Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by MrTie, Jul 25, 2016.

  1. FredM

    FredM New

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    Update: yesterday I ordered the Modi MB!
    It fits perfectly in my current situation/setup/upgrade path, great device I reckon, and I'm very interested in the Schiit 'house sound'. Can taste for more after some time, Yggdrasil of perhaps an Yggdrasil plus later on.. first get familiar with the Modi. Thanks for all insights :)
     
  2. wonderbrah

    wonderbrah New

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    Okay I'm going to stop listening to my Modi Multibit for a minute and ask just what the hell does plankton mean?

    Okay back to listening.

    And yes, I'm new here.
     
  3. zonto

    zonto Friend

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  4. Huxleigh

    Huxleigh Almost "Made"

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    I'd love it if @baldr was just some rando! :D The dude's like, "Wow, I get so many upvotes every time I post! I must be quite an insightful (and handsome) gent."
     
  5. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    @baldr How do these tonal shapes come about? Is it something physical about the parts chosen, or is there firmware that can play into it. Would a future firmware update ever happen, and can it address things like tonality? Cheers!
     
  6. baldr

    baldr Schiit-sterer

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    Better power supplies have lower impedance at lower frequencies - the better the supply, the lower the frequency, the deeper the clean bass. The better the supply, the bigger it is. Less power supplies sound like they have more (less tightly controlled) bass at higher frequencies. Somewhat akin to a far less extreme version of those dj "two-note" speakers which sound like they have bass all of the time. This gives more slam with smaller drivers (cans and small speakers), which can be perceptibly good. It is all part of matching up the system to what is real to YOU. If you have the bucks to buy a Modi Multibit, you probably don't have the bucks to pour a 6 ton concrete wall to mount twelve 15 inch woofers for your bass reproduction. (Seriously, a friend of mine did precisely that.) On his system, believe me, the Bifrost Multibit will sound better. But for the rest of the world real people who want better sound with speakers or cans which don't require felonies, a Modi Multibit is available. That is exactly why I built it. Expensive, jewelry-like converter makers are either misguided, arrogant, or too busy playing to their competitors. They ignore the real 99% of audio lovers. They are so busy selling perceived audio blow jobs they fail to realize they are only giving themselves hand jobs. Oops, got on a rant.
     
  7. Jun

    Jun Friend

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    Why is the bifrost multibit upgrade board $250 bucks. $250 bucks for upgradeable? Selling the bifrost and buying the modibit for $250 is better value.

    Much better value to buy a new modi and sell old modis, than to keep upgrading the bifrost and trying to sell the old outdated bifrost card

    Edit sorry for being critical. I had the original bifrost and I upgraded to uber then upgraded again to multibit, in total costing much more. But $250 for a PCB with no chassis or power supply compared with an DAC that has everything above just doesn't make sense for anyone to upgrade a bifrost currently, the upgrade boards needs to be cheaper.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2016
  8. baldr

    baldr Schiit-sterer

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    A superficially informed view may arrive at the same conclusion. The multi Bifrost upgrade is full of far better passive parts (which cost more than our low-end cabinets), are designed geometrically without problematical space constraints, and budgeted to be a better unit.



    A Bifrost early adopter who went the entire upgrade path (Gen2 USB, Uber, and MB) would have spent $169 per year averaged over 5.6 years. That’s about $14/month, which should be favorable compared to software streaming charges. That’s the best I can do.
     
  9. Madaboutaudio

    Madaboutaudio Friend

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    @baldr, thanks for creating the modi multibit. Now I have the best birthday present for my 11 year old nephew(who is starting to explore music on youtube), it will serve as one of the essential audio equipment for him to embark on his own lifelong journey of true musical enjoyment.
     
  10. Jun

    Jun Friend

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    I actually did do the full upgrade path then ended up selling the thing. Modibit is such a good value if I could do over, I probably would've went the modi path. Not sure what you guys have in a future bifrost update, hope it's worth it for people who stuck with the bifrost over the years.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2016
  11. Pyruvate

    Pyruvate Friend

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    Hindsight is 20/20 my friend.
     
  12. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Yeah and @Jun 's comments also come from this weird alternate reality in which the Modi multibit and bifrosts all existed simultaneously from the beginning. This is what progress looks like man, and I'm sure the bifrost will have its moment of growth as well. In any case, it shouldn't matter if you sold it and moved to other paths :)
     
  13. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    I think I would still rather pay to upgrade than have an obsolete box. Can't complain that schiit made a cheaper nearly as good dac. I am sure most of HF still thinks that the bifrost is 100% better because it costs 100% more.
     
  14. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

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    Day 4 conclusion: Modi Multibit is the "modded HD650" of DACs. So fucken composed, relaxed, coherent, and easy to listen to.. but still supremely engaging and "musical." I'm really amazed by how much it's smoothed and balanced out compared to how it sounded just a few short days ago. It's very linear to my ears now.. especially the bass.. treble sounds so delicate.. it has this warm, crisp, ethereal quality that's revealing but utterly lacking fatigue.

    MM isn't a "whizzbang omg aural fireworks I'm hallucinating" kind of DAC.. lots of subtle analog character, unwavering focus in the stage and imaging, and a wise emphasis on not getting a ton of shit wrong (a lot like the HD650!). There was a bit of an initiation (for me) coming from D/S DACs to the 'multibit' sound and despite this, the difference between the D/S DACs I've owned/heard and the MM isn't super stark.. but once you spend time with the MM (both actively and passively listening).. it, almost subliminally, 'reveals' what differentiates it from most D/S.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2016
  15. Slex

    Slex New

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    Hello sir, my power supply was dead on arrival. Can I have a free pass from you to use
    aftermarket PS custom to your spec in Modi Multibit ?
     
  16. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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    Not sure what you're complaining about @Jun . Technology gets better and cheaper, and it's pretty cool that schiit didn't handicap the Modi Multibit to make the Bifrost Multibit sound better. I am also an original Bifrost owner who went through the full upgrade path. I also recently got a Modi Multibit and will be probably moving the Bifrost Multibit to my video system when it arrives. When the Bifrost Multibit gets the next upgrade, I'll flip them around if need be.
     
  17. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    No one held a gun to your head and made you buy the USB 2.0 and Uber upgrades. You'll be churning your gear again when Bifrost Multibit 2.0 comes out.
     
  18. Gravity

    Gravity Friend

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    Anyone compared it to Gungnir Multibit?
     
  19. Out Of Your Head

    Out Of Your Head Friend

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    Yes, I have both. Here's my impressions:
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ultibit-for-the-masses.2494/page-9#post-66598

    However, I have left the Modi Multibit on since then and the sound is definitely better than when I first got it. The bass is stronger. The treble is better.

    I still think the Gungnir Multibit is better in every way, but the difference is not nearly as much as before. Still pretty impressed with the Modi Multibit for the price.
     
  20. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    No they don't. You need to decide if the upgrades are worthwhile to you.

    Sure it's expensive to take every upgrade board that comes your way but YOU have to make the value judgement yourself. The price is the price.
     

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