Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

The first step is to decouple the VCC/GND lines from the computer. A Wyrd will do this.

Keeping the power/data lines independently shielded within the USB cables (to-spec cables don't typically do this, they rely on common-mode noise rejection from the twisted pair on the USB data transmission line) would be another step, and with a sufficiently good instrument you could probably measure a difference - whether that was audible is an entirely different matter.

Which works "better" is a function of many factors. USB connections (well, UAC2 ones) have the advantage of making the DAC responsible for it's own clock. S/PDIF connections, nominally, make the DAC dependent on the source clocks, which if they're being factored with non-integer multipliers will be less than ideal - which is typically how it's done from PCs. So you're trading one issue for a different one.

Now, if you had a Gungnir Multibit or an Yggdrasil, and the clock-mode light isn't on, then you don't need to worry about what clocking is going on with your S/PDIF source.

No idea what you're talking about here.

USB "glitches" should result in drops-outs or otherwise be undetectable (given that the bit-error rate for an in-spec USB cable on a proper bus is probably on the order of one bad bit per hour).

 

This is good advice and something I am weighing the pros and cons on right now. And I am extremely curious about what might transpire in the next little while.... (because, you know, the signs are all there and inquiring minds are inquisitive and all that).

 

Before anyone goes on a wild goose chase, I have not found ANY consumer-grade sound cards with transformer-coupled coaxial out. Most don't even have non-optical spdif as an option, except maybe as an internal header. I also have not seen dedicated 44.1/48 sample clocks, as far as I know what to look for.

As for prosumer/professional interfaces, the usual suspects have already been mentioned.

 

Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about that little hint. I'll wait and see. It's a Gigabyte mobo, btw. Just the coax plate that I added is ASUS.

 

@zerodeefex sums it up in the "USB Nervosa" thread, his first post in fact, and @Psalmanazar's comment earlier in this thread really are things that should be read and taken to heart.

 

all these cards and solutions are fighting a battle in your head when you don't want or can't to afford a E22. That's the truth for me at least. I looked for plenty of "low-cost" alternatives from Esi Juli@ to Xmos Core solutions and pros and cons are flying everywhere. I'll be building a RPI3/HB Digi+ Pro solution next month from that guide instead. Will look for more once I am at Gungnir Multibit levels.

I really appreciate how in-depth every solution gets discussed here with plenty of information.

 

My Bifrost Multibit setup currently has the Uptone Regen in the chain, which I slightly preferred over the Wyrd (it was close).

My Modi Multibit is fed straight up USB from a laptop (nasty).

My plan is to swap the Regen over to the Modi Multibit (no need for overkill here), and get something better for the Bifrost Multibit. I'm hoping this "wait a couple of months" advice pans out.

In the meantime, my focus is on avoiding the PC route all-together. Let's find a nice CD transport with coax out and see about possibly building a Raspberry Pi streaming device. Surely that's a better use of money at this point with our level gear than pursuing $600 professional soundcard options which I was sorely tempted to do.

Sorry if this is getting too far off-topic...just seems as if Matt and I have been contemplating the same things. This is where I'm at, currently, thanks to all the advice from you fine gentlemen (and gentlewomen?).

To get back on topic...the Modi Multibit is cool. I like it. Veiled 90s cd player sound or not.

 

RPI + HifiBerry Digi+ Pro running MPD vs JRIver on the PC, both playing the same FLAC over the LAN. Both plugged into the Modi Multibit, input toggle to select between them.

It was gratifying to hear something so cheap (£39 sound card) sounding so nice. It had been a while since I'd fed the Modi Multibit from a decent source, and it was a good reminder for me that I shouldn't be a lazy bastard like that. My own fault, though.

Edit: Also really nice to be able to listen to music with the PC off. No fan noise and no distractions.

 

Interesting. I have a 0404 USB somewhere. I will give the SPDIF a try for experiments sake. May need additional cables for it...

Though product specs state:

24-bit/96kHz S/PDIF Optical In/Out (Switchable to AES/EBU)*
24-bit/96kHz S/PDIF Coaxial In/Out (Switchable to AES/EBU)*

* Macintosh analog operation up to 96kHz and digital operation up to 48kHz only at this time.

Does this present a practicality issue for lossless files?

 

I don't know why more people aren't being guided towards a Raspberry Pi with Digi+ Pro. It's the cheapest way to get a good coax out. It sounds better than a Singxer F-1 and is cheaper than more fully featured DDCs. It may not best a Lynx but is a fraction of the price. People are going overboard with entry level DACs.

