Schiit Modi 5 released - Now with Mesh filter?

[aagstn]

I noticed that Schiit has released the Modi 5 for $150. It appears they still refuse to support DSD, but the new DAC does support their Mesh filter.
"All of our True Multibit or Multiform DACs have used our own proprietary digital filter, developed through decades of R&D. Mesh brings this unique digital filter to a much more affordable price point, by meshing (ahem) a 32-bit Microchip processor with a standard delta-sigma modulator. The result? Something that sounds a lot more like our more expensive DACs."

Has there been any measurements of this filter? I'm wondering what this filter could possibly do that would make it better than a sharp roll-off filter. My thought is this filter will be impossible to detect in a blind test compared to a standard filter, but it did make me curious. Especially since they were using it in their overpriced multibit DACs. I guess I could spend $150 to find out, but I'd rather not.

 

[Joe Smith]

I'm exactly where you are on this - intrigued, but not quite ready to spend - and it's actually $161 if you order the DAC and the power supply to get higher output voltage. I'm a bit unclear if the "supercomboburrito/MESH" filter affects the output differently than a roll-off filter. They seem to indicate it affects the data reconstruction as a whole? But there my DAC knowledge gets fuzzy.

I chuckle over the Schiit crew's playful names, copy and self-pleasure at their own inventiveness in general, but take it with a grain of salt. They do need to keep upgrading the lower product line stuff to bring in new purchasers and get older users to upgrade...

I think the new modular Magni amp + the MESH DAC card is a pretty great $200 buy, but it omits the other DAC inputs (Toslink and Coax). And I don't need another headphone amp at present. This year, I purchased the Saga 2 preamp and the Gjallarhorn amplifier, and I like them just fine, joining my Magni 3/Modi 3 stack.

Anyone have specific knowledge of the MESH filter effect and or sound qualities?

I'm hoping they will send this to Amir for testing, will be interested to see how it does compared to the prior Modis.

 

[kemmler3D]

Anyone have specific knowledge of the MESH filter effect and or sound qualities?

Schiit does! And they would share their test results if it proved anything substantive about the sound quality of this filter vs. any other.

Audibility of reconstruction filters is rare and I can think of only one example I've seen where anyone passed a blind test of them, and IIRC they had excellent ears and could hear a small difference around 20Khz.

Marketing of this type generally just exploits ignorance of or lack of confidence in one's knowledge of how DACs work.

Can a fancier lowpass filter really make your music sound more alive, or whatever? It doesn't make sense! But... surely they know something I don't?

I think Schiit is generally a good brand but they are willing to assert audibility without blind testing, I assume it's because they gotta pay the bills and stuff.

 

[Jim T]

I noticed that Schiit has released the Modi 5 for $150. It appears they still refuse to support DSD, but the new DAC does support their Mesh filter.
"All of our True Multibit or Multiform DACs have used our own proprietary digital filter, developed through decades of R&D. Mesh brings this unique digital filter to a much more affordable price point, by meshing (ahem) a 32-bit Microchip processor with a standard delta-sigma modulator. The result? Something that sounds a lot more like our more expensive DACs."

Has there been any measurements of this filter? I'm wondering what this filter could possibly do that would make it better than a sharp roll-off filter. My thought is this filter will be impossible to detect in a blind test compared to a standard filter, but it did make me curious. Especially since they were using it in their overpriced multibit DACs. I guess I could spend $150 to find out, but I'd rather not.

Order mine in Silver and will take about a week to get here. My DX5 II came today and sounds amazing. Tests are about the same as the older Modi's.