Schiit Magni 3+ and Heresy Headphone Amp Reviews

[Veri]

Problem is...I'm looking for a smoothe and clean amp that does not highlight nor underrepresent any part of the audible bandwith, but most importantly not underrepresent the low end..I hate that haha

My opinion, just get the sexy modi3/magni3heresy stack in black. it looks super good.
You could get the e30 and a magni of course. But aesthetics matter

 

[Raex]

My opinion, just get the sexy modi3/magni3heresy stack in black. it looks super good.
You could get the e30 and a magni of course. But aesthetics matter

Thanks for your reply, but the dac won't be visible so for me it doesnt matter how it looks haha

 

[unfit327]

Hi,
I recently received my schiit magni 3+ and purchased it to try to double amp the astro mixamp pro tr since it doesnt drive my DT990 pro 80ohm's very well. So far im not sure if im doing something wrong but whether i have the mixamp or my pc line out hooked up to the magni, I have to have the magni on high gain with either of those devices at 100 and the magni at about 60 for normal listening. I feel like these headphones shouldnt be that hard to drive. Is this just due to the nature of the output of the sources? Also how much sound quality realistically if any would I gain by going with the Modi 3 over the mixamp or my motherboard ALC887? Mainly used for gamin and only occasional music listening.

 

[Veri]

Hi,
I recently received my schiit magni 3+ and purchased it to try to double amp the astro mixamp pro tr since it doesnt drive my DT990 pro 80ohm's very well. So far im not sure if im doing something wrong but whether i have the mixamp or my pc line out hooked up to the magni, I have to have the magni on high gain with either of those devices at 100 and the magni at about 60 for normal listening. I feel like these headphones shouldnt be that hard to drive. Is this just due to the nature of the output of the sources? Also how much sound quality realistically if any would I gain by going with the Modi 3 over the mixamp or my motherboard ALC887? Mainly used for gamin and only occasional music listening.

It must mean the astro mixamp has a low output level, so not abnormal behavior of the Magni.

 

[Raex]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, at least my account, I have actually read a lot but never made a comment

I'm planning to buy a new headphone amp and a dac.

Until a week ago I had an Audio-GD R2R11 which I bought because many (in other forums and on youtube) have said that it's a brilliant amp/dac combo and probably the best under 500.

When I got the R2R I was extremely dissapointed with it, it sounded way worse than my ASUS D1 soundcard. The only thing it did better was volume, although the sound got worse the louder I played it. Even on low volume it sounded squashed, when played louder it had no punch/low end and sounded squashed on both ends...

Because of that I pretty much never used it.
Now i sold it and have to decide what to buy as a replacement.

For the DAC I'll most probably go woth the Topping E30.

I'm yet a bit unsure for the AMP.
I'll either go with the Heresy or the 3+.
Why not straight go for the better measuring Heresy you might ask?
Because the 3+ measures well to, subjectively kept up (Amirs words) and it is described as smoother and with more "body" and "weight" in the low end by some reviewers.

Problem is...I'm looking for a smoothe and clean amp that does not highlight nor underrepresent any part of the audible bandwith, but most importantly not underrepresent the low end..I hate that haha

Since the first time reviewers and other forums made me buy the worst audio gear I have ever owned, I don't want to make the mistake of trusting their (seemingly completely bad) hearing abilities and evaluations again.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me out and probably describe if there really are (even small) differences in sound between the Heresy and the 3+

I don't want to end up with a lifeless, robotic and flat (in a bad way) sounding amp (Heresy) nor with a muddy or worse one that is described as better (3+)...each as described by people who might not be able differentiate between good sound and something like the R2R 11

Could anyone point me in a direction here? I'm really torn haha

Any other suggestions or opinions?

 

[odyo]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, at least my account, I have actually read a lot but never made a comment

I'm planning to buy a new headphone amp and a dac.

Until a week ago I had an Audio-GD R2R11 which I bought because many (in other forums and on youtube) have said that it's a brilliant amp/dac combo and probably the best under 500.

When I got the R2R I was extremely dissapointed with it, it sounded way worse than my ASUS D1 soundcard. The only thing it did better was volume, although the sound got worse the louder I played it. Even on low volume it sounded squashed, when played louder it had no punch/low end and sounded squashed on both ends...

Because of that I pretty much never used it.
Now i sold it and have to decide what to buy as a replacement.

