Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

No ringing from mine, if it's happening a lot check to see if you have maybe some source of EMI nearby, otherwise might need a warranty replacement if it's happening often.

 

UPDATE: They sent me a 6VAC wall wart instead of 16VAC.

I just received the Modi Multibit today with plans to bring it in to work to complete my Pile of Schiit there.

Eitr -> Modi Multibit -> Vali 2

Not one to possess patience of any kind, I hooked it up at home to give it a listen after work.

Eitr -> Modi Multibit -> Jotunheim -> Sennheiser HD650

At the very least, I expected to discover exactly how this DAC sounds since the Jotun is so revealing.

I am not one to speak in hyperbole, metaphor, or other figures of speech, so take what I say literally.

The suspense was killing me. Literally. Okay, ignore my previous sentence for just this one sentence.

I plugged everything in and turned it all on, eagerly awaiting the music.

The input selector light cycled between USB, optical, and coax. I waited for it to land on coax since I had the Eitr plugged into it.

Buzz!

No, really. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Have you ever heard a mechanical bee flying inside a small metal chassis? Me neither.

It sounded like that.

A physical buzzsaw sound--fairly loud--emanating from the actual Modi Multibit's chassis. Not from my headphones, from the little silver box that was supposed to be delivering comboburrito magic to my heart.

It decided TOSLINK was hooked up even though it wasn't, so I pressed the button. It started cycling the lights again until it landed again on TOSLINK and told the tiny robotic bee to fly around again.

So I turned it off and on again.

Same thing.

So I hooked up USB and optical in addition to coax. Same thing.

Unplugged all but USB. Landed on USB. Bzzzzzzzzzzz.

Aww, Schiit.

I got a dud.

I'm theorizing that @baldr and @schiit didn't intend for the Modi Multibit to make a synthesizer buzzsaw sound.

 

Quick update to my post above: They sent my a 6VAC wall wart instead of 16VAC.

Hopefully there was no permanent damage from using the 6VAC.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck! Here's a dumb question: could you have accidentally swapped the Eitr and Modi's power supplies?

 

Nope. Eitr was never unplugged. Also verified that I have too many 6VAC supplies now! And no 16VAC. Tech said there should be no damage to the Modi Multibit and they're sending me a replacement power supply.

Update: 16VAC replacement arrived. No buzzsaw anymore! It's warming up in the other room until later tonight when I can do more than just confirm that it functions.

 

Can't imagine under-volting it would be that big of a deal, I'm not an EE but should probably be fine.

All this suspense will make it that much better.

 

@Luckbad Well? C'mon man! We're impatient to read your opinion, out with it!

I have the same gear at my office except it's the HD600 w/ Cardas balanced cable. I dunno, I'm a Grado fan and I don't find the Senns to be that emotionally engaging. But others have posted that they need adequate burn-in so I will give it another 100 hours before I punt and sell 'em. (But, maybe it's the DAC, though I doubt it.) Anyway, I've read your site and comparisons–thanks for the write-ups.

 

After a couple of hours of listening to the Modi Multibit, I'm already pretty set in my opinion of it. I've heard so much gear at this point that I tend to take almost everything at first blush, applying a "burn-in" filter to my thoughts, and deciding if I like it or not.

Setup from the ground up (pun intended since you're about to see me start with power):

• Power: Tripp Lite LC1200 Line Conditioner (stabilizes my bad power and acts as a surge protector) -> Emotiva CMX-6 (calms my nervosa)
  
• Source: Custom-built PC with all high end components, PSU, etc. -> JRiver or foobar2000 (lossless files) -> Schiit Eitr via Schiit USB cable
• DAC: Schiit Modi Multibit
• Amps: Schiit Jotunheim, Schiit Vali 2 (stock tube, 6n23p, and GE 5670 triple mica w/ adapter), combinations thereof
• Transducers: Sennheiser HD650 (modded), Future Sonics Spectrum G10

Let's start with overall tonality.

• Treble: Not harsh. This is absolutely appreciated, as I'm very sensitive to treble. It's not particularly dark or rolled, but it's also not particularly airy or sparkly.
• Mids: Starting with the upper mids. The transition between the upper mids and treble is smooth without grain. This is superior in every way to the Bifrost Multibit in this particular area for me (I found the Bifrost Multibit to be a touch grainy and uniquely fatiguing in the space between the mids and treble). Mids in general are good. Not exactly romantic, but very good.
• Bass: The upper registers of bass and impact segment are pretty solid. More impactful than most DACs. A little bloated and imprecise, but satisfying. Sub-bass extension is not outstanding. Anything from the dig of a low cello note on down in frequency is not particularly visceral, but it's better than most DACs.

More bullet points:

• Staging is quite good overall. I can place instruments well and follow them independently over others. It's not a wide headstage, but it's adequate for all the important bits as far as I'm concerned.
• Fatigue: Nope. I get fatigue from a lot of different sources. Grain, etch, emphasized treble, emphasized upper mids, lack of cohesiveness to the sound (e.g. with Bifrost Multibit I feel like I could draw a line on the frequency response between two specific points, and it mind-effed me).
• Multibit Magic: Absolutely present. More so than the Bifrost Multibit. It has that effortless quality to it that I love in multibit DACs.
• Detail: Okay, not great. There's a slight smearing of some notes coupled with a lack of speed that makes some things run together, making it harder to pick out individual notes in faster paced music.
• Instruments: Sound real. That is part of multibit magic as well, but worth a callout. Some DACs make it hard to tell a violin from a viola, others make it hard to tell a violin from a tuba. Everything sounds right in this world.
• Blackness: A bit gray. Nothing bad here though, nor is this unexpected for the price. This contributes to the perception of lack of "detail" (which for me is a mashup of several other important SBAF words like "plankton" and "microsomethings.").
• Involvement: More important for me than just about every other measurement. Can I get fully into the music without mentally jotting down notes about things that suck? Yep. I let myself slip out of analysis mode multiple times unintentionally and just experienced the music.

