Schiit Magni Mesh DAC Review

[solderdude]

But ... and this is important for some people ..

It does not have the word 'Schiit' on it. (sounds better of course)
It does not look 'spartan'
It does not have the super-duper 'Unison' USB receiver. (sounds much better of course)
It does not have the Comboburritoclosed-form filter. (sounds waaayyyy better of course)
It does not have a fully discrete amplifier (sounds infinitely better of course)
It does not match the looks of other Schiit gear. (looks better of course)
It is not made in the USA. (works longer of course)
It may not measure better and may be more expensive but ... it is not Schiit !

 

[aagstn]

Ultimately the crux of it for me with purchasing choices. I don't think anyone ever will have John Seaber-level customer support, but Schiit have gotten a lot better in that regard in recent years and it isn't the shitshow people like to dig 10 years back to point out.

Compare that to the L30 I and some of the stuff in the DX5II threads and you can see why people might opt for something that doesn't measure as great and isn't going to be audible for them in exchange for better customer support and build quality.

This is something that pushed me away from Chinese brands. In my experience they won't acknowledge a problem exists, want you to spend half the cost of the device to ship it back to China, or just want to send a replacement that will have the exact same problems since they won't acknowledge there is a problem with the design in the first place.

I'm still not going to Schitt though to solve those problems as I dealt with their customer service in 2020 and it wasn't much better. Maybe it has improved greatly recently, but I don't give second chances with my money.

 

[Joe Smith]

An SMSL PS200 has better results (sans the amp of course) for less than half the cost.

Many good DACs for $100-150, yes. But that's not what the Magni is. The product niche/goal is to have a "pretty good" amp and DAC in a small box for under $200 price point. People who just want DACs are not hopefully buying a Magni, they would buy a Modi, a SMSL inexpensive DAC, JDS Labs Atom 2 or something else.

I don't think Schiit is dumb for mining this product niche and trying to keep it under $200 so it can keep attracting an entry-level buyer. What I think a lot of people are objecting to (on top of the measurements) is Schiit's marketing gobbeldytech promotional language to frame what is an "OK" product.

It will be interesting to see if the next version of the Magni+ DAC addresses some of the deficiencies Amir has pinpointed. None of these seem impossible challenges with keeping the price hovering at the $200 mark. From a sales standpoint, they have to keep price undercutting the cost of a JDS Atom stack or equivalent.

For the buyer who wants a one box solution AND "made in USA," not dumb of Schiit to keep undercutting the JDS Labs Element series, as it's considerably more (but has lovely measurements, as we're all aware).

 

[Joe Smith]

This is something that pushed me away from Chinese brands. In my experience they won't acknowledge a problem exists, want you to spend half the cost of the device to ship it back to China, or just want to send a replacement that will have the exact same problems since they won't acknowledge there is a problem with the design in the first place.

I'm still not going to Schitt though to solve those problems as I dealt with their customer service in 2020 and it wasn't much better. Maybe it has improved greatly recently, but I don't give second chances with my money.

I do feel Schiit customer service is pretty good these days. They have been very responsive to me. This is one aspect where they will always be measured against JDS Labs and come in lower. JDS is exceptional AND super-pleasant to boot. But, they have a much smaller product line and operation than Schiit, and so that's more manageable for them.

 

[confucius_zero]

if the music file is at start, no instrument playing, total silence.

the thing is that similar costing devices can also achieve pre-playback and playback silence. that's what this site's measurements are trying to highlight. If you enjoy this Magni Mesh DAC, feel free to carry on enjoying it.

 

[Steven Holt]

Oh, to think that I was considering this. No matter. Thank you Amir for this review, this is where you get your bang for your buck with ASR. It seems to me that Schitt is hell-bent on living up to their name.

 

[Joe Smith]

Oh, to think that I was considering this. No matter. Thank you Amir for this review, this is where you get your bang for your buck with ASR. It seems to me that Schitt is hell-bent on living up to their name.

Nope, nope, nope. Enough with the general bashing of them. You don't want this, don't buy it. But I think it's very small-minded unfair to keep dumping on them and everything they make.

