Schiit IEMagni Review (Headphone Amplifier)

[H-713]

Yeah, this pot seems to be generally accepted as a nice unit, and one that generally works better than most. A lot of manufactures use them.
Alps specify a 3dB maximum gang error on this unit. Which is neither good nor bad I guess. It isn't as if there is anything peculiar about it.

I wonder, is there value is looking at the use of a linear pot with log faking resistor as an alternative? There is no intrinsic value in using a log/audio taper, it isn't as if the control even has any markings. Careful choice of values could yield both more stable gang matching and possibly a more useful range of knob positions.

Neve used to use log faking resistors in a lot of their equipment for this reason. Doesn't mean it's a perfect solution, but it does work and works quite well.

That said... if it's a reasonably decent 2-gang log pot, the tracking error isn't enough to be annoying unless you're at the bottom of the range. It's like having 0.01% THD. Yes, it looks mediocre in measurements, but in practice it is rarely objectionable.

For my designs, I tend to use BI conductive plastic pots. I want to say it's the P260 series that is a lot like the old Clarostat 388 series (the 1/2" blue things that were used in SSL, Sony and later Neve consoles), but they're rated for more rotation cycles and cost less than the 388 series. You can also buy them at Mouser, rather than having to do a custom order from State Electronics. For budget products, I see no reason to complain about the Alps RK09 pots. They were good enough for the Midas XL4.

I've played with a lot of different volume controls, and none of them are perfect. PGAs and Digipots need to have a lot of steps to avoid switching transients when content is playing, which is rather annoying. If they're controlled by a rotary encoder, then that adds another place where the whole thing can suck.

Pots aren't perfect, but from a user standpoint, they're pretty darn nice.

 

[cowsgomoo2002]

Why do people want balanced output here, especially for IEMs? Seems like an oxymoron.

This is ASR and not the other forum(s). We know that SE is more than sufficient for the vast majority of headphones let alone IEMs.

 

[phoenixsong]

Why do people want balanced output here, especially for IEMs? Seems like an oxymoron.

This is ASR and not the other forum(s). We know that SE is more than sufficient for the vast majority of headphones let alone IEMs.

I know some use balanced DAPs to draw more power out of mobile devices, maybe they want to be able to transition to desktop use that way? Also, this device seems objectively capable of driving more than just IEMs lol

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

We have certainly created a much larger market for transparent audio products and awareness around what is or is not transparent.

Jason did Heresy because he felt you insulted him. Everyone knows that. He turned the insult into a ton of money. (unless you guys planned it as a sideways promotion for Schiit?)

 

[Swtoby]

Jason did Heresy because he felt you insulted him. Everyone knows that. He turned the insult into a ton of money. (unless you guys planned it as a sideways promotion for Schiit?)

Where did Jason say that? Please link the quote.

 

[nachosXI]

thoughts on this vs asgard3? looking to pick up sundaras+probably modi or similar dac

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

Where did Jason say that? Please link the quote.

I inferred the hurt feelings from Jason's comments and his actions.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Jason did Heresy because he felt you insulted him. Everyone knows that. He turned the insult into a ton of money. (unless you guys planned it as a sideways promotion for Schiit?)

There's nothing wrong promoting a good performing product regardless of the context. Amir promotes good engineering. If they turned criticism into good money, more power to them. We want more better designed products in the market. That's it.

 

[Helicopter]

thoughts on this vs asgard3? looking to pick up sundaras+probably modi or similar dac

You won't go wrong either way. Here you get a simpler and better measuring design in a small platform. With Asgard 3 you get loads of power and headroom with surprising performance for a discrete circuit. Get the one that suits your philisophy because performance is there with both. This is a highly featured 'measurements' amp and Asgard is a classic design that still delivers great performance and more power than you will need.

 

[RobS]

Jason did Heresy because he felt you insulted him. Everyone knows that. He turned the insult into a ton of money. (unless you guys planned it as a sideways promotion for Schiit?)

Yep. ASR now guides product development at Schiit much to SBAF's chagrin.

 

[GWolfman]

Too bad there's no balanced connections.

 

[solderdude]

Those max voltages come from eyeballing the chart, so they are approximate. It shows that this amp is not current limited at low & med gain, but is current limited at high gain.

The current limit is always the same, regardless of gain.
With 2V in you simply won't reach it in low and med gain.
The current limit is 300mA (400mA peak).
With 2V in on M gain you simply cannot reach the current limit, not even with an 8 ohm load.
On high gain you can with loads below 30 ohm.

It may be worth noting Schiit added DC protection for this amp.
I guess they learned from other Magni's blowing up and destroying headphones (L30 wasn't the only one)

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

Yep. ASR now guides product development at Schiit much to SBAF's chagrin.

Ironic yet true.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

Too bad there's no balanced connections.

Not sure if they'd do another Magnius but a Schiit amp with 4.4 balanced for iem folk at $199 might be interesting with these measurements, no?

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

There's nothing wrong promoting a good performing product regardless of the context. Amir promotes good engineering. If they turned criticism into good money, more power to them. We want more better designed products in the market. That's it.

You (plural, eg the people in the forum; not you sir specifically) want better measuring products.

 

[Veri]

Not sure if they'd do another Magnius but a Schiit amp with 4.4 balanced for iem folk at $199 might be interesting with these measurements, no?

Seems a little pointless though. The IEMagni can already drive things extremely loud. 4.4 will just be even louder than IEMagni low gain, since it's balanced. Maybe a Tin P1 benefits from that but most, normal/sensitive ones won't.

 

[Aperiodic]

Looking at that circuit. The volume knob could be set well away from the headphone jack. It would have had a shorter signal path too. Why do headphone amp manufacturers keep doing this when it's obviously annoying?

Just put it dead center and it will work for everybody...

 

[sarumbear]

Looking at that circuit. The volume knob could be set well away from the headphone jack. It would have had a shorter signal path too. Why do headphone amp manufacturers keep doing this when it's obviously annoying?

Heaven forbid how much you will be annoyed if you see some AVR PCBs.

Its a copper wire of ignoringly small length compared to a pot resistance. What “obvious” technical value annoy you?

 

[RobS]

I don’t understand why an amp like this exists. Just buy a dongle for IEMs. Works on the go too. Sitting at a desk why not just wear full size headphones?

For me it’s not the placement of the volume knob that’s annoying but just how small it is. I’d pay extra to have an RK27 pot like what the Valhalla 2 has.

 

[MRC01]

I don’t understand why an amp like this exists. Just buy a dongle for IEMs. ...

If you are using IEMs, then the SNR at low volumes matters. The Magnius' 94 dB at 50 mV beats all the dongles.
Now maybe you don't care, and think dongles are "good enough". But this at least shows an objective, measurable difference.
BTW, I agree that a better volpot would be a nice upgrade. But no other product I know of at this price point has a better one.