The Modius isn't that great of a DAC. It's OK. Not what I would consider great. I don't consider the sound of AKM based DACs in the $1000 and below price range to sound precise. To me they all have a bit of a velvet fog style of sound going on. Imaging is not precise. Transients are not as precise as I like. Layering is not as separated as I like. The ability to hear when absolute polarity (absolute phase) is flipped is not there as I like. I'm not much of a fan of the AKM DACs. They're OK. But I wouldn't buy one as a reference or daily use DAC. If you're only going to spend up to $100 or $200 on a DAC then the AKM DACs may be a reasonable choice. But why? Spend more get better. And if you are going to try an AKM based DAC at least get one that also does DSD.
I'm not after ultra precision, whatever that means, and I don't like too much separation. I prefer a realistic, musical sound where instruments blend like they do IRL. I don't think Schiit is the holy grail, but it seems like a reasonable choice, especially for my office setup.
If one is thinking about purchasing a Schitt DAC, I wouldn’t go below the Gungnir. Even the highly touted Yggdrasil, while excellent for its price range and probably competitive with most DACs costing 2-3x as much, falls noticeably short compared to DACs above that (I had an Yggy for an at-home demo last Fall)
Just made an online purchase of a DacMagic 100 after reading this statement, although now I’m really hoping you were not just being sarcastic or joking LOL. But I've also read positive comments from various other places online spanning over many years, and this makes me curious to try it as my first standalone dac.
Again, it depends on what you want. What I find interesting on this forum and elsewhere is that 99% of the time people tout the superiority of the more expensive models. I find that very suspicious-- seems to me like rampant confirmation bias.
Ha! Def not sarcastic--I really love that DAC. Not as balanced as others (bass is bumped up a bit, which I like) and it doesn't have the cleanest separation, but I prefer that, since it avoids sounding clinical. It's very smooth, warm, and musical. If that's your thing, I think you'll really like it. I'll be really curious to hear what you think.
Aren't you curious how it "falls noticeably short", though? Might not be something you care about. Bitfrost 2 seems like a really great DAC to me.
OK I'll share what I think here after some time with it. Meanwhile to answer your OP, I use the dac in my Yamaha R-N803 receiver which is a SABRE 9006AS and I have a DVD and Bluray player connected to it via coax and optical respectively and I also listen to it through USB. Although the SABRE dac is detailed and energetic and I do enjoy it a lot, when I switch from those players' analogue out, the vocalist's position automatically gets pushed back further, sounds softer and a bit smaller but all other instruments retain their volume with almost no change or only slight decrease. And while those movie disc players present the vocalist as more upfront, louder and plays all the details via their dac, vocals don't sound as realistic as the onboard dac of the Yamaha receiver. So I'm hoping to get a different and positive experience from the DacMagic 100, fingers crossed.
It obviously depends what other components are in your second system. I think the Audioquest Dragonfly models and the iFi Zen Blue models are excellent for many PC or Mac based second systems.
I've heard the Yggdrasil. I know where/how it falls short in some areas compared to higher priced DACs. I also know where it excels. The things where the Yggdrasil might fall short are things that would be more of a concern for speaker listeners than headphone listeners. Things about ultimate soundstage size, the ability to make the walls disappear to the degree that higher priced high-end DACs can do. Things like that. That's not as important for me with headphone listening. And I actually prefer the more up-front and "you are there" staging that the Yggdrasil does compared to some of the expensive DACs I've heard. I also hear how some of those expensive DACs do some things better and would be worth the extra money if that is what you're after and can afford it. I do believe that the $5K and $10K and higher DACs can be worth it with the right system and if you have the budget. I already have a Gungnir multibit. The Bifrost 2 is so I have a smaller DAC and system that can fit on an end table and move around with me more easily. I'm also waiting for Schiit to do the next Yggdrasil revision. Then I'll consider upgrading from the Gungnir to Yggdrasil in my main system. I'm patient.
Again, it obviously depends on the rest of your system, your budget, your sonic priorities and how carefully you listen.
Second system is the Cavalli Liquid Gold X or Liquid Platinum as the amp and the Bifrost 2 as the DAC. I'll have to figure out how to stack the amp on the DAC. I will likely need a little mini shelf system. The Bifrost 2 is likely not quite deep enough to stack the amp right on top. I'll see.
I've had the Gungnir Multibit for a couple of years, I love it! I was considering trying the Yggdrasil some time.
Why is it so hard to believe that something made with better parts, by better engineers can sound better?
It's not, and I didn't say that. What seems hard for folks to believe is the opposite: that something less expensive can sound better or as good.
it is very very hard to believe if one is comparing a top-notch $10k DAC to one costing $1k (or less)
Is it? I've compared $1k cameras to $10k cameras and found differences there to be minimal. Why would DACs be any different?
Just to expand the camera metaphor--someone did a camera blind test with well-kn0wn directors a few years back. One of them was a smartphone. One director--very established--picked the iPhone as his favorite. (And I think the "best" camera in that line up cost over $50k.)
I think what some of the posters have been trying to say is that they once had $250 dacs, and they upgraded to more expensive dacs and experienced improvements, and you might want to try that. If you don’t want to do that, and you feel that you’ve reached your destination with a $250 dac, more power to you. But don’t post that you’ve achieved “absolute fidelity” and anyone who has spent more on something he perceives as better has been fooled by “coloration”. That’s not the scientific truth some purport it to be, it’s just good old fashioned sour grapes.
Yeah, agreed, though without being pejorative, I don't think it's sour grapes, I simply think it's not knowing. Simple example: when I got Line Magnetic SET amp I hooked it up to the only speakers I had, Polk: LSi15 towers -- good lord it sounded amazing. A couple of months later I splurged on a pair of Omega speakers (Super 3XRS with built in 8' subs). Within minutes I was like, "someone must've been covering my Polks with invisible wool blankets!!!" The Omegas introduced so much more detail, resolution, and imaging -- I couldn't believe it. A couple of months later I switched back to the Polks just to check my thinking as I had become pretty adapted to the Line Magnetic amp. They lasted a few minutes before they were again sidelined. I will confess that not only is ignorance bliss, it's also much easier on your budget. Not knowing what you don't know can be a blessing.
What sucks the most, I think, is when you do drop extra $$ on something only to find it's a hair not a mile better/different than the less expensive option.
