[jaywillin]

 
And some folks complain about customer service. Sheesh. 

 
There's just no makin' some people happy. 

 

i've had nothing but stellar support from the good folks at schiit, even with the used stuff i've bought
and as i've more or less tried the most of the gear i've had interest in, i'm coming back to schiit

 

[Click]

 
Building a DAC is NOT just about swapping out a DAC chip. And why worry about it if it does or doesn't?
 
 

Obviously it's not just about the DAC chip. However, there's little reason to launch a new model (name) if the components aren't updated and upgraded... other than marketing.
 
And of course it matters whether or not the DAC chip was upgraded or not. I've held off buying a Modi mainly because of multiple reports and reviews claiming that the unit is barely better than most PC sound cards. Others say it's not even worth the $100.
 
I recently bought the Vali and want to upgrade my E10's DAC. If the Modi 2 comes with a better DAC chip that sounds better than its predecessor, then I'm willing to plop down the $100 for it and $20 for cables. If it isn't upgraded in any way, I'd rather choose other DACs that perform better in the same price range.

 

[jexby]

  I pulled the spec sheet on the Modi and compared to the Modi 2, it has the same DAC in it. 

 
so besides adding AC power, what changed to a circuit topology to allow the same DAC chip to start supporting 24/192 now?  whereas in Modi 1 it was only 24/96.
 
Schiit perhaps decided to take on the support of Drivers for Windows now and not cripple the DAC chip intentionally?

 

[superjawes]

so besides adding AC power, what changed to a circuit topology to allow the same DAC chip to start supporting 24/192 now?  whereas in Modi 1 it was only 24/96.

Schiit perhaps decided to take on the support of Drivers for Windows now and not cripple the DAC chip intentionally?

Modi 2 non-Uber is USB powered. There must be some hardware change because there is a switch on the back to go from "standard" to "expert" mode, which is part of what enables the 24/192 via USB.

It does look like drivers are part of this, too. The original Modi was supposed to be plug-n-play, and having two modes still allows for that, but now you can get better performance with the addition of drivers.

And if for some reason the switch is the only difference between Modi 1 USB and Modi 2, then who cares? The price didn't change.

 

[dr cornelius]

  I wouldn't read too much in to the adjectives people use. Someone else might have used smooth or liquid. Doesn't mean it's not neutral.
 
And, remember the 15 day return policy. You can order it, listen to it and if it's not to your liking, you can return for a refund. 
 
What's to lose? 

Good points...

 

[CrunchyChick]

   
so besides adding AC power, what changed to a circuit topology to allow the same DAC chip to start supporting 24/192 now?  whereas in Modi 1 it was only 24/96.
 
Schiit perhaps decided to take on the support of Drivers for Windows now and not cripple the DAC chip intentionally?

IIRC the original modi was always capable of 24/192, but was locked to 24/96 so it wouldn't require drivers on Windows.  I assume the expert/standard switch is just so Schiit can solve driver issues with a "if you can't figure out the drivers just set it to standard mode".

 

[cthalupa]

  Obviously it's not just about the DAC chip. However, there's little reason to launch a new model (name) if the components aren't updated and upgraded... other than marketing.
 
And of course it matters whether or not the DAC chip was upgraded or not. I've held off buying a Modi mainly because of multiple reports and reviews claiming that the unit is barely better than most PC sound cards. Others say it's not even worth the $100.
 
I recently bought the Vali and want to upgrade my E10's DAC. If the Modi 2 comes with a better DAC chip that sounds better than its predecessor, then I'm willing to plop down the $100 for it and $20 for cables. If it isn't upgraded in any way, I'd rather choose other DACs that perform better in the same price range.

It makes a lot of sense - it's a new platform. Do you want to be having the discussion each time of which Modi USB you have? The one with the upgraded firmware, or without? Now it's simple. You have the Modi 2, for the USB version with the new firmware, and the Modi 2 Uber, for USB + Optical + Coax. As well as the Modi Optical, which doesn't need new firmware so no 2.0 designator.
 
