Magni 3 released

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by neogeosnk, Sep 19, 2017.

  1. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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  2. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    Tyler's not wrong.

    After almost 2 weeks with it now, though, it'll be on the for sale block come March.

    For my tastes, the Vali 2 beats it. It's not really close.

    I'm a really slow learner, and it's taken nearly my entire time in this hobby to finally realize I'm a tube guy through and through.
     
  3. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    How many tubes did you have to roll to come to the conclusion though? $$$ man. I am curious what tube is in your Vali to beat the magni 3 though, and how it is superior? Thx
     
  4. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    I already owned an amperex(rebranded mullard) 6dj8 from my previous amp, so $0 in tube rolling. No desire to try anything else.

    Vali 2 is clearer up top and more natural/cohesive sounding. More dynamic. It sucks me in and doesn't let go.

    The Magni is more of a roller coaster ride for me where some tracks can be magical while others leave me flat. Not bad, but ultimately less engaging and somewhat fatiguing.

    To be clear, I'm not going to claim that the Vali is "better". I don't have the ears to make that distinction. I can only say that it better suits my preferences.

    Also, I've never enjoyed planars from solid state amps. So, basically, take everything I'm saying with a boulder-sized block of salt.

    Differences with the HD650 are more subtle.
     
  5. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    I've only rolled with fairly low-priced tubes and I also prefer Vali 2 over Magni 3 though I could certainly be happy with the Magni. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.
     
  6. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    Perfect, thanks. :)
     
  7. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    FWIW my preferred tube of the ones I've rolled is a NOS Ultron PCC88
     
  8. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    My biggest annoyance with the Vali 2 was that really loud on/off pop.
    Really annoying when connected to active speakers.

    No such issues with the Magni 3 thus far.
     
  9. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Umm, why aren't you turning things on in the safe order? If something is later in the chain, you turn it on later- easy to remember.

    (The pop isn't even that loud, it's the muting relay kicking out- designed to protect people who fail to turn stuff on in the right order :))

    http://www.behindthemixer.com/pow-pop-powering-equipment-on-and-off-in-the-right-order/

    Schiit did once fall foul of people who don't do this properly. The amp was the Asgard, and some people actually managed to damage their headphones. As a result, they're careful to give everything a relay now. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't get in the habit of powering your gear on safely. One day you might be hooking up some expensive vintage gear without a relay, and blow your transducers.

    A slight threadjack, I know, but it's a good habit to get into.
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2018
  10. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    Not everybody is prepared/mindful enough to unplug their headphones every time they switch the Vali on or off. (or switch off the active speakers)
    The loudness of the pop varies with the type of tube being used.
     
  11. Iron-Buddha

    Iron-Buddha New

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    Just ordered the Modi Multibit/Magni 3 stack. Was going to spend more on the Bifrost Multibit/Jot combo, but some people are saying the performance increase is marginal and I can always move this to the basement down the road. May wait for the next generation of Schiit dac/amps and spend some real money. Will report back on the volume pot. Thank you all for the 17 pages of information.
     
  12. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    Make sure you feed the Modi Multibit from a good SPDIF source.
    The Magni 3 has one big advantage over the Jot; It doesn't suck out all the good 3d holographic goodness like the Jot does.
     
  13. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I have and currently use both amps, and while I don't think communication of spatial information is a particular strength of either, my opinion is exactly the opposite of this.
     
  14. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Here are my thoughts regarding the Magni 3. All of my listening was done with a Yggdrasil and HD650s.

    I think it's a pretty good what you can get these days for $99. As in, I can't really think of what else you can get for $99 that isn't a total turd. As a discrete amplifier, I wouldn't really take it over the chip-based headphone jacks found on good pro gear, it simply is not clear or dynamic enough to warrant using over those.

    It does exhibit a slight veil/warmth that I can only attribute to the current-feedback topology as the Magni 2U did not share this characteristic but the Jotunheim did. This veil I can only describe as a slight dampening of the upper mids and treble combined with a slight emphasis on the lower mids. It is however easier to listen to and does not contain the treble steel of either the Jotunheim or Magni 2U.

    One more thing of note is that it seems to have a very narrow volume 'sweet spot' whereby things at higher volumes become confused and things at lower volumes sound 'dead'. For me finding this 'sweet spot' per recording is the key to getting acceptable sound out of this amp, and it becomes trickier due to the mini pot and the fact that it is even more overpowered for driving meme planar headphones than the 2U was.

    That's pretty much it. The rest is as good as a Benjamin will get you for a discrete headphone amplifier. For the Senns I'd still splurge the extra $80 and get a Vali 2 with a decent 6922.
     
  15. zfisch

    zfisch New

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    @k4rstar You have/had the RNHP amp. Do you have any comparisons between it and the Magni 3?
     
  16. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    I have not had the RNHP for quite some time, it was head-to-head with the Jotunheim when I had it. I can't really recommend it as it isn't very good. It is fairly compressed and lacking in sustain (over-damped). Transients are over as soon as they begin and saturation of notes as a result of multiple compressor/limiter runs is not resolved. I played really fattened V-shaped for the radio 90s rock and the drum kit sounded like the Smiths. Not good.

    Other than this 'deadened' and over-dampened sound it is also quite coloured in the top end. If you are familiar at all with Neve consoles and the 'silky' highs they produce it is much of the same with the RNHP. I can see why it would be sought after in outboard mixing gear but it doesn't make any sense for a reference head-amp. The RNHP is a fairly conventional design for a solid-state headamp, using an input buffer to convert a differential input signal to SE followed by a pot with another buffer before an output stage. I can only assume the failure in performance comes from an overly complex signal path and over-zealous filtering/feedback resulting in a very controlled but ultimately over-cooked sound. I would take the Magni 3.
     
  17. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    I've had mine for a few weeks and just noticed this as well. I get it on high gain around 10-11 o'clock, but I haven't checked low gain or other volume settings. I do remember sweeping through the entire range when I first got it and not noticing anything then. With music playing at a moderate volume it's not that noticeable, but it can still be somewhat distracting.

    I live in a humid environment, so maybe that's not a factor. That your new one does the same thing saves me from returning mine to try and remedy the problem.

    Does anyone know if the pot is sealed or not? Would it be worth opening it up and spraying the pot with some contact cleaner? Odd that this would need to be done for a new device.

    BTW, I'm really enjoying my Eitr > Modi Multibit > Magni 3 stack so far.
     
  18. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    If you plan on using HD800S spend the extra $50 and get the Vali 2. I have both Magni 3 and the Vali 2 is a better match.
     
  19. Bigferret

    Bigferret Friend

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    Mine does the same exact thing in the same 10-11 o'clock position on low gain. Lower or higher in the range and it's not as much of an issue. I'm in the high desert in Idaho so pretty dry here, for what it's worth. Still love the little guy though! Works well with my HP-3s.
     
  20. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    958ADD89-451A-40C2-9B85-8D8D38AED5A7.jpeg 0EA61921-87BB-4789-8ECE-4A1948E65998.jpeg 24CD8859-FE06-46AF-A120-5AADAC1C7F7C.jpeg
    I got a Magni 3 off of HF a couple weeks ago and the volume knob got bent in shipping. I opened it up and was able to get everything straightened out. It works fine now but is starting to go back a little at an angle and feels a little loose. Are there any DIY ideas about soldering an upgraded pot in? I think the cost of sending back to Schiit and non-warranty repair will be too high and I am fine with soldering myself.
     

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