If I were to summarize my thoughts on the Modi Multibit--and I will right now, hold your horses--it's "yes." I can't think of a single DAC I'd recommend over it in the <$500 range, regardless of your tastes. Is it any good directly from USB? Beats me, and I don't really plan on finding out.

The Modi Multibit wields the magic of multibit. It's the type of DAC that lets you put your mind at ease, forget your workday, and allow the flow of music to surround you. It breaks not records in any one area, but as a package it is an outstanding piece of kit and at $250, it is firmly in the "no-brainer" category. Even adding a $180 Eitr into the mix, it's better than any DAC in the price range that I've tried.

It now officially has a place in my Pile of Schiit for work (Eitr->Modi Multibit->Vali 2).

 

This is more Jot vs Vali 2, but I'm particularly interested in a comparison when fed by Modi Multibit. @Luckbad can you give your impressions when driving your HD650M? I know there are lots of tidbits in this and the other 2 relevant threads, including using the Vali as a preamp for the Jot, but while your at it ... Thanks!

 

Thank you, @Luckbad and interesting to read how you describe things I hear as well from my stack. I am using USB however (via battery powered Uptone Regen), so perhaps I'll pick up an Eitr (based again on your review) since I have that S/PDIF coax > USB bias.

Also curious what coax cable you're using from Eitr to Modi Multibit, and IC from DAC to Jot if I may ask?

 

Blue Jeans S/PDIF cable and one @bixby made, tried both Blue Jeans and Straightwire Symphony II RCA cables from Modi to amps. I usually use the Straightwires and bixby special because they're less bulky, but I do like the Blue Jeans cables just fine.

 

Thanks. I was using Schiit Pyst which are nice little cables but frankly lend truth to the old "weakest link in the chain" adage. (IMO)
I pressed some old Monster Cables into service that sound much better for now.

 

Somewhere back in the dust of this thread, I posted about something similar- in my case, it sounded like some high frequency percussion (think faint snares or tambourine) in one channel. At first, I though "that's funny, never heard that detail before", and then the penny dropped that it was in everything. I had to restart the Modi Multibit* and it went away. Sometimes the software on it gets in a weird state, I think- but it should be super-rare (and often related to strange power goings-on).

If you keep getting this, do the obligatory "plugging it directly into the wall" to rule out power cruft first. Hell, try going optical in as well for a bit, just to test (even though it is a bit more jittery), just to rule out electrical nonsense. If the problem persists, drop Schiit support an email. Good luck.


*Yoink the power for 20 seconds or so to be sure. Yes, I know, it will cycle the lights helplessly a bit when you re-power it, but that's a minor annoyance.

 

@Luckbad good writeup. Out of curiosity did you use the Eitr with the Bifrost Multibit and still find that issue with transition from upper mids to lower treble?

 

When I had the Bifrost Multibit, the Eitr was unavailable. I've never found transports to correct anything major, though. They tend to just clean up whatever is there, so unless it was a byproduct of the Bifrost Multibit's old USB input (possible), it's probably still there. I don't want to spend money to find out.

 

Just a quick note for anyone who perhaps sleeps in the same room they keep their always-on Modi Multibit - there's a company called Light Dims that sells tinted stickers designed to go over the LEDs on electronic devices, they're a few bucks for a sheet of more than you can count in many different shapes and sizes. Highly recommend. Schiit used the brightest LEDs possible seemingly for this thing, which is great during the day but at night it's like the sun is still up.

 

Thanks to USPS sending my Modi Multibit on an extended vacation to other parts of the country, before figuring out that sending it to Sacramento from Valencia, CA doesn't require a two day stop off in Austin, TX, I spent a week listening to Modi Multibit without Eitr. PC->Wyrd->Modi Multibit->Black Widow v1-> HD600, HD650, Paradox with Blue Jean cables all around, was the chain. @Luckbad nailed the sound in his review. I'm will just give my impressions on the USB input. Get an Eitr. I have been using the Gungnir D/S as my DAC for sometime via USB. Cymbals always sounded pretty natural. Not perfect, but not enough to make them stand out. Modi Multibit. Never heard the famous USB "hash" like that. I almost thought, "what the hell is that instrument?". Grain was present in mid treble and up. On some older recordings was distracting. Mids is were it did it's best. Vocals and instruments sound very real. Musically involving. Kept having to watch the volume as I wanted to turn it up a bit. Eitr finally arrived. Tried Bill Evans "Waltz" first. Cymbals sound correct. Fatigue gone. Hash gone. Grain, reduced or gone, at least for me. Younger ears might pick it up more. I listened so late I feel asleep with my headphones on. Even more musically involving. Was hard to keep critically listening. I am finding it difficult to return to the Gungnir. Still an excellent DAC, but sounds almost too neutral now. Just not as musically engaging. BTW have heard all of Schiit's DAC's except Bifrost Multibit, and only briefly the Gungnir Multibit so won't try to rank them. Bottom line.
If you want a Modi Multibit, get the Eitr.

I got this pair as I got impatient waiting for the Gungnir Multibit MB boards to arrive at Schiit for an upgrade. This pair is going to work once that happens.

 

Why don't we see more Eitr + Modi Multibit comments?

 

Because they are each by now a known quantity.

If you wish to know more then read about them individually and join the dots.

 

Yup, this happens to mine too, though not enough for me to investigate further. Initially it may have been more common when using an Apple CCK into an iPhone. As @Kattefjaes points out, recycling the power seems to sort it out.

-

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...-eitr-preview-thread.4729/page-21#post-153740