Schiit Modi 3

Option 3, get a Raspberry Pi 3 with a SPDIF hat, upgrade the Modi MB firmware.

Full disclosure, I did get a used Eitr and a firmware upgrade for my v1 Modi MB and run it in my home office. It sounds very good and if you can get an Eitr cheap enough I’d go with that over an RPi setup.

 

I like option 3. Eitr on the new MB firmware is pretty good. I can say with confidence I'd take that over the 3+ on its own any day. No question for me. But the question for you would be how you really feel about the MB's sound presently. It's a pretty solid improvement on performance... more even treble, cleaner blackground... brings more immediacy in the bigger dynamic moves, macrodynamics just seem more emergent and immediate. Less of that nagging congestion/murk on the top. I picked up on that quickly with my HD6xx's. Tonally it's about the same as without the Eitr (so still lightly toasted) but it breathes better and the treble is smoother without messing with perception of detail. Still gonna have that dark slope but you get those last layers of crispness and air back.

So I think it's great as a tune-up (as much as I hate that term, it fits here - that's all it is and that's fine.) But I'd be assuming that the Schiit multibit sound is where it's at for you. It won't make it a different DAC. And you ARE also considering different DACs, which at least implies openness to something that sounds different.

I'll bring it to you a little bit. For me, the sound of the DAC you have represents a lot of things I'm pretty well set on right now. So for me to consider an upgrade, it would have to be another of their multibit DACs. I wouldn't be considering something that departs too much from what it does and how it does it. So it's easier for me to just say "Stick with the MB, swap the chip, and get the Eitr." If all you're wanting/expecting is that sound, but better, it's an easy decision. I didn't have a lot of time with the Modi 3+ but it's not a bad DAC either. I couldn't make a universal recommendation for one or the other. But still, the Modi 3+ is no Modibit

Believe me, I got mine as a holdover just for the time spent waiting on the SW51+, something I thought I'd jump past fairly quickly - pass onto someone who may need it. But now I kinda think I'll just keep things as-is for a while, haha. It's really not bad! I do have to qualify it with "for that sound" but I don't think there is really a direct upgrade from that in close price range. It's either sidegrades (not knockin) or bigger stuff. That's why discontinuing the Eitr was such a bummer. That was a sweet combo - something you usually couldn't get new at that price.

The Eitr also just isn't a bad thing to have, so you have that as a possible consolation. Just a cheap little box that can shoot your troubles on a good day (even now, it saves me from very poorly isolated mobo USB when nothing else could.) If they went for the price they went for at b-stock, I bet they'd have sold a lot more of them. If you can score one used they're still not a bad buy if you already have the modibit. Not the most common Schiit item on the used market but it's also not the most sought so you can usually find similarly good deals on them. If it was me, I'd think about it while waiting a bit for one to pop up. Or maybe a friend can help you out.

It's kind of a tough call... they're both good DACs, but it doesn't feel fair to compare them. I would personally put the Modibit above the Modi 3+ in terms of overall performance, even if the 3+ wins out a little on some of the technicalities. Like the M2U, the 3+ edges out in clarity, but avoids a lot of that typical AKM prickly softness - less dark but still chill and more resolving. It loses out in layering, that MB filled-out midrange tonality that makes it sound thicker/more forward, and possibly bass articulation/texture. It's got a little bit more of the stuff that can add immersion, with a few slight caveats. They're not THAT far apart performance-wise, though.

I mean, I do just sort of prefer the modibit. To me the 3+ only starts to make sense if you need the cheap DAC with no extras because you don't have one. Otherwise, you already have something that at worst lags just slightly behind the 3+ at some things and significantly more ahead in others, and already cost enough money for what you'd get with either. I'm sure others will disagree... I might even be swayed towards the 3+ if not for you having the MB already.

Just so much 'it depends' to that little dilemma. They're both fine DACs and even though I know which I'd pick, it's tough to compare without hearing them. The 3+ is a different creature from the 4490 M2U. I might even say it's the best iteration of their main entry-level DAC. It really has little to complain about. Again, it just comes down to how attached you are to the modibit's tone and general presentation.

 

Eitr was on closeout last year and I snapped one up before they were gone. Something annoying that I didn't know was that 6VAC wallwarts are actually not common at all and I went to France before buying the EU version. I thought Schiit Europe would have it, but they are totally out of stock.

