Schiit Mesh DAC Card (Self install in Pietus)

Boy howdy do I ever disagree with this. Mimir is a HUGE upgrade over Modius when it comes to the characteristics that el burrito combo especial is responsible for, primarily imaging and separation. In my listening it trades blows with the multibit card, with the MB card winning on slam and detail, and Mimir winning on tonality and overall sense of spaciousness. Unfortunately it's still pretty easy to identify that last bit of grain that seems to be inherent to ESS DACs, but I suppose that's why multibit still has a place in the lineup.

In any case, Mimir absolutely mops the floor with Modius, especially comparing single-ended to single-ended without using transformers for XLR to SE. It's a straight upgrade in all areas except for the use of the f'ing Schiit brick as the external power supply. Yes, I will die on this hill made of big honking adjacent-outlet-blocking two-on-the-Bristol-stool-scale transformers.

Hm. I'll do some A/Bing of my own when the Asgard X with Mesh card arrives, but I'm a little disappointed to hear this. That said, getting the same sound out of an implementation squeezed onto a card might have been too much to expect.

 

This was super-challenging when I needed to take a Jotunheim apart. All these years on this blue dot, and I've never seen a non-metric hex bolt before. After a bit of teeth gnashing because none of my nice Wera bits fitted properly, a search on Google brought me back to SBAF where someone was opening one with a tool measured in Freedom Units. With this vital bit of information under my belt, I hopped on Amazon and picked up a cheap set of FU Allen Keys for next day delivery.

Leaving this here as a breadcrumb in case someone else finds themselves in a similar situation.

 

1/16" allen key to be specific...

 

Phew, I was afraid I was going to have to fight you for a bit there! I bet I'm still going to find the Mesh card to be far preferable to stock Modius though.

I've got a cheap allen key set that unfolds into a metric set on one side and a SAE set on the other. The keys are the kind that have the rounded ends on one side so that you can work off-angle if necessary. It's saved my bacon more than a few times, including when getting into Pietus. Highly recommended if you don't have one.

 

Interesting that you like the Mimir so much, generally. If the UK dealer ever gets one, I'll be sorely tempted to get one to go with my Saga 2- which I am pleasantly surprised by. The Saga 2 is the skinny version of this footprint, so has a wallwart and no card slot - but does the job nicely.

The fact that I'd have to get an actual external Mimir, sounds like a good thing. I'd have impulse bought one if they were in stock here, I suspect. Competent D/S with a decent filter is intriguing.

(OK, if they take too long, I'll be sorely tempted to just ask Schiit to fedex one over too.. but having just bought some audio toys and being tempted by a MiniDSP box for some room correction and yet more headphones, I need to pace myself. I'm trying to practice some form of superficial financial responsibility these days. Oh, yeah, and telling myself that I absolutely don't need a 600mm lens.)

That said, I could see this card being a nice "one and done" solution for someone who wanted a competent headamp that they could plug into their computer. I was a bit disappointed by my experienced with a Jot2 with the D/S DAC card, which basically didn't work with any computer, and got returned to the dealer. I can only assume that something went wrong when they installed it, maybe they fried something with static. I'd probably be tempted to do my own install in future, as I own a decent antistatic mat setup. This install looks a lot less fiddly than some things I've put together for work.

Thanks for the pics and writeup, Marv. Always appreciated.

 

If Mimir is priced the same as MMB2 in the UK, it'll be £300 plus another £50 for Forkbeard if you want the DSP functionality. At that price you could get a Mojo 2, which is a no-brainer if "competent D/S with a decent filter" is what you're after. Don't get me wrong, I like Mimir, but it's not worth spending Chord money on.

 

Ah yes...the set screw in the knob is tiny and far down in there.


To remove volume knob set screw: 1/16” allen wrench (SAE) or Torx T6 driver.

I use a Wera TX HF 6: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XIUET6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Or Amazon Allen Key Wrench set:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V844YR8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Thanks @purr1n for the comparo, I have had some questions about it!

