Schiit Modi Multibit 2 Discussion

The men are getting older, so are their ears. They hear less treble as they age.

You do the math.

 

Playing the MMB1 this past week, after listening mainly to the MMB2 usually in NOS mode for the past several weeks .... I still think I prefer MMB1. I like the richer timbre on the MMB1 and the treble on the MMB2 can become tiring for me without the NOS mode. I have several amps (LP/ M^3/ Whammy/ Sunrise 3/ Solstice/ Ember 2) hooked up to the MMB1/MMB2 with a switchbox.

While both dac's sound very, very good. I have proved to myself that the MMB1 is the one I like to listen to the most.

 

The MMB2 does have more modern clarity and sharpness and not as warm. I view it has kind of removing murky haze, but yes, it is less organic. Mostly because the change from 4x to 8x oversampling as well as op amp output differences. Although there is more to the 8x oversampling. To me it is still less sharp and more natural than other older multibit 8x oversampling.

 

Any chance someone with a pi2aes could comment on how Coaxial Input sounds versus Unison USB on the Modi Multibit 2?

 

Website states MMB orders ship in 1-2 weeks. I Ordered a MMB2 Friday morning and received an email that the MMB2 shipped late Friday afternoon. Be here Tuesday!

Update: now the website says 1-5 days.

 

Not a Pi2, but quite a few months ago I did have a Pi2 Mercury V2. I was comparing the MMB1 to the MMB2 using USB from PC, USB from IPad, and Spdif (w/Blue Jeans Cable) from the Mercury.

I thought I had written notes but seemed to have misplaced them. I was rapidly switching between DACs and sources, so I only remember a few things,

• MMB2 Unison was a significant upgrade from MMB1 USB.
• I enjoy Unison, but MercuryV2 with Spdif had a more enjoyable placement of vocals and instruments.
• Spdif with the MMB2 still had the X-factor(digitus?) that I did not enjoy

 

Got it! Thank you for sharing

 

I've had these notes together for a while and have been meaning to organise them into my usual storytime post but, with apologies, here's a peek at how all my impressions actually start out cuz I'm having trouble with the creative writing this time around, haha. Hopefully it proves vaguely useful to someone.


*****
Right after turning on: HOLY f**k THAT IS DARK and a lot of bass.

Schiit Modi Multibit 2 Impressions (from early on, few hours after power up)

RHCP Can't Stop treble annoying on OS mode, but yeah greyer background with less overt contrasts of depth.

Less gritty treble in NOS mode than Zen DAC V2. Tighter bass, but still really present.

vocal sibilance in I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness. Same with Teet by Melvins. What the crap ouch.

The bass is BIG, that's the only real way to describe it. Big does not mean mushy smeary warm as the Modi 3+, might have edge over the Zen DAC for how heavy each note is, but doesn't feel indistinct or plodding. Decks Dark Radiohead

Daft Punk Technologic less clarity to vocal. Muddled background.



TWO DAYS:

Technologic Daft Punk mouth clicks more audible, also tss in between vocals in intro of song. Wtf NEVER noticed that before. Am I just cranking volumes more?

Gorillaz - Tired Influencer "What's that noise IN MY ROOM behind me???" the ticking sound in song. Actually unnerved me

Asian Kung-Fu Generation Haruka Kanata = HARSH sibilance and tizz on Piety. Subterranean bass on both Piety and Unity, but somehow seemed bigger on Unity? Just turned Piety on, leave it time to warm up and revisit this before publishing. NOS mode takes a lot of edge off the sibilance btw.Okay leaving the Piety on for a bit helped with the treble, but it's still very much harsh. Tolerable though.

Zen DACv2 more clarity than Modi MB2 but top end feels artificially sharpened by comparison (technologic)
I feel like it does the microdynamic lifting thing that the Klipsch HP-3 did
Just not to the same extent obv

Burn the Witch Radiohead OS mode sounds like a great reproduction of sound, NOS sounds more like an approximation of it being in real space. Bass sounds more defined in OS mode, NOS kinda sacrifices low end differentiation.

I thought of a great analogy for OS vs NOS on the Modi MB2
OS sounds like a really good, clear representation of a well-reproduced sound. The NOS is a bit less immediately impressive, but tries to approximate how things might sound in real space at least on headphones.
Using my FLAC (hah) copy of Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool.
also sonic images are more smeared a bit, but when I get used to the NOS it's more like OS is oversharpened

Pizzicato Five Magic Carpet Ride, Sweet Soul Revue: was much easier to get a feel for what sort of mic they were using. Treble was fine.

Zen DACv2 more upfront, similar voicing to OS mode Regina Spektor Small Bill$. Regina Spektor sounds thinner, less present on Zen DAC.

BG3 Main theme pt 2 Just sounds more OUT THERE in NOS. Slipknot The Devil in I, second underwater-sounding voice just sounds more noticeable in NOS mode and more enmeshed in the mix relative to how the leave vocals are just less IN YOUR FACE as on OS mode. Drums sound STICKIER here in OS mode, too snappy and aggro with Piety.

Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff just a LOT darker and rumblier than the Zen DACv2. Not really so much in voicing, just more mass to the bass it feels like. Korn - Coming Undone really shows how the Zen DACv2 just sounds much more hollow relative to both other Schiit DACs (MMB2, M3+). Wonder if that's just a lower midrange voicing thing. Not bad by itself, just a matter of acclimatisation.

