[gopanthersgo1]

Cheers!

 

[AtomicFrostX]

Hey everyone. After reading a lot of initial impressions and Defiant00's comparison thread, I'm planing on ordering a Magni for my first headphone amp later today. 

 
 
However, I'm a bit torn on if I should order a Modi to go along with the Magni. Right now I have a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD sound card, and I'm debating using it as the DAC for the Magni, or to buy the Modi. I don't have any real complaints about the X-Fi, but I'm wondering if the Modi would be an upgrade over the X-Fi. 
 
 
In Defiant00's thread he compared the Modi to the Bifrost, and he found that the Bifrost did sound better. However, he found that the Modi was about 90% as good as the Bifrost. I was wondering if anyone who has the Modi has compared it to other high quality DACs? I'm not expecting anyone to have both of these DAC's, but any input would be great. 

 
 
Getting the Modi would make allow me to also use the Magni with my laptop which would be a plus, and I could use the X-Fi as a speaker DAC. Being able to use it with my laptop would mostly factor in when I upgrade from the Magni, so it's not an immediate concern. I also don't use speakers all that much anymore, but it would be a nice option. 
 
 
An important thing to note is that I'm going to have to digitally attenuate the signal down to about 25% - 50%. This is due to the Magni having a gain of 5 and the low impedance headphone that I'll be using with it. 
 
 
I know that I can order the Modi later on, but with shipping close to $14 on a device under $100 I'd really like to just place one order. 

 
 
 
I guess another option would be to get the Asgard. However, if the Magni sounds almost as good I don't see any point in spending an extra $150. It's pretty hard to beat getting a complete stack with cables for less than the price of the Asgard, and the compact size is desk friendly.
 
Thank you for the help. 

 

[Defiant00]

Quote:

Hey everyone. After reading a lot of initial impressions and Defiant00's comparison thread, I'm planing on ordering a Magni for my first headphone amp later today. 

 
...

 
If you can hold off until later today I can get a short comparison up between the Modi and my X-Fi Xtreme Audio. I honestly don't know how it compares to the Titanium, but if that'd be useful just let me know.
 
Edit: I added the comparison to the second post on the thread here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/643368/schiit-modi-and-magni-comparison-to-bifrost-and-asgard

 

[thinh4u2]

I wonder if someone would be kind enough to do an A/B comparison between M&M and Magni/fiio E10?  I am also having the same dilemma on whether or not to save up and order the Modi. I am already quite broke from the holidays, so just wondering if its worth the added insult to my wallet lol

 

[tootallmoose]

Quote:

I wonder if someone would be kind enough to do an A/B comparison between M&M and Magni/fiio E10?  I am also having the same dilemma on whether or not to save up and order the Modi. I am already quite broke from the holidays, so just wondering if its worth the added insult to my wallet lol

I've not done any serious testing with the E10 vs Modi but simply switching between the two I was able to immediately tell the difference.  I'm terrible at describing the way things sound but compared to the M&M the E10/Magni sounds like you have a box around your head.

 

[JWahl]

I just got my Modi/Magni in about an hour ago.  Currently pairing at with the Audio Technica ATH-A900X.  Even out of the box, the synergy is outstanding, though gain is a little on the hot side for the ATs.  A few years ago I would have never believed you could get this kind of sound for under $500.  Yes, the Magni does seem a little bright, at least out of the box but I wouldn't call it too lean per se.  It seems to flesh out the Audio Technica quite well although I do have the occaisional wince moment on certain tracks though I think this is problem more of the headphone efficiency and high gain.
 
What's more surprising with the gain/efficiency is that with no music and turning the amp up all the way, I notice no noise at all.  Very impressive at this price.  My first real setup consisted of a Musical Fidelty V-DAC ($300), Firestone Audio Cute Beyond with Supplier and opamp upgrade ($360) paired with Grado SR-225 and AKG K701.  I'm already getting more musical enjoyment with this setup at about half the price.  Though I'm sure the headphones themselves play a part in that as well.  Although the ATs are somewhat efficient, it seems they really come alive when fed with some decent current.
 