 

I found it more or less impossible to use a Torx T6 driver, but a 1/16" SAE allen key did the trick. This is the set I have: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Ball-End-Hex-Set-SAE-MM-26-Piece-HBEHKSM26PC-06/317213872

I don't know how anyone can read that and not purchase this set. Achieving acute angular entry from the ball end is all I've ever wanted in life.

 

So it appears the module fits into Jot 1. That would probably save it from being in box.

 

I wasn't actually asking for advice, though I appreciate the kind thought. I have a very specific use case in mind with very specific parameters that this DAC might address, unlike any of my others. From your jumping in and Chordsplaining, I suspect that you might not get why. Plus, you know, Chord gave me the very worst DAC experience of my life.

I used to have an OG Mojo and it was not a good experience, f'ing thing was like an RFI antenna and if you used it on mains it wore its internal battery and suffered from terrible overheating issues in warm weather too. No thanks, it would be a stretch to trust them ever again. Some basic implementation flaws there.

Also did not did the "Victorian Cardboard Theatre" staging either, it was like really strange z-axis actuance, something that is often present with their DACs, especially the small ones. Just disconcerting.

Never really liked any of their stuff below the fancifully-priced DAVE thing, and even then, it felt like a letdown via its own headphone out. That'd probably be an OK choice at like half the asking price, though.

 

Um, OK. I'm sorry to have offended you by sharing my perspective, and thank you for shutting down the conversation before it happens again.

 

I just got the Mesh DAC card from Schiit. I'm installing it into a Ragnarok2. Unfortunately, I think it will be a little more complicated than the Piety. If people are interested, I can take pics and post.

@darmok
I have the Mojo2 and the Mimr. Two completely different but complimentary devices. At $350 for the Mimr and $650 for the Mojo2, the opposite is true domestic USA for us. Chord products in the US, in general, are not considered good "bang for the buck" items as the Schiit products. I don't know how perceptions would change if Chord products were closer in price to Schiit's products.

I personally find the Mojo2 to be highly resolving with great dynamics and timbre. I've had zero RFI issues with the Chord series DACs but have heard that as a complaint before. If the Mojo2 were the same price as the Mimr, I can't say that I would buy one over the other based on overall sound and features. But, it is a bit of apples to oranges comparison as the Mimr is a desktop component whereas the Mojo2 is primarily meant to be portable.

 

I would love to see pics if you have them.

 

This is the first time I have ever seen a card installed this way; with the plate on the outside of the chassis.

When you try to put the card in with the plate on, the pins won't quite line up where they are supposed to go. So what I did, was loosen the plate screw almost all the way, but where the back of the screw was flush with the plate so it would still hold on, but the plate would could move a little. Then I was able to position the plate correctly while the card was at angle and the pins could be pushed into place. Then I could tighten the screw to the plate, then put in the mounting screw inside, then put in the black mounting screw on the outside of the chassis. I will see if I can post some pictures later.

 

I'm debating getting a mesh card to turn my trusty bought new at launch Jot 2 into an all in one. It would be nice to have a great all in one upstairs or in the bedroom since all my audio stuff is in my man cave basement.

I'm sort of waiting for Forkbeard on android though. The Forkbeard "module" is built into the mesh card correct ?

 

Yep, it's built in; there's no separate dongle needed for the mesh card.

 

Fair; I tend to compare components without sorting them into desktop or portable buckets. I guess the reason it seemed relevant to me is that with Forkbeard, Mimir now has some of the DSP functionality of Mojo 2 as well as the digital preamp feature, which makes it much closer in my mind. Of course Mojo2 still has crossfeed that Mimir doesn't, but that's a feature I don't use all the time. They also both have some of the same characteristics with respect to imaging. Generally sharp cutoff filters like el combo burrito especial and the Chord WTF filter tend to do better with that for me. I've definitely heard a number of complaints about the Mojo 1 though, which it seems like they've fixed on Mojo 2.

Anyway, my original point was about the absurdity of Schiit's UK pricing; as you point out, the tables are turned here in the US. And now I'll shut up before I get accused of chordsplaining again...