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Black Sheep Audio
Guest
Anyone using the Schitt Modi3 Dac here ? No DSD though and I think the future is hi res audio.
The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.
- Thread starter Ed Selley
- Start date
apholden
Active Member
Has DSD really caught on that much? I think SACD uses it, but I only have one of those in my collection, and it's a dual layer with regular CD, so I haven't worried too much about it.
What else uses it?
trickyseven
Well-Known Member
I've got one. Chain is below.
Computer (usb)/Sony CDP-CX100 (digital audio out) -> Schiit Modi 3 -> Schiit Magni 3 -> Sennheiser HD6XX
I'm not doing anything lossless with it, maybe one day though. I thought a little bit about doing to Modi Multibit, but ultimately that didn't fit with the route I wanted to go.
SACD is DSD64. You can buy DSD64/128/256/512 flies to download from certain stores. It’s never taken off as much as hi res PCM but there’s definitely a sizeable audiophile niche for it, particular in jazz and classical.
Edit: It’s not hard to get hold of SACD layer rips online if you know where to look and, ahem, have no scruples about such things...
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Black Sheep Audio
Guest
I have a few I have gotten from Acoustic Sounds. Midnight Blue, and Nat King Cole are really good. Time Out and Patsy Cline more meh IMHO. So I'm very cautious about it.
What do you think about the Modi ? The Mk3 is supposed to to be pretty good from my reading. I'm not using phones much though.
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apholden
Active Member
Cool. I'm glad there are options. Unfortunately, I'll have to pass on them for now because my DAC is Schiit.
DSD is only really good if you download most of your music anyway, with HD tracks and acoustic sounds basically being audiophile itunes (and you need a player that supports DSD because foobar is kinda unsure since it requires a specific driver)
I mean SACDs? You don’t download them. There’s isn’t a DSD streaming service though, you’d need mega internet to stream those amounts of data.
SACDs for the most part ONLY need an SACD player and the ability of the AV reciever to take in DSD signal. and its pretty hard to crack the SACD code unless you have an old PS3
Depends. Increasing amounts of companies are offering SACD transports with i2s connections to DSD DACs. Generally due to the horrific DRM on SACDs it tends to be a proprietary connection so you’re limited to one brand for both components. If you’ve only a player though it will have the DAC built in so the amplifier, receiver etc doesn’t need anything because it’s already been converted to analogue. You can rip SACDs with quite a few blu ray players now too with the right hack, so no longer just the very first gen ps3 60GB.
only about half of that made sense
basically hack a blu ray player or find a player with an i2s (i guess HDMI) and connect it to a DAC with the same I2S
A player is 99% of what is on the market. It contains a transport and a DAC in one box. It connects to any old amp (via RCA or XLR) and plays the Music because there is already a DAC in the player.
A transport is only an audio drive. Of late companies have sold separate SACD transports and DACs, sony would never previously licence this. The SACD can only be transferred via i2s and thats generally propriatorey so youre often stuck to the same brands dac. That dac then connects to any old amp to play It.
If you want them files on your computer/server/network HD there has always been a hack using the very first ps3. Internet people have managed to figure out the same hack with a selection of sony and Panasonic blu-ray player. Once you’ve ripped it to files its just like downloaded DSD files and you can then play it with your player of choice and your DSD dac which connects to any old amp.
trickyseven
Well-Known Member
I like it a lot. The sound I get is really nice. Strings have resonance, drums have feeling, voices sound right. I don't have a ton of experience with DACs but I'm happy with this, no desire to upgrade any time soon. Plus the cost is low enough that if I ever decided to move it to my main system, I wouldn't think twice about buying a second one.
I got mine in the deals section for like $79 too which was nice. Also Schiit is always good with service if you need. I had a wall wart go bad and I had a new one from them a few days later.
I'm a bang for your buck kind of guy, so the Modi fits my needs nicely. I'm not looking for a ton of features, just to do sound well. I think it does the job perfectly.
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Black Sheep Audio
Guest
I'm trying to decide on the Modi3 route or the Topping (D10/30) route. The Topping's seem a bit more flexible (DSD, more bit and sample rates, China etc), while the Modi seems to have a somewhat meatier sound (Darko review), even compared to more expensive Chord units and made in U.S.
SMSL (w/ filters) and Maverick (tube buffer) are other possibilities.
This is for a streaming setup to my receiver.
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apholden
Active Member
I just started a free trial to Roon and Qobuz. Currently, I have Roon Rock installed on an HP EliteDesk 704 G4, and I have my Schiit DAC plugged into that. For control, I have Roon's app installed on my Android phone. I also tried to listen to it through my iBasso DAP, but its WiFi can't keep up.
It's been a good experience so far, but I'm not sure I've seen anything to really justify the subscription yet. I've found album cover art, brief biographies, and track lists.
Can any of you think of something I'm missing? I want to ensure I give this a fair chance before I decide whether to keep it.
It's been a good experience so far, but I'm not sure I've seen anything to really justify the subscription yet. I've found album cover art, brief biographies, and track lists.
Can any of you think of something I'm missing? I want to ensure I give this a fair chance before I decide whether to keep it.
The user interface and the seamless library with hi res streaming and files side by side are the selling factor. I love the interface and that if I want to look through, say Bowie, I have one library in chronological order with streaming alongside the files. I don’t have to keep switching between apps if I don’t have the file or it’s not on qobuz.
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Those tbh are the only things im interested in it with
I just need something with more hires support and easier ui than foobar and I don't have multiple or even one hifi setup beyond my laptop and dac
The UI/Library management and multi-room are the only reasons to buy it. Without qobuz/tidal or with just those and no files I don’t see the point to having it to be honest. The question then is the cost. Plus the cost of Qobuz/Tidal. It isn’t cheap as a yearly sub even if you can have the core on your computer and/or build a player standalone core yourself on a budget.
I would say its totally pointless unless you want to add your own ripped CDs or Flac/ Wav/ALAC library to the mix. Otherwise you're just paying for a fancy and intuitive way to stream Qobus (which isn't cheap to start with).
I love Roon but I've an 800 odd cd library on a USB drive running through it into a roon ready streamer so it plays its part in the wider music infrastructure. If I can;t decide on which record I want to listen to I sometimes just flip over to discovery and it's great. It's meant I can all but do away with CDs, have a way to access my Bandcamp flacs and, on the occassion I pick one up, can easily grab one of the few Hi Res downloads I have. If I was just streaming Qobus or Tidal I'd likely look for something not quite as £100 a year-y
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
As others have stated, Roon works best when you have Tidal/Qobuz and your own collection of digital files. I try not to think what I pay for both Tidal and Roon on a monthly basis but I have happy in using it in that combination.
I have more my Roon core setup on a dedicated laptop with a dac attached connected to my amp. I use an old iphone as my remote control for it, which also allows me to stream to my Sonos speaker through Roon or using the Tidal or Bandcamp apps.