Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

[solderdude]

That would depend on the source output level.

 

[pritster5]

That would depend on the source output level.

Was this in response to me? I was just asking which gain setting the user with Susvara had their Midgard on when playing the pictured song

 

[solderdude]

Was this in response to me? I was just asking which gain setting the user with Susvara had their Midgard on when playing the pictured song

That would depend on the output voltage of the used source (its volume setting and output voltage).
You only need to use a high gain setting if you cannot get loud enough at full volume in the lower gain setting.

 

[majingotan]

Is that on low gain or high gain mode?

That’s high gain mode on a balanced source 4V out. At those levels, only expose yourself for less than 30 minutes to prevent hearing damage. It’s about at minimum 100 dB SPL or more during peak volume

 

[pritster5]

That’s high gain mode on a balanced source 4V out. At those levels, only expose yourself for less than 30 minutes to prevent hearing damage. It’s about at minimum 100 dB SPL or more during peak volume

Perfect thanks. On low gain mode, were you able to get it loud enough such that it could both sound good and handle transient spikes?

 

[majingotan]

Perfect thanks. On low gain mode, were you able to get it loud enough such that it could both sound good and handle transient spikes?

Unfortunately, I haven't tried low gain mode with the Susvara. I'll report back to you once my unit arrives hopefully this weekend. On the HD650, the low gain mode is plenty enough and it's appropriately leveled to run IEMs as well with enough volume play. You can practically throw any headphone and IEM with the Midgard (except maybe Modhouse Tungsten) and have plenty drive, clean sound with transients and detail aplomb.

 

[pritster5]

Unfortunately, I haven't tried low gain mode with the Susvara. I'll report back to you once my unit arrives hopefully this weekend. On the HD650, the low gain mode is plenty enough and it's appropriately leveled to run IEMs as well with enough volume play. You can practically throw any headphone and IEM with the Midgard (except maybe Modhouse Tungsten) and have plenty drive, clean sound with transients and detail aplomb.

Thanks so much for taking the time to report it on low gain!

I'm really hoping Hifiman releases an update to the Susvara sometime in the next few years, my HE1000V2's are more than good but their newer headphones all seem to be much more efficient (Arya organic and HE1000 Stealth), Susvara might be getting out of date.

 

[majingotan]

Thanks so much for taking the time to report it on low gain!

I'm really hoping Hifiman releases an update to the Susvara sometime in the next few years, my HE1000V2's are more than good but their newer headphones all seem to be much more efficient (Arya organic and HE1000 Stealth), Susvara might be getting out of date.

Tried the low gain mode on the Susvara. It's no go. At max volume, I still don't think it swings dynamics better than the high gain mode. It's roughly about 90-100 decibels at max volume on low gain mode (I think it's probably about 500 mw or less at higher impedance per @amirm measurements)

 

[pritster5]

Tried the low gain mode on the Susvara. It's no go. At max volume, I still don't think it swings dynamics better than the high gain mode. It's roughly about 90-100 decibels at max volume on low gain mode (I think it's probably about 500 mw or less at higher impedance per @amirm measurements)

Thanks for the update! I wonder if the Magnius might actually be a better pairing with the Susvara given that it puts out 6W vs the 4.8W here.

 

[majingotan]

Thanks for the update! I wonder if the Magnius might actually be a better pairing with the Susvara given that it puts out 6W vs the 4.8W here.

IMHO, Midgard is plenty for Susvara at high gain, enough to cause you hearing damage on max volume in balance output. I can’t say the same for Magnius since the 50 ohm performance might be worse than Midgard

 

[solderdude]

Thanks for the update! I wonder if the Magnius might actually be a better pairing with the Susvara given that it puts out 6W vs the 4.8W here.

The difference between 6W and 4.8W is just under 1dB higher max. SPL so is not really audible.

