Many, many more folks are ordering items shipped to them, period.
I know we’ve basically transitioned to buying everything but food online.
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…to buying everything including food online:
Urban markets now have as many store staff shopping for deliveries and walking in the aisles as customers coming in off the street.
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Last night I got a message from Schitt stating they found the package and its scheduled for today!!
Then this am FEDEX changed to delivery scheduled for this Monday…well its getting closer at least!!
Its just the way it is…
Alex
:>)
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Well unexpectedly Fedex knocked on the door and i have the Schiit stack…
I have had around 30 minutes listening with them…and I can state the SE side is dead silent on both gains and has MORE than enough power to destroy transducers…I will write up more mon or tue…so far its a really nice setup…
Alex
Notice one thing that Schiit got right with the Magnius??
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The knob…
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Heck yes.
I have to admit that the silver knobs have discouraged me from buying Schiit gear at least once or twice.
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ah! very astute observation!!
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!
Finally…its machined into the aluminum so it wont wear off…Dex should like that!!! lol
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No toggle switches (on the front at least).
Power switch is a slider (think Asgard 3 front switches) now instead of a toggle too. I’m liking the new Schiit aesthetic.
Beautiful setup. What a stack.
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I use to have a Lyr 1, Asgard 1 and a Vahalla 2…come and gone as things changed and improved over time.
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Ok here is my experience with the Schiit Modius and Magnius…I was surprised.
Hello, after having the package from Schiit via Fedex becoming lost for a few days the new Schitt Modius and Magnius have arrived a few days late but intact, no damage and looking very nice.
After a few hints of an upcoming amp to match Modius I had to try this stack out and see what Schiit magic was cooking at the Schittr “plant”. My main gear I use daily are the Schiit Bifrost 2 (after years with Bifrost 1) and a Schiit Lyr 3 and Schiit Jotenheim. I also have many other amps in house about half retail and half DIY experiments.
The Modius and Magnius are a great looking pair. Black, stark looking IMO…some have complained that they would like silver here…understand and Schiits comments were “nope, in keeping costs down this was their decision”…doesnt affect the sound at all…One thing I do miss is some indication of it being on…no more front panel led etc…if its in a stack with something on it…its hard to tell if its on or not. There is a nice red led on the pcb that you can see thru the vents on the top…but if you put your Lyr 3 on top of it…
The Magnius is a wonderful amp. It shines. Whether is was being used in low or high gain it provided more than enough power to make the headphones I used play to very, very high levels. The volume knob is great, long enough to grasp nicely, firm, velvety smooth…and finally Schiit got this right!! They have a nice “visable” dot on the volume knob!! It appears to me a machine milled or drilled “dot” into the aluminum volume knob…ah its the small things!! Schiit has made a “big” thing about the pot in the Magnius, well its a really good Alps RK 27114 27mm Blue Velvet balanced potentiometer! Smooth and I had no low level tracking issues. Well done Schiit. Technology…sure…fully differential op-amps, current feedback, THD down to very, very low levels, and its Schiits best measuring amp if your into measurements. Its powered by the usual Schiit wall wort. But how does it sound or “not” sound…after all shouldnt an amp be a straight wire with gain and nothing more or less??
A great amp is only as good as its inputs? In this case it became very clear that the Magnius is a great amp. With inputs from Modius and Bifrost 2 the differences were stark IMO…very noticeable.
Which leads to the Modius connection.
Which can be had in either silver or black! It has the AKM 4493 d/a convertor and has both SE and fully balanced outputs to feed the Magnius or any other amp. DC coupled output…to some this is important. Very versatile with optical, coax, usb (Unison) and even AES sources. It pairs nicely with the Magnius physically. The analog stage is based on LME 49724 for the balanced outputs, an OPA 1662 for the SE outputs. Both are independent. So you can use the SE outs to a Lyr 3 and balanced to a Magnius or Jotenheim…nice. Unlike the Magnius power can come from a simple USB cable if your using Modius only as a dac. If you use the other digital inputs and NOT using USB then you need to use the included USB wall wart. The cosmetics of the Modius are simple elegance. A single push button to rotate thru the various inputs. Again no visable front panel led to indicate its powered up. The nice thing using the Unison UBS interface is it comes on when you turn on your PC. Simple. Nice.
Going back and forth with SE and balanced (both from the Bifrost 2) there is no audible difference in the overall sound quality and what I was hearing. The only thing that changes is the volume level in your headphones. Some reviews state the SE part of the Magnius measures not as well as the balanced section…for me this is not an issue and your not going to have any real sonic degradation at all. When I compared the Magnius I compared it with the Schiit Lyr 3 and Jotenheim and it compares nicely…not going to try to explain with glittering generalities the “minute” differences. When level matched and doing fair AB testing its difficult to state in objective terms the differences, subjectively they are there. But realistically this amp provides more than enough power, is clean, open and transparent under varying loads. For me to keep an amp it has to perform and make my listening experience “really good” and this amp does that very well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Now for the surprising “to me” part:
Headphones that I used in this “experience” were Focal Clears, relatively easy “load” for most amps and the newer HEDD headphones a bit less efficient to drive. I listened via the Magnius with first the Modius for several sessions and then Bifrost 2. It was an immediate difference for me with both headphones.
