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

I sold the SW51+ so don't have it at hand for direct comparison, but feeding it with J2 I was normally at 12 o'clock, sometimes turning it to 1 PM if I wanted to crank it up. my HD650 are not JAR, although they have ZMF pads installed which improved the sound much to my liking. what didn't I like? as I wrote, it was 'small sound coming from a small amp' sort of presentation, but more importantly, it was not engaging at all, just meh, so much so that I had to force myself to keep listening just to form an opinion.

I just spent about an hour and a half listening with Piety fed by Parasound D/AC-1600, and f**k me! now I had to force myself to stop listening as I ought to turn in for the day. I get what you folks been all raving about, it's a night and day sort of experience, a 'I was about to list Piety for sale but now I will most likely keep it' sort of experience. I somehow prefer the low gain in this setup, listening at about 11 o'clock (on high gain 8:30 is just about enough). I feel that the highs are a touch too sharp for me on high gain, and on low gain it's more mellow and enjoyable. for reference, Parasound D/AC-1600 puts out 3 V on SE outs, while J2 outputs 2.5 V.

 

It looks like a toy next to my Gungnir Multibit.

The music coming out of that combo is so very fine!

Any chance the new Modi MB 2 would be as sweet?

 

So finally I can get my Piety on ears with my HD6xx and my LCD2 rev2. The mids on this amp is a little “simple” compared to my Zen can signature. And the 6xx sounds like having a smaller-drivers with the Piety. The inside led is bright and the amp closure design fits my liking. From my memory I am not sure the Piety sound more sweet than on the Magni3 but it indeed sounds more breathable. There are empty spaces between instruments and voices. And the lef-right effect is very strong. I like this new amp with my LCD2 but not so much with my 6xx. Just like I find the LCD2 weirdly sleepy paired with the Zen can signature even via balanced in/out. I have not burnt in the Piety yet.
My volume position used for both the 6xx and the LCD2 is at 10 o clock (compared to 9 and 13 on the balanced in/out Zen can signature and the balanced in/se out Rhead respectively)

 

I don't usually post impressions (well, because I'm not really good at it), but in the spirit of things I'll put in a few words now that I've had some time with the Piety.

I like this a lot. Not gushing levels a lot, but it sounds like it's more than it's asking price because there isn't anything else like it. It reminds me of the ECP 3F; however, it doesn't compete at that level, so when the 3FN comes out I don't think there's any concern there. As some have said, it's not a giant slayer. The Clear OG sounds really good with the Piety, as with the 3F, but it doesn't quite have that grip that the ECP has. The warm Piety goes well with the cooler nature of the Clear for me.

Observations: others have stated preference for high gain. I actually like the low sometimes because it's less energetic and can work well with some music or types of IEMs/headphones. The gain turns the Piety into two separate amps, a mellow version and a caffeinated version, and in this regard you can argue that you're getting a 2-in-1 value.

Compared to the Vali+: the Piety has more punch at the lower end, otherwise they were similar-ish. At the same price, I would take the Piety because it sounds more special. I may be stretching it a bit, but I thought the Piety is more tubey sounding than the Vali. I still like the Vali since you can have fun with tube rolling for different sounds.

Compared to the THX whatever: more expensive than the Piety and definitely more fatiguing.

Compared to the SW51: it costs more but it sounds like it costs a lot more.

Surprise: On the more budget end, the warmish Koss PortaPros and the Piety were also very good together. Warmer than normal for my usual liking, but they still work because the Piety provided enough detail and separation for the combination. For less than $200 combined using a cheap cable out of a DAP (or your phone), I think this is a killer deal. If you can get one.

I hope CEE TEE can get more parts for more production runs.

 

I have this weird craving to try Grados... I think this is an unclosed gestalt of mine since the college days, coming of age in Ukraine, and learning of Grados, but not being able to afford something like them at the time. from everything I am reading I should not go there: I am treble-sensitive, I prefer more mellow rather than more detailed sound. still, the idea persists, to pick up something like RS2e used and try it. I have this strange hunch that Piety might be a good match for Grados. anyone tried them together?

 

Schiit Modi Multibit 2 is now available for order, but the stated 2 V output makes me wonder if this will be a good match, but perhaps there was something other than just output level going on with J2 which affected the synergy of J2 / Piety / HD650 combo in my case...

 

? 2Vrms is just the bog standard output no?

 

Haven't all the Schiit DACs always been 2V out?

 

No. The Modi's were typically 1.5V with Modi MB as an exception at 2V. The higher tier DACs were 2V RCA and 4V XLR

 

I don't have much to add here. Everyone has pretty much nailed it. @CEE TEE has nailed it. No it is not a giant killer but IMHO it is vastly superior to the Jot and Lyr 3. @yotacowboy summarized my thoughts on Schiit amps compared to the Piety in the Lyr+ thread better than I ever could.