It avoids customer confusion on what you have for a non upgradable product. 
 
As for the actual performance of Modi as a dac, well, I'll say my experience with it has been the opposite of the reports/reviews you've read, and I've seen plenty of reports and reviews lauding it's praises, but I imagine that arguing about how good something is on the internet isn't going to do much to change your mind. My recommendation would be to just try it out and see how it actually sounds to you. There return program makes this pretty low risk.
 
(And, as a disclaimer, I'm probably biased towards Schiit in this response, in that I own a Bifrost Uber/Lyr/Asgard 2/Modi/Vali, have a Fulla on the way, will be purchasing a Mani and SYS before the end of the year, and likely will be picking up a Ragnarok and Yggdrasil at some point next year, and am tempted to pick up another Modi and either a Vali or Magni 2 for my bedside headphone setup.... it's pretty obvious how I feel about Schiit products)

 

[flashbackk]

I wonder if a Wyrd would be unneccesary with a Modi2 uber??????

 

[cizx]

  I wonder if a Wyrd would be unneccesary with a Modi2 uber??????

Why?

 

[flashbackk]

.... because they are both powered from a wallwart not the usb. There must be more to it than that tho

 

[GearMe]

I wonder if a Wyrd would be unneccesary with a Modi2 uber??????

.... because they are both powered from a wallwart not the usb. There must be more to it than that tho

Wondered the same thing...

 

[Tequilasunriser]

Not much to wonder, really.
 
If the Modi Uber is powered by the wall outlet why would you need a USB power conditioner? You wouldn't.

 

[jexby]

Not much to wonder, really.

If the Modi Uber is powered by the wall outlet why would you need a USB power conditioner? You wouldn't.

Because Wyrd also re clocks the USB packets coming from the host computer.
Impact?
Varies.

 

[LaPierre]

  Obviously it's not just about the DAC chip. However, there's little reason to launch a new model (name) if the components aren't updated and upgraded... other than marketing.
 
And of course it matters whether or not the DAC chip was upgraded or not. I've held off buying a Modi mainly because of multiple reports and reviews claiming that the unit is barely better than most PC sound cards. Others say it's not even worth the $100.
 
I recently bought the Vali and want to upgrade my E10's DAC. If the Modi 2 comes with a better DAC chip that sounds better than its predecessor, then I'm willing to plop down the $100 for it and $20 for cables. If it isn't upgraded in any way, I'd rather choose other DACs that perform better in the same price range.

Are you implying that because it has the same DAC chip that the performance is the same? DAC is digital to analog conversion, it'd be astounding if the circuitry between the DAC chip and the RCA-out (or whatever out) didn't effect the signal in any way and it'd be weird to assume any product utilizes its components to the utmost possible degree. I've owned the E10 and own the Modi currently, it's not a gigantic upgrade but the sound does gain some 'size', slightly clearer, wider, taller, etc and the Modi seems to have a more resolution top-end. It's fairly unlikely you'll find a notably better DAC without spending another 100$. I'm going to buy the Modi 2 Uber because Schiit doesn't seem like a company that would use cheap tricks to get potential customers to buy their stuff, in fact their business model relies on their reputation more so than advertising and marketing stuff, so doing something deceitful like that wouldn't work too well in the long run. Modi is definitely at least a little better than the E10, if that's your primary concern.

 

[VintageSTX]

   
so besides adding AC power, what changed to a circuit topology to allow the same DAC chip to start supporting 24/192 now?  whereas in Modi 1 it was only 24/96.
 
Schiit perhaps decided to take on the support of Drivers for Windows now and not cripple the DAC chip intentionally?

The only part that makes the new modi supports 24/192 because of the USB class 2  drivers that schiit originally did not include to make the modi plug and play. I am pretty curious if the new dac section is an upgrade or not as I have also heard reports of it being rather lackluster, even for $100
 
But, it very well may be upgraded as every expert I've heard on the subject agrees that implementation is WAY more important than the chip