New Schiit Modi Multibit???

Discussion in 'Audio Science' started by purr1n, Jul 7, 2018.

  1. aamefford

    aamefford Nothing like chamberpot coffee

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    I have an older one I got from @Ice-man several months ago. I can bust it open if necessary. Being second or third owner makes warranty a non issue. I can offer it up for testing as well, if needed.
     
  2. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I can open mine up tonight and take pictures. My Modi Multibit is a day 1 purchase so it's about as old as it gets unless you had pre-production.
     
  3. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    The 8-pin DIP IC I received with v2 firmware looks like the v1 DIP IC I removed from my Modi MB which is mid 2016 vintage. It may not be possible to discern firmware version from visual inspection alone.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Wondering if there are PCB changes too that came after firmware a la Yggdrasil A2.
     
  5. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Well, if nothing else, they got the thin film resistor running change sometime last year.
     
  6. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    Wouldn't it be strange for schiit to send out a couple new firmware chips, without new hardware (if there really *is* new hardware) and create oddball one off, third set of measurements. Hmmmm...
     
  7. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I opened both of mine (original and new). They’re the same. It’s firmware I'm guessing.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2018
  8. Madra

    Madra Acquaintance

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    Would these firmware chips be made available for user update? And I mean average users, not Atomicbob level users ;-)
     
  9. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Not a chance. Modi is non-upgradable.
     
  10. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    What version number is listed on each board? Same? Mine says v1.1 and it's a few months old.
     
  11. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    My guess is a silent revision. Just like the Pixel 2 XL my buddy has from day one and the Pixel 2 XL I bought a couple months back have different screens. This happens across every product everywhere, nothing major. I know it's fun to stress about, but I'll confirm if there are any actual changes that any of us would notice. Don't forget that @purr1n:
    1. hasn't heard them side by side
    2. is generally more sensitive to slight variation than the vast, vast majority of people I've met

    No. It’s an IC swap per @atomicbob, not a module in/out. You buy a new one at $250 instead of expecting any kind of ability to upgrade you affordable badass DAC.

    Dunno. I'll look this weekend if I have time.
     
  12. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I have no complaints with Modi Multibit, it just opened the door to what a different dac is capable of. That being said I wouldn't mind a little boost !
     
  13. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    You need to have engineering / technician level skills, training in anti-static handling of ICs, an anti-static wristband and it helps to have an anti-static workstation / tools.
     
  14. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    Ha. Remember when Modi Multibit came out and people kept asking if Bifrost was obsolete? And yet now we have people asking if their non-upgradeable DAC is upgradeable.

    You can't have your cake and eat it too.
     
  15. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Well the reports of the Bifrost Multibit having a "disjointed" sound concerned me a bit, and as someone who's yet to hear a Modi Multi I still have no way of confirming them for myself (not that I don't trust the reports, but I do mistrust my own ability to perceive weirdness on that scale). While I do understand that Schiit isn't afraid to undercut their own products and has a history of releasing audibly superior gear for less, I wonder at a non-upgradeable DAC driving the Bifrost to "obsolescence". Frankly, if I didn't like the idea of having a single box instead of two smaller ones with a bunch of wires running across my desk, I'd have gone with a Modi Multibit/Eitr as well, Schiit's goal of keeping their products from finding their way to the scrap yard be damned.

    Of course, new BIMBYs are supposed to sound notably less sucky right now, though as a current owner I think I'd be better served by finding a new home for the DAC and upgrading to a Gungnir Multibit instead of sending my Bifrost all the way back to Valencia— international shipping is insane.
     
  16. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    I just ordered a new Modi Multibit (should get it in a few days) so let me know if there is something specific you want me to look at on it or inside it.
     
  17. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Shame. Back in the Stone Age, I remember talking to Roland support after a sequencer was dropping note data/losing timing with very busy, fast patterns. They solved the problem by posting me a DIP with newer, more optimised firmware. It'd be a pleasingly retro upgrade experience for Schiit to offer- even if they made you promise faithfully not to expect support for it, a bit like the self-upgrade for Gen5 stuff.
     
  18. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I don't use a wrist strap when handling op amps most of the time. I guess I live dangerously.
     
  19. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Yeah, you remember when people were civil about things like this and we could all pretend to be naive about it. Today trying to support something like this would be a terrible nightmare.
     
  20. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    It was more than that though, companies would hire incredibly overqualified support people (by today's standards). They also had no problem walking an 11 year old through something if they seemed competent enough.
     

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