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Schiit Magnius Balanced Headphone Amp Review

Veri

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Not to mention IMD is supposedly the "worst kind" of distortion?
 

maverickronin

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Would you say Magnius should sound better than any other pre amp that uses a pot, since none are anywhere near 125 db SNR?

Well the A90 is around ~126 and I think Topping is planning a preamp only version of it as well which should probably be cheaper.

That said, they are all well past any threshold of audibility so price, ergonomics, looks, support, etc should be you deciding factors.
 

Zensō

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The problem isn't the relatively low level harmonic distortion... it's the IMD, which is orders of magnitude worse. The harmonic distortion results for SE are misleading.
Ah, OK. So this...

60D530D4-868E-4FEB-B085-54FED03E35FA.jpeg
36A4F231-F7CB-4575-81E8-F915428DA2BA.jpeg
 

solderdude

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At the voltage level the amp will normally be used in (10 mV to say 1V) the distortion distance is still an inaudible (with music) -70dB so I question the audibility of it. But yes with HD also comes IMD.
 

Jefrpol

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Considering this item, the Monoprice 887 and the Topping A90 are within $300 from least to most expensive, is there a reason to spend more than what the Magnius costs? Is there a difference in sound, for instance, or is any one built better than the other two? For me, the pre-amp feature is nice but not dispositive and the headphone amplifier will be used more than 90% balanced in/out.
 

o7_brother

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No real differences would be found in a blind test between those amps, with the possible exception of the Magnius' SE output.
 

Veri

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Considering this item, the Monoprice 887 and the Topping A90 are within $300 from least to most expensive, is there a reason to spend more than what the Magnius costs? Is there a difference in sound, for instance, or is any one built better than the other two? For me, the pre-amp feature is nice but not dispositive and the headphone amplifier will be used more than 90% balanced in/out.
90% balanced out means magnius is top contender for you :)
 

armigo

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I can only recommend people to look elsewhere if you're located in Europe. My Magnius was completely dead on arrival, and now they offer me to refund it only if I pay for shipping, So I end up paying 100$ to ship a dead piece of equipment around the world ... great thank you Shiit.
 

Vasr

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I can only recommend people to look elsewhere if you're located in Europe. My Magnius was completely dead on arrival, and now they offer me to refund it only if I pay for shipping, So I end up paying 100$ to ship a dead piece of equipment around the world ... great thank you Shiit.

Is that even legal with EU rules?
 

3125b

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It wouldn't be, but if he didn't buy it in the EU, that doesn't apply.
I've heard good things about Schiits customer service even for overseas shipping. But who knows, that might vary.
 

T.M.Noble

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I can only recommend people to look elsewhere if you're located in Europe. My Magnius was completely dead on arrival, and now they offer me to refund it only if I pay for shipping, So I end up paying 100$ to ship a dead piece of equipment around the world ... great thank you Shiit.
If you would, please private message me with your personal information so I can look into this myself. I would love to resolve the situation to your satisfaction.
 

T.M.Noble

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I can only recommend people to look elsewhere if you're located in Europe. My Magnius was completely dead on arrival, and now they offer me to refund it only if I pay for shipping, So I end up paying 100$ to ship a dead piece of equipment around the world ... great thank you Shiit.
As an addendum to the previous post, for customs reasons, we are not allowed to provide a shipping label out side of the US. In cases like these the customers ships back the unit and once the tracking information has been verified, we immediately refund your shipping cost. This has been our policy since we started the company. If you want to return a damaged or non operational unit, it will not cost you a cent.
 

Vasr

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As an addendum to the previous post, for customs reasons, we are not allowed to provide a shipping label out side of the US. In cases like these the customers ships back the unit and once the tracking information has been verified, we immediately refund your shipping cost. This has been our policy since we started the company. If you want to return a damaged or non operational unit, it will not cost you a cent.

Nice. That is more than what a lot of companies are willing to do both big and small.
 

freedomgli

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Do the Magnius preamp outputs perform the same as the headphone outputs? I’m looking for a versatile “future proof” jack of all trades desktop preamp/ headphone amp that will allow me to use active monitors, bookshelf speakers w/ tube amp single ended, bookshelf speakers w/ class D amp balanced or headphones. This seems to fit the bill pretty well.
 

BAMCIS

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I think this is a legitimate criticism but there was a lot of thought that went into this. We only use one phase of the balanced output so there is no cancellation of distortion between phases. We could have made the SE measure the same but to be honest it adds parts which adds cost, we didn't like how it sounded when tested and frankly we have an awesome SE amp in Hersey. We made an extraordinary balanced amp at a very competitive price. If you want SE performance, save yourself a hundred bucks and buy Heresy.
The criticism was addressed but there was also a question... do the single ended pre amp outputs have the same issue as the 1/4 inch headphone output? thanks
 

BAMCIS

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Do the Magnius preamp outputs perform the same as the headphone outputs? I’m looking for a versatile “future proof” jack of all trades desktop preamp/ headphone amp that will allow me to use active monitors, bookshelf speakers w/ tube amp single ended, bookshelf speakers w/ class D amp balanced or headphones. This seems to fit the bill pretty well.
I have been asking the same thing since this unit came out. A dozen reviews so far and they're all headphone specific even tho IT IS A PRE AMP. Strange how everyone is avoiding this or if they do say anything it's 'yeah, sure, it's uh, good for that too' as if the pre amp function is somehow subordinate
 

Veri

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The criticism was addressed but there was also a question... do the single ended pre amp outputs have the same issue as the 1/4 inch headphone output? thanks
They're the same output. So yes.
 

Jefrpol

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Regarding the pre-amp (as I contemplate the idea of a new headphone app and consider the possibility of using one as a pre-amp as well) one downside I see is that the pre-amp outputs are always active. A switch, like the A90 has, would be useful. Otherwise, depending on your set-up, your subwoofer will engage even if you are only listening to headphones. Plus, my hunt for a reasonably priced sub with xlr in and outs continues but that may be another topic thread at some point...
 

Zensō

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Regarding the pre-amp (as I contemplate the idea of a new headphone app and consider the possibility of using one as a pre-amp as well) one downside I see is that the pre-amp outputs are always active. A switch, like the A90 has, would be useful. Otherwise, depending on your set-up, your subwoofer will engage even if you are only listening to headphones. Plus, my hunt for a reasonably priced sub with xlr in and outs continues but that may be another topic thread at some point...

I don’t see the point of a pre out that can’t be switched off. That makes it extremely inconvenient to go back and forth between headphones and speakers, which for me happens multiple times throughout the day.
 

Helicopter

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I don’t see the point of a pre out that can’t be switched off. That makes it extremely inconvenient to go back and forth between headphones and speakers, which for me happens multiple times throughout the day.
It hasnt given me any trouble. I just unplug my headphones when I turn on my speaker amp and turn off my speaker amp when I want to listen to headphones. I prefer that all the preamp outputs stay on because I sometimes run multiple speaker amps and I can just switch them on when I want to use them. I guess it depends on your setup.
 
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