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Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amp Reviews

BDWoody

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My quads are a little sore from working out. Other than than that I’m all good. Thanks for checking in!

So far, you've only made yourself look bad, chief.

Not sure why you felt this was the place to throw a little hissy fit...
 

dwa

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We have a winner of special olympic games here I guess.
Come on, no need to insult. Cirklon is unhappy with the product, Schiit should better communicate that they are making changes to the product and are unsure, what version customer will get. Maybe you're ok with what's Schiit is doing, because you've also made changes to your product without informing people before the fact, lol ;-)
 

JohnYang1997

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Come on, no need to insult. Cirklon is unhappy with the product, Schiit should better communicate that they are making changes to the product and are unsure, what version customer will get. Maybe you're ok with what's Schiit is doing, because you've also made changes to your product without informing people before the fact, lol ;-)
That wasn't a insult either. I'm also happy that I am lucky not to serve him as a customer.
 

T.M.Noble

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Too late for that chief.

I've already purchased the Heresy and it's going back tomorrow because Schitt is providing false information on their website as well as Amazon.
But don't worry, I've reported the incorrect information with Amazon so hopefully it will be pulled until Schitt gets their act together and updates website/product listing.

You can thank me later. ;)

Thanks! We are getting those new images up immediately. Should be there by the end of the day.
 

Alobar

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I had heard from this review that Schiit had plans for removal of the power light in the future and was part of the reason why I went ahead and ordered it asap. However even without the lamp it is quite easy to see the red glow of another red led that's inside and on the board so not having the lamp wouldn't have made much of a difference, certainly not enough to change my mind on this fine HP amp.
2020-02-03 11.45.05.jpg
 

IAmHolland

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Generally, people place their amps on top of the stack for heat reasons. Also, we were confident that most people would know when the unit was on or not.

Apologies if the change isn’t to your liking but aesthetically we like the change.

It's hard/impossible to see, in a well lit office. It might be easier to see the Heresy, as it's a red LED vs white in an office with fluorescent lights. LED on the front is preferable. The Modi has a LED in the front, and no power switch as well.

Edit: Here's a photo from my seated position. I can't see it.

IMG_1322.JPG


I've already purchased the Heresy

I have the 3+ and Heresy. The LED configuration is the same for both. I bought them last week. Maybe you'll get "older stock," but the newer stuff has LEDs internally.
 
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Grattle

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Too late for that chief.

I've already purchased the Heresy and it's going back tomorrow because Schitt is providing false information on their website as well as Amazon.
But don't worry, I've reported the incorrect information with Amazon so hopefully it will be pulled until Schitt gets their act together and updates website/product listing.

You can thank me later. ;)

Entitled much?
 

ONT101

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Hi small update on IEM :)

Blon BL03 sounds best on Heresy
the TFZ T2 Galaxy sounds better on the 3+

To my ears the high gain sounds better than low gain on both amps :)

Hope it helps :)
 

AudioMan1234

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Could anyone further explain the "Headphone Channel Imbalance vs. Volume Position" to me? I am considering the Heresy but would like to understand how much that might impact my listening.

Is amirm showing that the imbalance gets worse at high volumes? If so, how high of a volume is being shown in the graph when it becomes more unbalanced near 18 seconds?
 

majingotan

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Heresy only has 0.2 dB deviation which is in most cases inaudible channel imbalance. As you can see on the graph, channel imbalance gets worse as you attenuate the volume and not the other way around
 

solderdude

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Could anyone further explain the "Headphone Channel Imbalance vs. Volume Position" to me?

What the plot shows is channel imbalance over the volpot range.
So on the left of the plot you see the channel balance with the pot fully 'open' and on the right of the plot you see the channel imbalance with the pot set to minimum volume.
The pot is turned by hand over a certain time period which Amir tries to do a bit linear.
This means the middle of the plot is around the middle of the volpot position as well.

Now here comes the thing. Each magni 3+ and each Heresy will have a different channel imbalance over the entire volpot range.
When you are lucky the imbalance is smaller than 0.5dB but could well be higher.
Certainly nearing the minimum volpot setting.
By chance the Heresy got a better matched pot as the 3+ but they are both the same make/model pots.

