Recommended DAC for My Setup

[Audioman93]

Hello AudioScience people,

First about my current equipment that I currently use: Schiit Fulla 2 (that uses a small version of the AK4490) with my BeyerDynamic DT880 Pro 250Ohm headphones and switch between it and a soundbar. I've been researching what I may need and wish to upgrade to the Schiit stack and Klipsch R-51PM speakers.

I'm wondering if the Modi 3 would be the best option compared to the Multibit version. It's $150 cheaper and yet the sound I get from the scaled-down version of the DS 4490 D.A.C. sounds really really good with music and games and everything. I've read a lot of different items and opinions on either D.A.C. and wish to get a more direct answer from the science minded people of this forum instead of bland conjecture.
Far as I know, the Multibit claims to process a "bit perfect" 16 bit reproduction of sound and the DS 4490 uses a 1 bit stream.

If AudioScience can walk me through the facts and sounds of these devices I'd appreciate it. I don't know if spending $250 on a D.A.C. is actually worth it. Since I'm wanting the Schiit Audio Schiit Stack I'm just looking for clear, clean, accurate to source sound with my upgrade.

 

[Eetu]

Hi, welcome to ASR!

Modi 3 is the right choice. The Multibit is in the bottom tier of all DACs tested here with a SINAD of 82. You can find the review/comparison here. The reason why some people seem to like the Multibit is probably because it has lots of 2nd harmonic distortion. The Modi 3 on the other hand is a very good DAC, 'clear, clean, accurate' as you put it.

 

[Audioman93]

Hi, welcome to ASR!

Modi 3 is the right choice. The Multibit is in the bottom tier of all DACs tested here with a SINAD of 82. You can find the review/comparison here. The reason why some people seem to like the Multibit is probably because it has lots of 2nd harmonic distortion. The Modi 3 on the other hand is a very good DAC, 'clear, clean, accurate' as you put it.

Hi, welcome to ASR!

Modi 3 is the right choice. The Multibit is in the bottom tier of all DACs tested here with a SINAD of 82. You can find the review/comparison here. The reason why some people seem to like the Multibit is probably because it has lots of 2nd harmonic distortion. The Modi 3 on the other hand is a very good DAC, 'clear, clean, accurate' as you put it.

Hello and thanks for the welcome. I'll have to review that attachment after. Thanks for that.
Yeah I play guitar and have a tube amp myself but I'd like to keep the distortion for my genre from my guitar amp and not with my audio playback. Just from what you said it sounds like the Multibit seems to digitally mimic a hint of distorted tube sound.

 

[RickSanchez]

I agree with @Eetu that the Modi 3 is the better choice between it and the Multibit.

A couple other things I'll mention:

• This is probably an important read for you to help you understand some of the things in ASR DAC measurements: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-thresholds-of-amp-and-dac-measurements.5734/
• I would recommend you spend some time researching speakers. The Klipsch R-51PM haven't been measured here yet, but both sets of Klipsch speakers that have been tested (R-41M and RP-600M) have measured poorly. You can likely do much better for the same amount of money. If you want to research speakers you can start here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/SpeakerTestData/

Hope that helps.

 

[Audioman93]

I agree with @Eetu that the Modi 3 is the better choice between it and the Multibit.

A couple other things I'll mention:

• This is probably an important read for you to help you understand some of the things in ASR DAC measurements: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-thresholds-of-amp-and-dac-measurements.5734/
• I would recommend you spend some time researching speakers. The Klipsch R-51PM haven't been measured here yet, but both sets of Klipsch speakers that have been tested (R-41M and RP-600M) have measured poorly. You can likely do much better for the same amount of money. If you want to research speakers you can start here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/SpeakerTestData/

Hope that helps.

Excellent. Thanks for the measurements. It really helps to see the actual performance it can pull off instead of reading high-praise from amazon and other places that could be mis-guided.

I read the articles of test data about Modi 3 vs multibit. Definitely gonna go for Modi 3 based on the performance.

Also the speakers to change from my vizio soundboard I still need to research more. I'm not looking exactly for studio monitors since I use my headphones for monitoring and other things. But accurate to source is best for my taste. I'll have a gander through the speaker articles now. Thanks a lot!

 

[Audioman93]

I agree with @Eetu that the Modi 3 is the better choice between it and the Multibit.

A couple other things I'll mention:

• This is probably an important read for you to help you understand some of the things in ASR DAC measurements: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-thresholds-of-amp-and-dac-measurements.5734/
• I would recommend you spend some time researching speakers. The Klipsch R-51PM haven't been measured here yet, but both sets of Klipsch speakers that have been tested (R-41M and RP-600M) have measured poorly. You can likely do much better for the same amount of money. If you want to research speakers you can start here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/SpeakerTestData/

Hope that helps.

What sort of speakers have been tested out on here that actually perform well? I looked at audioengine A5+ for awhile but then chose to go for the Klipsch R-51PM but they don't actually perform that great according to the similar speaker of r-41m. I looked at Edifier S350db also.

 

[zermak]

You can have a look here to hace an idea of the speakers tested here and about their masurements and score based on Harman preference rating: Preference score spreadsheet.
The database is growing every week so keep yourself update

 

[RickSanchez]

What sort of speakers have been tested out on here that actually perform well? I looked at audioengine A5+ for awhile but then chose to go for the Klipsch R-51PM but they don't actually perform that great according to the similar speaker of r-41m. I looked at Edifier S350db also.

Using the Speaker Review and Measurement Index you can use any of the first three tabs, it's really your preference. Then use the filters to get to what types of speakers you want to see. In your case you'll probably want to filter on the Preference Score (it doesn't sound like you'll be using a subwoofer), and then filter on things like price, amplification, etc. You can then click to jump to the review itself.

For example, just the Speaker Index dashboard ...

Or using the Speaker Attribute Comparison tool (you can click on any point to see what speaker it is) ...

 

[Audioman93]

Using the Speaker Review and Measurement Index you can use any of the first three tabs, it's really your preference. Then use the filters to get to what types of speakers you want to see. In your case you'll probably want to filter on the Preference Score (it doesn't sound like you'll be using a subwoofer), and then filter on things like price, amplification, etc. You can then click to jump to the review itself.

For example, just the Speaker Index dashboard ...

View attachment 76068



Or using the Speaker Attribute Comparison tool (you can click on any point to see what speaker it is) ...

View attachment 76069

Very handy. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Big Hit]

Hello AudioScience people,

First about my current equipment that I currently use: Schiit Fulla 2 (that uses a small version of the AK4490) with my BeyerDynamic DT880 Pro 250Ohm headphones and switch between it and a soundbar. I've been researching what I may need and wish to upgrade to the Schiit stack and Klipsch R-51PM speakers.

I'm wondering if the Modi 3 would be the best option compared to the Multibit version. It's $150 cheaper and yet the sound I get from the scaled-down version of the DS 4490 D.A.C. sounds really really good with music and games and everything. I've read a lot of different items and opinions on either D.A.C. and wish to get a more direct answer from the science minded people of this forum instead of bland conjecture.
Far as I know, the Multibit claims to process a "bit perfect" 16 bit reproduction of sound and the DS 4490 uses a 1 bit stream.

If AudioScience can walk me through the facts and sounds of these devices I'd appreciate it. I don't know if spending $250 on a D.A.C. is actually worth it. Since I'm wanting the Schiit Audio Schiit Stack I'm just looking for clear, clean, accurate to source sound with my upgrade.

hi im new in this hobby i also have the Klipsch pm R51 what DAC can you recommend or does it really need a DAC because i read that the klipsch pm r51 has a built in DAC decoder