Schiit Modius DAC Review and Measurements

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by purr1n, Jun 3, 2020.

  1. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    Double post. Bleh.
     
  2. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    I thought you've been referring to this. Can't figure out if it's analog or digital inside. Sorry OT.
    https://dangerousmusic.com/product/bax-eq/
     
  3. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    Of course it’s analog. Who would pay that much for a digital eq?
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    @gixxerwimp: It seems limited in that it's technically a two band shelf with a funky gentle knee, but you can make an infinite variety of V and inverse V curves, where the lows and highs don't need to be symmetric (thus allowing for rises or declines with a bump or dip). It's less for /r/headphones surgical-EQ-to-Sean-Olive-curve and /r/audiophile DSP-the-f**k-outta-everything-with-IR people, and more for folks who prefer to do things by feel. Throw away left brain and use right brain.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2020
  5. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    Left brained gear gave us plastic sounding drums, roto toms, and microwaved DSP speakers. What’s amazing is how for the last 20 years, modern music gets plastic results from Neumann mics, Neve warmth, and SSL grain. Modern rock guitars usually start with something like a Les Paul. It’s like how Marvel movies start with real actors in rubber suits but end up looking faker than a Godzilla movie.
     
  6. dark_energy

    dark_energy Friend

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    There is something to these rubber plastic drums. Too much VSTs or similar. Not a big fan. If they used good instruments and good compressors they wouldn't need this crap.

    Proper compressor effect (analog or digital) does not compress the music to your below average radio edit (school me if you want). I have seen people mix tracks in RL.

    Each to their own.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2020
  7. dark_energy

    dark_energy Friend

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    I wouldn't know what the uncompressed metal is mastered with. It is just the chain and compressors do not suck out the dynamics. I recently learned how Noisia tracks are actually high quality with proper dynamics and texture. So this means that digital can be really good and dynamic. Just it depends on what the mastering or artist can come up with their resources. Mastering engineers are not going to chime in here probably. You know why and that's fine.
     
  8. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    It's not digital per say. It's the gear and production processes getting worse in the mid to late 90s onward records. The overuse of Distressors and Waves limiters and tons of shitty plugins.
     
  9. dark_energy

    dark_energy Friend

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    Need to rub it the wrong way to get it hot again.
     
  10. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    I honestly kind of miss it.
     
  11. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    Right? Although the Bifrost 2 has pretty much cured me of my regret. I picked up a Modius today at the schittr to compare. I'm going to see if I actually need that multi-bit magic for headphones.
     
  12. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Gungnir A1 is my jam.

    I moved one of mine on to @fraggler, but I'm never selling the other one.
     
  13. gahan

    gahan New

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    Waiting for this comparison...
     
  14. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    I'll get a chance to compare on Sunday or Monday
     
  15. mykeldg

    mykeldg New

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    Anyone with a chord mojo have compared w/ the modius? Any impressions are kindly appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2020
  16. Claud

    Claud Living the ORFAS dream

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    Thinking of mating this DAC with my Drop THX 789 amp. Would this be an upgrade from my Modi Multibyte?
     
  17. BrokeSkoolBoi

    BrokeSkoolBoi Acquaintance

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    Just wanted to say I appreciate the words about the Velvet Sound akm. Once I compared my sdac to my d70, I sold it because I realized I was listening to a plastic rendition of an orchestra instead of the bow strokes, the breaths, the actual damn tone of the instruments.

    If the Bal modius is just the sdac with a better stage, I can't imagine needing anything more than that.
     
  18. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    This is from memory since I don't have an SDAC with me to compare directly but...

    Modius is much darker than SDAC from my memory.

    Modius is kind of a slightly dark, bass-tilted DAC that has good transparency. It's not your typical low-end AKM or ESS ultra-kilo-bright DAC. It's closer to a thin-sounding R2R DAC IMO.

    People on Head-fi tell me the Modi 3 is dark. Also people from Head-fi tell me the Fiio M15 is dark.

    Well, Modius is darker than both. Significantly so. And yet it's cleaner-sounding if that makes sense. Modi 3 and M15 are kinda "equivalent" in a sense, and Modius is like the next step up. If you want to know if the AKM "veil" is there or not, Modius BAL vs any of your AKM DACs will show that obviously.

    Note @purr1n wrote some AKM DACs sound like they are too veiled and have too much air. I just find them to sound sharp and bright and cloudy. Modius is nothing like that.

    As another point of comparison, people who use Light Harmonic DACs like the Geek Out 2 know these devices were touted to be "neutral". I have a V2+, which is supposed to be the warmer/darker sibling of the GO2 (or GO2A). Modius is "still" darker than the V2+.

    In fact, out of all of my current DACs, the Modius is probably the darkest of them all. If you want treble, this is not for you.
     
  19. Magnetostatic_Tubephile

    Magnetostatic_Tubephile Friend

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    So is Modius a suitable DAC for reference/studio use, or not? I am kind of confused.
     
  20. theveterans

    theveterans Facebook Friend

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    I would probably go back to Schiitr at some point in time to compare the AK SP2000 against the Modius fed to Mjolnir 2 to find out if the SP2000 has the AKM veil too. Still thinking if the HD6XX from Schiitr is good enough to evaluate for that AKM Veil test as I don't have a full size headphone myself. Given that the SP2000 is brighter than Bifrost 2, but not as bright/lean than the GMB A2 from my crude memory, I wouldn't really compare the Modius (I haven't heard the Modius as well) in terms of tonality but focusing on the microdynamics and that "AKM veil" rather
     

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