Popular Post AudioDoctor Posted June 15, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted June 15, 2020 Equipment McIntosh MAC7200 w/DA2 DAC Module Sonus Faber Olympica 1 bookshelf speakers Zu Undertone Sub Roon 1.7 build 555 on a 2011 Mac Mini HQPlayer 4.60 Mode: PCM Filter: Sinc-L Shaper: NS-9 Audirvana 3.5.37 on a Macbook Pro running MacOS Mojave HQPlayer NAA Endpoint on a Pi4 2GB via USB Alternate DAC: Schiit Modi Multibit Blue Jeans cables As most of you know, Minneapolis and St Paul Minnesota have been in the middle of riots and protests brought on by the actions of 4 of our police officers, boiling tensions that have been steaming for a while now. I don’t plan on going into that, or the reasons for it, I only bring it up to segue into why I am writing about my travel DAC. The Schitt Modi Multibit. My little family and I decided to be safe and head north out of St Paul to my parents house for the last week. This gave a chance to bring my travel music system consisting of the mentioned DAC and the Schitt Vali headphone amp. One of the benefits to not flying commercial, and flying the plane, is that I have a lot more leeway in what I carry on, within reason of course. I carry the entire system in a small Pelican case I bought and cut out to fit the components perfectly. The Modi and Vali are generally the same size, 5 inches wide, 3.25 inches deep, and 1.25 inches high. The Vali has a tube coming out the top as well adding an inch and a half to the height. Easily portable in my opinion. They both come with a linear power supply. The Vali has switchable gain for use with headphones of different impedance. Currently, I use a pair of Grado GR10e in ear phones as I am, and always have been, a fan of the Grado sound. The Vali comes stock with a 6BZ7 tube, but can use almost any ECC88, 6922, 6DJ8, 2492, etc… I am using the stock tube because I have not yet had a chance to experiment with the thing. Which brings me to the why. There are 2 reasons. 1) I have not been traveling as much due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and my stupid ear infection which has made listening difficult. Bear with me here, I know you just rolled your eyes at me writing about my listening impressions while I have an ear infection. I listened to all of the same devices with the same ear. In fact, I have barely used the headphones with this new system yet as it is very new. I received it as the pandemic lockdowns were beginning, and as my ear began to hurt. So, lets get on with it. The Schiit Modi MultiBit sounds so much better than anything priced at $249 has any right to sound. No point in beating around the bush or making you wait till the end for the verdict. On a whim when returning home, having liked this so much for the few times I was able to listen to it while away, I assembled the Pi4 I ordered on Amazon, installed the NAA image on an SD card, and redirected HQPlayer to output to it, then to the Multibit via USB, and off to an RCA input on the back of my McIntosh MAC7200. I was blown away. I haven’t unplugged it yet. I plugged the USB from the Pi4 into the DA2 DAC module in the Mc and hit play again. Yep… I wasn’t hearing things. In my opinion, and mine only… The Schiit Modi Multibit beats the DA2 DAC module on naturalness and musicalness. It loses nothing on those low level things we all enjoy hearing, a voice trailing off to breathe, a bell ringing into non existence, an audience member way in the back shuffling their fork, etc… and does it all while sounding more like actual music. The presence and spaciousness of the Modi also beats the DA2 IMO. I like it so much I ordered a Yggdrasil to plug into this system even though the Yggy doesn’t do DSD. Thats the one criteria the DA2 “beats” the Modi Multibit. While the DA2 can go up to DSD 512, the Modi is limited to 24/192. I am not entirely sure, but I think that is because of the DAC chip in the Modi not being a Delta Sigma type. However, IMO, it sounds better for it. The Modi Multi-Bit also includes Schiit's extra awesome sauce proprietary filter just like the Yggy as well. I don’t know what else I can say about this thing. If you’re looking at DACs in the up to 1K range I say give this, or heck the Bifrost which also includes Unison USB at $699, a good hard look even though they don’t do DSD or anything above 24/192. If you love music you owe it to yourself. For $249 you can’t go wrong. The Computer Audiophile, Blake, mauaudioCR and 1 other 4 No electron left behind. Link to comment
sdolezalek Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Having just added the Modius to my headphone system I agree on the value provided by Schiit on these pieces! Overall I still prefer the more nuanced use of DSD 512 through HQ Player and a Dellta Sigma DAC in my main system, but I wasn't going to match that at Modius pricing for my desktop system. Synology NAS>i7-6700/32GB/NVIDIA QUADRO P4000 Win10>Qobuz+Tidal>Roon>HQPlayer>DSD512> Fiber Switch>Ultrarendu (NAA)>Holo Audio May KTE DAC> Bryston SP3 pre>Levinson No. 432 amps>Magnepan (MG20.1x2, CCR and MMC2x6) Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 25 minutes ago, sdolezalek said: Having just added the Modius to my headphone system I agree on the value provided by Schiit on these pieces! Overall I still prefer the more nuanced use of DSD 512 through HQ Player and a Dellta Sigma DAC in my main system, but I wasn't going to match that at Modius pricing for my desktop system. You're right. I can't upsample to DSD yet with my 2011 i5 Mac mini, so I only send native DSD to it if I want to, and upsample PCM. A new, more powerful Roon/HQPlayer core is on my list of things to do next. No electron left behind. