Looks interesting.
https://www.schiit.com/products/modius
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Looking forward to some reviews with comparisons to the Modi 3. I have a secondary setup in the house with a Modi 3 and Vali 2, and would definitely consider a move to a Mobius/Jotunheim, if it proved worthwhile sonically. I like what they did having separate output paths for SE and Balanced.
I know this is a me thing, but man I wish Schiit would build their products up instead of out to the sides. What I mean is make it taller but not as wide. So my ideal would be a Mobius that was the same width as a Modi, but taller. Really would like taller/narrower profiles for the Mjolnir/Gungnir combo. I have lots of height space but limited width space. Again, totally a me thing.
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Yea man I feel ya lol. They are like long boats
So, it’s a Modi with Unison and SE + balanced outputs.
For $200.
Wow!
This fills a niche in their line up, but the price difference between it and the Bifrost 2 is pretty big if you wanted to go with multibit. Not complaining, just saying. You do get a remote and phase correction on the BF2 though, which kind of helps.
Since it is running the AK4493, I’d be interested what sonic differences it presents vs the AK4490 Modi.
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I would think a $350-450 version of this with multibit would be sweet as well.
More items in the Bifrost 2’s favor: 5 year warranty, user performable firmware updates, and modular upgrades.
Modius isn’t upgradable.
Yeah, I can see why they didn’t do multibit on the Modius. It would just be a half baked Bifrost 2 for not that much less.
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seems like they did it to have a matching dac for the asgard 3.
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Asgard is SE though. Why not just do SE only if that were the case?
I’m thinking it’s more for getting Unison to the Lyr 3 / Jotunheim / Asgard.
We could both be right. Who knows.
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That’s true. I was mostly looking at the price point. The BF2 is in the price realm of the Lyr/Jot and the Modius is same price as Asgard.
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True.
I bet that stack would sound pretty darn good!
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Given @Torq’s comments regarding the 4490 vs. 4493 in the RME ADI-2fs, I don’t think it’ll sound much different than the Modi. I do see it as intended to combat balanced products from external competitors such as Drop,Topping, and SMSL.
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Yea I think it’s meant to compliment the lyr, Asgard, or JoT.
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Keeping my eye on this one since an Asgard 3 is in my near future. I like the idea of a super-sized Schiit stack, but I’m not in a position to look at the BF2 quite yet. Curious to hear what people think once they get their hands on them.
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They should market their stacks as tissue ply lol.
Good news. If we notice – ordered by price:
| DAC | MRSP | Output (type) |
|---|---|---|
| Modi | $100 | SE only (∆Σ) |
| Modius | $200 | Balanced/SE (∆Σ) |
| Modi Multibit | $250 | SE only (Legacy MB) |
| Modius Multibit | $350 |
 I’m positive they’re working on this one (Legacy MB) |
| Bifrost 2 | $700 | Balanced/SE (“True Multibit”) |
| Gungnir | $900 | Balanced/SE (∆Σ) |
| Gungnir Multibit | $1300 | Balanced/SE (“True Multibit”) |
| Yggdrasil | $2500 | Balanced/SE (“True Multibit”) |
It’s a hell of a line up. DACs for all tastes.
I miss a power button in the new Modius though. Looks like a big form factor for a 5V micro USB. The heck of it. Work-around is simple: hand my smaller stack to my brother and buy brand new. 
Very good office combo, I’d say. Modius/ASG3 or Modius/JOT… Not the LYR and VAL2 though. 
hazard.
Cheers.
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The Norse gods will not be happy with this.
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Another reason for shock: The Modius just received a very positive review with top tier performance at the measurement-site-that-shall-not-be-named. [Audio Science Review]
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I immediately noticed the Modius’s distortion measurements:
- THD+N: 0.0003%
- IMD: 0.0006%, CCIR
Compared to the Bifrost 2’s:
- THD: <0.003%
- IMD: <0.004%, CCIR
Looks like Schiit is really trying to make their gear measure well to appease the measurements-focused crowd. I wonder if maybe they’ve sold more Magni Heresys than Magni 3+s and decided that products sell better if they measure well 
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Ha. As soon as the modius came out I had my eye on the used market for a bifrost 2. Low and behold one pops up lol.
Yes, people now have far greater access to measurements than in the past. Without retail stores/demos it’s otherwise tough to decide between a 100 similar products. It’s not realistic to think that small boutique vendors will always make the right design decisions – measurements provide a hint before one throws down the $$$.
Products that measure well tend to have a predictable tone and delivery profile. They will be clear, clean, detailed, and “clinical” or “analytical” relative to products that do not measure well. If one seeks such a profile then it’s reasonable to rule products in or out based on measurements alone.
Tube-based products tend to measure less well, but they also have a predictable tone profile based on the characteristics of tubes and this can usually be tweaked through swapping the brand/model of tubes. Solid-state products that don’t measure well (such as the old Magni 3 or most anything from Audio GD) might benefit the most from first-hand testing to determine whether one likes their specific deviations from the clean profile or not.
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