Schiit Magni Unity DAC/HP Amp Review

[stuartkohl]

Nah, all companies making audio gear don't 'wait' for new chips to come out to make new models.



Indeed what most audio companies generally do is make a new model as soon as a new chip comes to the market as buyers want this.
Downside usually is that many FW iterations are needed to get it to work properly.
Some brands have a slightly different approach and take more time to launch a product and thus are not using the latest and greatest (measurement or feature wise) chip(sets).
Some brands take it even slower than that. Schiit is one of them.

Still, the issue with DAC-card-amp combo in this case does not seem to have been prevented, EMC testing would have caught it and a redesign of the DAC-card would likely have been done or at least considered.

But it isn't about 'justifying a new model'.
t has to do with selling as much devices as possible with a good profit margin, it has to do with visibility in the market and meeting demands of the market (consumers).

Ok, that all makes sense. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Jimster480]

Nah, all companies making audio gear don't 'wait' for new chips to come out to make new models.



Indeed what most audio companies generally do is make a new model as soon as a new chip comes to the market as buyers want this.
Downside usually is that many FW iterations are needed to get it to work properly.
Some brands have a slightly different approach and take more time to launch a product and thus are not using the latest and greatest (measurement or feature wise) chip(sets).
Some brands take it even slower than that. Schiit is one of them.

Still, the issue with DAC-card-amp combo in this case does not seem to have been prevented, EMC testing would have caught it and a redesign of the DAC-card would likely have been done or at least considered.

But it isn't about 'justifying a new model'.
t has to do with selling as much devices as possible with a good profit margin, it has to do with visibility in the market and meeting demands of the market (consumers).

That's right, alot people like to update their devices when a new DAC chip comes out even if they don't need it which has been the case for like 10 years already at least.
So manufacturers make new devices with the newest chip because they sell them. I mean, they go where the money is and they can easily market them.

 

[stuartkohl]

I used to watch as companies like Audio Research released the "mod of the month" when I was younger. Their products were always moving targets and their customers forever sending them back for an update to the latest revision. The local audio dealer hated it because their stock became "stale" quickly and then customers might balk at buying an item without the latest "goodness" from the factory.

There were other companies that did the same thing and then a whole little industry of "underground" audio magazines that played along. It was all rather incestuous. Most of those magazines have ceased to exist, but we now have some forums that do much the same thing for the manufacturers that sponsor them.