[bretemm]

I have the Magni, Modi and Valhalla2,
Yeah Schiit has great customer service,
Recently when I got my V2 I got a reply about a problem setting it up within 10min,
Schiit is awesome and I'm thinking of getting the Bifrost Uber soon.

With so many Schiit threads available, I wasn't sure where to comment on Schiit customer service so I picked here. I requested my upgrade from Gnny old to GMB and USB2 on the 15th of Sept. The reply was almost real time. (30 min ish). I shipped ground on the 15th. The e-mail acknowledging receipt was prompt. The work was seemingly immediate, and it was shipped back, with a weekend and burn in time to slow things, on 23 Sept. I received it on the 25th and it sounds as amazing as everyone says. I would like to compliment Schiit in general, and Laura, my e-mail contact, in particular for the excellent work. As good as Schiit products are in general, I think their customer service is better. Kudos Ladies and Gent's. Kudos.

 

[Billheiser]

I have asked to designated threads but no answer because there not active,
I can't get by powerful magnets and retailers are cheep with where they sell at so I can't get a hands on with amy of the main brands,
So,
Just asking
Thanks

Bye bye and good luck.

 

[PyroKid99]

I have a Magni 2 Uber/Modi 2 Uber setup with HD650s and HE-400i's right now and was looking at an AMP/DAC upgrade to either the Lyr 2 or Valhalla 2 and Bifrost. I've heard good things about both...mostly that the Valhalla is good with the higher end Sennheisers, but wouldn't pair well with orthos. Really, I don't know what kind of an improvement I would hear over what I have now or if I'd need better headphones to really appreciate it. 
 
Would I see a big improvement in a Bifrost and Lyr2/Valhalla2 over the M2U combo? Or would I be better off saving up for a better set of headphones?

 

[superjawes]

I have a Magni 2 Uber/Modi 2 Uber setup with HD650s and HE-400i's right now and was looking at an AMP/DAC upgrade to either the Lyr 2 or Valhalla 2 and Bifrost. I've heard good things about both...mostly that the Valhalla is good with the higher end Sennheisers, but wouldn't pair well with orthos. Really, I don't know what kind of an improvement I would hear over what I have now or if I'd need better headphones to really appreciate it. 

Would I see a big improvement in a Bifrost and Lyr2/Valhalla2 over the M2U combo? Or would I be better off saving up for a better set of headphones?

Do you like the Magni/Modi combo? If so, focus on the headphones. A Lyr or Valhalla might sound a little better with the HD650, but a new pair of headphones is going to have a much bigger impact.

As for Lyr vs. Valhalla, it all depends on headphones. Valhalla is really good with high impedance headphones, but struggles with low impedance cans (that generally means orthos). Lyr just has gobs of power for everything. On top of that, it opens up more opportunity to roll the tubes, including LISSTs, which means you can switch between tubes and solid state using the same amp.

 

[jfoxvol]

Do you like the Magni/Modi combo? If so, focus on the headphones. A Lyr or Valhalla might sound a little better with the HD650, but a new pair of headphones is going to have a much bigger impact.

As for Lyr vs. Valhalla, it all depends on headphones. Valhalla is really good with high impedance headphones, but struggles with low impedance cans (that generally means orthos). Lyr just has gobs of power for everything. On top of that, it opens up more opportunity to roll the tubes, including LISSTs, which means you can switch between tubes and solid state using the same amp.

Agreed.  No way a Valhalla 2 will drive those Orthos at 35Ohms/93dB.  It is sublime with the HD650s.  If you just want one amp to pull duties for both, then a Lyr2 and grab some LISST tubes and call it done.  
 
I've not heard the new 2 series modi/magni but understand them to be incredibly good.  A new set of cans would be your best bet, though possibly far more expensive depending on what you get.

 

[davidflas]

I just wanted to add an interesting experience I just had. I've owned a Gungnir for a couple years, upgraded it myself to USB 2.0. A few months ago I bought a Bifrost Uber w/USB 2.0 built in. I finally got around to comparing them head to head in the same system. They sound great, with the Gungnir having just a slight edge over all. The one aspect of the shoot out that surprised me was that the Gungnir does a lot of clicking when connected to my Pioneer Elite PD-65 when first playing, moving from track to track. With the Bifrost, no clicks at all....didn't expect that!

 

[PyroKid99]

Do you like the Magni/Modi combo? If so, focus on the headphones. A Lyr or Valhalla might sound a little better with the HD650, but a new pair of headphones is going to have a much bigger impact.

As for Lyr vs. Valhalla, it all depends on headphones. Valhalla is really good with high impedance headphones, but struggles with low impedance cans (that generally means orthos). Lyr just has gobs of power for everything. On top of that, it opens up more opportunity to roll the tubes, including LISSTs, which means you can switch between tubes and solid state using the same amp.

 
Thanks for the input. I do like the Magni/Modi so far, but really haven't listened to any other good amps/DACs to compare. Especially tube amps which is why I was looking at these two. It sounds like the Lyr is a better all-rounder than Valhalla,  but I probably will be looking in to new headphones first. I'll probably sell my HE-400i's simply due to preferring the HD650s, but I'd like to be able to demo some HD800s and from what I've heard those will greatly benefit from better amps, maybe Valhalla over the Lyr. I just don't want to limit my options down the road if I were to pick up some low impedance cans. 

