I have never understood this avid defending of companies you see some people do. Any company can release a bad product. I don't buy SMSL or Topping due to bugs and issues I had with previous products. The problem with Schiit is the pride they take in something that is clearly defective by design. The original Unity was suppose to have a DAC add-on that was comparable to the Modi+. That clearly was a lie as the DAC performed way below that product. I have little faith their new Mesh design is any better based on their history. None of this will hurt them though as they have built their company into a cult that is impervious to criticism.
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Schiit Magni Unity DAC/HP Amp Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
I'll continue to buy and enjoy using gear from Schiit! I'm pretty unhappy about all of the negative comments on this thread. But it is human nature to pile on, I guess, once any problem or fault is uncovered, right?
"Skip this one," fine. I personally see no reason to condemn all of Schiit's product line just because one item - where we can't even be sure exactly what DAC is being measured - had less than optimal tests.
"Skip this one," fine. I personally see no reason to condemn all of Schiit's product line just because one item - where we can't even be sure exactly what DAC is being measured - had less than optimal tests.
Why does Schiit need to prove anything beyond what they already did? They have the measurements posted for this product (the current version).
It is objectively true that they have responded to measurement concerns about past products. Saying otherwise ignores the evidence
In science, when there's a difference between measurements, scientists design a study (or studies) to explore those differences. I still don't know why anyone here thinks the onus rests on Schiit when this website claims to be the science location
It is objectively true that they have responded to measurement concerns about past products. Saying otherwise ignores the evidence
In science, when there's a difference between measurements, scientists design a study (or studies) to explore those differences. I still don't know why anyone here thinks the onus rests on Schiit when this website claims to be the science location
I think two things are true at once here:
- Schiit noted the serial number on the unit was a 2024 unit, and the DAC offering had since changed from the one measured in this review.
- Amir noted this and amended the review title to state that the DAC reviewed was NOT the Mesh DAC advertised on the site currently.
I think in the interest of fairness and being generous here, the onus would be on other people to supply measurements to compare/contrast to what Amir's are and then the differences can be ironed out from there. As good as another review of the Mesh DAC would be to clear everything up, this site does operate on the 'you send it in, I'll run it through the motions' principle so it isn't on Amir to chase it up in this case. Just to notate the exact stuff being measured as part of this review.
This is true, they've also typically stated when they think something will measure poorly. I can see why some people would be irked by that though, as @aagstn says. In that case, vote with your wallet for sure.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #105
Nothing in their AP report indicates the conditions of the device under test. This makes their data much less useful and certainly not a rebuke to my testing. This is on top needing independent verification of their data.
Further, the variability i found would not exist in an automated batch script they ran. That kind of testing is for pass/fail of production run, not engineering analysis. Look at Topping measurements for an example of how to do this right.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #106
We are not discussing science. This is is a simple engineering matter. I have seen no data from them proving variability doesn't exist. Or that the new DAC is competitive where the original wasn't.
What we do know is that snide remarks are back as is putting blame on reviewers. Neither is appreciated by me and some of the membership which has options without theses issues.
Jimster480
Major Contributor
It worries me in the sense that it's very hard to find any information about their supposed mesh DAC and how this is actually different from the original DAC. There is no information that I found searching around to see what DAC chip they are actually using and how this is a different design.
I don't think they've made a product that's worth purchasing up to this point in time. After having owned several of their products, I was never happy with a single one, and each of their products has their own quirks and flaws, of which they refuse to actually acknowledge. Previously, when they talked about the measurements, they did work to make a couple products that did measure well, but I would still not purchase them, because each one had other issues, like grounding problems or problems with the pot, etc... I mean realistically, they don't make good products, and I have yet to see a product that is actually on par with other audio companies.
This is kind of complicated because other people cannot just supply measurements, the way that Amir does measurements. Simply because they don't have a $20,000+ analyzer. Now, the company themselves does actually have one of these analyzers, but they're not running the tests in the same manner, likely for the same reason that was alluded to here. They don't want to have the actual test conditions where they might have egg on their face.
While it is true that Schiit has mentioned before when they think something will measure poorly, this is not a very common thing. And at the end of the day, they still believe that things that measure poorly sound really good. And overall, of all of the products of their company that I have listened to, that has never been the case. There has been a case a couple times where I have listened to something that doesn't measure well but still sounds good (but it wasn't Schiit) . Even if there were obvious micro-details missing in certain tracks, the sound was still pleasant. But that is not the case with this brand as a whole.
I think the biggest issue that myself and many other people from this forum have with this brand is just their general dishonesty, lack of ownership of mistakes, and drama that they create when anything doesn't get a great review. Overall, I disagree with Amir even giving this product any recommendation, because this is clearly an engineering flaw in a product that shouldn't have any engineering flaw. But, here we are.