Avril Lavigne - Take Me Away has remarkably painful fricatives and sibilants on the Piety in OS mode. NOS takes the edge off. Samw with treble in The Pretty Reckless - Goin' Down, way too harsh even with Unity in OS mode. NOS helps with it.

Dave's True Story - Voletta's sonic images more focused in OS mode. Just great sense of room overall with great intimacy to vocals, maybe slightly nasally but that's typical of it, sounds very close-miced. Likely is? Either way never noticed before.

Ningen Isu - Heartless Scat drums sounded too indistinct and muddy in NOS mode. OS better with MCTH generally, adds definition to images. Treble a bit bright but not by much.

Nirvana - Milk It HOLY f**k second voice underneath main vocals on MCTH. NEVER noticed that before.

Nightwish - Noise Background voice in second verse around 1:57 more obvious in NOS, feels more "there" with main vocals pushed back. Old Gods of Asgard - Take Control the nuances during opening guitar are much more pronounced in NOS.

Several weeks later, OS is fine. Piety treble still tizzy but not as bothersome in general. Zen DACv2 still fun with saturation effect for dance in your bedroom-wall of sound vibe, but the MMB2's my current main DAC. NOS comes out now and again, I can see this

Lyander — Today at 3:57 PM
You know what
[3:57 PM]
that is a hella good thing
[3:57 PM]
Not AS painful
[3:57 PM]
BTW I had an analogy
[3:57 PM]
Headstage on OS vs NOS mode with MMB2 is like the difference in headstage between Solaris and Andromeda. It was the lack of defined edge to headstage with the NOS mode that was tripping me up, similar to how the Andro 2020 does things. The Solaris is more upfront and there ARE edges to the stage, but layering is improved, as is directionality.

1. OS on all amps unless it's a really treble happy song in which case NOS gets busted out
2. [6:50 PM]
   I get why Marv says it's got more plankton than OS, but at my level of gear it's not worth the tradeoff in imaging precision and just low end textures (which still isn't great btw even in OS with my stuff, but that could just be the Senns being the limit now at current tier of amplification)
3. [6:51 PM]
   I do just generally dislike NOS with the MCTH by the way. Too much moosh.

1. OS is more upfront, but because NOS pushes things back it feels like the fine nuances are relatively more pronounced
2. [5:46 AM]
   I get why Marv said more plankton, but gah I want the staging of OS
3. [5:46 AM]
   The more relaxed treble of NOS would also be nice

 

HAHA, my "proper" DACs over time not counting the assorted Creative and FiiO DAPs I've had: iFi micro iDSD > OG Bifrost MB A1 (gen 5 usb) > Fulla 2 > Modi 3+ > Zen DAC v2/Modi MB2. Have been able to borrow OG Chord Hugo for extended sessions, had a Mojo for a few months that I almost bought.

There's also the fact that the headphones and amps I use have also gotten better since. The DT880s I used to rock just don't resolve as much as the Senns, and the X00 Ebony and HP-3 had weird voicing that meant I couldn't crank them too much. G1217 Sunrise is very fun, but yeah not the most resolving and, from memory, the MCTH outnuances it. Also, maybe I'm just actually learning to listen better despite my ears getting older. Novel idea

You mean DACs get better than this? Well crap /jk

I should say that I didn't comment too much on "resolution" since gross resolution is basically the same as the Modi 3+, it's just that the nuances and textures are better-conveyed here. The Zen DAC does that really fun saturation effect and has a beautiful wall of sound presentation, but it's still a wall of sound. Actually kinda fatiguing over time with the Piety (which despite the treble tizz remains my main amp-- Piety with similar energetic presentation and upfront stage but deeper contrasts of layering, plus maybe the Unity's upper octave smoothness, would be a hell of an amp. Doesn't seem Maximus is that for me, since it's more reserved in low end); the Modi MB2 still has a lot of energy, but it's not as aggro to listen to.


Add: I JUST REALISED I'VE ONLY BEEN USING SCHIIT AND iFi DESKTOP DACS LMAO. The Chord stuff was all on loan LMAOOOO.

 

I think (but am not sure!) what you're hearing there is bowing technique being used that's called col legno.

 

Could be! Genuinely a detail I'd not heard before then despite loving that album and listening to that specific song often. It sounded to me like it was coming from right where my PC glass side panel was (I keep my desktop on my desk... top), ergo the moment of sheer panic that ensued. Maybe I had been hearing it all these years, just never rendered in as lively fashion as the Modi MB2 had it.

Gotta say, that was great fun.

 

You've got a good ear! Col Legno is used throughout the track, but after that 3:00 mark...they incorporate sul ponticello for that really eerie effect. Any piece that required a significant amount of col legno, I'd have to use a more crappy/cheaper bow as it beats up on the wood. (I used to play violin once upon a time.)

 

Yeah, it is throughout! but right around the 3:00 minute mark there's two really present thwacks when (i think) the cellos start in for the final build. I love music nerdy stuff like this!

 

While I do occasionally really enjoy orchestral works and smaller arrangements I'm honestly pretty ignorant of a lot of specific terms so this is all great fun haha.

I fell down a small rabbit hole but feel I might have been referring to something different? There's a bunch of other stuff going on at low level throughout the song, but one sharp snap/thwack really stands out? It's in the middle of the vocal phrase, "we knooo(insert sound)w where you live", kinda like ice blocks spontaneously cracking on temperature change or someone smacking a bow into a music stand? Didn't sound like something deliberate, but I don't play instruments so could be fully wrong about that.

Either way, didn't at all catch it with the AKM Modi 3+, but got properly jumpscared by it here haha