Schiit IEMagni Measurements

Discussion in 'Schiit' started by purr1n, May 12, 2021.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It's a matter of function. Low gain balanced from Jot if you use a balanced outs from a source will be 6db gain. IEM gain on IEMagni is -10db. That's a 16db difference. The IEMagni is great for IEMs like Ara or Solaris as it will give us a little more usable range on the volume knob. I'm looking forward to being able to use TOTL DACs with desktop setups which can be better sounding than small portable music players. There are a few other desktop amps out there with negative gain for IEMs, some of them quite good sounding. The IEMagni is a little late to the party.

    As for better, for headphones, that will be up to you. IEMagni and Jot 2 are in different price brackets. OG Andro may still need IEMatch if you prefer Andro from around 2.5-ohm sources to tame the lows. The IEMagni output impedance is 0.33-ohms.

    Also, if you want to compare amps, the IEMagni input impedance is a nice easy 40k load. This will increase the chance of success of using a Y-splitter from a DAC's output to two amps.

    P.S.

    Only in black top. Grey bottom as per Magni 3+. Volume knob is different from other Magnis. It's a very nice milled piece, silky smooth to the touch.
     
  2. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    I like the color scheme of the IEMagni...it hits my love of Black Plastic Crap nostalgia. The gray at the bottom is a nice touch. I also like there is no LED lights on the front, only the red one that is coming from the PCB inside the amp. Red is nice...it is a much warmer color than the f'ing white light of death cool color.

    Without hearing the other Mangi 3 variants, this sound does remind me of the stock 3 (non-plus). I'll say this much, for DD IEMs no need to go negative. For BAs it depends as usual. Gaudio Nair benefited for negative gain, Sony IER-M9 not so much. With that being said, I see per Spec sheet on Schiit website that Input Z is 25 ohm...so I would still keep the IEMatch around.

    Seems too much of a good thing with Airist RDAC > IEMagni, might need a less warm/dark DAC here. Final impressions in a few days.
     
  3. Jay

    Jay Facebook Friend

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    Does this have the startup/turn off thump that most Schiit amps do? I would be scared of doing some damage to my IEMs. Yes, I know I can always plug in after turn on and unplug before turn off, but I'd rather not add undo wear the jack.
     
  4. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I see now the color scheme of black and gray was announced. I was quite shocked at the hiss with Jot 2 SE out with either SE in or XLR in was no difference. Bought a 4pin/2.5mm adapter and on low gain there's no hiss as listenable levels. Never thought I'd want to listen to IEMs at home but really enjoy the 3DT.
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    This is just after the cover has been taken off with the IEMagni run for a few hours with music. Ambient temps are quite high at 24C. Note that these chips run hot (see how the voltage gain chip at the left is same temp as the output chips).
    flir_20210512T150009.jpg

    This is after the IEMagni has been running into a 30-ohm load a 37Hz signal crawling 16dBu to near clipping at 20.5dBu (8.2Vrms) for ten minutes. This is about 2.2W and an insanely high level. Again, this is 37Hz, not 1kHz. This is ABUSE and does not reflect normal use with music. The OPA1612 is rated to operate up to 125C.
    flir_20210512T145227.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2023
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    No thump from what I can hear (using CFA Solaris IEM). Experiment was as this:
    • Gain set to medium
    • Volume set to 1100 position
    • Load set to 30-ohms
    Also, here's a recording. I had to increase gain in the recording a massive +40db to be able to see this. It doesn't appear that you need to worry.
    upload_2021-5-12_15-40-16.png

    For context, here's the original recording before I applied gain.
    upload_2021-5-12_15-44-17.png
     
  7. Jay

    Jay Facebook Friend

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    Thank you. Most excellent. They may be taking my money sooner than later.
     
  8. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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    I can't get my eyes off that easter egg.
     
  9. Jay

    Jay Facebook Friend

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    Maybe it's rig for testing products?
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It's for testing headphone amps. Various inputs, outputs, switches for load, etc.
     
  11. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    If this manages to have even half the synergy that the Jot 2 had with my FDX1 and RS2e, hopefully without that steely edge I couldn’t get away from on the Jot, then this might be a keeper.
     
