Review and Measurements of Schiit Modi 3 DAC

[Smychavo]

At that rate, if you don't need coaxial or optical, you can buy their AKM dac card for $100 and install it yourself. https://www.schiit.com/products/ak4490-dac-card

As for the sonic difference, that's up to you I wasn't a huge fan of the type-c converter, but my phones are hard to drive and it was kinda flat.

If I recall correctly, the card isn't that big of a stepup, so I think I'll stick with my dongle dac for now, sure doesn't have any problem outputting to my amp lol

 

[odyo]

Seems like heresy is the best amp around this price range. Looking for dac to go along with it. Is this modi 3 have competition ? I don't really know about asio or wasapi but usb is required to use this dac with my pc. Is usb power good enough for it ? I have pretty good psu and my internal soundcard connected to pcie makes completely 0 noise. What wasapi and asio means for casuals who plays games, listen music from tidal, youtube and watch movies via mpc hc + madvr+ lav filter. Audio renderer setting is ''internal audio renderer'' and device is system default which is my soundcard ''Sound BlasterX AE-5''. Headphones DT 770, DT 1990 and planning getting planar Sundara.

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

Seems like heresy is the best amp around this price range. Looking for dac to go along with it. Is this modi 3 have competition ? I don't really know about asio or wasapi but usb is required to use this dac with my pc. Is usb power good enough for it ? I have pretty good psu and my internal soundcard connected to pcie makes completely 0 noise. What wasapi and asio means for casuals who plays games, listen music from tidal, youtube and watch movies via mpc hc + madvr+ lav filter. Audio renderer setting is ''internal audio renderer'' and device is system default which is my soundcard ''Sound BlasterX AE-5''. Headphones DT 770, DT 1990 and planning getting planar Sundara.

ASIO and WASAPI allow your computer to send the DAC data, bypassing Windows sound mix. It gives the DAC just the audio data of the music file. I use a music player called Foobar which supports both.

For your needs I wouldn't worry about it. Modi 3 is a fantastic DAC. Works fine off of USB power.

 

[odyo]

ASIO and WASAPI allow your computer to send the DAC data, bypassing Windows sound mix. It gives the DAC just the audio data of the music file. I use a music player called Foobar which supports both.

For your needs I wouldn't worry about it. Modi 3 is a fantastic DAC. Works fine off of USB power.

Thanks. I guess all of my use cases uses windows sound mix and i guess that's ok if properly set without any additional dsp. Modi 3 and my soundcard's dac seems pretty similiar if i'm not misinterpreting the measurements.

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

Thanks. I guess all of my use cases uses windows sound mix and i guess that's ok if properly set without any additional dsp. Modi 3 and my soundcard's dac seems pretty similiar if i'm not misinterpreting the measurements.

I really like the Modi 3. Sounds great and stacks perfectly with the Magni. I can't say if it will sound better than your soundcard. I'd recommend buying one and trying it out. If you don't like it or prefer your sound card you can ship it back to Schiit for a small restocking fee.

 

[odyo]

I really like the Modi 3. Sounds great and stacks perfectly with the Magni. I can't say if it will sound better than your soundcard. I'd recommend buying one and trying it out. If you don't like it or prefer your sound card you can ship it back to Schiit for a small restocking fee.

Living outside of US that shipping cost hurts. Heresy $99, shipping $44 so logically if i buy modi 3 shipping cost will be 22+22 lol. So i'm inclined to buy both. They should add cheaper shipping option though. Shipping costs are generally below $20 from US but Schiit using expensive ones.

 

[Hohenheimsenberg]

I don't know if usb implementation on the modi multibit is the same from modi 3, but I knew something was wrong after comparing optical from a soundcard vs usb.
So I read a few forums and ordered a schiit eitr. Before receiving it, I switched Tidal to exclusive mode and did notice an improvement but tough my brain was lying to me. Now that I received the eitr I'm not sure if I can hear differences using Tidal exclusive mode. Maybe WASAPI was enough to fix the noise issue comming from the usb cable...

 

[formdissolve]

Schiit Modi 3 USB implementation is newer and better than the Multibit or previous incarnations. As seen in this review, after Amir solved the ASIO issue, the USB performance was identical to SPDIF.. Eitr is not needed for Modi 3 unless you have very noisy USB ports.

 

[sthEn]

Quicky here, please be honest.

Had to sell my Sabaj D5. Currently looking to buy Magni Heresy/Black Modi 3 stack to drive planar Monolith M1060 using Hifiberry Digi+ Pro over coax or Chromecast Audio over spdif. I dont care about USB (Roon, baby!).

Its 2020 - will the Schiit stack be enough for me AFTER Sabaj? I just LOVE the aesthetics of this Schiit.

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

Quicky here, please be honest.

Had to sell my Sabaj D5. Currently looking to buy Magni Heresy/Black Modi 3 stack to drive planar Monolith M1060 using Hifiberry Digi+ Pro over coax or Chromecast Audio over spdif. I dont care about USB (Roon, baby!).

Its 2020 - will the Schiit stack be enough for me AFTER Sabaj? I just LOVE the aesthetics of this Schiit.

Try it out, I think it's a great stack. I got it after a Bifrost 4490 and Asgard 2 stack and think the Modi 3 & Heresy at least as good if not better. I doubt I'd invest any more in a DAC / Amp unless you're into Balanced or R2R.

One more thing: Last year I got my car stereo installed and noticed they used these really cool looking RCA cables. They are black, silver and red braided, which matches the Modi and Heresy colors perfectly. The RCAs are the Stinger 4000 series. I picked up a 1.5ft for my stack. They are only about $5 each but seem well made, probably under priced because they are marketed towards car installs and not audiophiles. I'll chime in regarding how they sound when I get them!