I might just have to suck up the price of shipping from the US

 

this is good to know. Is the wall wart that comes with it 120vac only? I live in a 240vac country usually but currently stuck in the US thanks to COVID.

i actually do have an Rpi3 setup with a hat from hifiberry that I use for all my flac listening. I listen to a lot of Apple Music though and I don’t know of a way to route that through the Rpi.

@robot zombie Thanks for the input! I’ll probably stick with the Modi MB.

 

6V AC? Wow, they're not common over here either. I can find only 2 at Mouser, and the only diff between those is 2.1mm output plug vs screw terminals (same mfr). Both 120V AC in.

Maybe @schiit has some leftover stock or a line on a supplier?

 

Since it was closeout it came with 120V with US plug. I should have ordered the EU plug at the same time. I didn't think it was a huge deal as I assumed AC wall warts were easily available on ebay/Amazon/Aliexpress.

Oh how wrong I was. 95% of wallwarts out there are DC and the few AC ones aren't the voltage I need. Or insanely priced. My options are to order a transformer and barrel connector to make my own supply or order from Schiit and eat the costs.

edit: thinking about it, it could be a nice little project to make my own Chuthulu. EU version. Might as well add a 120/240 switch so I don't get stuck again.

 

If you have an iPhone and use Volumio on your Pi, it’s airplay compatible, which would let you stream Apple Music to your Pi hat.

 

not on Volumio but maybe I’ll check it out when I get back to Asia.

 

it might also be worth considering a Modius. I recently sold my Eitr>Modi Multibit stack after getting the Modius. I was expecting to prefer the MB, but I found the extra resolution you get from the Modius made up for what you lose. Then you're also covered if you pick up a balanced amp down the line.

 

I bought a Modi 3+ to demo with my new love, the Vali 2+, and also to compare to my trusty Bifrost MB w/ Unison while I wait for Schiit to catch up with Jot 2 demand.

First impressions: I'm really impressed with its overall heft in the bass and mids. Really nicely resolving: transients are tight and decay is especially remarkable and stands out well against a really well-defined blackground. (I never really noticed before how far out the staccato synths in the beginning of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond VI - IX' reverb out into the background, for example.)

It's also striking just how intense it is. I almost want to say it lacks nuance, but that's not quite the right descriptor.. it's just very engaging, and quite forward in presentation. There is somewhat of a lack of headspace/soundstage that I think accentuates this feeling. An apt metaphor to my mind is it's like a shot of espresso -- no nonsense, efficient, gets to the point, and is enjoyable precisely in its intensity and succinctness, vs maybe an Americano of the same espresso that provides more space to appreciate those various flavors and aromas, or even a macchiato that's perhaps even more romantic and creamy. (Now I want coffee.)

I also really appreciate how un-digital it sounds. This alone puts it heads and shoulders above the Topping D50, for example, (or anything Sabre that I've heard) which was tonally decent but still had what felt like little digital prickles all over, and I find the M3+ much, much preferable to the AKM implementations of yore. I agree with other impressions that the 'Velvet' quality is still there, however I find it much less mossy than the old Modi AKM, or the SDAC/EL Dac, or the Lake People DAC I heard eons ago which sounded just like the SDAC but cost like $700 more. It's smooth, but not smoothed over: tactile, but not etched or abrasive.

I also just adore Unison: there is none of the vague gauziness that I now attribute to Gen 5 USB and other DAC USB interfaces. I also didn't realize that it can both be powered and sourced via a single USB input: I figured it would need both USB data and power inputs on the back to sound decent, but alas, if your source is USB, then so is your power, and it sounds much cleaner than the first EL Dac, despite that using an AC wall wart.

These impressions are all with the Vali 2+ and HD800s. I'm really excited to hear this DAC with the 600s and 650s, and with the Lyr 3: I think the 650s may really gel with the more forward presentation of the M3+. I'm also going to pull my Asgard 3 from phono stage duty for a bit and see how that sounds with the Modi, as I have the feeling the rather syrupy A3 may also have great synergy with the Modi.

