Modi Multibit: Multibit for the masses.

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by MrTie, Jul 25, 2016.

  1. Madaboutaudio

    Madaboutaudio Friend

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    Tomshardware must be so damn right: dacs don't sound better beyond $2. 2014 article:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733-19.html

    Maybe It was time for schiit to close shop since nobody can tell $2 dac from $2000 dac, oh wait you mean schiit is expanding their product line and running out of stock?! Dayum!
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
  2. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

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    I'll sum it up like this: Some people like to listen. Some people like to talk.*

    *And talk. And talk some more. And continue talking. And tell everyone about how smart they are and how they are superior beings that are impervious to "marketing," and continue talking more about measurements and numbers of zeros in distortion figures and how everything sounds the same if it's not broken. And then continue the discussion (in an empty room) about ABX and double-blind testing and how there's no possible variance in human capabilities...
     
  3. TMoney

    TMoney Shits on SBAF over at Head-Case to be cool

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    To be fair, some like to listen and talk. It is a shame that some "listeners" and "talkers" completely disregard what the other side has to say.

    To quote a pretty smart guy:

     
  4. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    For the average person, the slight increase in sound quality a dedicated high end DAC provides is probably not worth it. For crazy people like us, we are willing to pay for very incremental improvements to sound quality, or we just like buying and playing with new toys. For the person not listening analytically or doesn't have a trained ear, the dac is probably going to offer the least affect on SQ.

    That said, when are reviews and measurements gonna start rolling in for the Modi Multibit? Anyone want to loan me one for the Denver meet? :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
  5. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    You don't need to be crazy, just experienced.

    If all you do is listening to Youtube music while surfing the web, you probably don't need more than your computer soundcard.

    If you're dedicated and focused during music listening, then you'll get sensitive to better sound quality.
    Once you experience the difference, it's hard to go back.

    Like a lot of things, you appreciate better equipment more when you're deprived of it.
     
  6. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    The naming of all the earlier Schiit MB dacs is done, lots of folks like what is set.

    The Gungnir and Bifrost do follow the same convention while the Yggdrasil does not. And since Moby is so close to Modi, another name might be viable.

    Since we are at the beginning of the lineup with Modi 2 Multibit, perhaps a name more akin to the Yggdrasil convention is needed?

    I therefore suggest this new little dac to be known as Momy!
     
  7. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    Behold: http://audiopraise.com/vanityhd/details.php
    Use one of them in my BDP-103D with my Yggdrasil. JVB Digital is the U.S. distributor, and they have great customer service.
     
  8. Madaboutaudio

    Madaboutaudio Friend

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    I got a stinking feeling that the Modi mb is going to be the gateway drug to lure younger crowd to the big time drugs
     
  9. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    The article was full of crap when it said that the DAC was "only" $2. It might only maybe cost you two dollars if you already spent that money on a motherboard and then are surprised to find out that you have that chip. If you don't have a motherboard equipped with the chip then you better believe that you are paying way more than $2 to upgrade to that chip, probably much more then other solutions like FiiO and ODAC since you need to get a new motherboard. Why don't we just boil every other DAC to the price of the D/S chip?
     
  10. baldr

    baldr Schiit-sterer

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    Gotta go out to a family event now but more later on why fewer taps on Bifrost Multibit/Modi Multibit.
     
  11. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    You're right the DAC cost $6

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRVQ0F8/
     
  12. Xen

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    And don't forget about drivers. I had the well respected Yamaha YMF7xx card in my system that dual-booted between linux and windows at the time. Windows, excellent sound with a low noise floor. Linux, almost no volume control and scratchy noisy sound because the drivers were terrible. Depending on the implementation of the sound chip, I've experienced a wide range of sound problems on different motherboards using the same chip and the same driver.

    After reading 2016 Chapter 10 of the Book of Schiit, $299 for Modi Multibit seems like one hell of a deal when staring at $599 for Bifrost Multibit.
     
  13. Eric_C

    Eric_C Friend

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    Really would love to hear impressions on Modibit vs Uberfrost
     
  14. Out Of Your Head

    Out Of Your Head Friend

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    I should have a Modibit and a Vali 2 tomorrow. Hopefully I will have time to compare it with my Gungnir Multibit and Rag soon.
     
  15. Shutterbox

    Shutterbox New

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    I'd been keen to know if modibit will make Bifrost Multibit irrelevant as a desktop DAC.
     
  16. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I suspect even if that were the case today, remember that the Bifrost Multibit is upgradeable and I don't see Schiit leaving Bifrost Multibit owners out in the cold on that.
     
  17. Out Of Your Head

    Out Of Your Head Friend

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    I have never heard a Bifrost Multibit.
     
  18. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    Let's recap.

    The Bifrost is upgradable. Schiit has released upgrades pretty regularly. While the Modi Multibit might be a better value at this precise snapshot in time, I guarantee that sooner or later Bifrost owners will end up with something that makes everyone else wish their DAC were modular, too.
     
  19. baldr

    baldr Schiit-sterer

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    A brief explanation of why the Bifrost Multibit and Modi Multibit have fewer taps and 4x oversampling than the Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil (8x). It seems that all DACs not afflicted with the delta sigma pox have a convert command with a specced maximum settling time.

    As the converters approach that spec, they have a corresponding impact on power supply drain/dynamic performance which makes them sound increasingly like hemorrhoidal ass. In the case of the AD5781/91, that maximum is about 400KHz (8x O/S). Ironically, the AD5547, specced at twice the speed, turns ugly at about half the speed of the 5781/91. Since the Yggdrasil and the Gungnir Multibit have the former DACs, they run faster at good sound.
    The filter lengths are shorter at 16 bit rather than 18 and 20 bit because the fewer the bits, the sooner the coefficients crash through the bottom of the DAC bit width and therefore fewer taps.
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
  20. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    The first thing tweakers do to improve the sound is to improve the power supply. Some cases it's just changing an SMPS to a linear supply. Usually it's to make it much more beefy with a bigger transformer and more capacitance. After all that tweaking you are likely to get something that looks like Bifrost MB but cost far more in resources.

    They know their schiit
     

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