Onkyo C-7030 stock vs. w/Schiit Modi Multibit - improvement?

Anyone tried the Multibit against stock C-7030?

I find nothing much wrong with the Onkyo, especially for a bedroom system, but the never-ending itch for an "upgrade" is gnawing at me.

Using the Onkyo as transport, will the Multibit provide noticeable improvement in SQ?

 

I don't have an Onkyo, but with my Marantz PM7005 which has a CS4398 DAC, the Modi Multibit sounds better to me, so I have my CD5005 (which also has a CS4398) as a transport to the Modi Multibit, then the Multibit goes to the amp analog in. Pretty sure you can do a 30 day or so trial with Schiit. May have to pay shipping.

 

I use the Modi MB w/a C-7030. Better-defined bass, more details, and bigger soundstage. It's a nice combo for not much coin.

On it's own the Onkyo is no slouch. I have an earlier one with the Wolfson DAC.

 

All I can tell you is that I used the original $99 Modi (which is roughly the same vintage as your CD player) for several years and the Modi Multibit was a strong upgrade. It wasn’t a matter of night-and-day transformation but of subtle added hi-fi depth, presence, and well-sorted soundstaging.

 

So is mine, I believe. It is no slouch - I generally like it way better than the Onkyo CS5VL SACD player I used to own - it cost three times the price of C-7030 and I didn't like it one bit with CD's. Traded it in for a Cambridge CXC/DACMagic and never looked back.

So you think I will hear a genuine improvement with Modi MB?

 

I use s Modi 2 Uber with a cheap DVD player as transport in my kitchen system - sounds pretty good, definitely way better than the DVDP sounds on its own.

 

I didn’t find any difference in sound between the C-7030 with Wolfson DAC vs. coaxial out to the Modi 2 Uber.

 

Have used coax out with two different DACs on my C-7030 and the differences are subtle enough that they aren't worth talking about.

The last thing I'd want to do is hook up an external DAC that measures worse than the CD player on its own.

Do whatever you want...

 

I have been a pretty dedicated Onkyo user my entire life. The products have allowed me to funnel cash into different parts of my setup. (Although I recently moved on to a Rega Brio integrated amp instead of the beloved A-9010). Anyways, I found the Schiit products (I use an Asgard 3 with True Multibit DAC) to be stellar (for the price). I don't think you'll see a huge difference with a lower grade DAC (like the Fulla or the standard Modi) but the True Multibit is actually pretty great (for the price).

 

I ran the Modi MB with the Onkyo c7030 for more than a year. The Mimby was distinctly better than the internal Wolfson DAC. Deeper bass, clearer highs, wider soundstage and more precise imaging.

Then I replaced the Mimby with a more expensive DAC, the Denafrips Ares II. The improvements were very noticeable but perhaps not as large as the jump from the internal DAC to the Mimby.

FWIW, in both cases I used the coax output not optical.

 

Changing inexpensive DACs was always frustrated for me . Unlike analog, where all changes were clearly heard with digital it was so subtle, that sometimes appeared imaginable... IMHO difference (improvements) between $10,000 and $100 DACs are often less then with $600 and $300 phono cartridges )))
That is very competently build CD player, I doubt any inexpensive DAC will be much of an improvement. But some people may disagree. Many people can hear difference between power cords, I don't.
Disclosure - I never compared them myself.

 

My Modi MB bested the dac in my Marantz player, and bested the Topping D30 by a bigger margin. They go for only $250 these days.

 

Well, the Modi MB is more money than the Onkyo cost me new, and Schiit say it is a huge value.

That's why I started this thread - to avoid making a side move for nothing.

 

Do whatever you want is an advice I already got - from myself.

The point of this thread was not to find out what you would do, or even asking for advice in general, but rather to hear from people who went from Onkyo C-7030 stock to same with Schiit Modi Multibit, and to see if they heard an improvement.

