Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

Second post here: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/rings-of-gold-a-tale-of-eight-bifrosts.2643/

 

Are you running El Capitain?

 

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/rings-of-gold-a-tale-of-eight-bifrosts.2643/

 

I broke down and ordered one. Surely it's not a gateway drug into more expensive DACs. Right?

 

Not really, but now is a good time to get your feet wet into vinyl.

 

Just going to put this out there - I'm loving my Modibit. I just tried it with my speaker setup. (2xKlipsch R-28F's, 1xKlipsch RW-12D, and an old Kenwood KM-996 power amp I found) This soundstage is unreal. The whole try-it with speakers thing is no joke!

 

Quick question. Does the Modi Multibit need to stay simply turned on or does it need data streaming to it to stay "warmed up"? I take my laptop home from the office every night...

 

If it is like Bifrost Multibit, just on should do, imho.

 

Got mine yesterday. I'll keep impressions short since it hasn't even been on a full 24 hours yet. From memory vs my gamma2, which was my main DAC for over 2 years and through several setups: body and overall presentation are more full and present, while at the same time being more resolving. Soundstaging, separation, resolution and impact are in a different league from the y2, especially in the midrange. Bass can be a little sloppy on some recordings, not sure if it's the recording, DAC still warming up, or if I've just been spoiled by the y2's bass.

Rig: Wyrd> Modibit > Crack (w/ sb, film output caps and stepped attenuator) Sylvania 6SN7 > Tung-Sol 5998 > modded HD650

edit: listening with the Regen this morning vs the Wyrd has taken away a lot of the fullness and a little bit of the impact that I was describing earlier. It still maintains a level of body over the y2, and maintains the excellent resolution/separation/imaging. I'm not sure if I prefer Regen or Wyrd with the Modibit yet. I wanted to double down on the decrapifiers just for shits and giggles but can't find the right damn cables...

For the record, I interestingly never noticed much difference with either decrapifier + gamma2, so long as the gamma2 was given a half decent power supply (I built a sigma25 for mine...although never could tell the difference between that and a chinese wall wart). The difference between the two with Modi Multibit isn't extreme but is at least audible. Just my 2c.

 

None of the above. It's a thermal thing- R2R DACs only hit their integral non-linearity spec when they're running within a sensible temperature envelope. The ones that you find in medical gear have little "chip ovens" (I don't know the correct term) to bring them up to temp so they can go from cold to fully accurate in almost no time at all. Our DACs can't afford the space/BOM for such luxuries, so they must warm up by being switched on.

Mike Moffat posted on HF at one point that being switched on for a couple of hours was enough to do the job. It doesn't matter if they have an input or not. They don't need to be on all the time, either. However, to sound its best, maybe plug your DAC in right away when you get home- after a couple of hours, it will probably be in tip top shape.

 

Well...
Some of them can:
http://www.lavryengineering.com/products/pro-audio/da-924.html

Initial warm-up and calibration: 10 minutes

 

Aye, sadly those aren't Mike's little boxes

That said, it doesn't compare badly at all with some CT scanners, which come up in 5 mins flat from cold.

 

This is quite encouraging, because I've seen that some impressions of Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil commonly indicated several hours of on-set time for their optimal performance.

 

Modi Multibit in the house!

I certainly can't blame Shiit of inefficiency: They charged the card as soon as they possibly could and immediately threw the package across the road in the Fedex bin. But I have to admit that it came with a load of unexpecteds...

For one, this thing is frgging small! I mean, it's barely longer than my smartphone or the FiiO E12DIY. When I received it, it got me thinking: R2R, fidelity, burritos, yada yada, for this?! The photos on Schiit's site do it no justice... And if they'd added a battery, you might as well use it on the go, as it basically fits the palm of my hand, and I don't have particularly big hands. If Chord calls Hugo 'mobile', I don't see why Modi MB couldn't be so as well.

Then there is the packaging. I can absolutely confirm that the rumours are true: Schiit's packaging is... bare. And scarce. It's as if you went to their warehouse yourself and put the damn thing in the nearest box you found near a dumpster. Well, I'll give Jason that the Modi was well packed, and (relatively) safely, but pretty it ain't. Good to know @schiit indeed puts his money where his mouth is. (Psst, not in the packaging...)

And then there is the rattling button. Well, the button rattles, but who cares? You gonna use the source selection button every two months anyway, and it's not like it affects SQ or anything. Once again, Jason seems hellbent on a race to the bottom for stuff that don't matter. Hats off.

As for how it sounds, I don't know yet. On the one hand, I'm afraid falling prey to the placebo effect, expecting a difference when there is none. On the other hand, I'm concerned of giving in to expectation bias, expecting no difference when there is actually a difference. Wait, what?!
Yeah, this hobby was so much more fun before discovering the "objectivist/subjectivist" dichotomy. Now my brain is a cocktail of god knows what when I'm evaluating new gear, constantly thinking of THD, IMD, "no it can't be better, see, specs", "but it seems different". f**k!

Anyways, I'll give this to the "objectivists": when looking at DACs, we really are talking about subtle things. To consciously detect them one needs training (basically, listening to music and taking a keen interest in what they hear). And when I say training, I of course mean brain training (for pattern analysis): you don't do it with the ears, you do it with the brain. But I digress.
Now this doesn't mean the differences are necessarily insignificant or whatever; it simply means that from cold in this hobby, one may or may not detect differences, whereas with training one may become more adept at these things. In other words, with training these subtle things may become not so subtle after all. Like in MANY other hobbies or professions.
Either way, I wouldn't leave such appraisals to instantaneous DBT: one really needs to take the time to listen and evaluate before switching gear. In short, instantaneous DBT is silly.

So I'll leave listening impressions for a different occasion, maybe when I upgrade transducers and amp (from the rather lowly E12DIY and FiiO EX1)... So I guess you can take this as an 'unpacking' review.

 

@landroni

You should see Audio-gd packaging and you will feel Schiit's packaging is first class.

 

The only problem there is that a portable unit would need to be powered for a couple of hours before being warmed up enough to hit its INL spec- that's why Modi Multibit can't be mobile. R2R (or nearly R2R) DACs aren't at peak accuracy when cold.

 

I truly understand this, because it was (or has been) my position about audio gears. My audio journey can be summarized as an iterative process of transitions between an objectivist and a subjectivist. Of course as I experienced more iterations, my position seems to converge, but not perfectly yet.

Whatever, my lesson learned for now is an (sometimes underrated) audiophile proverb: 'trust you ears'.
By the way, I think one hidden implication behind these three words may be 'Don't fear placebo effects'.

 

Can't I just listen to music?

 

Good point. Though I guess some sort of "chip oven" might conceivably be used for this purpose, though it will certainly impact the BOM.

 

..at which point we both suffer an overwhelming sense of deja vu

(Also, it'd kill the battery life.. I'll stick with my Mojo for now, on the hoof.)