[JWahl]

Alright Schiit, who had to make a deal with the devil to get this kind of sound out of a $200 DS DAC!? Surely, there's some audiophile voodoo black magic going on here (I kid). I picked this up to hold me over for awhile since I need to sell my RME ADI-2 DAC soon, and I was fully expecting an acceptable, but compromised experience. Yet, what I'm getting is just good old-fashioned music enjoyment. Seriously, I'm ADHD about switching tracks often when I'm listening, but I find myself listening to songs much longer, sometimes the whole track, which is rare for me. Sure, the RME does some technical stuff better: instrumental separation, blacker background, soundstage width, and I regularly use all the value-added features like EQ and crossfeed. But man, this thing is just enjoyable to listen through in terms of the holistic listening experience. Well done, Schiit. To be fair, I already like Schiit DACs, having owned an Yggdrasil and Gungnir MB, but I really wasn't expecting this to be this good. Other disclaimer is that I have it hooked up to a $1,200 balanced amp (Burson Soloist 3X). Also, these are early impressions and I've probably got some new toy syndrome going on, but regardless, I'm floored for $200.

EDIT: Yes, I realize I've said nothing descriptive of the sound aside from "I enjoy it", and that's probably not too helpful. I'm feeling a little lazy right now, and too distracted by listening. I should receive an iFi Neo iDSD tomorrow as a review sample, and I'm planning to do a more detailed comparison of the 3 DACs, even though they're at 3 different price points. It should be enlightening.

 

[kledwards]

I have been with the Schiit Modius for about 6 months now. I jumped at the opportunity to purchase this DAC as it was a cheap entry into balanced audio along with the in-house USB tech (UNISON). I was previously running a Modi 3 into a Monoprice Cavalli Liquid Platinum. Modi 3 was/is enjoyable, it is one of the best deals out there but curiosity gets the best of us all in this hobby.

When my Modius arrived, it had USB issues. The DAC worked but as soon as my computer when into sleep mode the DAC was rendered inoperable. I would have to reset the USB cable or change USB ports to regain audio playback. I submitted an RMA to Schiit Audio, paid for shipping, they updated the firmware, and returned the DAC to me. Process took a week including shipping (I’m on a Army base abroad). Shoutout to Schiit, the process was painless.

Modi 3 and Modius have similar sound signatures has you would imagine. Modius is a mature version of Modi 3, from the addition of balanced outputs, better USB implementation, and better performing chip (4493). To upgrade from Modi 3 without having to gain a wall wart is a plus as well. What you will get is an increase in soundstage, instrument separation, bass response, resolution, and darker background. Modius features two optimized output stages, the SE output sounds similar to Modi 3. The Balanced output stage tightens everything up, this is noticeable in the bass.

Both DACs output a clean signal ready to be a distorted by my Liquid Platinum (in a pleasant way). Combining a tube amp with either DAC places the music slightly on the warmer side of neutral which is desirable for me. Modius + Liquid Platinum + Hifiman Arya gives enough warmth to enjoy hip-hop, while remaining agile enough to handle Jazz and Classical music (I really like the Star Wars soundtracks). With my Drop AAA 789, I found the sound too sterile using balanced cables.

Modius sounds “Classic” to me, provide a clean signal and allow me to tweak the sound to my liking downstream.

 

[JWahl]

A question for Modius users who also have experience with a number other DACs. Do you also find the Modius to sound abnormally good with older recordings? There are older recordings in my Qobuz playlist that sound a bit flat and dead out of the RME, but really come to life on the Modius. I'm really surprised how fundamentally different the sound is considering they're both balanced op-amp based designs with identical DAC Chips. Even with all the tweaking options on the RME, I don't think I could very closely approximate what I'm hearing out of the Modius. It seems to have something to do with the microdynamics and how it renders subtle rhythmic flourishes that gives music its sense flow or groove; think of snare drum ghost notes, or small accents in piano playing.

This is what's impressing me the most with the Modius, because it's a trait I weight heavily. There's other things I could nitpick, but nothing too offensive, especially at the pricepoint. Conversely, the RME sounds better with heavily processed pop music and hip hop, especially after EQ. It (the RME) just makes older recordings sound dead and boring. It's most evident with classic rock and really old jazz recordings, like this Benny Goodman live recording of Sing, Sing, Sing. The Modius really brings out the rhythm that the song is built upon. I've joked to myself that maybe it has something do with Mike's age.

 

[legcramp]

A question for Modius users who also have experience with a number other DACs. Do you also find the Modius to sound abnormally good with older recordings? There are older recordings in my Qobuz playlist that sound a bit flat and dead out of the RME, but really come to life on the Modius. I'm really surprised how fundamentally different the sound is considering they're both balanced op-amp based designs with identical DAC Chips. Even with all the tweaking options on the RME, I don't think I could very closely approximate what I'm hearing out of the Modius. It seems to have something to do with the microdynamics and how it renders subtle rhythmic flourishes that gives music its sense flow or groove; think of snare drum ghost notes, or small accents in piano playing.

