[Tadis]

I think I will be going with the Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 2. Purely because they have an EU website/dealer. JDS Labs is not for sale in the UK.

But before I pull the trigger I have a couple more questions:

1. Would I benefit from the more expensive Uber versions?

2. What are the RCA ports on the back of the Magni 2? Can they power a pair of medium size bookshelf speakers or are they for something else?

 

[Makiah S]

I think I will be going with the Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 2. Purely because they have an EU website/dealer. JDS Labs is not for sale in the UK.

But before I pull the trigger I have a couple more questions:

1. Would I benefit from the more expensive Uber versions?

2. What are the RCA ports on the back of the Magni 2? Can they power a pair of medium size bookshelf speakers or are they for something else?

I'd skip the Magni 2 and Grab a Vali 2, the DT 990 will have a nice full balanced sound with a tube amp. When I owned it all of my Solid States [which the Magni is] only added to it's innate harshness. I'd look for a good b stock or pre owned Vali 2. If I remember the Vali 2 also has outputs for speakers as well

 

[Tadis]

Too late now, Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 2 have been ordered. I am not an audiophile so hopefully Modi and Mangi will be good enough. Almost £250 for the lot... They better be good.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I think I will be going with the Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 2. Purely because they have an EU website/dealer. JDS Labs is not for sale in the UK.

There's Head N HiFi in Switzerland that manufactures the O2 and ODAC.

2. What are the RCA ports on the back of the Magni 2? Can they power a pair of medium size bookshelf speakers or are they for something else?

Those are RCA inputs. That's how you connect the Modi2 to the Magni2.

1. Would I benefit from the more expensive Uber versions?

The Magni2 Uber has an extra pair of RCA sockets in the back for its preamp output. This is where you connect a speaker power amp or powered speakers, like your Alesis monitors.

The Modi2 Uber has its own PSU and therefore isn't dependent on USB power; it also has optical and coaxial SPDIF inputs.

 

[Tadis]

Those are RCA inputs. That's how you connect the Modi2 to the Magni2

Luckily I realised that when placing the order, had to order the cable for it too.

 

[L8MDL]

£250 is chump change in this sport...

 

[Monsterzero]

I think sound should be stronger and fuller. I don't know anything about sounds etc but it just doesn't feel quite right. And on the Alesis forums they said those monitors are good for up to 100 Ohm headphones.

The DT990s will sound better with your new set-up,however they seriously lack midrange body and are quite bright,which the Magni will probably add to.

I'd skip the Magni 2 and Grab a Vali 2, the DT 990 will have a nice full balanced sound with a tube amp. When I owned it all of my Solid States [which the Magni is] only added to it's innate harshness. I'd look for a good b stock or pre owned Vali 2. If I remember the Vali 2 also has outputs for speakers as well

What sounds good and what doesnt is quite subjective,but I agree here.I couldnt tame the highs,nor flesh out the mids on the DT770,DT990 nor the T1, even with a Woo Audio WA2.

Too late now, Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 2 have been ordered. I am not an audiophile so hopefully Modi and Mangi will be good enough. Almost £250 for the lot... They better be good.

Hope it works out for you,if it doesnt dont fret...sell the DT990s and find a warmer sounding HP.The Beyer house sound isnt for everyone.

 

[Tadis]

The DT990s will sound better with your new set-up,however they seriously lack midrange body and are quite bright,which the Magni will probably add to

I like treble. Right now, without the amp, to me the DT 990 sounds pretty deep. Don't know how much the amp is going to change it but I don't think I will have a problem with it. The main reason I decided to keep the DT990 is because of the extra detail I noticed (connected to the Alesis) in the sound of the game I play almost daily for a few years now (world of tanks) compared to my previous headphones which are closed back and I'm guessing much lower OHM (can't remember what they were but it was recommended on forums as good under £100 headphones).

 

[Monsterzero]

I like treble. Right now, without the amp, to me the DT 990 sounds pretty deep. Don't know how much the amp is going to change it but I don't think I will have a problem with it. The main reason I decided to keep the DT990 is because of the extra detail I noticed (connected to the Alesis) in the sound of the game I play almost daily for a few years now (world of tanks) compared to my previous headphones which are closed back and I'm guessing much lower OHM (can't remember what they were but it was recommended on forums as good under £100 headphones).