I will add a caveat that I am kind of keeping my ears open for these traits to shift around. I'm not a huge believer in DAC burn-in and warm-up, especially with DS, but during listening for maybe 40 minutes + 20 minutes warm-up, I noticed that I intermittently kept needing to lower the volume. Possibly this is me finding its sound signature fatiguing over time with the HD800's... however, I don't think that's it -- for me, fatiguing gear tends to remain fatiguing even at lower volumes, and that wasn't the case here. But it suggests to me that the real nature of the thing may reveal itself more gradually, whether that be due to actual physical burn-in of some sort, or the more accepted idea of psychological getting-used-to-it burn-in. I'm not a devotee of either philosophy, or whether it exists at all, but I did notice something going on here.

Anyway. I'm out of touch with newer low-budget DAC offerings, but for $99 I imagine this being incredibly difficult to top, unless you're enjoying sinusoidal waves with superhuman hearing. Plus I think Unison alone makes this well worth a re-up, if someone's debating replacing an old Modi with this, the difference Unison made with my Bifrost MB was staggering.

 

Been doing some listening with the HD650's through the Vali 2+ & Modi 3+ combo. Really, really pleasant... it's like a warm bubble bath of sound. Bass is chocolatey and rounded. Treble -- cymbals especially, like a bell-hit on a ride -- while present and audible are more subdued. It's actually a relaxing profile, especially compared to my impressions via the HD800's. I usually find relaxed sound signatures to be annoying but this calmly enjoyable. Even death metal is rendered oddly soothing... that's obviously not precisely ideal for that genre of music, but is just to say I don't find this relaxed nature a flaw at all. (E.g.: 'Inversion' by Ulcerate I found to be a little unpleasantly shouty via Bifrost>Any Amp>Any Headphone. I have no problems with it with M3+ in the chain.)

This combo seems great for jazz. 'Flemenco Sketches' sounds lovely, for example. That now-chocolatey standing bass is like a deep aural massage while trumpet, sax, and piano intermingle around, their overall timbre and cadence is just becalming. (On most setups I find the early trumpet can be a little piercing -- not the case with these.) That aforementioned really nice decay actually lends the 650's an unusual sense of space, especially on a quieter track like this. I'll need to listen with the HD800's to see if the Modi 3+ might be 'opening up' with break-in or warm-up.

There might be a touch of murkiness in the upper mids. There is atmospheric vibraphone in Chet Baker's 'Autumn Leaves', one of my favorite songs, that sounds more blurred together and diffuse and less resonant than I've heard it on other setups. It's not the 650's fault, either; I went ahead and switched to the 800s while writing this, and that diffuse sound in that region exists with these as well. The synths in Steely Dan's 'The Fez' lack their usual flange-y texture and are comparatively smoothed over a bit too much, which suggests to me those higher-mid frequencies might be just a bit glossed over or lacquered. Yet on the 800's, Roger Waters' 'esses' in 'Comfortably Numb' verge into the sibilant, which was not the case via the Bifrost. Conversely, the panned strumming of acoustic guitars stand out in a really enjoyable fashion.

With 800's, the aforementioned trumpet in 'Flemenco' indeed just tips the scales into piercing territory for me.

I do also feel like the Modi's opened up and relaxed overnight -- it's not like a huge difference, but the soundstage is less congested, it's less in-your-face, but still engaging.

Back to something jazzy, Hilton Ruiz' 'Homecookin'" has some of the best percussion arrangement ever in my opinion and this set-up absolutely does it justice. Woodblock and congo and guiro all sound clean and shellac-y and all 'pop' out of the soundscape, which is something past budget DACs I've heard struggle mightily with. Even less impeccable recordings have excellent percussive qualities -- the fluid drum playing that opens Modest Mouse's "Trucker's Atlas", which is a fun but not great recording, have great punch and presence.

I think the Modi 3+'s achilles heel and greatest compromise may be dynamics. The climactic solo in 'Comfortably Numb' doesn't really crescendo the way I'm used to. It sounds nice but compared to other DACs the energy remains a touch laid-back. (I think this may be from that kinda recessed upper-mid section that David Gilmour's solo sits pretty comfortably in.) However, I have to say this really doesn't bother me much, especially since the M3+ gets drums right -- which apparently isn't as easy as one would hope, as that's usually the first thing that jumps out at me as flawed if a DAC is mediocre.