Kinda flies for any company to be fair, think it's just industry standard to be as coy as possible. There are only a few exceptions to this. Not justifying it, just saying none of it shocks me. I'm not going to be particularly offended at Schiit doing this when you could rattle off the same criticism for just about anyone.
Reviewers like GS and co all have the same measuring gear, there's definitely non-Schiit sources which could produce the tests if they feel inclined to (GS did with one of the Abyss headphones back in the day when it was contentious on here). Prior to Amir acquiring that gear I know he used to say the quality of measuring gear shouldn't directly discredit an analysis, I would hope that still stands true today.
I think this is valid and everyone's entitled to hold that. People on here are complimentary when Schiit measurements have lined up with the targets/expectations on here, which is good. My personal experience with them as typically been fantastic and yours hasn't, so that'll ultimately define our consumer preferences. Same thing goes for TOPPING or any other brand that is contentious. Like I mentioned, the DX5II threads are genuine nightmare fuel which is why I think a lot of people might be over-passionate in this thread as people look for same-cost alternatives.
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I’m not meaning to cast any aspersions on your review, Amir, you tested the unit you had. I do think, based on what Schiit said back to me, you do not have the latest version with the mesh card version, thanks for correcting that.
Jimster480
Major Contributor
I just looked at some DX5 II threads and I don't see "nightmare fuel" just a few people who have issues with distortion and PEQ options. Which kind of makes sense considering how complicated this product is. I can't imagine anyone Cross shopping this Magni Unity and a DX5 II though as the Unity offers 0 of the features that make the DX5 II appealing... It would be more likely they would be cross shopping a JDS Atom+ DAC/Amp stack or SMSL DL200, Topping DX3 Pro+, Fiio K11, Fiio K7, etc
There are lots and lots of devices at this price point. Magni Unity barely even fits in considering it offers the least features of the bunch and isn't cheaper.
oleg87
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Not disputing your experiences, but I've owned 3 (entry-level) Schiit products and they've all been perfectly functional. I don't know how they compare with the industry's most serious players, but I doubt they're significantly worse than Topping or whoever, who regularly release products in what is effectively "public beta" state.
I'd say double-digit pages of troubleshooting bugs, breakages, and reports of headphones getting fried (albeit not completely substantiated), along with people running into customs issues returning the product due to Topping not providing the correct paperwork, would probably qualify as nightmare fuel for most people. Your tolerance for these sorts of issues is pretty high it seems.
Jimster480
Major Contributor
They are definitely worse than topping in every possible retard except maybe customer service... But since customer service was stupid enough at Schiit to suggest that the power in my house was dirty and causing the issues with my Modi2 back in the day... And blamed my grounding issues from my Magni3 on my APC UPS... I'd be inclined to say that is also well.... Schiit
Jimster480
Major Contributor
I mean, it just goes to show the popularity of the product. So, double digit pages really doesn't mean very much when, you know, a page contains ten posts. And you have the same guy making three posts on the same page.
So, I went back about eight pages on this forum. And I did see probably 50 messages related to this, although many of them are about the same exact thing and people applying firmware patches and then asking each other how it works after the patch, or how to apply the patch.
I didn't see any posts about people supposedly burning out their headphones, but I could see that it would be possible with the huge wattage that the DX5II can output... Especially if volume got set to max somehow and wasn't noticed.
Well, I'm not trying to defend topping here, but these kinds of issues have been really common with all newer products today that are complicated. It's another reason why you shouldn't be among the first people to buy new products unless you are like me and are able to troubleshoot issues.
The same could be argued on the side of the Magni Unity because if their original DAC was terrible like shown here in this review and then was updated to a new version that wasn't terrible (and it wasn't really explained that the old version was terrible and that the new version fixes all the problems) . Well, you could say that this is even more dishonest and potentially a larger issue because you sold a fundamentally broken product and just tried to hide it.
At least on the side of Topping, while I don't agree with releasing a product that is essentially beta (and why I didn't buy it), they are at least able to issue firmware updates and fix the entire device through future firmware. Even if that should have been done at the factory before release.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #116
FYI, there are other inconsistencies I have found in Schiit products. Here is another one: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...t-kara-preamp-and-headphone-amp-review.48048/
From what I recall, they sent another which didn't have this problem.
From what I recall, they sent another which didn't have this problem.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #117
I appreciated that.
Just to be clear, as far as I know, the analog headphone amp has not changed. So what I tested there is completely up to date.
That's our understanding in the thread too, yep! Just the DAC is the contentious point with the review.
mikeonamobile
Member
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2026
- Messages
- 6
- Likes
- 12
I just got one with allegedly a brand new DAC (shipment was delayed b/c the DACs were on backorder) - if you would like to test it and see if it's any different, I can send it to you.
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