Didnt realize youre using them mainly for gaming....i liked them very much for gaming...nice comfort,sound stage,detail retrieval....Music,not so much.
Enjoy your new set-up!

 

[PurpleAngel]

I think sound should be stronger and fuller. I don't know anything about sounds etc but it just doesn't feel quite right. And on the Alesis forums they said those monitors are good for up to 100 Ohm headphones.

A $25 sound card card (Xonar DG) can drive headphones up to 150-Ohms (decently), so something that is rated to drive headphones up to 100-Ohms sounds fairly weak.

 

[PurpleAngel]

In Fulla 2 specs it says output impedance is 0.5 ohms? Shouldn't I be looking for something with an output impedance of 250 ohms?
Since my monitors are USB I take it they have their own DAC and Amp just the Amp is not powerful enough? So if I bought https://www.amazon.com/Duttek-6-35m...8-3&keywords=6.3+stereo+male+to+two+rca+males I could just use Magni 2 connected direct to my monitors? I think I'm starting to wrap my head rounds this. Yesterday I was clueless...
My biggest problem is ending up with a cluttered desk - a cable from the front of the monitors running to another Amp box... it's not going to look good.
What about something that could be fitted in my computer case? Maybe an amp that fits in the 5.25" DVD drive bay and a DAC that goes in a PCI slot and connect the two together? I'll start googling this now myself but all advise will be welcome.

Headphones are driven by Voltage (and Current), impedance is more about regulating how the power is delivered.
A headphone amplifer with a low output impedance is more of a benefit for driving low impedance headphones or IEMs.
A headphone amplifer with an output impedance of 0.5-Ohms, would not stop or hinder a headphone amplifer from driving headphones that are 250-Ohm or 300-Ohm or 600-Ohm (or even 1000-Ohms).
I think it's at least a little better to connect a headphone amplifer to the computer, then the studio monitors.

 

[Tadis]

however they seriously lack midrange body and are quite bright,which the Magni will probably add to

The Modi and Magni came in the post this morning and I hooked it all up with the DT990 and I have to agree with what you said about them being rubbish for music. I consider myself half tone death and I can tell they are poor. I listened to the Clean Bandit ft Louisa Johnson vocal at the start of that track and it just sounds devoid of depth. A bit disappointing but since I don't really listen to music it's not really a problem. I learned quite a bit from this experience and next time I will make a better choice. Especially since I lost count how many headsets I've gone through it won't be long before I need a new one :/

 

[Tadis]

I did some more testing and it turns out (apparently) that the fault lies with the Schiit dac/amp not the headphones. The headphones are missing what might be mid-range sound when connected to the Modi 2 but when I connect them to my monitors that missing sound is back. I went through sound settings in windows to make sure nothing is wrong and I couldn't fix it. Headphones sound okay (for me) with my monitors but when connected to the M2/M2 the vocals are missing the sort of throatier sound from the singers voice. The only problem with monitors they lack power. I will be getting in touch with Schiit to ask if I can send them back for a refund. But if you guys think of anything else I might be missing or doing wrong let me know.

 

[Tim Le]

Have you considered a tube amp like the Little Dot mk2? They're built for higher impedance headphones, and they're also designed to color the sound a bit to add a meatier or "throatier" sound. I also own the dt990 (250 ohm), and I found the mids highly recessed too. I recently upgraded to a tube amp, and the sound became so much more cohesive with some tube coloring.

The bass is more textured, the mids have more weight to them, and the treble is toned back so it's no longer shouty.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I did some more testing and it turns out (apparently) that the fault lies with the Schiit dac/amp not the headphones. The headphones are missing what might be mid-range sound when connected to the Modi 2 but when I connect them to my monitors that missing sound is back.

Or the headphone output on the monitors has a high output impedance that boosts the midrange, or that's its distortion pattern, while by contrast the Schiit Magni isn't coloring the sound.