 

[pritster5]

IMHO, Midgard is plenty for Susvara at high gain, enough to cause you hearing damage on max volume in balance output. I can’t say the same for Magnius since the 50 ohm performance might be worse than Midgard

Ah, meaning that the power output at various impedances might vary both within an amp and from amp to amp? I.e. the Midgard might potentially output more power into 50 ohms than the Magnius and the Magnius might output more power into 300 ohms than the Midgard (or not)?

 

[Viennacalling]

Does somebody use it with hifiman he1000v2 ?
and is it better than rme adi.2 amp?

 

[pritster5]

Does somebody use it with hifiman he1000v2 ?
and is it better than rme adi.2 amp?

Yeah I'm currently using the Midgard with my HE1000v2's. They sound great with them, but I haven't tried any ultra-high end amps/dacs with the he1000v2's so idk how to compare them against some theoretical peak that an ultra high end dac/amp might reveal.

 

[Aenge]

I'm not interested in the halo Schiit, just Midgard as a normal amp. Is there any reason to get a Jotun2 or Asgard3 instead of the Midgard for single ended headphone setups?

 

[oleg87]

I'm not interested in the halo Schiit, just Midgard as a normal amp. Is there any reason to get a Jotun2 or Asgard3 instead of the Midgard for single ended headphone setups?

Unless you need the modular DAC, hard to see an objective upside to either of them. The Midgard is cheaper, measures better, is more powerful, and uses way less idle power.

 

[Aenge]

Unless you need the modular DAC, hard to see an objective upside to either of them. The Midgard is cheaper, measures better, is more powerful, and uses way less idle power.

Thanks. I ended up ordering the Midgard and will pair it with an SMSL SU1.

 

[dj_jm09]

Good afternoon,

I recently have gotten into hi-fi audio and purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 6XXs.
I am just using the headphone output on my desktop computer and an Apple dongle for my iPhone.
I do not have an amp nor DAC and was wondering if the Midgard and Modius would work well with my headphones or would that be overkill for a beginner?
I saw a post earlier in this thread stating that the Midgard was not a balanced headphone amplifier and could somebody please clarify that statement?
Any and all help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[staticV3]

Good afternoon,

I recently have gotten into hi-fi audio and purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 6XXs.
I am just using the headphone output on my desktop computer and an Apple dongle for my iPhone.
I do not have an amp nor DAC and was wondering if the Magnius and Modius would work well with my headphones or would that be overkill for a beginner?
I saw a post earlier in this thread stating that the Magnius was not a balanced headphone amplifier and could somebody please clarify that statement?
Any and all help is appreciated! Thanks!

Hi @dj_jm09!

While the Magnius and Modius would undoubtedly work well with your 6XX, it would most likely sound exactly the same as your desktop computer and Apple dongle.
Unless you're struggling to get sufficient loudness with your current headphone outputs, there's little to no point in buying a new Amp.
The DAC is also highly unlikely to give you better sound quality.

If you're looking to improve sound quality, I very much recommend you give EQ a shot. It made a substantial difference for my HD600.

The Schiit Magnius is AFAIK a true balanced headphone Amp with differential headphone output.
The Midgard OTOH is a single-ended Amp.

This has absolutely no bearing on sound quality. It's just a technical detail.

 

[Ahmonge]

Good afternoon,

I recently have gotten into hi-fi audio and purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD 6XXs.
I am just using the headphone output on my desktop computer and an Apple dongle for my iPhone.
I do not have an amp nor DAC and was wondering if the Midgard and Modius would work well with my headphones or would that be overkill for a beginner?
I saw a post earlier in this thread stating that the Midgard was not a balanced headphone amplifier and could somebody please clarify that statement?
Any and all help is appreciated! Thanks!

If you want to test the waters of HIFI madness I would try an external DAC/Amp combo as the Fiio K5 Pro. Much cheaper than the ones you’re looking for, powerful enough to deafen you and without the need to change the headphones cable to a balanced one, as its anplifier section is single ended.