  12. Illya

    Illya Acquaintance

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    Just ordered one! It's crazy cuz I am giving my friend my OG Magni 3 and wanted to upgrade to 3+ or Heresy. I just got a pair of 64 Audio u12t's so thats what I was mainly going to be using with Magni 3+/Heresy, then I see this come out! Absolutely had to pull the trigger! Perfect timing lol.
     
  13. Yethal

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    How is it with Aras?
     
  14. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I’m looking forward to comparisons with the Drop 789 with BA iems. That’s going to be the real competition with this amp. I imagine this is a better amp technically but can it compete with the magic synergy the 789 has with BA iems?

    I’m tempted to join the loaner to compare it to my 789 with Sigma 11 LPS. But I was planning on sending all my BA iems out for loaners.

    will anyone else be comparing this to the 789?
     
  15. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Does anyone in the community still have the xrk971 Pocket Class A? (preferably tweaked for IEM's) I know @TheloniuSnoop built one with a dedicated PS. The gain was a touch high, but for my tastes, it was probably the best I've heard the Campfire Andromeda (OG)

    https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/group-buys/302859-xrk971-pocket-class-headamp-gb.html

    The wall powered version of that with less gain is what I've been hoping for sonically. I don't know if the IEMagni will get me there, but I do hope for a level of performance of my deceased Topping L30 amplifier. It honestly did a solid job until it didn't... but hey - maybe it helped a little in the push for a safe and quiet IEM amplifier that's converting AC on the fly.
     
  16. sluttyindian

    sluttyindian New

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    Would be cool to see a version (IEMagnius maybe?) with some additional iem friendly features like variable OI!

    Very curious to hear how this sounds like with OG andros and vs THX 789 as well (the dream of a perfect desktop amp pairing for CFA BA iems is becoming realised!)

    Can't help but feel like I'm missing something by using IEMatch with the THX 789 but its too bassy without...
     
  17. scapeinator1

    scapeinator1 Once You Go Black You'll Never Go Back

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    Would I be able to use this with a 4.4 mm to SE adapter and still get low noise? I have most of my IEMs terminated in 4.4 mm b/c of my ZX300A.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    You shouldn't need to worry about noise with an adapter.

    With an output of 50mV (ASR uses a single figure or 50mV into 300-ohms, we're getting SNR of 91db which is superb. Note results are 3db worse than what ASR got, but we are in the same ballpark. Gain is medium. Cursor set at 23dBu for input which translates to near 24dBu or 50mV (-1db gain for medium setting)
    upload_2021-5-13_23-38-33.png

    Same thing as above, but with 30-ohm load.
    upload_2021-5-13_23-45-4.png

    Oh, I got to mention: The output of the amp is through a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to a 1/8" stereo plug that terminates into my test jig with two separate 1/8" mono plugs. The signal then passes through the traces, resistors, switches on the test jig and finally exits from a 1/4" jack, where there is yet another 1/4" to 1/8" adapter into RCA male plugs, which are connected with a dual female RCA adapter to an RCA to BNC cable terminating on the AverLAB's inputs.

    I'm running through one helluva more adapters and garbage than you are, and still getting stellar SNR results considering the low signal levels and efficiency of IEMs.

    Can I get better results, maybe 1-2db better? Probably, but I've been too lazy or too busy to make custom cables with short lengths and without all the adapters.
     
  19. Ronion

    Ronion New

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    I’d love to hear your impressions with the FDX1 or the Moondrop Aria.
     
  20. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Pi2AES -> SFD-2 -> IEMagni -> Campfire Andromeda OG / Campfire Andromeda Gold

    2021/05/14 : Startup / Self Noise / Pot

    1.) Turn-on noise is non-issue. If the Andro doesn't have any issue, than I don't think anything else will
    2.) Slight thump when switching gains as expected. It is not recommended - set your gain and stick with it.
    3.) No noise from the pot itself when doing pot sweeps with no audio
    4.) No self amplifier noise in low/medium, but could pick up some noise floor in high (as expected and not recommended)
    5.) No issue with channel balance and I'm fine with the volume level at matched balance (pretty much the beginning of perceivable sound is balanced)
    6.) The pot + knob combo does feel slightly cheap / rough - I'd rather have a larger diameter + heavier knob maybe to offset this feeling?
     
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    Last edited: May 18, 2021

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