Storytime: NITSCH x Schiit Magni Piety, Magni Pi, etc.

At low volume there is channel imbalance. I think it’s generally fine at the higher volumes you would run Sys for attenuation.

 

Not much play in the volume pot with the Focal clears, on high gain.

I always find the little Schiit amps pair best with a preamp and attenuation. Freya S or Saga OG in my case.

 

Quick impressions:

• not hearing any channel imbalance (these little pots make me nervous)
• treble sounds better than any Schiit treble I've ever heard (only have Magni's, Vali 2, and Asgard OG)
• sounds great on Elear with Clear Pads, and HE-4XX
• very very smooth and clean
• cohesive (nothing seems over or under emphasized)

Overall I'm thrilled with it. Great job @CEE TEE and @schiit

Edit: Using RPI SPDIF=>Modi Multibit w/OPA2156=>Piety

 

I was thinking this after a few days of listening. Except I'm comparing to Lyr 3, which I thought had really nice treble (the reason I was interested in it to begin with).

Lyr 3 has some things over it, but I don't think treble is one of them. It's not shelved, it sounds well-behaved, it's not messed up in any way I've noticed.

 

My one sentence impression of my Piety HP amp...

Who would have thought $1600 planar cans could sound this freakin' good driven by a $149 HP amp!

 

Which planars are you running with with the Piety?

 

He's got Arya's (not sure when he will be back to the site).

My HE6se's roll over and die with piety.

My Asgard 2 seems to do much better with the HE6se's.

 

Thanks - I'm just trying to get a good read on which planars work best with the Piety. Yeah, I used to own the HE6se as well so I know all about the "challenges" with that headphone. I'd like to get another planar in the future and one that would be a good match with the Piety if that is possible.

 

Most of the newer Hifimans and the DCA stuff are pretty efficient and lower ohm aren't they?

Should be lots of stuff at many different price ranges you can choose from..

 

Had some input for Bifrost 2 OG, but f**k it. A more senior member can cover it better I’m sure.

 

@Grattle go ahead and post your input. Someone who knows better can correct you if you're "wrong"

 

A couple great reviews on HF.
And the discussion thread if you want to sift through.

 

What's happened to "respectfully disagree"? Never needed that button more.

 

PI2AES > OG BF2 > PeePee > Moondrop Kato IEM

I really enjoy my PeePee, it is a shame that it taken many years for us to get a limited production run of it. I wish this was the stock SS Schiit Amp sound where their amps didn't sound like I am powerfucking my GF at times with cum all over the bed. That was kind of my experience with the regular Schiit amps except the older As(s)gard where it was a powerful poop hitting the toilet water hard after the visit of Chinese takeout.

Why I enjoy the PeePee:

• Good marriage of SS traits (no toobs, engaging sound that isn't laid back, and lower noise if you care about that) and toobs traits (splashiness enough of the treble, solid soundstage that isn't flat like 2D Animu AZN Girls, warmish sound that isn't As(s)gard warm poop level, etc.).
• No more infamous Schiit wall-o-sound, which was the biggest issues of the previously Magnis but per some users the new Magni also don't have the wall-o-sound anymore. This was the biggest takeaway from this.
• It's cheap at $150ish.
• Going back to the SS/t00b traits, something with the sound that keeps you engage and want to listen to it a lot.

What about the PeePee that is eh:

• Volume knob is hard to turn.
  • But it makes not blowing up your IEMs/headphones much harder to do by mistake.
• Gain is too high for IEMs for both low and high IMO.
  • If you are willing to use software volume controls, then you can reduct the volume by -15db or -20db on rough recordings and be fine.
  • Feel like the PeePee was for made for real headphones and more for the Classic Senns and non-fucked Grados with the F-Pads.
• Hard to get parts, might get lucky with one more production run and that's it.
  • A same, but an eh to me.
• It is still a f'ing Magni on technical level.
  • SW51+ IMO will mop the floor of the PeePee, and even the higher end Schiit amps.
  • If you were hoping this can be the killer cheap amp on a technical level, you need a life.

Other thoughts when also using Vali 2+:

• Vali 2+ has more soundstage, but by a hair less refined than PeePee.
• Vali 2+ you can t00b roll, but don't be a virgin loser living with their mom's house and roll 20 tubes for it.
• Vali 2+ has lower gain, so it is better in theory for IEMs of all things than PeePee.
• PeePee mix is more special soundwise IMO than the Vali 2+.