 

Yeah. Might be getting less jitter from USB but more noise thus soft as Drake treble on S/PDIF (due to worse clock) but better staging. Or maybe the random noise and crap is making the veiled Modi Multibit hit more realistically in the treble. Who knows, who cares, buy a better DAC.

Great CD transports are not made anymore as the better lower speed drives are not made anymore. Only the higher speed ones are which means that due to the random plastic imperfections that can occur in CD manufacturing (the Japanese use ridiculously thick plastic and advertise it for this reason), that there will be more jitter as the randomly off balance CDs are spun faster. This is why you can have two pressings (or two CDs from the same pressing) from the same digital sound different. My copy of the 1997 Don't Break the Oath remaster has a smoother central hole than my truckstop, "Two From the Vault" CD with the same audio data and the second was fucked on the current high-speed Emotiva transport.

The answer is to buy a better DAC with a computer that can interface with it. Hopefully Thunderbolt will move down to consumer shit eventually so you can use it with new laptops like you can the Lynx, Focusrite, and Apogee (Mac only) shit.

 

I'm planning to get a vintage(ish) CD player with long-term reliability and positive reviews. They exist and won't break the bank. I'm currently hunting down a few specific Denon models.

As for the better DAC, the answer is just no. I've got a family with two young kids and limited funds to spend on audio. Sure, I'd LOVE to get a Gungnir Multibit. But, that's simply not where my priorities are right now. Not because I don't love music or great sound, but because it simply isn't possible at this point.

The Bifrost Multibit alone was a huge stretch. I only managed it due to getting a fantastic deal and selling off my current gear to cut the gap. The net purchase cost me about $100. That's my world.

"Get a better DAC or go home" can't be the default answer.

 

I read everything here about the Raspberry Pi with Digi+ Pro and it was like pieces of a puzzle that were not fitting together for me. Probably like a lot of things when one has no familiarity. Maybe some others felt the same way. Now, Kattefjaes guide has made it understandable.

 

Just the bus's sensitivity to the OS and hardware. USB Modi Multibit tends to go out of whack for me from time to time while pc toslink is nigh bulletproof. But that might be due to the amount of stuff i have plugged into my macbook all the time. As shitty as the toslink on macbooks might be, i might have to switch to that just to get something dedicated to handling audio, not 10 different accessories at the same time. Whatever comes out in the next few months, unless it completely skips usb altogether, might still lose out to the rasp pi 3+hifiberry pro. Now if only I wasn't using dorm network, pi 3 with a good psu would probably be endgame source for me.

This is it. I have to move around a lot (international student) so i need that swappable power supply that only Modi/Magni/Vali level stuff has, and sending a Bifrost Multibit sized amp and dac to the west coast and back east seems cumbersome and dumb just for something that's supposed to be a switch on the back.

 

I'm in a similar situation. Kind of restricts your options.

 

It's strange to me that an affordable option isn't available. If the add-on card for a Rasberry Pi can deliver dedicated clocks and transformer-coupled coax for under $50, a PCI-E card with those same features plus an external LPS should be doable for under $100.

 

Just comes down to demand, I suppose.

But yeah...if a respectable audio company developed one, I think it'd do quite well...

 

Surely the default answer is "Stick with what you've got."

Unless you're fixing something that just doesn't work reliably.

Fundamentally that's down to addressable-market (a niche within a niche within a niche), engineering complexity, and support requirements.

The Pi-solutions are inherently cheap to engineer and are hobbyist/tinkerer stuff, so support expectations are lower and more work (and hence, cost) can be punted in the direction of the customer.

Building a PCIe board will cost a little more in hardware terms, but qualifying it and then writing the necessary driver and getting THAT certified and signed is a whole different level of engineering and cost. And that's before you factor the level of support that your typical PC-accessory, especially one installed internally, requires.

You need to sell a whole lot more units to cover those costs and still sell the board at the kinds of prices you're looking at.

 

Thing is that's probably not a very big market. People want convenience. Opening up your pc and installing a pci card is already too much for most. Then there's people who own mitx pcs like me who don't have spare pcie slots. Rasp pi 3 + hifiberry is cool but network reliant/play files only which is also the reason i eventually gave up on running daphile on a separate chromebook to try and improve usb. Thunderbolt is the most promising right now but everything that has thunderbolt automatically has $200 added to the price... If schiit can do cheap thunderbolt, that'd be some next level schiit.

 

That makes sense. Maybe if the price were $1k there would be a larger audiophile market for it.