For the DAC I'll most probably go woth the Topping E30.

I'm yet a bit unsure for the AMP.
I'll either go with the Heresy or the 3+.
Why not straight go for the better measuring Heresy you might ask?
Because the 3+ measures well to, subjectively kept up (Amirs words) and it is described as smoother and with more "body" and "weight" in the low end by some reviewers.

Problem is...I'm looking for a smoothe and clean amp that does not highlight nor underrepresent any part of the audible bandwith, but most importantly not underrepresent the low end..I hate that haha

Since the first time reviewers and other forums made me buy the worst audio gear I have ever owned, I don't want to make the mistake of trusting their (seemingly completely bad) hearing abilities and evaluations again.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me out and probably describe if there really are (even small) differences in sound between the Heresy and the 3+

I don't want to end up with a lifeless, robotic and flat (in a bad way) sounding amp (Heresy) nor with a muddy or worse one that is described as better (3+)...each as described by people who might not be able differentiate between good sound and something like the R2R 11

Could anyone point me in a direction here? I'm really torn haha

I see similiar trend around the web. Magni 3+ sound description overall smoother, natural and ''better'', Heresy sound description is more ''lively and exciting or robotic'' personally i'm in the measurement camp. I mean Heresy is objectively better and amp should be transparent without additional impact in my opinion. Sound is extremely prone to the human perception. Reviewer can skew their perception with just looking at their design or reading other opinions about it. Check this: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-we-hear.html. Imo you should trust the measurements and don't get fooled by faulty human perception. Still Magni 3+ is very good amp and probably indistinguishable so if you like the silver look that's ok and overall trend (subjective opinions after listening) around the internet Magni 3+ better.

 

[Nango]

I see similiar trend around the web. Magni 3+ sound description overall smoother, natural and ''better'', Heresy sound description is more ''lively and exciting or robotic'' personally i'm in the measurement camp. I mean Heresy is objectively better and amp should be transparent without additional impact in my opinion. Sound is extremely prone to the human perception. Reviewer can skew their perception with just looking at their design or reading other opinions about it. Check this: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-we-hear.html. Imo you should trust the measurements and don't get fooled by faulty human perception. Still Magni 3+ is very good amp and probably indistinguishable so if you like the silver look that's ok and overall trend (subjective opinions after listening) around the internet Magni 3+ better.

Probably even more to headphone been used.

 

[Raex]

I see similiar trend around the web. Magni 3+ sound description overall smoother, natural and ''better'', Heresy sound description is more ''lively and exciting or robotic'' personally i'm in the measurement camp. I mean Heresy is objectively better and amp should be transparent without additional impact in my opinion. Sound is extremely prone to the human perception. Reviewer can skew their perception with just looking at their design or reading other opinions about it. Check this: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-we-hear.html. Imo you should trust the measurements and don't get fooled by faulty human perception. Still Magni 3+ is very good amp and probably indistinguishable so if you like the silver look that's ok and overall trend (subjective opinions after listening) around the internet Magni 3+ better.

Thanks for your reply, this somehow sums up my problem really well.
The last time I bought an amp (R2R 11) I solely based my decision on subjective reviews from random people describin it as better than the rest....maybe "the same" people who now say that the Magni 3+ is better than the Heresy while not being able to differentiate between the sound of a live rock concert and a 10$ bluetooth speaker....

Still reading that the 3+ is smoother and sounds fuller describes what I want from an amp....and what if they are right (this time)....

It sucks that I can't just go to some shop and test them.....(I live in Austria, no schiit resellers here)

 

[odyo]

Thanks for your reply, this somehow sums up my problem really well.
The last time I bought an amp (R2R 11) I solely based my decision on subjective reviews from random people describin it as better than the rest....maybe "the same" people who now say that the Magni 3+ is better than the Heresy while not being able to differentiate between the sound of a live rock concert and a 10$ bluetooth speaker....

Still reading that the 3+ is smoother and sounds fuller describes what I want from an amp....and what if they are right (this time)....