What does the plot tell you... the quality of the used volpot.
The Schiit stuff is cheap so cheap pots are used which means tracking is not that well.
The one you buy will certainly differ from the devices measured but will very likely be in the same 'range, being within +/- 0.5dB over the biggest part of the volpot range.

Now 0.5dB isn't reall much and is not audible. Consider that headphones by themselves usually have bigger channel imbalances.
As long as channel imbalance stays below 1dB you won't notice it.
 

majingotan

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Now I want Schiit to put that Alps RK50 pot in their Magnis so that I can see whether that overpriced pot actually performs as good as a digital volume control
 

ONT101

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This is really strange...to my ears there is a bump on 3+ or a dip on Heresy from 60 hz to 120 hz.

Not sure witch is closer to flat, my guess would be 3+.

Both sound fantastic, just different.
Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amplifier Comparison Frequency Response Audio Measurements.png
 

JohnYang1997

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This is really strange...to my ears there is a bump on 3+ or a dip on Heresy from 60 hz to 120 hz.

Not sure witch is closer to flat, my guess would be 3+.

Both sound fantastic, just different.
View attachment 48679
3+ has more mains noise which can alter perception in lower volume.
 

ONT101

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3+ has more mains noise which can alter perception in lower volume.

True but I'v tested multiple headphones HD 58X , HD 280, HE-4XX and Snell E type III speakers with a Primare A30.2 power amp
at different listening lvl with the same impression.

Using a Meridian DAC

The Hearasy always come out leaner in the 60 - 120 Hz and sounds a bit brighter over 10 000 Hz
 

JohnYang1997

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True but I'v tested multiple headphones HD 58X , HD 280, HE-4XX and Snell E type III speakers with a Primare A30.2 power amp
at different listening lvl with the same impression.

Using a Meridian DAC

The Hearasy always come out leaner in the 60 - 120 Hz and sounds a bit brighter over 10 000 Hz
As Amir did not measure the multitone with load it's hard to tell the distortion profile. So I can't comment on that further.
 

ONT101

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As Amir did not measure the multitone with load it's hard to tell the distortion profile. So I can't comment on that further.

It would be interesting to measure pink noise on a really flat speaker and see the difference, i can also feel the vibration difference
on a table at high (but same) speaker output lvl :)

(And yes I am only switching the amps, cables and everything to and from is the same)
 
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Tks

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What the plot shows is channel imbalance over the volpot range.
So on the left of the plot you see the channel balance with the pot fully 'open' and on the right of the plot you see the channel imbalance with the pot set to minimum volume.
The pot is turned by hand over a certain time period which Amir tries to do a bit linear.
This means the middle of the plot is around the middle of the volpot position as well.

Now here comes the thing. Each magni 3+ and each Heresy will have a different channel imbalance over the entire volpot range.
When you are lucky the imbalance is smaller than 0.5dB but could well be higher.
Certainly nearing the minimum volpot setting.
By chance the Heresy got a better matched pot as the 3+ but they are both the same make/model pots.

What does the plot tell you... the quality of the used volpot.
The Schiit stuff is cheap so cheap pots are used which means tracking is not that well.
The one you buy will certainly differ from the devices measured but will very likely be in the same 'range, being within +/- 0.5dB over the biggest part of the volpot range.

Now 0.5dB isn't reall much and is not audible. Consider that headphones by themselves usually have bigger channel imbalances.
As long as channel imbalance stays below 1dB you won't notice it.

Hey solderdude, I was wondering, (barring housing issues and clearences with other PCB components), is it possible for someone who knows electronics to somehow add one of these in most amps we see today on the market (that aren't digitally controlled of course I suppose)? Or would this require heavy modifications not possible in most designs we see today of amps?
 

JohnYang1997

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Hey solderdude, I was wondering, (barring housing issues and clearences with other PCB components), is it possible for someone who knows electronics to somehow add one of these in most amps we see today on the market (that aren't digitally controlled of course I suppose)? Or would this require heavy modifications not possible in most designs we see today of amps?
Regardless of the dimensional issues. It's compatible to most amps. Just remove the original and put it in, wire the pins and you're done. 6pins total, 3 left 3 right.
 
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