If you all want to spend time making repetitive poopy-puns, it's time to go to the playground or kiddie pond. You will find plenty of takers there.

 

[Matias]

I think it's very small-minded unfair to keep dumping on them and everything they make.

To be fair Schiit had a good phase where they were releasing great performance devices. It's not like they can't, but rather that they willingly chose to abandon the well measuring devices and go back to the Funny Names™ technologies that measure worst...

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www.audiosciencereview.com

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[Sokel]

the thing is that similar costing devices can also achieve pre-playback and playback silence. that's what this site's measurements are trying to highlight. If you enjoy this Magni Mesh DAC, feel free to carry on enjoying it.

???
By what mechanism?
I'm not aware of some DAC, any DAC manipulating the recording in such way, lowering its noise floor, other than pure analog attenuation.

(I don't like this form-factor in general, so Magni is not excluded, more so with the weird stories Schitt wants to sell)

 

[Joe Smith]

To be fair Schiit had a good phase where they were releasing great performance devices. It's not like they can't, but rather that they willingly chose to abandon the well measuring devices and go back to the Funny Names™ technologies that measure worst...

Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Schiit Midgard balanced headphone amplifier and preamp. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While I am not a fan of the symbols Schiit uses instead of proper labels, there are only two to learn which is no big...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Schiit Modius Balanced DAC Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Modius Balanced USB DAC. It was kindly sent to me by the company for testing. The Modius costs just US $199 which is quite cheap for a balanced DAC from a western company. The design language is Schiit all the way (sorry, could not...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Schiit Magnius Balanced Headphone Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the new Schiit Magnius Balanced (input and output) headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by the company and costs US $199 direct plus shipping. The sample I received is in black which gives a serious look to the new amp: There is an input...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Schiit Magni Heretic Headphone Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Magni Heretic headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $109. You can get it in silver or back. Either way, the side and back panels are in red which I like. As you see, there is not much to the functionality...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Schiit IEMagni Review (Headphone Amplifier)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the just announced Schiit IEMagni headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company for testing and costs US $119.99. Naturally IEMagni looks like other Schiit products which I tend to like in black a lot more: Operationally I wished the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

And again, I protest choice of words here, not "abandoning." My latest products from them, a Gjallarhorn amp and Saga 2 preamp, are just great. The little Magni, looks like they had design compromises, which is a shame. But it's not like Schiit has turned the boat around and now only is going to make bad stuff.

If one product that isn't absolutely excellent means the company is toast, then I assume no one on here will be buying any more Topping products? Hmmm?

 

[fws]

Compare that to the L30 I and some of the stuff in the DX5II threads and you can see why people might opt for something that doesn't measure as great and isn't going to be audible for them in exchange for better customer support and build quality.

Lets not forget Schiit is not innocent in this aspect - the whole story with Schiit products destroying headphones (one with attacks on nwavguy included), the bit shoddy soldering documented here multiple times, and continued reports of failures of their products (especially Modi from my daily observations on r/HeadphoneAdvice and to lesser degree on r/Headphones).

On that note, when people are asking for a new DAC because their Modi broke after 3-5 years, I just don't understand how they can be perfectly fine with that and consider buying yet another Schiit DAC. Like what kind of reliability we are even talking about? I never had DAC just fail on its own, my 1999 cheap soundcard on CS4297A still works, so is moderately priced CS4382 one from 2004, and I keep cheap, bought used, FX Audio DAC on CS4399 on 24/7 for like 6 years now. Or is "Assembled in USA" a meme like from that old commedy movie where Japanese owners inspect US car factory and the doors fall of the car?

 

[Joe Smith]

I’ve not had any S product fail. Scratchy volume pots, yes, if not used in a while.

 

[Matias]

And again, I protest choice of words here, not "abandoning."

Same company, same price point ~100 usd (Modi+ included a chassis!), 2022 versus 2026. You can call it "reverse", "go back", "degrade", "did not keep up" or whatever.