The best quality I notice with this combo is the ability to really bring some older rock and funk music to life.  I've never heard my AC/DC and Black Sabbath tracks with so much intensity.  The combo also has a special quality which I have trouble properly describing.  The best way I can describe it is that the microdynamic nuances in say, funk music vocals or rhythm guitar seem to be especially pronounced, adding to the "groove" quality of the music.  Perhaps this is what people describe as "PRaT"?  I'm not sure but it's very addicting.
 
I also have some AKG K702 65th anniversary edition on the way so I can post impressions with the Modi/Magni then if anybody is interested.

 

[USAudio]

Has anyone used their IEM's with the Magni and Modi? 
If so, where do you have the volume control set at with no digital attenuation (computer volume at 100%) ?

 

[thinh4u2]

Quote:

I've not done any serious testing with the E10 vs Modi but simply switching between the two I was able to immediately tell the difference.  I'm terrible at describing the way things sound but compared to the M&M the E10/Magni sounds like you have a box around your head.

Hmm do you mean like it sounds kinda cluttered and lacks soundstage? At least that's how I feel, after fixing my volume settings the proper way (thanks MLE), it does sound better than when I had it all wrong...but i feel like the soundstage is very lackluster. The laid back presentation of the HD 650 also disappears, but it sounds slightly congested, almost as if I were listening to [good] IEMs

 

[Steelbarrage]

So received my Magni and Modi combo today and have my HE 400 plugged in.
I like it so far compared to my E7 I was using before.
My question I have is that the system volume in windows is at 100% and I only turn the volume pot to about 7 for what I would comfortably listen at.
Admittedly I already listen at low volumes but it seems that I should be able to turn the volume up more before it becomes uncomfortable.
If I turn the system volume down to 50% I can get the pot up to about 9 but I wouldn't want to go much past that.
Is this due to the HE 400 being fairly easy to drive or is this rather odd?
 
I forgot to add that when I don't have any music playing with system volume at 100 that I can turn the pot to only about 2 before I begin to hear background hiss.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It's the amp. It gets loud waaay too early in it's volume pot.

 

[tootallmoose]

Quote:

Hmm do you mean like it sounds kinda cluttered and lacks soundstage? At least that's how I feel, after fixing my volume settings the proper way (thanks MLE), it does sound better than when I had it all wrong...but i feel like the soundstage is very lackluster. The laid back presentation of the HD 650 also disappears, but it sounds slightly congested, almost as if I were listening to [good] IEMs

Yes, I think soundstage is the right term, or the lack thereof.  I had it maxed out in Windows with the volume nob turned all the way down on the E10 itself.  It didn't sound bad, it just sounded really really close, and considering how amazingly clear the M&M made my 650's sound I'd say its worth the extra $50.

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

It's the amp. It gets loud waaay too early in it's volume pot.

Is there likely to be any kind of revision, do you think? Not familiar with Schiit's practices but it seems to be a very regular complaint. I haven't purchased yet (get paid on Jan. 15), was wondering if maybe waiting a bit longer might lead to some adjustments ..

 

[Steelbarrage]

Quote:

It's the amp. It gets loud waaay too early in it's volume pot.

I was hoping you would be able to respond.
Knew you had HE 400 and have had some time with the MM.
So will I be able to keep system volume at 50% without losing any quality in the signal?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

From my understanding, If your DAC is using a 24bit, lowering the system volume makes you lose bit resolution. Since most things are 16 bit, you should be safe around 50% volume. I'm assuming.

If you're at 16bit, lowering the system volume will degrade your source signal.

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

From my understanding, If your DAC is using a 24bit, lowering the system volume makes you lose bit resolution. Since most things are 16 bit, you should be safe around 50% volume. I'm assuming.

Well, you mean if the DAC is using 24bit AND you are using 24bit files, right? Because it was just recommended to me that you should always have things running in 24bit mode, even if most of the files are 16bit, because at worst, it will output 16bit, right?