So Modius isnt really worth upgrade over Modi3+ if going SE?
Asgard3 is on 2months backorder or I could get Zen CAN though I see they just raised its price to $190 which is close to AS3.
I was interested in Magnius but GoldenSound reviewed this unit that in his opinion sounded terrible despite measuring well.
I would say it is not.
I’ll have to go watch that. I think he does good work.
I haven’t heard the Zen CAN, but if I may offer a shameless plug for Taron… They have open box units available at a discount.
This listing might also interest you:
Thanks a lot,
I think I will just wait until it drops back in price on Amazon so I can test it and return it if I don’t like it.
I guess I should not overthink and just backorder Asgard3. Xbass feature on zen can is one thing that intrigues me apart from 4.4mm headphone out connector though to less degree since I have 4.4mm to quarter inch TRS cable adapter so switching between balanced on portable and SE on desktop amps would very easy for me.
However since I would use it with Mac, I could purchase Soundsource or different good MacOS equalizer software. I tried free eqMac though and its not good. Its got weird sound issues on Big Sur after waking computer from sleep.
Yeah. If they (iFi) made their bass boost adjustable with a knob or some such, it might be a worthwhile feature.
Anyone compared the Bifrost 2 to the Ares II?
I compared Ares II to Qutest recently and there was a considerable difference, Ares II being just a bit too smooth and laid back compared to warrant keeping around. Where Qutest has punch and space between every sound, Ares II filled in all those spaces.
Looking for that sort of sweeter sound, just not to that extent.
regarding ifi Zen Can,
I know you need to take what guys say on ASR with grain of salt, but on their review, on low impedance headphones, it seemed to measure poorly with distortion. Though I am hoping that is in inaudible range and probably not relevant to low to moderate volume levels. I wouldn’t expect it to push Susvara, but it should have still plenty of juice for Sundara. Not too mention many folks who already have zen CAN with Sundaras, seem to be happy campers. 
I haven’t heard the Zen CAN so can’t comment there. But I personally think the Asgard3 is worth the extra coin over Magni 3+. Internal power transformer, larger/better volume pot, and just a sound I enjoy more (not sure if it’s the continuity circuit or something else).
Can’t agree more.
Magnus doesn’t pair well with Sundaras but Asgard 3 makes a really good pair with them, at least for my personal tastes.
If you aren’t going portable then you have to decide if dealing with inevitable loss of battery performance is worth it. Some models let you use usb power instead of battery.
I’m not sure how much “upgrading” room there is in the $100-$200 range. There is an argument to putting that money toward a mid-range upgrade instead.
Also, buying a popular unit could lower your net cost if you decide to sell and upgrade later.
“Saving money” on small upgrades / sidegrades can end up being pretty expensive.
I’m curious about these people that have sundaras and a zen can and aren’t happy. Are they truly unhappy or are they trying to convince themselves a magni heresy or something like is better because of a number. The zen can has its limits pushed with the hd6xx, but it should be fine with the sundara and it sounds pretty good to my ears.
I haven’t directly but a couple of YouTubers have.
Passion for Sound reviews both and has some comparisons in his videos.
Mid-Fi Guy has a wonderful DAC shootout comparing a lot of popular options.
Cheapaudioman posted a Bifrost2 review yesterday and compares them.
Yeah hip-dac doesn’t let you use power from usb-a. You can use it while plugging power to usb-c but it looks like it still uses battery. After 2 hours of listening the light on back goes from white to green, indicating its below 50% charge. Sundaras seems to draw power fast despite listening at low volume on low gain (most of the time).
I am thinking what sense to make of use it. Initially I got it because I thought I was gonna use Sundaras at work but noise leak from outside is too distracting to use them at office. I feel like I have to buy closed back beyerdynamics 770 80/250ohms to justify keeping hip-dac otherwise I probably should put it up for sale. 
(that is of course after getting desktop dac and amp stack)
HipDAC has weird charging behavior.
If you plug in USB power before turning it on, then it uses that otherwise it uses the battery.
The manual covers this.
Yeah I saw Passion’s review on Magni Heresy and Asgard3. I also saw his review on Magnius. I didn’t see his review on Magni3+ or Zen CAN. But his preference is obvious toward discreet design of amps instead of op-amps based as in his opinion they sound more organic, real-life and less “digitized” or wall of sound.
Edit: Sorry I just realized it was response to comparing Bitfrost 2 to Ares II. Anyway he is great reviewer.
I think if you plug-in to PC or Mac before you power it on its supposed to be draw power from usb-a but otherwise if you connect to mobile device its supposed to use its own battery to preserve batter on your mobile device.
Hello everyone, was here a couple days ago for some help, and start to read some old post of headphones recommendations and catch on some names, wondering if i can get some thoughts on them. There are some in-ear and over-ear, i personally prefer over-ear, but don’t know if there go with what i want.
Im looking for headphones to listen to electronic music (trap, pop, house, lofi, chill), must of the time, and youtube.
I’ll be using them normally in my house, work and university, so i was hoping to get some noise-cancelling, to just hear the music and get apart of whats around me.
My budget is 200 so i’m not looking for sometime super expensive or a top brand.
I list the headphones i find i the post bellow.
sennheiser hd-58x
beyerdeminc dt-250
akg pro audio k371
shure srh840
audiothechinica ath-m50x
v-moda m100
If the headphones don’t need and amp or dac would be perfect, i’ll normally be using them with the phone or laptop/pc.
If the budget can stretch a bit, the Meze 99 Classics are really nice for that genre and are very portable. They can be powered by just about anything
The Drop x Meze 99 Noir is $200. It’s the same as the 99 Classics but in matte black and espresso brown.
[I’d personally buy the HD-58x of @genio’s list.]
Heard great things about k371 as for value what you get of your money. Though it seems to be built more cheaply than Meze, so if you can splurge little more for them to get better build quality and durability I would go for these instead.