The Magni 3 is Schiit’s latest, affordable, solid-state headphone amplifier - featuring an all-new topology, switchable gain, high-power output and switched pre-outs:
This the official thread for discussion on this little powerhouse.
For those interested in the Magni 3, or how it compares to its tube-hybrid stablemate, I have posted a full review and comparison of the two here.
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I am new here and don’t have much experience with this sort of thing. I pretty much ruined my hearing when I was younger and am completely deaf in some frequencies. I was having a lot of trouble with all the bass heavy phones that seem to be popular today so I started looking for something better. Last winter I bought an old Realistic bookshelf system and some Samson SR850 headphones. My headphones, although very cheap, sounded pretty good through the Realistic SA-150 amp but the sound was still a little muffled and bass heavy on certain records. I broke down and ordered the Schiit Magni 3 a couple of weeks ago. The difference is amazing. I am hearing things that I never knew were on my albums. I have a hard time turning it off and going to bed at night. This is the only dedicated headphone amp that I have ever used but it is amazing. It is like listening to my records for the first time all over again. Anyway, that’s my uneducated opinion.
Thanks a lot,
Gene
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Many integrated stereo amplifiers tend to have pretty poor headphone outputs, so making the switch to a dedicated headphone amp like the Magni 3 is a wise choice.
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I have a Schiit Modi 3 feeding a Vali 2 and a Magni 3. The specs show the Magni having almost twice as much power. But I have noticed that the Vali gives me more volume on both High and Low gain with the knobs in the same position with all of my headphones… does anyone know if that is normal? Shouldn’t the Magni give me more volume? Do I have a defective unit? Thanks
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It sounds normal to me.
Power is V x I. The volume dial controls V. I is then how down to how much current the headphone draws for a given frequency at that voltage (V).
From memory Magni 3’s extra power vs Vali 2 is in its current capacity (I). Which means for a given output V it can supply more current, allowing it to drive more demanding headphones at given voltage without running out of current (which causes clipping - VERY audible distortion).
It does not mean Magni 3 will necessarily play louder than an amp with less power. It does mean for a given volume that it can handle more difficult loads. It is entirely possible, and not especially uncommon, that a “more powerful” amp won’t play as loud as a “less powerful” one, depending on how much voltage swing it can deliver.
An amp with 2V rails and 1A of current (2W) will have a lower maximum volume than one with 8V rails but only 100mA of current (0.8W), despite being twice as powerful.
The position of the volume dial isn’t really relevant in the comparison.
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The above is a long winded way of saying that a simple “power” measurement doesn’t, on its own, tell you enough about an amplifier to say anything about how loud it can drive any given headphone.
To know for sure you also need the voltage swing the amp can delivery, its current capacity, its output impedance, and then the impedance and sensitivity of the headphones being driven.
Most headphones need small fractions of what either the Vali 2 or Magni 3 can deliver to play at unsafe listening levels.
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Thanks!
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Doesnt the Magni 3 have a logrithmic volume pot that explains this volume level position?