AKG K712 DAC: Motu M2 or Schiit Modi? Using Heresy as Amp.

[Fries]

Hey everyone,

I’m upgrading my headphone/mic setup and I’ve decided to get the AKG K712 for my needs (Music, Video Games, Shows, etc.).

I was planning to pair the headphone with a Schiit stack (Heresy + Modi), but I am now considering a XLR mic and want to avoid another box on my desk. I was thinking of returning the Modi and getting the Motu M2 and use that as the DAC as well as the interface to connect my mic to.

To my understanding, the difference in audio quality between the two combinations would be inaudible and would result in a cleaner set up.

Should I reconsider this decision? Are there any issues I should be aware of if I go with the M2?

 

[AnalogSteph]

My biggest concern about the M2 would be buying one to begin with, which has not always been easy in recent times. With that part out of the way though, combining an audio interface with something like a Magni Heresy / IEMagni (the latter appears to be an improved update), Atom Amp+ or L30 has been my standard recommendation for a while - a combination like that is just extremely flexible. The M2 may even drive the K712 fine on its own already, the OPA1688 they use is no slouch. The headphone out makes a very good unbalanced output with a separate volume control either way.

Obviously the M2 will top out at 192 kHz and not have DAC filter selections or MQA decoding, but generally none of that is truly essential. DAC performance also is just very good instead of state of the art, though compared to the Modi 3+ it's still pretty much a toss-up. The M2 remains one of the best options in its class if playback is your main priority, alongside the Audient iD4 MkII and iD14 MkII.