say that the BF2 is a mini Yiggy and the differences come down to splitting hairs...

 

[bboris77]

@bboris77 funny as I have heard many others say the opposite: their DACs are great, their amps not so much. Do you really think there is a "gulf" between BF2 and Yiggy? Everyone seems to say that the BF2 is a mini Yiggy and the differences come down to splitting hairs...

I know, I have always liked their amps a lot. The Valhalla 2 and the Lyr 3 are amazing tube amps, and the Asgard 3 is a fantastic solid-state option. I tried the Bifrost 2 and liked it but did not really think it was that much better than the Modi 3 or even my lowly Steinberg UR12 as mentioned. It was more holographic and smoother sounding. I can only assume it is due to the SuperMegaComboBurrito proprietary filter. I have never heard the Yggy so I cannot compare. The thing that makes me think that the Yggy and the Gumby are closer to the original Mike's vision is the fact that they both have discrete output stages that allow the designer to customise them to produce the sound they really want. With op-amp output stages, you are kind of stuck with the sound signature that each op-amp brings. I am sure those can be tweaked up to a point but not as much as a custom-designed discrete output stage.

 

[tafens]

I definitely agree with you. I really like the contrast between the silver and black. Personally, I think it would be a little too dark if the knobs were black as well.

The black units look really nice, but I think the silver knobs/buttons stick out too much. But the black Magni Heresy looks super nice, with its red accents and black knob..

I’m all-in on silver though, matches with my MacBook..