This is a review and detailed measurements of the Schiit Modi 3+ DAC. It was kindly sent to me by the company for testing and costs US $99 from the company direct.
Externally there is not much that indicates the new revision of the Schiit Modi series of DACs:
The back side is the same as before:
Internally though the USB implementation has been replaced by Schiit's own design. I am assuming there is some cost saving there as otherwise I don't see the reason for reinventing the wheel there.
As before, USB is self-powered but you need to use an external USB power to use S/PDIF or Toslink interfaces. I compared using Schiit's supplied USB adapter to using my computer's output and result was the same. So if you misplace the external adapter, and don't have a phone one handy, you can just use a port on your computer.
As is typical of Schiit DACs, it somehow identifies itself to Windows differently causing my ASIO emulation layer to resample (and screw up) the samples. So I used my Roon player to send it static signals and Coax for "sweeps."
Schiit Modi 3+ Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard of 1 kHz, 24-bit tone using USB input:
The ranking is quite good although the game has advanced by some other competitors:
And zoomed:
Signal to noise ratio likewise feels a few dBs behind especially in one channel:
The design does improve on the old Modi 3 however if we look at intermodulation distortion as an example:
Jitter over USB is very good although there are some clear signs of benign jitter:
Any time you see spikes symmetrical around our 12 kHz tone, they are most likely jitter. As is typical though, the other inputs are significantly worse:
Linearity is very good and shows attention to detail:
The DAC filter is "bog standard" as our UK and Australian friends would say:
Good attenuation in the stop band but a bit slow. Again, very typical.
I was disappointed in THD+N versus frequency:
As well as multitone:
Conclusions
When it comes to DACs -- even budget ones -- we are quite spoiled. The industry through fierce competition has really sneezed every bit of noise and distortion given the cost constraints. The Schiit Modi 3+ is also in that game but as noted in the review, a small step behind. In return you get a US made and supported product, matching any other Schiit gear you may have.
So while I can't gush over its performance since it doesn't best the category, I am happy to still recommend the Schiit Modi 3+.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Externally there is not much that indicates the new revision of the Schiit Modi series of DACs:
The back side is the same as before:
Internally though the USB implementation has been replaced by Schiit's own design. I am assuming there is some cost saving there as otherwise I don't see the reason for reinventing the wheel there.
As before, USB is self-powered but you need to use an external USB power to use S/PDIF or Toslink interfaces. I compared using Schiit's supplied USB adapter to using my computer's output and result was the same. So if you misplace the external adapter, and don't have a phone one handy, you can just use a port on your computer.
As is typical of Schiit DACs, it somehow identifies itself to Windows differently causing my ASIO emulation layer to resample (and screw up) the samples. So I used my Roon player to send it static signals and Coax for "sweeps."
Schiit Modi 3+ Measurements
As usual we start with our dashboard of 1 kHz, 24-bit tone using USB input:
The ranking is quite good although the game has advanced by some other competitors:
And zoomed:
Signal to noise ratio likewise feels a few dBs behind especially in one channel:
The design does improve on the old Modi 3 however if we look at intermodulation distortion as an example:
Jitter over USB is very good although there are some clear signs of benign jitter:
Any time you see spikes symmetrical around our 12 kHz tone, they are most likely jitter. As is typical though, the other inputs are significantly worse:
Linearity is very good and shows attention to detail:
The DAC filter is "bog standard" as our UK and Australian friends would say:
Good attenuation in the stop band but a bit slow. Again, very typical.
I was disappointed in THD+N versus frequency:
As well as multitone:
Conclusions
When it comes to DACs -- even budget ones -- we are quite spoiled. The industry through fierce competition has really sneezed every bit of noise and distortion given the cost constraints. The Schiit Modi 3+ is also in that game but as noted in the review, a small step behind. In return you get a US made and supported product, matching any other Schiit gear you may have.
So while I can't gush over its performance since it doesn't best the category, I am happy to still recommend the Schiit Modi 3+.
-----
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/