[BBEG]

Ok, Monoprice Toslink cables came in today so I finally get the chance to test my new Schiit stack.
 
 
Asus Maximus V Gene SPDIF output
Modi Optical DAC
RCA PYST cables
Magni Amp
Monoprice 1m Toslink Cables (standard & premium)
HD 600
Foobar 2000
 
 
First impressions are... bad. There is this very tinny, garage sound to everything I play. FLAC, MP3, doesn't matter. Additionally, it seems only the lower frequencies and some treble exists; a large majority of the mids and lower treble is simply gone.
 
Anyone have any advice for me? Something I can test or adjust? I'm beyond myself that right now my mostly-dead FiiO E17 sounds better than a proper dedicated amp/dac.

 

[AladdinSane]

Did you disable motherboard sound in BIOS?

 

[kinger2005]

Are the digital outputs at max volume?

 

[BBEG]

  Did you disable motherboard sound in BIOS?

 
No. I would not hear sound at all via motherboard outputs if this were the case. I verified this anyway though.
 
 

  Are the digital outputs at max volume?

 
Yes. The only thing not max volume is the Magni itself.
 
 
 
 
Edit: in Realtek Digital Output(Optical) Properties, I can hear sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48.0 kHz, 96.0 kHz, but not 192.0 kHz. The Modi Optical is supposed to be able to manage up to 192 kHz sample rates so I'm not sure what's going on there.

 

[tehsprayer]

   
No. I would not hear sound at all via motherboard outputs if this were the case. I verified this anyway though.
 
 
 
Yes. The only thing not max volume is the Magni itself.

Make sure any software affecting the sound is disabled. Maybe your motherboard's sound card has an equalizer or a foobar plugin

 

[BBEG]

No Foobar plugins that I know of and I even uninstalled Realtek's driver and let Windows do its thing natively. Same effects.

 

[Mark-sf]

   
Edit: in Realtek Digital Output(Optical) Properties, I can hear sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48.0 kHz, 96.0 kHz, but not 192.0 kHz. The Modi Optical is supposed to be able to manage up to 192 kHz sample rates so I'm not sure what's going on there.

The Monoprice optical cables are plastic fibre not glass and do not have the bandwidth to support 24/192. You should be using higher quality glass fibre cables assuming that your computer has the capability to support 192 (Mac does not). You can get them from $20+ on Amazon for example. 

 

[Mark-sf]

  No Foobar plugins that I know of and I even uninstalled Realtek's driver and let Windows do its thing natively. Same effects.

Did you check Shiit's DAC Problem FAQ at http://schiit.com/faq/dac-problems? 

 

[65535]

Run everything at the native sample rate of your music. It's possible your computer is butchering the SRC when trying to hit 192kHz. 44.1kHz should be the ideal sample rate for your music.

 

[Mambosenior]

The Monoprice optical cables are plastic fibre not glass and do not have the bandwidth to support 24/192.

Bandwidth? On a digital cable? Please elaborate. All my plastic (not glass) optical cables function properly with 24/192 music out of four different DACs.

 

[AladdinSane]

Ooops sorry, was thinking USB. Try other suggestions. 

 

[Mark-sf]

Bandwidth? On a digital cable? Please elaborate. All my plastic (not glass) optical cables function properly with 24/192 music out of four different DACs.

Why do you not believe digital transmissions are subject to bandwidth? A 24/192 stereo signal will generate a 9MHz+ bit stream (192,000x24x2).  Typical plastic fibre cables max out about 6MHz which is fine for 24/96 which is the max most optical digital devices support. What Source, DAC, cable brand and length are you using as they all play a role?

 

[BLACKENEDPLAGUE]

  Ok, Monoprice Toslink cables came in today so I finally get the chance to test my new Schiit stack.
 
 
Asus Maximus V Gene SPDIF output
Modi Optical DAC
RCA PYST cables
Magni Amp
Monoprice 1m Toslink Cables (standard & premium)
HD 600
Foobar 2000
 
 
First impressions are... bad. There is this very tinny, garage sound to everything I play. FLAC, MP3, doesn't matter. Additionally, it seems only the lower frequencies and some treble exists; a large majority of the mids and lower treble is simply gone.
 
Anyone have any advice for me? Something I can test or adjust? I'm beyond myself that right now my mostly-dead FiiO E17 sounds better than a proper dedicated amp/dac.

 
Do you not have wasapi turned on? I'm using some 15 foot optical cable to my receiver and everything sounds fine. I didn't get it from monoprice but it's evidently the same thing, 24/192khz comes out as well (although I no longer use 24/192 but that is a subject we won't get into)

 

[BBEG]

  The Monoprice optical cables are plastic fibre not glass and do not have the bandwidth to support 24/192. You should be using higher quality glass fibre cables assuming that your computer has the Win drivers to support 192 (OS X doesn't need them). You can get them from $20+ on Amazon for example. 

 
Understood. The files I'm playing are not 24/192 though; I guess I'll be getting a glass fiber cable after all though...
 
 

  Did you check Shiit's DAC Problem FAQ at http://schiit.com/faq/dac-problems? 

 
I have. None of it applies to me. I'm trying standard 16 / 44.1 stuff right now and my PC is more than capable of handling the work involved.

 

[65535]

Is your machine overclocked?