 

[Joe Smith]

Yeah, I guess we’re all clear now. The mesh card add-on is not very good. I still use a Modi 3 dac from 2019 and it’s still fine. Probably this idea to make a one box and keep it under $200 meant they compromised. But as noted above it will probably still sell ok for them, our focus on measurement is a subset of their customer base.

My main point was that I’m not prepared to damn them unilaterally because one product makes our group feel unhappy.

 

[Steven Holt]

You don't want this, don't buy it. But I think it's very small-minded unfair to keep dumping on them and everything they make.

Turns out that I didn't want it, so I didn't buy it! I do own two pieces of their gear, they work quite well. What bothers me about Schitt, is that they know better and they can do better, but for some reason, they don't. There's no reason for it, I'm sure they have excellent engineers, they are located in one of the best tech centers in this country. As an American company, I want them to do better. Why don't they?? Finally, when you name yr company Schitt, you're opening yourself up to all kinds of humor, scatalogical or otherwise.

 

[Mocie]

Lets not forget Schiit is not innocent in this aspect - the whole story with Schiit products destroying headphones

This comparison always sucks when you take into account the Asgard thing happened like 10 years ago and their policy since has been to replace any headphones that were damaged by their products should it happen. Look at the L30 I thread and how hard Topping tried to not do this, or thr DX5II thread where it seems like they aren't acknowledging the issue whatsoever.

continued reports of failures of their products (especially Modi

I'm pretty much at the point of believing anything in this price bracket (from any company) is making too many QC concessions. Failure rates always seem to be from dongles up to this cheap bracket.

just don't understand how they can be perfectly fine with that and consider buying yet another Schiit DAC. Like what kind of reliability we are even talking about? I never had DAC just fail on its own, my 1999 cheap soundcard on CS4297A still works, so is moderately priced CS4382 one from 2004, and I keep cheap, bought used, FX Audio DAC on CS4399 on 24/7 for like 6 years now

I know guys who have OG Rags/Yggys that are still in perfect condition. There are people on here who have gone through 2-3 Topping devices at similar price ranges to the Modi in less than three years. Sometimes they win the lotto, sometimes you get that. Pinning this phenomenon on a single brand is wild.

I'm not surprised you have stuff from that far back still kicking on though, things really were built much better back in the day.

 

[amirm]

This comparison always sucks when you take into account the Asgard thing happened like 10 years ago and their policy since has been to replace any headphones that were damaged by their products should it happen.

Where is that on their website?

 

[amirm]

I know guys who have OG Rags/Yggys that are still in perfect condition. There are people on here who have gone through 2-3 Topping devices at similar price ranges to the Modi in less than three years. Sometimes they win the lotto, sometimes you get that. Pinning this phenomenon on a single brand is wild.

You realize you just did that with Topping? Here is a two second search on failure of Schiit products: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/replacing-broken-schiit-stack.49283/

"I have been using a entry level Schiit stack for the last couple of years. The Schiit Modi 3 and the Schiit Heresy. I have mostly been very pleased with these items. However the pot on the Schiit Heresy has become so scratchy and after multiple cleans nothing seems to help anymore. Furthermore it seems that the Modi 3 is on its way out as it sometimes does not get recognized by the computer anymore and other times only after 10-15 minutes. So i am looking to replace my current stack."

I put myself through college fixing every major and minor brand of electronics. Stuff dies and sometimes with the same problem.

 

[Mocie]

Where is that on their website?

From what I read on reddit, when you submit the service request they ask you to send in the cans too. If they determine they caused it, they cover it.

Not advertising it outright on the site is definitely a move (this should be plastered visibly) but there are stories of it happening in various spaces so I know its definitely something they do.

 

[amirm]

Look at the L30 I thread and how hard Topping tried to not do this, or thr DX5II thread where it seems like they aren't acknowledging the issue whatsoever.

You can't compare a non-native speakers from a company far away with a local American company when it comes to communications. It simply is harder for them to do this. But what is the excuse for Schiit? Where are they commenting on issues I have found with Magni? Where is the acknowledgement of issues with this version or the previous one? All I saw was denial on the original.