It sucks that I can't just go to some shop and test them.....(I live in Austria, no schiit resellers here)

So I switched to Sennheiser HD-650 headphones. Both amplifiers provided incredible amount of drive, producing stellar response in the form of bass, detail and dynamic range. I tried with a few tracks to tell the two amps apart but I could not. In more careful ABX scenario where I can focus on specific segments I might do better. But in real-time testing, the two amps are the same. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

Conclusions
Rarely do we get an opportunity to test two design philosophies in electronics. Yet here we are with two amps with near identical power rating and output impedance trying to impress us. The one with discrete implementation has the story that "it is harder to design so it must be better." The Opamp IC design's story is that an integrate circuit can be far more optimized than a discrete design. And its drawback of low voltage operation, doesn't apply to headphone amplifiers.

The conclusion is simple: the opamp design is superior in every regard to the discrete implementation. It has far less distortion, much less hum and lower noise floor in general. The Heresy also comes with a power LED which I like.

The Magni 3+ is also very competent amplifier and subjectively kept up with Heresy. But my question is why would you buy it? What are you going to do with that "story" of it being discrete? Print it on a sign and put it on your wall? Or sit back and enjoy music knowing that the Heresy provides absolute, provably transparent reproduction whereas the Magni 3+ is very close but may not be there.

My choice is clear. I am happy to give a very strong recommendation to Schiit Magni Heresy. It has exemplary performance coupled with a solid metal box.

 

[solderdude]

Still reading that the 3+ is smoother and sounds fuller describes what I want from an amp....and what if they are right (this time)....

It can still be read 30 years from now. It is there for prosperity.

Regardless which one you buy they will perform the same. Buyers remorse will set in after time and you start wishing this and that would be different.
When that happens look for other headphones. These DO have audible differences.

 

[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.

 

[odyo]

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.

Modi 3 seems a bit outdated but Heresy currently on top of the food chain when it comes to relatively cheap headphone amps. Measurements and power really good.

Topping gonna release L30 new amp next month. Probably better than Heresy. There is also Topping E30 dac which looks much better than Modi 3 on paper. I can't comment on how they sound. E30 have newer dac chip, better measurements and better build. The thing is E30 and Heresy might not stack together well (aesthetic wise) so you have to wait for L30. I agree black Modi and Heresy looks great together.

 

[solderdude]

When L30, Heresy, Atom, Magni3+ etc all perform well below any audibility levels then why not simply pick one based on functionality, accessibility of controls, looks etc ?
What's the fascination with the lowest (inaudible in all cases) levels of distortion ?

 

[sthEn]

In my case - I'm not concern about Heresy, but Modi 3 only. It seems kind od outdated, however i have no idea if that's even in the audible area.

 

[solderdude]

Modi 3 is not really outdated, it just doesn't use the latest DAC chips.
Anyway a SINAD of around 107 means it is performing well below audible levels.

When you worry about that it will surely mess with your mind and every mediocre recording you play through it will nag you thinking what you are hearing is the DAC. In such a case buy the latest and greatest and after a few months, when an even better performing model comes out upgrade to that one...

 

[sthEn]

That should not be a case. Placebo is not my thing I've switched Sabaj D5 to much cheaper Khadas already in my stereo setup because i could not hear the difference

 

[unfit327]

I currently purchased a modi 3 magni 3+ stack. It truly sounds terrific. But a couple things im not crazy About. First being the modi 3 has no power switch and the only way I can get it to fully shut down is to power down my pc. Then on the magni the power switch being in the back is very inconvenient, plus the amp gets decently warm. So my anxious mind had me Google searching for reassurance that if I accidentally leave these two pieces of hardware on, is there any risk and I came across a few threads like this https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/warning-schiit-magni-3-modi-3-jot-are-overheating/8658/14 of magnis or modis smoking?! Is this a real thing and should I be concerned? Now I'm wondering if I should return them and get a topping stack or something else.

 

[solderdude]

The modi-3 is not very likely to go up in flames. It might get a bit warmish when left on 24/7. This doesn't matter.

The Magni3+ design is more likely to go belly up than the heresy due to its design.
You can always connect its wall-wart via a switched extension cord if you want.

 

[unfit327]

The modi-3 is not very likely to go up in flames. It might get a bit warmish when left on 24/7. This doesn't matter.

The Magni3+ design is more likely to go belly up than the heresy due to its design.
You can always connect its wall-wart via a switched extension cord if you want.

Thanks. So even in the rare case I may forget to switch off my magni, it should still be fine and safe?

 

[solderdude]

Lets just say you would have to be really unlucky for it to become defective.
Normal devices don't destroy themselves while being idle.
That said ... there are never guarantees in life.