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Schiit Modi Multibit 2 Discussion

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by purr1n, Dec 25, 2022.

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  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    upload_2022-12-30_9-52-6.png

    @jowls:

    What is comes down to is all a matter of expectations and where you are coming from.

    I don't feel Piety is more difficult than a Magni 3+/ Magni+ in the highs. (I leave Piety on all the time though). And I consider Magni 3+ to have "reference" highs for how a good solid-state amp should sound like in the highs. If some of the KG amps were known for needles shoved into eardrums and the OG Cavalli LG or Violectric V200 were too princess smoothpoo in highs, then the Magni 3+ lands right in the middle. If I wanted the edge taken off, then there are tube, hybrid, and Schiit Continuity amps that will do this to varying extents.

    Personally, I'm fine with Piety / Magni+ with the Modi+ with a variety of headphones from RS2X with F cush, RS1X with Gerrod, JAR600, etc. I mention these headphones because they are on the neutral/brighter side.

    Now that being said, I'm not a fan of Mini C, Piety, and Modi+. Mini C has a tiny spike at 8kHz which I feel is accentuated by Piety and Modi+ combo. I also prefer Mini C from upstream components with more grunt.

    P.S. I have not tested Modi MB 2 in NOS yet. Given how this DAC sounds, NOS could be very yummy.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 30, 2022
    purr1n, Dec 30, 2022
    #41
  2. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    NOS mode is...interesting.

    Basically it loses that sharpness...things sound more mushy...spacious, but mushy. Mellower for sure...but almost better instrument separation and layering at the loss of some clarity. It has a somewhat stronger center image as well. I think it makes the mids sound a touch more forward.

    I don't like it because it does not sound cohesive. Things sound more smeary and mushy. On Grados, you may like it.
     
    Azimuth, Dec 30, 2022
    #42
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I don't have Modius in front of my for a direct comparison, but I do have Modi+ which I know how it sounds in relation to Modius. I'll give it a shot:

    upload_2022-12-30_10-41-4.png
    Modius above is Modius E.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 31, 2022
    purr1n, Dec 30, 2022
    #43
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I just tried NOS and did not like it. It just smeared the lows.

    Have you tried rolling opamps from the stock OPA2197 to something else?
     
    purr1n, Dec 30, 2022
    #44
  5. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Yes...smeary.

    Not yet. The 2197 is still a CMOS family chip. I thought of changing the TL082 first. I have some 2156’s on order.
     
    Azimuth, Dec 30, 2022
    #45
  6. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Thanks for that. Awesome, as always :punk:

    Yet again this seems to be a “pick your poison” scenario.
     
    jowls, Dec 30, 2022
    #46
  7. pure5152

    pure5152 Friend

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    For clarity, what scale are those plankton/microdynamic nuance numbers? (very different meaning if out of 5 or out of 10)
     
    pure5152, Dec 30, 2022
    #47
  8. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    Doesn't mean anything. It's meant to be taken on a relative scale knowing Marv. Hell it could be out of 1000 and it wouldn't make a difference.
     
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    ChaChaRealSmooth, Dec 30, 2022
    #48
  9. Tone?

    Tone? Acquaintance

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    So it’s not bright like the 2/64?

    Thanks
     
    Tone?, Dec 30, 2022
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  10. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    We need a MM2 bifrost 2 and 2/64 shootout. Some crazy bastard must have all 3 or 2 and a 2/64 board.
     
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    HotRatSalad, Dec 30, 2022
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  11. ecline56

    ecline56 Almost "Made"

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    When was the 2156 MM OG sold.? I am assuming that is what I have. I bought my first one late 12/21 and then my second one 2/22. Shortly afterwards the MM OG was done. Both of mine sound the same. But, both are only slightly thick and only slightly forward. The Chinese TDA 1543 x 8 NOS dac I have is much more up front but somehow more relaxed sounding ..... while also being thicker and darker sounding. I was expecting a sound like the Chinese dac. The MM OG sounded much more neutral.

    I tried the Modius when the MM was no longer available. I despise that dac. Treble is horrible. All my system is single ended so I got the fat bass and grating, sibilant treble sound.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2022
    ecline56, Dec 30, 2022
    #51
  12. JellyRhino

    JellyRhino Facebook Friend

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    What about the engagement factor?
     
    JellyRhino, Dec 30, 2022
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  13. joch

    joch Friend

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    Appreciate the summation table.

    Can we assume the Modius is via the XLR?
     
    joch, Dec 30, 2022
    #53
  14. internethandle

    internethandle Almost "Made"

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    Do you mean TDA1543 x 8 here?
     
    internethandle, Dec 30, 2022
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  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Modius E. Yeah. I know, hard to believe. On the right system, I felt the Modius E was the most engaging by the fact that it picked up all these nuances and danced like a good ballerina. This was on small speaker system set up by someone locally that had run through the gamut of Schiit DACs under $300 in the past two years. There's still some minor digititus with the Modius E, but this is easier to tolerate from speakers than most headphones, and it's better than Modius AKM.
     
    purr1n, Dec 31, 2022
    #55
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Modius E single-ended.

    Yes, Modius AKM single-ended is phat - phat phat.
     
    purr1n, Dec 31, 2022
    #56
  17. ecline56

    ecline56 Almost "Made"

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    Yes, TDA. Corrected in post.
     
    ecline56, Dec 31, 2022
    #57
  18. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    If someone could supply approximate production date ranges for the Modi/MMB/Modius versions, this would be good to have in the thread, preferably in Marv's table.

    For example, Schiit naming gets confusing. I bought a "Modi 2 Multibit" in Dec 2017, however, technically, I believe this is a Modi MB OG. This is easily confused with Modi Multibit 2, unless you consult a production date range, in which case it is obvious. Correct me if I am wrong.
     
    roshambo123, Dec 31, 2022
    #58
  19. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I think you are referring to the firmware upgrade version. Older versions could (at least at one time) order the PDIP-8 swappable firmware to the updated version. This was at a time of many silent revisions. (There was also an update to the Mani around the same time).

    To me, that firmware update also cleared up some haze in the high mids, bBut really it was only a DSP change and was very slight change compared to the new Modi MB2.
     
    Azimuth, Dec 31, 2022
    #59
  20. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Hmm, I think the "v2" firmware change for the Modi Multibit might have been a bit later than that - going back through old threads, the first time it was mentioned here was July 2018 (with @atomicbob measurements in late July).

    @roshambo123 , I suspect the "Modi 2 Multibit" epithet is indeed model confusion: the delta-sigma Modi extant as of Dec 2017 was Modi 2, so some people included the '2' in reference to the contemporaneous Modi Multibit.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 31, 2022
    Biodegraded, Dec 31, 2022
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