I was pretty much intent on returning the Modi 3+ before the 15-day period was up but am now considering making a small bedside rig with it... for $99, why not? And I think its odd alchemy of being engaging without being overbearing, yet somehow laid-back without being flaccid, would make for a great snoozing or reading-in-bed rig. (Plus the minimalism of the source cable being the power cable as well is very appealing for that usage.)

 

that murkiness could be due to the tube used in the vali as well

 

It would be really cool if the M3+ had SPDIF out. It would be a great way to replace Eitr, and you get a DAC. Am I way off the path here? M3+ outputting SPDIF into a Modi MB seems like an interesting thing to try if you don’t have/can’t find an Eitr and would be cheaper than an Rpi. Guessing that it might make part costs too high for a very fringe set of users though.

 

It was a long wait for an Eitr. Got it B-stock last summer during the Schiit B-stock cleanout. Given that they had the Eitr on B-stock for a few months most likey using up all the parts they had left and Jason has said that there's no Unison-based Eitr 2 coming, a Modi 3+ with a SPDIF out would be a great idea.
Even if the Unison-SPDIF conversion is only possible on a Modius, due to cost constrains on a Modi 3+, it probably sell decently.

 

This post is impressions of the Modi 3+ as listened to via the Jotunheim 2. I was initially going to post this in response to someone wondering about the J2 and possibly some DAC upgrades -- then realized it was Modi-specific and so a better fit here:

So Modi 3+ into Jotunheim 2 -- surprisingly, the J2 doesn't feel gimped at all. I guess the M3+ gives the J2 enough to work with that its strengths remain in full force (impact, bass, dynamics, timbre) and the weaknesses of the M3+ (sometimes murky/undefined mids) are not noticeable enough to draw my ire. This was not the case with the Lyr 3 fed by M3+, where those murky mids sounded even more nebulous and subsequently boxy and closed in. I think the Lyr 3's crystal-clear soundscape is more revealing of the frosted-glass impression I get from the M3+ in those mids -- with the J2 there's enough excitement happening elsewhere that I kind of don't miss those details. I can tell they're there somewhere, but they're obfuscated somewhat... yet surprisingly, not in a way that irritates me.

While it's actually a really great combo, in my opinion, you're definitely not getting everything the J2 is capable of. I still like the M3+'s handling of percussion, but with more articulate amplification I recognize a sort of hyper-focus effect, drum hits sound pin-pointy and overly focused -- it by no means ruins snare drums, say, or staccato picking, but it does lack quite the same snap and breadth I heard with the BFMB and BF2, and they end up sounding a tad more artificial. The J2 also reveals the M3+'s tonality as a bit more nasally. But decay remains really nice and far-reaching, and the J2's elegant way of handling reverb is mostly intact, though a bit less cohesive. (With BFMB->J2, the reverb just glides right off instruments and vocals perfectly.) The bass via M3+, like I said, is good, albeit a little flabby compared to BFMB... but that's how those two DACs sound relative to one another, anyway.

In summation I expected the Modi 3+ to not really hold a candle to my Bifrost -- it didn't, via the Lyr 3. Via the Jot 2, it's a much closer race: not neck-and-neck - but when you take into account price, my BF costing 600% more than this $99 DAC (700% if you include the Unison upgrade), you are not getting that percentage less-quality audio... the value is wild. (So wild both the Vali 2+ and Modi 3+ went from probably-returns to keepers: I like them too much to give them up, and for what I paid, why not. Now I have a semi-portable/bedroom stack for less than $300.)

 

Just got a modi 3+ to pair with an asgard 3 for my hd800s. Was looking at the modius but didn't want to wait a month for backorder. Hoping that it doesn't hold me back.

 

For reference: Modi 3+ with Unison USB internal pic.

 

I love the fact that it has separate power rails for Analog and Digital. You can see the points "-5A", "AGND", "+5A", "+5D", etc.

 

I have a problem with a new Schiit Modi 3+ DAC. I use an Allo DigiOne as Roon streaming device which is connected with Coax to the Modi 3+. Within Roon i got some sort of ground hum on the beginning of each track if I switch from an 16/44, 24/44, 24/48 track file to 24/96 HI-RES file and vice versa. If I run the Modi with USB and RPi 4 all is ok. Please someone have an advice to solve the problem?