Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

interesting perceived differences! i found the mojo and the Bifrost Multibit to not be horribly different from one another. at least when running them from the same amp. going off memory, although there were some differences in overall presentation (i recall the mojo being more forward), the tonality, resolution etc all seemed pretty comparable to Bifrost Multibit's somewhat warm sound signature. agreed on the weird toy like looks, but feels fairly well made. plus the middle-aged-female-asian market is really booming. anyway, back to the modi multibit!

@shotgunshane LOL sleezy not trashy, yolo

 

Advice based on a supposition?

I can't speak for Modi Multibit but Mojo is actually a very capable DAC; a little warm but pretty resolving with a good sense of space. It has a battery and a bonus amp too. The form factor makes it a bit of an odd device though, it suits usage with a laptop as a transportable DAC/amp. I wouldn't use it portable and at a desktop the battery charging would get a little tiresome and Modi Multibit would probably make more sense.

I would be more likely to describe Bifrost Multibit as thick and warm (although not honky).

I will be looking for another DAC for my GS-1 when BW arrives so I would be interested in further comparisons between Modi Multibit and Bifrost Multibit...

 

@Psalmanazar @shotgunshane

One like, one dislike and one, I have not heard it.

I quite like the Mojo myself and would never call it thick either but can see how someone who has a preference for the 4396 Modi 2 uber might, as would someone who likes the AKG 701.

We all hear differently.

And seeing how we are making random recs,

@FredM Get the Gustard dac, it has the best specs for the money!

And no I have never heard it but am sure it is brighter than the Mojo.

 

You can compare the off tonalities but the Bifrost Multibit has the enthralling separation and accurate instrument placing that the Mojo lacks due to the Burrito filter being better than whatever mumbo jumbo Chord cooks up. The Mojo is just warm and thick without many positives other than it's not painfully tuned like a bad Sabre or the Hugo.

 

Hate to disagree with you @Psalmanazar, but my experience with the Mojo has been largely positive. I've found it to be quite a nice piece, with a solid build, fun design, and a rather appealing — if perhaps somewhat boring — sound. I'd even say that it's a decent value at its price point, too. While it doesn't exactly bring mind blowing performance to the table, neither does it make any significant mistakes. Maybe I'm being too generous, but that counts for a lot with me.

I haven't found the Mojo to sound "thick" or "honky" in the least. Slightly warm, yes, but not obnoxiously so. In fact, I'd say that its modest warmth livens up what might otherwise be a terminally bland presentation. To each their own, but we're just not hearing the same thing here.

Don't hurt me!

Since I currently own both, I'll consider giving this a whirl. I'm not going to get into any details right now, but I do feel confident in asserting that the Mojo and Moby are sonically very different. So much so, in fact, that a direct comparison might be challenging to properly articulate. Mojo is a portable workhorse; Moby, an almost stupefyingly capable "budget" DAC. Personally, I don't view them as competitors to one another.

 

I just find the mojo to be abit too edgy on the transients(hi hats), like some kind of sigma delta harshness. That's with AK120 II optical to mojo.

 

The Mojo is rather sensitive to source as are many dacs, offering up a different musical pov with different setups. I can imagine some sources that are a bit bright.

I have had a bunch 'o fun tuning sources for the best performance with many dacs.

I can almost understand how Psalmanazar feels that it is way too warm, aside from his posts that indicate a preference for a more detailed sound with his music. I found the Mojo to lean toward the thicker end of things when using as an OTG dac with a phone. With my phone I would never use it with my iems.

Well, enough of this Mojo talk I say, back to BLISS with the Moby

 

You can manually apply schitt's win10 driver over the windows one.
The installer that comes with the schiit win10 usb2 drivers just didn't for my Bifrost Multibit, so i had to do a manual update.

Go to computer management>devices> , find your schiit usb2 device, right click it and select update software driver.
manually find the path where you extracted the schitt win10 usb2 drivers.

 

Heh, I suspected you might ask about this.

