Schiit Modius Balanced DAC Review

[EchoChamber]

One could argue it’s Schiit’s best DAC to date.

 

[Theriverlethe]

The QXD1 gets my vote only because of DSD playback ability. I have tons of ripped DSD that I don't care to convert.

I don't believe it would be possible to identify the Modius or QXD1 in ABX.

IMO the best DAC for the money (at the moment) is Topping E30 hands down. RCA out to XLR in on my SP200 is dead black at full gain, full volume, with very sensitive low imp headphones. Impressive transparency.

The Modius is a top teir XLR DAC and yes a tremendous offering! I would have one if it was DSD capable.

You automatically lose 6dB with that, so it could be an issue with low sensitivity headphones.

 

[Theriverlethe]

What kind of latency are people getting? Asking for a friend.

 

[Theriverlethe]

It's not

Well, I'm already using -6db preamp gain in EQ, so for me it would be an issue.

 

[dfuller]

What kind of latency are people getting? Asking for a friend.

None that I've noticed.

 

[Theriverlethe]

None that I've noticed.

I was asking more for a number, like I can run my ODAC at 5ms with WASAPI in Jriver.

 

[dfuller]

I was asking more for a number, like I can run my ODAC at 5ms with WASAPI in Jriver.

Oh, Reaper has 5.3ms at 48k.

 

[MichaelP]

Spent some time comparing my Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 to the new Modius this morning. The Modius has been living in the living room, far-field system.. decided it was time to give it a go in my desktop headphone rig. The difference was not subtle. I almost wish I hadn’t done this comparison, now the DacMagic needs replacing! There’s this level of detail, control, and frequency extension going on with the Modius that is really impressive. I also have an older AudioQuest DragonFly Black, which to my ears is almost as bad as the audio output on my Macbook, much worse than the DacMagic. Can we please reach peak DAC already.

Has anyone compared the Modius to the Modi 3? I don’t want to buy another Modius, that would be silly.. espeically given I have a Magni Heresy, the Modi kind of makes sense.

 

[majingotan]

Spent some time comparing my Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 to the new Modius this morning. The Modius has been living in the living room, far-field system.. decided it was time to give it a go in my desktop headphone rig. The difference was not subtle. I almost wish I hadn’t done this comparison, now the DacMagic needs replacing! There’s this level of detail, control, and frequency extension going on with the Modius that is really impressive. I also have an older AudioQuest DragonFly Black, which to my ears is almost as bad as the audio output on my Macbook, much worse than the DacMagic. Can we please reach peak DAC already.

Has anyone compared the Modius to the Modi 3? I don’t want to buy another Modius, that would be silly.. espeically given I have a Magni Heresy, the Modi kind of makes sense.

We would leave it as psychoacoustic effect of new gear acquisition syndrome for now until you have proven that you can reliably get 19/20 correct choice that you can differentiate between Modius and DacMagic under DBT volume matched test. But the important matter is that what measures great will sound truer to what was stored in the original source file and that's exactly the sound you get out of the Modius

 

[Theriverlethe]

We would leave it as psychoacoustic effect of new gear acquisition syndrome for now until you have proven that you can reliably get 19/20 correct choice that you can differentiate between Modius and DacMagic under DBT volume matched test. But the important matter is that what measures great will sound truer to what was stored in the original source file and that's exactly the sound you get out of the Modius

*and the DacMagic.

 

[BobbDobbs]

Can you plug XLR headphone cable into the back?

 

[BobbDobbs]

I go from Mac mini to LYR3/Modius. So XLR is out of the picture? Was the Modius a better choice than putting the multibit card into the LYR?

 

[amirm]

Can you plug XLR headphone cable into the back?

No. For one thing these are 3-pin XLR, not 4 that comes with headphones. Importantly, the output impedance of the DAC is too high, and power level too low to drive headphones. YOu will get sound but it will be anemic especially in bass. And of course you don't have a volume control.

Net, net, you need to get a headphone amp to go with it.

 

[amirm]

I go from Mac mini to LYR3/Modius. So XLR is out of the picture? Was the Modius a better choice than putting the multibit card into the LYR?

Modius is far better than any multibit DAC from Schiit if that is what you are asking.

 

[ehabheikal]

I guess sometimes you just need a good digital to analog converter, nothing more, nothing less.

Like pairing it with rpi 4 to get a killerstreamer

 

[BobbDobbs]

Modius is far better than any multibit DAC from Schiit if that is what you are asking.

Ok, good. Never heard the multibit. I went from regular Modi to Modius. Could hear the improvements. Good upgrade for that price. Thanks for your review, made me pull the trigger.

 

[ehabheikal]

Considering that trade policies, monetary policy, and random fluctuations in exchange rates all impact the above (none of which are within the control of any individual manufacturer), your argument is simplistic and misinformed.

The U.S.’s desire to win the Cold War, for example, involved purposely providing over-generous trade terms to western allies, which hurt domestic manufacturing. Likewise, the Volcker Shock, which was about crushing inflation, also hurt domestic manufacturers. Today, U.S. tech and pharma IP, not manufacturing, tends to drive trade policy.

There’s no such thing as neutral trade policy. It’s all politics and fluctuations in key, but unrelated, economic indicators. Very few companies, and certainly not ones as small as Schiit, can bend these policies to their will.

Moreover, “protectionism” (insofar as it‘s a valuable term at all) applies to government policy, not to individual consumers’ decisions. That’s just personal values and preference.

ADDENDUM: I wrote this before seeing Amir’s comment above. But, as an economic historian, I feel this is worth noting. If we’re going to throw around “flawed logic” claims, we at least need to call out when such claims are themselves based on over-simplicity or ignorance.

You are an economic historian as a hobby or professionally?

 

[EchoChamber]

Spent some time comparing my Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 to the new Modius this morning. The Modius has been living in the living room, far-field system.. decided it was time to give it a go in my desktop headphone rig. The difference was not subtle. I almost wish I hadn’t done this comparison, now the DacMagic needs replacing! There’s this level of detail, control, and frequency extension going on with the Modius that is really impressive. I also have an older AudioQuest DragonFly Black, which to my ears is almost as bad as the audio output on my Macbook, much worse than the DacMagic. Can we please reach peak DAC already.

14 dB better SINAD and less jitter might be perceived as better sounding (comparing to DacMagic review). A good thing if you ask me making the point that measurements mater when it comes to sound reproduction. I’ll be comparing the Modius to my D90 MQA next week and I’m expecting to perceive some subjective differences in my speaker system over a few days of swapping DACs but I’m hopping not to.

 

[Jinjuku]

I'll get this DAC just to shut up the smug idiots that like to say your equipment isn't resolving enough or you need downstream usb decrapifiers.

Argument #1: Your gear isn't resolving enough

Answer: It's Schiit though. The love child of the tone deaf audio elite

Argument #2: It's USB and thar be dragons!

Answer: Even though Schiit solved USB in their gen 5 (they said so!) line, it's even MORE solved with their Unison USB implementation!

 

[Angsty]

I'll get this DAC just to shut up the smug idiots that like to say your equipment isn't resolving enough or you need downstream usb decrapifiers.

If you are buying gear to prove people wrong who don’t even know you that well, I think you’re already on a bad path. Buy to enjoy. Buy to satisfy curiosity. Buy to be in and to share an experience.

Don’t buy for spite. I can’t see how that ends well.