Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

[oleg87]

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!

A single-ended amp has one output stage (per channel) that drives one terminal of each headphone driver, and the other just returns current to ground.

A "balanced" amplifier (kind of a misnomer, since you don't actually get the benefits of balanced interconnects elsewhere in the chain, and you more commonly see this arrangement called "bridge-tied load" in electronics literature, but anyhow...) has separate output stages driving each terminal of the driver, with the signal polarity inverted for one of them. This makes the headphone see double the voltage swing from the same power supply, which is potentially useful for portable/battery-powered devices where adding another op-amp or something may be more practical than adding higher-voltage supply rails. It has no other real advantage (maybe reduced stereo crosstalk from sharing one ground wire for left/right, but that's not really ever an issue), but with human hearing being biased to think "louder is better", placebo effect will favor the louder balanced output.

The Midgard is single-ended but it should have ample power for pretty much any headphone, including yours. It uses the XLR connector to implement the "Halo" thing.

 

[spartan922]

Would the Midgard work as a desktop preamp for a pair of Genelecs (active monitors) which use balanced inputs? Or would I be better served to seek out a truely balanced signal path?

 

[staticV3]

Would the Midgard work as a desktop preamp for a pair of Genelecs (active monitors) which use balanced inputs? Or would I be better served to seek out a truely balanced signal path?

The Midgard's Headphone Amp is single ended, but the preamp and XLR Line out should be proper balanced.

 

[spartan922]

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[dreadknot]

is the midgard better or equal to the performance of the schiit magnius which i still have , iv been wanting a 2nd for another setup but now that its no longer carried would the midgard be a suitable alt

especially since its 20$ more then the magnius was before sh&tx an while i dont mind paying about 40$ more total for the same performance or a bit better but not less quality

so is it a safe bet to go for the midgard ?

 

[Veri]

is the midgard better or equal to the performance of the schiit magnius which i still have , iv been wanting a 2nd for another setup but now that its no longer carried would the midgard be a suitable alt

Sure. I would say so, it's an indirect 'successor' to magnius of sorts

 

[Shazb0t]

is the midgard better or equal to the performance of the schiit magnius which i still have , iv been wanting a 2nd for another setup but now that its no longer carried would the midgard be a suitable alt

especially since its 20$ more then the magnius was before sh&tx an while i dont mind paying about 40$ more total for the same performance or a bit better but not less quality

so is it a safe bet to go for the midgard ?

Magnius has a true balanced output if that matters to you.

 

[dreadknot]

Magnius has a true balanced output

does the midgard also have true balanced output

 

[solderdude]

It does on the pre-out but NOT on the headphone out.

 

[dreadknot]

is that the same as the Magnius or was it both on preout an xlr headphone

 

[Shazb0t]

is that the same as the Magnius or was it both on preout an xlr headphone

Magnius can be balanced in and out for its headphone output while it appears the Midgard headphone out is single ended.

 

[Brian Hall]

I upgraded my office system from a Magni+ to the Midguard. Also went from a Loki+ to a Lokius.

The most obvious difference is the power. With my Senheiser HD650, on high gain, I always had the power at 1:00 with the Magni+. With the Midguard, going higher than 10:00 is too loud. It may be all placebo effect from getting new boxes, but everything sounds great. I like the additional EQ control from the Lokius.

I switched to using XLR cables and got one for the headphones too. XLR from the Eversolo DMP-A6 to the Lokius then to the Midguard. RCA output from the Midguard to the Saga S preamp (passive mode) which has outputs to powered speakers by my monitor and to a Fosi V3 amp for passive speakers (Sony SSCS5).

I know some don't think much of those Sony speakers, but I think they are perfect for a relatively small room and don't even need a separate subwoofer.

 

[40th Anniversary]

Sooo....I'm currently using my Midgard as an RCA S.E. signal "in" (from RME ADI-2 DAC FS) to XLR Out feeding a pair of powered monitors.

The XLR outputs of the RME are feeding other things (AHB2 + speakers).

If I read the review correctly: the S.E. input to XLR output is actually better than what the Schiit Kara preamp can muster for the same configuration!
And here I was thinking of upgrading from the Midgard to the Kara to improve the performance.

But I would like to get a better Walmart for the Midgard. Any suggestions?

 

[staticV3]

But I would like to get a better Walmart for the Midgard. Any suggestions?

What would you like this wallwart to accomplish?

 

[40th Anniversary]

What would you like this wallwart to accomplish?

1. I find the supplied wall-wart runs warm...maybe too warm.
2. Midgard runs quiet, but I wonder if a better wall-wart would improve anything with the Midgard. I haven't research much on this topic.
- For my RME, I am more than satisfied than the DC supply that comes with the unit fulfills its mission. I have tried a DC Li-Ion battery which works very well, but I do not see any discernable improvement.

That's it, that's all. Thanks for asking!

 

[staticV3]

1. I find the supplied wall-wart runs warm...maybe too warm.

Yeah, it's a common issue with transformer wall warts. Not much you can do about it.

2. Midgard runs quiet, but I wonder if a better wall-wart would improve anything with the Midgard. I haven't research much on this topic.

It would not.
The Midgard's noise comes from its internal components.
The AC input is heavily filtered and does not contribute to output noise.

 

[40th Anniversary]

Yeah, it's a common issue with transformer wall warts. Not much you can do about it.


It would not.
The Midgard's noise comes from it's internal components.
The AC input is heavily filtered and does not contribute to output noise.

Thanks. And yes, the Midgard runs quiet as is. I'm so impressed with this gem of a product.
I'll just order a spare Wall Wart as a backup...just in case.

 

[Brian Hall]

Thanks. And yes, the Midgard runs quiet as is. I'm so impressed with this gem of a product.
I'll just order a spare Wall Wart as a backup...just in case.

I would stick with the one Schiit provided. May be warranty issues if something goes wrong.

 

[40th Anniversary]

I would stick with the one Schiit provided. May be warranty issues if something goes wrong.

Yes, I'm on it tonight. Wall-wart from Schiit - Maybe a SYS - Magni + and some swag. LoL

 

[dufferdan]

I may have missed it in my read thru, but are the dimensions of the Midgard the same as the Modius? More specifically, can one swap out the Midgard for the Modius when using the Snake Oil XLR Mini Link?

well, looked at the Mini Link page and they are apparently listed together. So, for anyone else too tired to look, there ya go!