While I haven't heard the Yggdrasil, I do have experience with the BF4490 and M4396. And I think that I see where you're coming from in your assessment of their bass performance relative to each other. I still haven't tried out the Bifrost Multibit, as I want to get a very clear idea of the Moby's sound. But stacked against the BF4490, I'd give preliminary advantage to Moby's low end. To my ears, its bass quality aligns more closely with the M4396 as you describe it. Though I expect a comparison with Bifrost Multibit should provide substantially more context on that score.

In short, I find the Moby's bass to be well integrated into its overall presentation. Quantity doesn't strike me as deficient, either. It stays in its proper boundaries, without any undue emphasis.

 

if it is of any interest, here's a Darko article comparing Bifrost Multibit to Mojo.
From the impressions I read, it seems that the Bifrost Multibit is warmer than the Modi Multibit.

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/08/2016-editors-choice-dacs-under-1000/

 

How nice of Schiit to launch the Modi MB less than a week before I was headed to the US. I immediately ordered one shipped to my hotel in the US and just came home with it last night. It's now hooked up to a Vali-2 (with Tesla E88CC gold grid tube) and has been warming up over night. And me? I'm just happily tapping my feet - this thing is great

 

I've got a new Vali 2 of my own coming in, @larsjuhljensen. Paired with the Moby, I don't really see how it's possible to do any better for less than $500.

 

Okay, fired up the Bifrost Multibit. A few things jumped out at me almost straightaway.

• Definitely less weight in the lows than I observed in the Moby. Wasn't remotely difficult to discern the difference.
• Somewhat more warmth in the midrange, but without any evident detriment to clarity.
• Livelier treble. The "sparkly" descriptor seems apt.
• Marginally greater dimensionality than Moby.
• Added forwardness in the upper registers. Enhances dynamism, but with a fatiguing element.

Very much a gut reaction at this point, but the prevailing opinion of Bifrost Multibit appears to be well founded. Between it and Moby, the latter seems more balanced across the frequency spectrum. But the Bifrost Multibit possesses a certain romance with vocals that's hard to resist... hell, they both do! It's just that the Bifrost Multibit may have more of it, but at a cost to bass presence and impact.

 

So I've switched back to the Moby and... well, I like it better. Moby sounds noticeably more centered, and what little it gives up to the Bifrost Multibit seems rather insignificant in the broad scheme of musical enjoyment.

Not that Bifrost Multibit wasn't a worthwhile purchase in its own right, but my wallet is aching right now. As things stand, I just don't see myself getting a great deal of use out of its current incarnation.

The tonal dichotomy of BF4490 v. Bifrost Multibit as described by @Psalmanazar strikes me as having been spot on. Moby plays it straight down the middle, with a more coherent presentation than both Bifrosts. Which is some goddamn kookiness, considering that it's the cheapest of the lot!

 

With respect to the Mojo, I've decided that I'm going to pass on comparing it with Moby. I have zero interest in using it as a system DAC, and I'm reasonably confident that I'd prefer the Moby in that application 9 times out of 10. That said, in a different system than mine it's entirely possible that Chord's offering could fare better. As I said earlier, they sound profoundly different from one another.

For a while, I've wondered how this "plankton" that @Marvey is such a fan of might manifest itself through headphones. I queued up some Sam Amidon, and now I think that I understand. Fuckin' rad, spooky stuff.

 

@Hands: Yes, that's right. Bifrost Multibit has a distinct softness in the lower registers that, to my ears, negatively affects the body of its midrange. Nor does sub bass hit with the kind of impact that I'd like. Articulation and extension are both fine, relatively. But Moby sounds more correct.

 

@Hands: I found Bifrost Multibit's more forward highs similarly difficult to miss. The 600's tendency toward peakiness in the upper mids rang out like an alarm bell. Probably not a drawback with a different headphone, though. It wasn't even that bad as it was. And the additional treble sparkle is pretty fun.

@jowls: Despite its comparatively harsh low end, I'd roll back my Bifrost to a 4490 if thunderous, meaty bass is what I was after. That made for more enjoyable listening than the Bifrost Multibit's inverse approach. Likely less accurate, but who gives a Schiit?

Edit: Where'd @jowls' last post go?