This is what's impressing me the most with the Modius, because it's a trait I weight heavily. There's other things I could nitpick, but nothing too offensive, especially at the pricepoint. Conversely, the RME sounds better with heavily processed pop music and hip hop, especially after EQ. It (the RME) just makes older recordings sound dead and boring. It's most evident with classic rock and really old jazz recordings, like this Benny Goodman live recording of Sing, Sing, Sing. The Modius really brings out the rhythm that the song is built upon. I've joked to myself that maybe it has something do with Mike's age.

It's probably the AKM chip used in the Modius; I felt the same way when I was using a Liquid Spark DAC which uses the same chip.

 

[JWahl]

It's probably the AKM chip used in the Modius; I felt the same way when I was using a Liquid Spark DAC which uses the same chip.

It has to just be the implementation in the RME, because it uses the exact same AKM chip as the Modius. I've been listening to a loaner iFi Neo that arrived today and it has a similar sense of rhythmic accuracy as the Modius. I'm starting to think now that this isn't necessarily a unique trait of the Modius, but an implementation limitation of the RME. I just wouldn't have expected that considering the price difference.

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

It's going to be a while before AKM recovers from their fab fire in late October. I wonder when manufacturers using their chips will feel the pinch?

 

[tincanear]

It's going to be a while before AKM recovers from their fab fire in late October. I wonder when manufacturers using their chips will feel the pinch?

Jason has said (on his main thread) that they stocked up a while ago on AKM and other critical parts, something between 6 months to 1 year's worth (depending on sales being above or below estimates), so they're OK. As for other manufacturers (who didn't stock up) we will soon find out....

 

[showme99]

It's going to be a while before AKM recovers from their fab fire in late October. I wonder when manufacturers using their chips will feel the pinch?

They already are:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...fi-two-way-ldac.902622/page-570#post-15996323

 

[supersonic395]

I'm planning to get this to feed into a Vali 2+ and I'll be running this via USB from my laptop/PC.

As the Modius will be doing all the work, does it matter what program I use to play my tracks? (I plan to use the MediaGo Sony software).

 

[cgb3]

I'm planning to get this to feed into a Vali 2+ and I'll be running this via USB from my laptop/PC.

As the Modius will be doing all the work, does it matter what program I use to play my tracks? (I plan to use the MediaGo Sony software).

No. Use anything, including the native apps.

It's all digital output, which your Modius will convert to analog and send on to your amp.

That's not to say that some apps don't handle playback differently than others.

Personally, I use Foobar2000 for my archived library, and Amazon Unlimited HD & Tidal Premium for streaming.

 

[supersonic395]

No. Use anything, including the native apps.

It's all digital output, which your Modius will convert to analog and send on to your amp.

That's not to say that some apps don't handle playback differently than others.

Personally, I use Foobar2000 for my archived library, and Amazon Unlimited HD & Tidal Premium for streaming.

Ah okay thank you for confirming.

Just a question, when I was using both MediaGo & Foobar, despite running audio via USB to the Modius, I was still able to control the volume within those programs, does that mean that the Modius isn't receiving a pure digital signal?

 

[JohnnyOps]

Well, it’s still digital and still 1’s and 0’s. However, many do believe that SQ can be reduced by doing volume in the digital domain (pre-DAC). Some systems like Roon convert everything to 24 bit floating point before doing any DSP including volume changes, and then if the DAC needs it, converting back to whatever the DAC can consume - which means you’re less likely to lose any audio. Depending on how much of a purist you want to be, and whether or not you believe you can hear a sound, you may decide to change volume only in the analog space (via your amp, post-DAC). For instance, I have 9 Sonos endpoints around the house, and those I control via digital volume control all day long - none are for critical listening. For my 2 headphone rigs and my main 2 channel listening system, I have them set to fixed volume and only do any volume adjustment in the analog domain. However, for the 2 headphone amps I do use some amount of DSP - I sometimes use Bauer binaural, and I certainly use Audeze presets when I’m using my LCD-2s. On my main speaker rig, I usually don’t do anything upstream. But I use Roon for streaming to multiple places, and it does a nice job of managing multiple signal paths - and reminding you what’s going on. When my only rig was my single desktop rig and Foobar2000, I didn’t worry about any of this.

 

[supersonic395]

As an update, I started using Jriver and that seems to be perfect for sending the untouched signal to the Modius (did notice an improvement compared to using Sony's program).

Modius does sound very good - I've read people saying that DACs require some run-in time (like 30-50hrs) but has anyone noticed improvements after the initial run in period?

 

[supersonic395]

For what it's worth, my Modius is sounding quite amazing after a few days of having it run in

 

[havagr8da]

Wow, the great impressions of this little DAC has my interest. It would be interesting to hear some impressions of it used with the new Jotunheim. The pair might just be one of the best bang for the buck systems. Big fan of Schiit Audio and all they do.