 

[odyo]

Try it out, I think it's a great stack. I got it after a Bifrost 4490 and Asgard 2 stack and think the Modi 3 & Heresy at least as good if not better. I doubt I'd invest any more in a DAC / Amp unless you're into Balanced or R2R.

One more thing: Last year I got my car stereo installed and noticed they used these really cool looking RCA cables. They are black, silver and red braided, which matches the Modi and Heresy colors perfectly. The RCAs are the Stinger 4000 series. I picked up a 1.5ft for my stack. They are only about $5 each but seem well made, probably under priced because they are marketed towards car installs and not audiophiles. I'll chime in regarding how they sound when I get them!

Hey what is R2R ?

I was gonna buy black stack as well but shipping cost is robbery. $45 for 99$ small product. Topping E30 seems much better at $129 and free shipping. E30 looks better standalone but Schiit looks really cool when you stack them but E30 having newer akm dac chip, better/almost perfect measurements, nice build and screen and better overall price when you add shipping cost...

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

R2R is short for Resistor to Resistor. Sometimes called a Ladder DAC. It's an old decoding method from the 80's involving a resistor for each bit. Modern DACs have one resistor and use complex math to break down and reconstruct your 16 or 24 bit files into a one bit data stream. This is called "sigma delta" decoding. BTW, DSD is a native one bit format but never really caught on, so today we still do this breaking down and reconstructing thing.

In short, it is much easier and cheaper to design a good sigma delta dac so you don't see too much R2R these days. It's sorta like tubes; strictly for the enthusiasts who like the sound or appreciate the tech, even if you pay more for (usually) worse technical performance.

The Topping E30 looks like a fantastic DAC. Personally though I've experienced really bad issues with Topping products arriving DOA (two DX7 Pros in a row!) so have sworn off the brand. Hopefully these issues have been ironed out, but one youtube reviewer has already discovered that DSD64 decoding is busted on the E30.

 

[poimandres]

I prefer the Magni 3 to my Topping E30.

 

[Angsty]

Schiit Modi 3 USB implementation is newer and better than the Multibit or previous incarnations. As seen in this review, after Amir solved the ASIO issue, the USB performance was identical to SPDIF.. Eitr is not needed for Modi 3 unless you have very noisy USB ports.

I recently purchased a Modi 3 to replace the onboard dac in my old Cambridge Audio 540c CD player for my second system. It sounds better than the DAC in my Bryston BP-25DA on my main system.

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

Modi 3 is no doubt a dope DAC. I've got two and two Magni Heresy amps. I won't be spending money on DACs or head amps until Modi and Magni 4 come along.

 

[Angsty]

R2R is short for Resistor to Resistor. Sometimes called a Ladder DAC. It's an old decoding method from the 80's involving a resistor for each bit. Modern DACs have one resistor and use complex math to break down and reconstruct your 16 or 24 bit files into a one bit data stream. This is called "sigma delta" decoding. BTW, DSD is a native one bit format but never really caught on, so today we still do this breaking down and reconstructing thing.

In short, it is much easier and cheaper to design a good sigma delta dac so you don't see too much R2R these days. It's sorta like tubes; strictly for the enthusiasts who like the sound or appreciate the tech, even if you pay more for (usually) worse technical performance.

The Topping E30 looks like a fantastic DAC. Personally though I've experienced really bad issues with Topping products arriving DOA (two DX7 Pros in a row!) so have sworn off the brand. Hopefully these issues have been ironed out, but one youtube reviewer has already discovered that DSD64 decoding is busted on the E30.

R2R is actually R-2R, which is how the resistors are valued in the resistor ladder network. You can find a fairly easy to understand explanation in Wikipedia under “resistor ladder”.

The least expensive R2R DAC that I know of is the Denafrips Ares II; it’s about $750 US, but fluctuates with currency exchange rates. There are lots of debates here and elsewhere about how it compares to similarly priced DACs like the Topping D90. Regardless of its sonic merits, the internal architecture is visually arresting. But, that’s not what we buy DACs for! It’s certainly debatable if the Denafrips could even be distinguished audibly from the E30 or Modi 3.

 

[Ammeo]

Excuse my ignorance, i am newbie and looking to buy Modi 3 as my first ever DAC.

I have a couple questions regarding Modi 3.

1. I have the N-Audio HA 400 Amp (http://www.n-audiopro.com/Headphone Amplifier/HA400.html ) , will it work with it? I am on a tight budget and cant afford any new amp.

2. Does Modi 3 has the functionality to connect to studio monitors? or would i have to buy a audio interface separately if i ever go the studio monitor route?

 

[solderdude]

The N-Audio HA 400 = $ 30.- behringer HA400.
This amp is much lower quality and spec'ed than the Heresy or as good as any other headphone amp.

You need a 6.3mm TRS to 2x RCA to connect the Modi to the HA400.

When your studio monitors can be connected using RCA or XLR or TRS Jack then you can probably use it.
When your studiomonitors are designed for TRS Jack or balanced XLR only you might want to buy the Modius instead.

 

[Aperiodic]

Not being familiar with WASAPI or ASIO4ALL, I looked them up and now feel like I have a vague understanding of what they are (drivers, essentially?) Sooo... Seems like WASABI is either a Windows connection protocol or something you'd use in a party dip. My question is, what performance should I expect from a 2018 Mac Mini?

 

[Panelhead]

What playback software do you plan on using? There are several options.
Many who have compared feel a PC works bettering playback. Might be true if using iTunes for playback.
A Mac gets around the driver issues a lot of times. And driver breaking with software updates.
I use a Mini that is several generations old. Lots of RAM and a large SSD. I think the last model that allowed swapping both. Works great.