Schiit Modi 3

Does anyone know what has changed with the Modi 3 that contributes to its sound improvements?

 

No more capacitor in the signal path and better output stage is what I know of.

 

If i knew this one is coming out, I would hold purchasing Mani & Sys that I ordered last week and shipped a couple of days ago, and added Modi 3 to save some international postage by combined shipping.

Have I understood correctly that Magni 2 & 2 Uber are replaced with 3 but Momby is still the same without any change? I checked the photos on Schiit site and the Momby circuit board is still v1.0 if I have seen correctly.

If Modi 3 still uses AK 4490 chip and also takes same power input as Fulla 2 (micro usb for power & data), is it still big improvement over Fulla 2 in terms of sound?

 

The girls and boys at Schiit are really efficient ... especially for something officially announced on Friday (no, I did not get a pre-release unit - haven't had time to even think about such things):



The synergy at play in that little setup is really surprising. It's a lot of music-making capability for $447. And of course you can back it down a bit (HD59X, Magni 3), or up a bit (Modi MB, Eitr) very easily. Even throw in a Loki if you're allergic to software EQ and don't like the stock signature.

At first listen (I've had this powered up for just a couple of hours so far), but already it's easy to tell that the new Modi sounds excellent - and is clearly better than the Modi 2 Uber it replaces.

 

So Thursday I order a 2U not knowing the 3 is imminent. Friday was a great day, saved $50 while getting a better DAC and got a sizeable refund on my daughter's FSU tuition(guess Willie Taggert's not getting a performance bonus) Saturday I hooked the Eitr up to my home rig Modi Multibit,Loki,Mcth,Hd6xx while waiting on the 3 to arrive at the office to pair with a Magni 3 and Hd58x.
what a wonderful Schiity weekend it's being!

 

It's not like the Modi 2U and SDAC were some high bar, the Modi Multibit and JDS El Dac easily beat them when I tried them all.

 

Just about to pull the trigger on Modi 3 to try, and may I ask anyone who tried both Fulla 2 and Modi 3 if Modi 3 is similar sounding to Fulla 2 but slightly better in every way?

Only AK 4490 chip based DAC that I tried is Fulla 2 and I personally did not like it. It sounded a bit boring and less natural to me comparing with Starting Point Systems DAC 3 which sounded more fun & natural in my humble budget 2 channel setup.

Modi 3 would look super cool by stacking on top of my new shiny Mani and Sys though.....

 

It sounds like you answered your own question, you should get the Modi Multibit instead.

 

Fulla 2 is good but i didn't prefer it to any Modi/Magni stacks i've had and even less comparing Modi/Vali (1, or 2, doesn't matter). Think of the Fulla 2 more like a cheap, better alternative to most of the crap you can buy online for cheap. You "can never go wrong" with a Modi/Magni.

 

Thank both of you very much. I guess that only way to know 100% is actually trying it and Schxxt gears are usually very good 2nd hand value so I just ordered Modi 3. Will try it against DAC 3 and if I do not like it will sell it off and get Modi Multibit instead.

Thanks again..

 

Schiit will let you return it with no restocking fee if you upgrade to something else at the same time. No need to try to resell.

Just noticed you're in Australia, in that case the return shipping might make that a bad deal.

 

Great to know. Didn't know it. The only issue is that I am ordering from Australia and it costs quite a bit to return it back to USA.

 

That's always "our" problem (outside of the US). If there's indeed no place to try before you buy, think if it would be more worthy to sell it (nothing like a good ad that says "you don't have to wait extra time and no extra custom fees") locally or within the country.

 

Thank you very much for the comparison and feel a lot better because Schiit shipped my order of Modi 3 in groundbreaking speed (less than 2 hours from the order placement) and it is already on its way

 

Coming from the SPS DAC 3, I'm sure the Modi 3 will take some getting used to. No doubt the Modi is technically better, but it's probably very different than what you're accustomed to.

 

JDS El DAC and Modi Multibit is also 1.5 times the price at $249.

But yes, all of them entry level.