If it did not have the splashy top end, I likely would not use any other amp. My other amps require warmup and can't be left on 24/7. There are lots of things my other two amps do marginally better but, remarkably, the Piety gets me to nearly the point where I start to question my spending habits.

The Piety is superior to the Master 9's single ended output but is about 85% of the balanced output. Balanced output from the M9 is like the Piety without the splashiness but only has about 80% of the Piety's midrange spaciousness. Both amps are inferior to the WA 6se after 1.5 hours of warmup. The M9 needs like a day of warmup to be at its best (I usually cut it on Friday before going to work in order to listen during the weekend).

I'm likely going to retire the M9 to storage with my DIY Folsom 7293 speaker amp. They are my emergency backup stack in case something happens to my preamp and amps.

 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/wa...ake-after-you-give-up/1237748988?i=1237749878

Sounds really nice with
OG Bifrost2. Approaches
the ZDT Jr. High praise.

 

Sorry , drunken haiku don’t always follow form.

 

OK, I finally got mine after it sat at the forwarder waiting for a bunch of delayed Amazoncrap to be consolidated with before shipping. On arrival I had a scare because there was no glaring LED trapped inside trying to get out. Turns out everything is fine and it wasn't DOA.

I first tried it au naturel (i.e. no EQ) in my reconfigured bedside rig with MMB OG fed via coax by Pi2AES. Headphones that I really need EQ for to pull down treble peaks (modded HD800, Clear OG) still really need EQ, but the mid-bass hump on Stellia isn't as noticeable as usual, and pseudo-KISS HD650 with ZMF suede pads sounds fine. Low gain is more laidback as everyone has said, and has enough dynamics for Stellia which I'll be using mostly in the bedroom (because closed), so that's perfect. Headphones with peakiness from the upper-mids on up are peakier on high gain, so overall I prefer low gain on Piety, especially as I'll be using it for casual listening. I heard the splashy treble that people have been talking about. To me it's more of an extra tizz on cymbal sounds, but not always. On low gain it's less apparent and wouldn't bother me if not listening critically.

Also, at first I thought that 3 o'clock with HD650 on low gain wasn't crazy loud. But then I realized I'd enabled SW volume control on my that Pi2AES unit and I'd been listening at about 60%. With MMB as source and no attenuation, I might go as high as 10 o'clock for low level content like classical, but usually 8-9 for modern stuff.

Then I tried it in my main rig with Pi2AES > DEQ2496 > BF2/64 (SFD-1 had crapped out just after I started). The mid-bass bumps were back and needed EQing to be listenable. I guess this is down to the difference in tonality between MMB and BF2. The BF2/62 sibilance issue I have was audible, but slightly less on high gain compared to 3F (currently nickel). And Piety on low gain took the edge off BF2/64 trebleZZZ enough to make it pleasurably listenable, but that's not where I plan to use it.

Speaking of which, I totally agree that the Piety on high gain is like a "lesser" 3F. My initial analogy was: 3F is like Piety on steroids and, conversely, Piety is like 3F with one nut removed. But the difference is a bit bigger than that: 3F is like Piety on the optimal cocktail of PEDs; Piety is like 3F with 1.5 nuts removed.

So the Piety exactly suits my purpose for buying it, to replace MCTH in my bedside rig. It makes for a far more compact stack and I don't run the risk of burning my hand on a tube when blindly reaching over to adjust the volume. I was too lazy to do an AB comparison of Piety vs MCTH, but I listened to MCTH for a while when I moved Piety to the main rig. Compared to Piety on low gain, I think MCTH is more dynamic and resolving, but the differences are minor. I'll gladly take the increased real estate on my night stand.

I'll reiterate that I'm so glad I lucked out on a "broken" Piety with non-functioning internal LED. I only need 2 small pieces of photographer's tape on MMB's LEDs to run in full bedroom blackout mode.

Thanks again to @CEE TEE for bringing this to the community

 

Well, ok. We’re you waiting on me?

 

I don’t think I could say more than has already been said about the Piety. It sounds wonderful, effortlessly musical, and paired with a JAR650 I could ride off into the sunset with this as my headphone rig. It’s rich but not syrupy, spacious but not diffuse, tubey but not so rounded it puts you to sleep. It just does it right.

 

Here’s a little comparison of the Schiit small form factor enclosures throughout the ages. All comparisons are with the Nitsch Piety. Lighting wasn’t great so I tried adding some additional illumination.

OG Modi 1


Modi 2U



Modi Multibit



I don’t have any black Schiit items but I do have a black anodized DIY amp that might give some reference



tag: @neogeosnk

 

Just curious--could you comment on comparisons to the Dynalo?

 

It’s coming for sure. For right now I’m only using the Piety exclusively to get a big picture for what it gives me

 

Any thoughts on Modi+ and Piety? Currently for use with Mini C/S but I am also considering getting my HD600 JAR-ed.

 

Well considering the positive reception of both Modi3E and now Modi+ I don't see why it wouldn't pair well with the Piety. Makes sense both in budget and pairing.