If you have heard that particulat combo - please share. For other combos, or more general advice - I may start other threads.

 

True, but this DAC supposedly punches way above its price, and thats the only reason Im thinking about it.

I have no particular complaints about the Onkyo, but you know how upgraditis is - a mixture of curiosity with a dose of butt itch...

 

The Mosi 2 Uber is entry level, good enough as an improvement for lesser players - I have one with a cheap DVD player, but be a side step at best from the Onkyo. That's why I'm thinking Multibit.

 

Well, I think they have evaluation period, so you can always return it, and shipping of such small box is cheap.

 

As one who is thinking about buying a Modi MB (or a Modius... or both) to sample, this is good to hear from others who have tried and their opinions.

I just purchased a used Denon DCD-S10 3/L a few days back, and waiting for it to arrive - it has four BB PCM 1704's, made in 2004 and has a very good reputation for great sound. I plan on using that for comparison to different DACs over time too.

BTW, I own a 7030 that I use in my woodshop.... it's good but not great, but that's been it's selling point from day one --- a cheap $150 CD player that sounds good with a decent DAC. It's by no means a world beater though.

What model Marantz if you don't mind me asking....?

 

It's an older model, the CD5000.

 

Great, then it sounds like you you know what to do.

I think the point I was making flew over your head. To put it bluntly, all the Modi Multibit will do is add an 8-9dB drop in SINAD to what the Onkyo can do on its own. It's a garbage design.

 

Truth is you made no point period in your previous post.

Even now you give more useful info than last time, albeit not too suavely, just like last time.

 

Same with me and my older Marantz CD5003 deck. I started with a Modi 3 and found it was an improvement over the CS4392, at least to my ears. Then I went with a Modi multibit and I think it's a big step up from the Modi 3. Next I picked up a used Bifrost 4490 and really couldn't tell much difference between it and the Modi 3. Next I picked up a used Bifrost multibit and to my ears the Modi multibit and Bifrost multibit sound similar.
A few weeks ago I bought a Modius and it really sounds great. So far my two favorites are the Modius and Modi multibit. Of course all of these are basically entry level DACs but with Schiit you get a lot bang for your buck and for me they all provided me with sound that I like better than I was hearing from the internal DAC.

 

So basically not only are you saying that the Modi MB may not be an improvement over the C-7030, but may actually be downgrade? It's not like I'm counting votes here, but yours certainly seems to be a solitary opinion of that kind, given anything from cautious neutrality to enthusiastic endorsement from the others.

Seems like with any other thread about gear on this forum, one will have as many opinions as there will be participants. Tells me I need to hear it for myself to know what's what.

 

I tried an Onkyo C-7030 last year and couldn't sell it quickly enough. Wolson Dac, yaay.... It's an OK, lower-mid class CD player. I read the hype, tried it, bleh. Seems that's everyone tried a Mimby thinks it should be/is an upgrade. Case closed?

 

It's always interesting to me to see people's thoughts on these types of comparisons.

On one hand you have the "it measures poorly, so it sucks" crowd and the other "trust your ears, not the stats" crowd.

I have 2 DACs with entirely different presentations. My McIntosh D100 is very accurate and my Rega DAC makes everything sound warm and fuzzy.

I love the detail of the D100, but it doesn't sugarcoat bad recordings like the Rega DAC does, but I can't get the details and pin point imaging from the Rega either.

A lot of people bring up the issue that the Topping DACs measure awesome, but they don't sound all that great, whereas Schiit's stuff doesn't really measure good and yet they prefer the sound over the Topping.

Could it be that some people just like or need a little distortion with their digital music for it to sound pleasant to them?

I remember reading an article about the British Flat Earthers Movement where a guy was listening to a demo of Linn and Naim (I think it was those brands, or of similar ilk) and he told the Flat Earther giving the demo that it sounded like **** and the Flat Earther said to him (something to the effect of) "see ... you need gear like this to tell you how bad the recording really sounds".