One was more clear, less veiled and less closed in than the other…being a critical listener, I checked and rechecked cabling and tried several sets of xlr interconnects as well. I was not expecting the difference to be this well “different”. I abandoned DS dacs years ago, so my Multibit dac ears are attuned to that r2r sound, especially from Schiits Bifrost 2. Modius has 4.0V RMS balanced and 2.0V single ended, and as does the Bifrost 2. So the Magnius was being driven with pretty much with the same voltages.
What I was hearing IMO was the difference between a “ds dac and a MB dac”. Schitts implementaion of the AKM chip is a very good one. Some reviews have stated that the S/N ratio exceeds the actual chip spec sheet…some reference to Schiit has some secret sauce here. I did not come to the following conclusions after reading other peoples reviews or experiences…and mine do differ.
So what did I experience…with my demo list of tunes, ripped 44.1/16 bit stuff playing with Foobar 2000 and Jriver MC 24…I went back and forth between the Modius and Bifrost 2. In all cases the Bifrost 2 was cleaner, crisper, more open, more transparent, less veiled in sound. Amazingly so.
Regardless of SE or balanced or gain setting. I found myself cranking up the volume on the Magnius when connected to the Modius to get the Bifrost2 multi-bit sound. It just didnt happen for me. I used my trusty ole Radio Shack SPL meter to level set as well…same results…my brain kept telling me “hey the Modius is great, but the Bifrost 2 is like the “king” here”…
So thats in a nutshell here. If I hadnt have had a multibit dac for years my experience might have been different. If I used headphones that are less resolving my experience might have been different. It is what it is.
I would recommend the Modius/Magnius to someone that wants a fully balanced setup stack and is on a budget…for the $398 combination price this is a great deal. Schitt has many good choices in its products. As always YMMV and your experience may very well be different from mine.
All the best!!
Alex
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Excellent review. Good to know that Schiits more affordable stack works well. Also good to know that the expense of the BF2 is a noticeable upgrade.
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That was the biggest shocker…is the B2 worth the $400 increase in cost…IMO yes it is if your really into this stuff…and spend mega bucks on headphones that are resolving etc…
Alex
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Yes to both. So I’m good.
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Excellent review Alex!
MultiBit seems to add a bit of that special magic to Digital-Analog conversion that tubes do to amps.
I do wonder if using an external power supply on the Modius would’ve helped improve the sound.
Great review. 
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Actually thers is no need to do this with the Modius design…only if you use USB only and not any if the other digital sources…
There is one person that has commented on things getting even worse using and external power source and went back to the striclty power from the PC etc…
Also Modius has Unison USB that is better for isolation and noise etc…it doesnt help with voltage regulation etc…
So IMO this would not really help…YMMV as always.
It also states in the Modius manual when using the power externally with the mini 110vac/5vdc plug they provide NOT to use USB.
You could try the other sources and see ii it improves, but the fair comparison here was using the same Unison USB in the Modius and in the B2.
But for me their is a difference in the two dacs…one i prefer and one I dont prefer as much…
I have the 15 day return thing and right now will keep the magnius but probably return the modius…
(My source pc has no optical or spidf outs) I would have to get out an old CD/DVD player to test that…
Alex
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Great review - I believe you and YT Audiophiliac Steve G are among the first to share impressions (I haven’t checked the other forums)!
Red LED is a nice touch, and different from the other Schiit (I don’t remember the Heresy).
I especially took notice of your endorsement of the gain settings and SE.
For the Modius, at first I was apprehensive about how the default use is with USB power. However, I trust Schiit knows what they’re doing and I was reminded of how the Allo Transports feature battery power for better performance (less noise/interference).
I’m also Team Multibit. I preferred the Modi Multibit over the Modius in A/B testing, and the Bifrost 2 over the Modi Multibit. I experienced the same in having to crank up the volume on the Modius.
That might be the eventual consensus assessment/recommendation. I might also add for those looking for an amp/stack with superior measurements. For $400ish, I personally would probably choose the Mimby/Vali or Mimby/Asgard 3. [I haven’t heard the Magnius yet as it wasn’t on the floor at the Schiitr last weekend, but if it sounds like how I think it sounds. This paragraph doesn’t do anything for my credibility.]
On my recent visit to the Schiitr, I wasn’t expecting how I wanted to continue listening to the Heresy stack. Prior to the Magnius, I believe the Heresy is considered to be, or one of, Schiit’s cleanest and least colored amps (also best measuring). Most of my gear leans toward musical, euphonic, not-reference, so listening to the more clean and uncolored presentation (Schiit version) of the Heresy was a welcome experience. While not reducing the Magnius - it’s sound signature likely isn’t my jam - I’m considering picking up a Magnius/Heresy for another purpose: as a refresh/re-calibration/level set tool given the rest of my gear (similar to a palate/ear cleanser).
The Magnius is good Schiit and will likely be one of their top sellers.
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After all, is the Magnius a “balanced Heresy”? Pun not intended.
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Not really…the op design of the Hersey is different than the Magnius. The specs are similar in that they are beyond the threshold of human beings…lol
The Asgard 3 is a stellar amp, but only SE…so the was made to mate with the Modius and have a complete high quality balanced setup…
So many great choices…
Alex
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