Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

Reading that in my best Cannibal Corpse Death Growl Grunts sounded awesome!
My Black Metal Wail lacked the needed gravitas. ..
On a more serious note, a lot of games have some very well produced soundtracks.

 

They muddy the sound if the USB works. Should not really be used anyway as you could just buy another computer or Lynx PCI-E card for the cost of them. Consumer/prosumer soundcards with transformer-coupled, coaxial S/PDIF can be had for much cheaper too and will perform better.

 

You wrote in your own review that USB injects a crap into your otherwise very nice setup.
I hope your realize that the noise is present in your chain whether you use Modi Multibit or not you just do not hear it, or decided to ignore it.
So you stick to USB because... most people use it. Well that's as useful as knowing that most people eat deep fried.
Why do you think the market is full of USB decrapifiers that cost 3x as much as Modi Multibit? You do not know how much Jason Stoddard spent on cleaning up his USB.

 

If USB works for him, USB works for him. He probably has a computer with higher-end parts than most people with gamer pcs or who buy Best Buy crap.

 

I have never wrote a review here yet though! Few impressions here and there, but no stuff on DACs. Schiit multibit stuff is rare where I am from. Do hope to hear one soon.

And you're being a condescending prick because...?

You realise there are 2 different people you're quoting here - the original reviewer (Stride), and me??

 

The 0404 PCIe also seems to have AES output according to the spec page on the website. Not relevant for the Modi Multibit, but cheap AES output option? Hmmmm....

As someone getting sex on a regular basis, I heartily second this advice.

 

Can't say I have.

Looking at the board, though, it does have an isolation transformer where it should have AND it has discrete oscillators for the 44.1 KHz and 48 KHz sample-clock sequences - and those two things are really what you're looking for.

You'll need to use a break-out cable to get access to the coaxial S/PDIF connections, but that's not at all uncommon with these kinds of cards.

 

Hehe yeah it got me thinking too. I went and did a search for about an hour last night for the PCIe versions of those E-Mu parts and they appear to be as rare as hen's teeth. E-Mu also made a USB external version of the 0404 that can be had for $100 - $200 used and it also has transformer coupled, low hitter SPDIF and seems to be a little more available.

I would rather find an internal PCIe version but I am keeping my options open. I am not unhappy with the toslink to Modi Multibit out of my Asus Z170 motherboard but I do think there are gains to be had in resolution and plankton with a properly implemented SPDIF interface (that doesn't cost an arm and a leg!) that I could carry forward no matter what DAC I am using.

 

What does the isolation transformer look like?

This is a pic of another model (the PCI version of Maya44). Is that little black box an isolation transformer?

 

Is pci/pcie the purest way of transferring data? I know its used for connecting pc components and such so it should be. And if thunderbolt can do pcie through a tiny wire, shouldn't there be drawbacks? Just asking since I have a macbook with thunderbolt and an mItx pc with no pci slots left

 

Yep.

Oscillators are a bit odd on that one. Usually where discrete oscillators for 44.1 and 48KHz are employed then both use the same reference/multiplier mode. The Juli@ uses a 2x multiplier for both, the Maya uses a 2x for the 44.1 KHz reference and 1x for the 48 KHz.

 

I too am taking a look at the external option. I built my computer as a small form factor and don't have any available internal slots.. Am currently using the toslink output on the mobo, doesn't really sound any different than the USB on my system. If the 0404 USB 2.0 accomplishes the same thing as the internal module I may jump on one of these deals.

 

What kind of difference do you think that will make for end-use? I'm a little rusty on my electronic engineering.

 

It depends on what you mean by "purest".

As long as everything stays in the digital domain, it doesn't really matter. The issue with USB feeding DACs is that while the digital signals are recovered perfectly (unless something else is wrong), the electrical hash on the VCC/GND can affect the ANALOG stages in the DAC.

There is FAR more electrical noise* on the PCI(e) bus than you'll typically find on a USB output. This is why it's particularly important to have electrical isolation on a COAX S/PDIF output coming from your computer.

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*Note that for our purposes here, "noise" includes all the expected signalling going on the bus.

 

Shouldn't make a difference, it's just unusual.

The choice could simply have been that a suitable 2x base reference was priced differently for one of the required frequencies.

 

Thinking about pulling the trigger on one at under $100. Not sure that the Modi Multibit resolves enough that I'll be able to hear the difference between transformer-coupled coax and my current coax that is a little ASUS coax plate hooked up to the SPDIF pins on my mobo.

 

It depends on your listening-fu. I went through this, A/Bing my mobo TOSlink against external coax SPDIF was surprisingly easy- whether it was blind or not. Just listening to the instrument separation for the higher stuff on a busy track made it easy- the high percussion wasn't as fuzzy and swamped in the mix.

It didn't actually require much actual effort, unlike some changes.

 

Shouldn't this, as I remember you mentioning somewhere else, be easily resolved by separating the data and power line on the usb cable as with pyst? Usb pyst from my macbook and spdif toslink from my pc sounds quite different, notably being the spdif has a much deeper stage and softer treble, perhaps a bit more microdetail. Also usb tends to be more prone to glitching out and making everything sound like square waves.

 

What was the chain for the external coax?

 

It'll depend on exactly what's on your motherboard, but if it's ASUS, well, they don't do it properly on their cost-more-than-the-motherboard sound cards, so I see no reason why they'd do it right on the main board.

But, you'd get both an isolated output AND proper oscillators, so I'd expect the difference to be noticeable. Whether it's worthwhile is another matter entirely. I would not spend the money at this point, if it were me.

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While I'm of the mind that one should use a properly isolated and clocked S/PDIF interface if you have one available, I can't recommend this sort of thing for lower-tier DACs. If I was going to spend on something here I'd either go with a Wyrd or wait to see what else transpires in the next little while.