I am enjoying newly acquired Hifiman Sundara headphones with my also newly acquired Schiit Magni Unity. This is the new model with a built-in DAC.
The Magni Unity offers a 3 stage gain switch on the front:
Schiit lists an APx555 test suite for the Magni Unity w/ DAC but I still have a lot to learn to make sense of most of it.
Their specs page does list separate values for the low/high gain settings, so maybe that's an answer right there.
In layman's terms, is it better to run at lower gain with less volume range to play with, or are the differences negligible to run at higher gain for more volume range?
Side note, running Oratory's Optimum curve EQ but finding that I prefer to pull the treble down a bit more with an additional 13500 peak filter, -3 gain 6 Q.
The Magni Unity offers a 3 stage gain switch on the front:
- +15dB
- 0dB
- -10dB
Schiit lists an APx555 test suite for the Magni Unity w/ DAC but I still have a lot to learn to make sense of most of it.
Their specs page does list separate values for the low/high gain settings, so maybe that's an answer right there.
THD+N
Low Gain: Less than 0.0001% (-116dB) at 2V RMS into 300 ohms
High Gain: Less than 0.0003% (-108dB) at 2V RMS into 300 ohms
IMD
Low Gain: Less than -110dB at 4V RMS into 300 ohms, CCIF
High Gain: Less than -108dB at 4V RMS into 300 ohms, CCIF
SNR
Low Gain: Greater than 122dB, referenced to 2V RMS
High Gain: Greater than 112dB, referenced to 2V RMS
In layman's terms, is it better to run at lower gain with less volume range to play with, or are the differences negligible to run at higher gain for more volume range?
Side note, running Oratory's Optimum curve EQ but finding that I prefer to pull the treble down a bit more with an additional 13500 peak filter, -3 gain 6 Q.