As a monitor DAC, Modius’ sound works, although for that purpose I prefer a brighter tonality. With the exception of Fishmans’ superbly engineered final concert 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare (48/24 FLAC), which sounded reasonably vibrant, the Schiit murkily reproduced live albums. Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” (192/24 FLAC) neither impressed nor disappointed – the dynamics were intact, but the presentation was timbrally flat. Ecco2k’s cloud rap masterpiece E (44.1/16 stream) was spatially deficient, and K-pop girl group LOONA / ODD EYE CIRCLE’s Max & Match (256kbps Apple Music stream), recommended by a friend, sounded slightly muddy and compressed. Still, other genres unfortunately were lacking. LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver (256kbps Apple Music stream) sounded reasonably full-bodied, and Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways (44.1/16 Tidal stream) had decent vocal staging. The Carly Rae Jepsen album, while still sounding lackluster, had more percussion excitement, and Marling’s album had greater acoustic guitar presence. It wasn’t bad, it just sounded rather unappealing.Īfter a few days, however, the sonics improved. Folk singer Laura Marling’s latest album Song For Our Daughter (44.1/16 stream), recorded much like the 70s records of which it’s musically reminiscent, through the Schiit had especially weak drums. Modern pop recordings, such as Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away With Me” ( Emotion, 44.1kHz MQA stream), lacked bass drum punch and top end energy. Right out of the box, compared to my well broken in $299 reference DAC, Modius sounded lifeless and thin. Schiit offers a 2-year parts and labor limited warranty and 15-day returns (with 85% refunds). The unit measures 9”圆”x1.5”, and save for the wall wart is entirely US-assembled and/or manufactured. Next to LED input indicators, Modius’ sleek metal chassis’ front has a somewhat loud input selector button. When using the USB input, that cable is both the power and audio source otherwise, the included micro USB to USB-A cable plugs into the dedicated 5V USB power input. The balanced output stage is based on a Texas Instruments LME49724 op-amp and the SE output is a TI OPA1662 (both outputs are independent). It has micro USB, optical, RCA, and XLR digital inputs – the analog outputs are RCA and balanced XLR (rare for a budget DAC).
(There is no MQA decoding, but 44.1kHz MQA files don’t need the “unfold”). The new $199 Modius multibit DAC, available in silver and black finishes, utilizing the popular AKM AK4493 converter chip, handles audio up to 192kHz/24bit resolution. Schiit’s products appear feature-packed, but does the sound live up to the specs? Or are Schiit products, well, total shit? Their direct-to-consumer standalone components, some advertised for gaming and office setups, start at just $99. All types of content should sound better.Unlike many of their competitors, Schiit Audio seemingly intends to guide hi-fi beginners up the quality/price ladder. That's without mentioning the fact that external amp is going to offer way more power to your headphones than a sound card.Īs for not listening to high res audio, it won't matter.
Plus you have a physical volume knob you can adjust which is allot better than using the volume sliders in windows.
There's no software to worry about, and it plugs into anything with USB audio support (pc, PS4/5, Xbox). I haven't used the Schiit Hel, but I'v used their Magni and Asgard 2 Amp / Multibit DAC combo for years. Plus it uses up PCIe lanes on your cpu which could cause bandwidth drops to all your other divices such as GPU and SSD (usually not an issue though). If you have a hardware change, who knows if its's going to work with your build? Might have to slot it directly next to a GPU or something causing heat issues. Software can be glitchy, then you're just screwed and it won't work. It requires computer software and physical connection to the mobo, either of which can be a problem. I wouldn't suggest any type of sound card solution. You didn't mention what type of headphones you're using, so I'm assuming it's something that would benefit from an amp.