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 With Gungnir Multibit (no Unison) I use sinc-L and Gauss1, like it more than NS9. Inakustik USB cable was a very significant change for the better. I also use Inakustik XLR connection to powered Dynaudios. AudioDoctor 1 Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 4 hours ago, AnotherSpin said: With Gungnir Multibit (no Unison) I use sinc-L and Gauss1, like it more than NS9. Inakustik USB cable was a very significant change for the better. I also use Inakustik XLR connection to powered Dynaudios. Give NS9 a try if you haven already. The HQP manual says Gauss1 is good for 96k and below rates where NS9 is specifically for 176.4/192 rates and especially good for Multibit DACs. I sometimes try the Closed Form filters too, they're a bit softer. Edit: speaking of the inakustik USB cable... Schiit needs to make a USB C to Type B cable for those of us who travel with MacBooks. No electron left behind. Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Nice write-up Doc. A beautiful thing about this hobby is that we have so many choices at so many price points. I use a Yggdrasil (Analog 2 & Unison USB) all the time and have no issues with it only doing PCM and up through 24/192. I also use other DACs that enable me to use HQPlayer and convert to DSD512. It's all good. I'm reviewing the Schiit JR amp with the Yggdrasil right now. I'm tempted to get a Modi Multibit for its size and performance. Schiit sounds good. AudioDoctor 1 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said: Nice write-up Doc. A beautiful thing about this hobby is that we have so many choices at so many price points. I use a Yggdrasil (Analog 2 & Unison USB) all the time and have no issues with it only doing PCM and up through 24/192. I also use other DACs that enable me to use HQPlayer and convert to DSD512. It's all good. I'm reviewing the Schiit JR amp with the Yggdrasil right now. I'm tempted to get a Modi Multibit for its size and performance. Schiit sounds good. I agree 100% If I want an Uber listening experience, I can get it. This thing sounds so good that I enjoy listening to it, that's what matters to me. No electron left behind. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 2 hours ago, AudioDoctor said: Give NS9 a try if you haven already. The HQP manual says Gauss1 is good for 96k and below rates where NS9 is specifically for 176.4/192 rates and especially good for Multibit DACs. I sometimes try the Closed Form filters too, they're a bit softer. Edit: speaking of the inakustik USB cable... Schiit needs to make a USB C to Type B cable for those of us who travel with MacBooks. I was trying most of dithers during many years of using HQP, NS-9 too of course. Just because Miska mentioned Gauss1 recently as one of three recommended dithers for R2R DACs (two others NS9 and TPDF) I tried it. And was nicely surprised. I mentioned Inakustik cables because with previous Supra USB Gauss1 was not sounding right, maybe because there was no sinc-L yet. Sinc-L + Gauss1 in my audio set which includes NAA endpoint and Gungnir Multibit sounds just as I like - natural and revealing at the same time, very euphonic. AudioDoctor 1 Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 1 hour ago, AnotherSpin said: I was trying most of dithers during many years of using HQP, NS-9 too of course. Just because Miska mentioned Gauss1 recently as one of three recommended dithers for R2R DACs (two others NS9 and TPDF) I tried it. And was nicely surprised. I mentioned Inakustik cables because with previous Supra USB Gauss1 was not sounding right, maybe because there was no sinc-L yet. Sinc-L + Gauss1 in my audio set which includes NAA endpoint and Gungnir Multibit sounds just as I like - natural and revealing at the same time, very euphonic. It's interesting that a USB cable would make a noise shaper sound good or bad... It makes me wonder what the USB cables are doing to change the sound. No electron left behind. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 8 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said: It's interesting that a USB cable would make a noise shaper sound good or bad... It makes me wonder what the USB cables are doing to change the sound. I'm not going to convince anyone that cables actually affect parameters which may relate to sound quality. Pretty much in consent with my own completely subjective impressions in this area. 🙂 AudioDoctor 1 Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 1 minute ago, AnotherSpin said: I'm not going to convince anyone that cables actually affect sound quality. Pretty much in consent with my own completely subjective impressions in this area. 🙂 I legit find it interesting. I'm not sure I'm all in with it, but I do find it interesting and would like to know definitively what's going on. I'll have to wait until someone figures it out I guess. No electron left behind. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Just now, AudioDoctor said: I legit find it interesting. I'm not sure I'm all in with it, but I do find it interesting and would like to know definitively what's going on. I'll have to wait until someone figures it out I guess. Why wait until someone will convince and direct? You could trust yourself, right? After all this is the only way to go, imo. I found one important thing for myself. I'm trying not to compare parameters one with another directly. After I put a new dither, I am trying to start listening after at least several hours, better the next day. Link to comment
Blake Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Nice write up. If someone is not wanting to pay the big bucks for the Modi Multibit (😁) the little brother Modi delta sigma unit at $99 is also shockingly good for the money. AudioDoctor 1 Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | Revel subs Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC Link to comment
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