 

[Astral Abyss]

   
Thanks for the input. I do like the Magni/Modi so far, but really haven't listened to any other good amps/DACs to compare. Especially tube amps which is why I was looking at these two. It sounds like the Lyr is a better all-rounder than Valhalla,  but I probably will be looking in to new headphones first. I'll probably sell my HE-400i's simply due to preferring the HD650s, but I'd like to be able to demo some HD800s and from what I've heard those will greatly benefit from better amps, maybe Valhalla over the Lyr. I just don't want to limit my options down the road if I were to pick up some low impedance cans. 

 
The Vali sounds really good with the HD650s as well.  It honestly amazes me that little box can put out that kind of sound.  I was going to use the Vali as a starting point for tubes to see if I liked the sound, but I've just found myself going "nah" every time I think about replacing it. 

 

[PyroKid99]

   
The Vali sounds really good with the HD650s as well.  It honestly amazes me that little box can put out that kind of sound.  I was going to use the Vali as a starting point for tubes to see if I liked the sound, but I've just found myself going "nah" every time I think about replacing it. 

 
Do you ever use your HD650s with your Lyr 2 or do you prefer to use them strictly with the Vali? Also I'm not sure how much you've compared, but I'm curious how big a change there is from a Modi 2 Uber up to a Bifrost Uber. I'd think there wouldn't be a huge difference dac to dac but, like I said, I've only ever had the Modi 2 Uber. 

 

[Letmebefrank]

I ordered the Modi 2 Uber as a birthday present for myself, and I just received it today. I have it hooked up via toslink from my xonar DX, to a Schiit SYS (reversed) and then a Schiit Magni 2 to my ad900x's and yet again I am blown away by the increased clarity! Cranking some Pink Floyd that I've heard hundreds of times and I'm hearing little sounds in the background that I have never been able to discern before. Everything sounds more natural and neutral than the DX's internal DAC.
 
Having a dedicated DAC and headphone amp is really great, and the SYS (using in reverse to switch between Magni 2 and my speaker amplifier) has no discernible impact on the sound quality.

 

[bretemm]

I might order the Bifrost with Uber Analog soon, but,
Has anyone used the coaxial input to plug in a radio to use with the Bifrost?
I'm going to mainly use with valhalla2 with the Bifrost or latter on order another Bifrost to use with my marantz stereo.

 

[Evil_Spork]

  Yeah.  I'm hoping for a Vali 2 down the road with some tweaks.  Maybe in a bigger chassis.  Seriously though, I've done a lot of back and forth with far more expensive amps and this is up there.  Love to hear your impressions.  I've never heard those ATHs.  They look nice.

I ordered the Vali + Modi 2 Uber combo and it arrived in something absurd like 25 hours. A+ to Schiit for being on top of things!
 
As soon as I got a chance I hooked up my computer to the Modi 2 via Toslink and used the Schiit 6" RCA cables from Modi to Vali.
 
I've only had a few minutes to listen to the W1000z on the new setup but I can really see what these headphones are capable of now! The soundstage is absolutely gargantuan compared to anything I've heard before! Unfortunately I don't have anything to compare this to so I can't say whether the tubes are coloring the sound at all but the clarity and detail are beyond anything I have experienced. There is a bit more low end oomph as well as a much more rich thick sound in low notes.
 
I would be very interested to see what someone with a more experienced hear had to say as well. 
 
Edit: After a few hours the Vali is quite hot! I know some heat is expected with any electronic device but I'm curious if "hot" normal for the Vali. The top of the case is not alarmingly hot but it is not comfortable to touch. For reference I have the Modi on the desk with the supplied rubber feet, with the Vali on top of it, again with the supplied rubber feet.

 

[crazychile]

   
Edit: After a few hours the Vali is quite hot! I know some heat is expected with any electronic device but I'm curious if "hot" normal for the Vali. The top of the case is not alarmingly hot but it is not comfortable to touch. For reference I have the Modi on the desk with the supplied rubber feet, with the Vali on top of it, again with the supplied rubber feet.

 Hot is normal for all the Schiit amps.

 

[PyroKid99]

Does anyone have any experience using the preamp out on the Magni 2 Uber? I had the preamp outputs feeding into a small T-amp for my desktop monitors but was getting really low volumes even turned all the way up, so I went back to feeding the speakers from my UCA-202 DAC but I don't like having to switch audio outputs in Windows each time I go from speakers to headphones. I know the Schiit website says for use with powered speakers so maybe that's it but I'd think taking the pre-amp out into another amp would work just as well, especially when feeding it from my Behringer DAC works at listenable levels. 

 

[Oklahoma]

Does anyone have any experience using the preamp out on the Magni 2 Uber? I had the preamp outputs feeding into a small T-amp for my desktop monitors but was getting really low volumes even turned all the way up, so I went back to feeding the speakers from my UCA-202 DAC but I don't like having to switch audio outputs in Windows each time I go from speakers to headphones. I know the Schiit website says for use with powered speakers so maybe that's it but I'd think taking the pre-amp out into another amp would work just as well, especially when feeding it from my Behringer DAC works at listenable levels. 

How do you control volume with the behringer dac? If you are wanting to use the magni for volume control all other places that you could control the volume need to be set at max.


Does the t amp have a volume control on it? If it does them make sure the volume is pretty much all the way up as you are using the magni for volume control.