Final thoughts:

• I wish the PeePee sound signature would be the real type of sound Schiit should be going for with their SS offerings, while using the Vali 2+ sound signature for their tube amps going forward.
  • Get away from the powerfucking sound on the Lyr, the warm big poop sound on the As(s)gard, and the eh sound of the Valhalla that is too dry like this steak, and etc.
• PeePee is not for you if you don't like treble splashiness or want hard hitting subbass.
• I got serial # 63 - the tossing salad serial (look carefully at 63).
  • @CEE TEE I wish you gave me serial #69.
• Vali 2+ is now my backup amp while PeePee is my main amp, even if I am not the biggest fan of the higher gain output in general for IEMs, woo.

 

Preamble: So I'm not great at doing this as you guys, not even close, but I wanted to flesh out some impressions I sent to a friend (shoutout again to @Slade01 for the Piety loan), so I thought I'd post them here just in case anyone is thinking of powering an LCD-X with the Piety...

So, let's compare an SS amp that was originally $1K, but which you can find for less than $500 on sale, that is just-nigh perfect for planars with an SS amp whose 1st-production run ran out in some 11 hours, costed $150, and known to be excellent with dynamics, shall we?



Pi2AES > [BNC] > Gungnir A1 > [XLR/RCA] > Liquid Gold X/Magni Piety > LCD-X

Quick and dirty impressions of Monolith Liquid Gold X (or LAuX) vs. Nitsch x Schiit Magni Piety (or MagPie, although I'm kinda digging @YMO's "PeePee" coinage...) on high gain with a stock LCD-X:

• This tiny amp definitely has “grip” over the LCD-X’s (hereafter just “X”) drivers, has enough volume as well as control
• Immediately after plugging in, it become my second favorite amp I’ve used with the X; I’ve tried the Simaudio Moon Neo 230HA & 430HAD, Phonitor X, Ferrum Erco without Hyspos power supply
• Liquid midrange helps fill out some of the slight peakiness of the X—male vocals “sweeter”
• Less transparent than the LAuX overall, warmer, more colored
• Less bass quantity/texture, less slam
• Upper treble a bit more pronounced, extended isn’t the right word I’m looking for, but it’s more present on than on the LAuX while also being a warmer-sounding amp. Edit after reading this thread: splashy, I’m looking for the word splashy.
• Smaller soundstage, but more focused, I kind of like this presentation
• Less overall soundstage depth however, which is a bummer
• Less black of a background (a slight grayness, but this could definitely just the Gungnir’s SE outs Im hearing)

On low gain:

• Low gain is looowwww, to get to roughly the same SPL, I have it cranked to 2 o’clock, cf. high gain, I could barely make micro-gradations on the pot above 10
• wetter tonality
• looser presentation
• less focus/personal quibble on/with the Piety's highs, everything seems relaxed and cohesive
• high gain is unusable on LAuX with the X so can’t directly compare there, but I am digging low gain more with it, I think (prefer high gain with Sennheisers)
• sultry and engaging, midrange magic even more magic
• “one more song”-addictive

Where it can’t compete: soundstage, resolution, transparency, bass slam, overall finesse and microdetail

Where it can compete: macrodetail, tonality (different, but can still compete with the LAuX, unlike, say, the Jotenheim 2), engagement x-factor, emotionality

I love this diminutive amp. Now gonna put on @Erroneous's JAR600B and not give a f**k about anything.

 

Shouldn't it be PooPee as opposed to PeePee? (I've been referring to it as schiit pie)

 

Random question and apologies if this was posted earlier and I missed it:

What was the decision in final production with regards to PCB color? Were they mostly green with a few white, all white, mostly red, mostly black, etc?

 

Welp... got my Piety a while back. Like... weeks ago. I've only found time to listen to it sporadically. But in any case, here's my impression of the amp:



...it is the absolute best Schiit amp I have heard. Ever. And actually, it doesn't even sound like any other Schiit amp. It's basically very unlike most Schiit I have heard. It's smooth, airy and bassy. Kind of like someone decided to make music instead of perfect sine waves.

This sounds basically just like a "mini" version of my Zana Deux (OG OTL version), which... in all honesty, is really not that easy to come across. So... congrats, @CEE TEE! You really did it! You made an SS amp I really can't disagree with!

P.S.: and about that LED... nothing a bit of orange tape can't fix.