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MyTek Liberty vs Schiit Modius...?

RunOutGroove

RunOutGroove

Addicted Member
I have the Modius, which is a bit of an improvement over the Topping D50 DAC that I started with (though it may have been the updated version of that, D50s), but now I have an opportunity to buy a myTek Liberty DAC, for $200. My question is, should I jump on it? Is it likely to be a obvious upgrade over the Modius, or should I not even bother? I've read some stuff online about the MyTek Liberty DAC and some see it as overpriced for what it is, but maybe for $200, it's a bargain and better than what I have... or not?

I'll be using it primarily with a CD player and I don't really care about the headphone amp part of it as I'm using a separate headphone amp already.... and my Marantz 2270 built in headphone amp is probably better than a lot of them anyway.
 
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if the price is right, used gear can be moved on for at least what you paid for it. What do you have to lose?
 
it’s an unpopular opinion on this forum but differences between DACs are overstated. The Modius is a fine DAC, spend your money on what you really need.
 
gvl said:
it’s an unpopular opinion on this forum but differences between DACs are overstated. The Modius is a fine DAC, spend your money on what you really need.
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Yeah, I don't doubt that you're right about this. I do really like the sound of this Modius I have more than the Topping D50s I had, even if the difference is very subtle. I felt like up until I got the Modius that the treble in things like cymbals was just a bit blurry somehow, where instead of a nice discrete "ting" sound, there was more of a "schiiing" type sound, if that makes sense. It could be that going up a level, particaurly with my somewhat modest gear (a Marantz 2270 receiver), will be at a point of diminishing returns. Still, I'm curious about what an upgrade might do, though any upgrade that I do will be on a relatively modest one (sub $1000, probably less, as I'd be going used). Either way, I'm not really all that motivated to throw cash at this thing, though if I find a good enough deal on something, I may have to jump on it...
 
RunOutGroove said:
Yeah, I don't doubt that you're right about this. I do really like the sound of this Modius I have more than the Topping D50s I had, even if the difference is very subtle. I felt like up until I got the Modius that the treble in things like cymbals was just a bit blurry somehow, where instead of a nice discrete "ting" sound, there was more of a "schiiing" type sound, if that makes sense. It could be that going up a level, particaurly with my somewhat modest gear (a Marantz 2270 receiver), will be at a point of diminishing returns. Still, I'm curious about what an upgrade might do, though any upgrade that I do will be on a relatively modest one (sub $1000, probably less, as I'd be going used). Either way, I'm not really all that motivated to throw cash at this thing, though if I find a good enough deal on something, I may have to jump on it...
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I felt that going from a modi to a Bifrost 2, then 2/64. It was noticeable and pleasing each time. Dramatically different? Not so much, but noticeable just the same.
 
RunOutGroove said:
treble in things like cymbals was just a bit blurry somehow, where instead of a nice discrete "ting" sound, there was more of a "schiiing" type sound, if that makes sense.
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It's does make sense, these are the subtle differences I hear, plus the same happens a little in the bottom end.
 
Gigantic said:
I felt that going from a modi to a Bifrost 2, then 2/64. It was noticeable and pleasing each time. Dramatically different? Not so much, but noticeable just the same.
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Yeah, I could see getting one of those Bifrost 2/64 things, if I'm able to find a deal on one. I think that I would then be my endgame DAC, as I feel like with my system, my room, my ears, and my attention to detail (or lack thereof), going up to this level is likely all that I would be wanting to do...

It's funny but a friend with by far the biggest investment in audio, has a Denafrips Pontus DAC, which I know is a very high end piece, but he only has it hooked up for streaming, which seems like a bit of a waste considering he plays a lot of CDs too. He's got a really high end CD player, with a tube amp section that he feels sounds great, but my suggestion was to hook up the straight signal of that to his preamp and then run another input for the digital out of the player, into the DAC and then into the preamp... so that he could A/B the built in DAC of the player to the Denafrips DAC. I guess that I'm weird in that when I get some new thing, in as much as I'm able to do, I like to directly compare it with the old...
 
RunOutGroove said:
it hooked up for streaming, which seems like a bit of a waste considering he plays a lot of CDs too.
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Not necessarily, my WiiM and my CD player are hooked up to the same DAC. My streaming service sounds every bit as good or better as the same CD.
 
RunOutGroove said:
Yeah, I could see getting one of those Bifrost 2/64 things, if I'm able to find a deal on one. I think that I would then be my endgame DAC, as I feel like with my system, my room, my ears, and my attention to detail (or lack thereof), going up to this level is likely all that I would be wanting to do...

It's funny but a friend with by far the biggest investment in audio, has a Denafrips Pontus DAC, which I know is a very high end piece, but he only has it hooked up for streaming, which seems like a bit of a waste considering he plays a lot of CDs too. He's got a really high end CD player, with a tube amp section that he feels sounds great, but my suggestion was to hook up the straight signal of that to his preamp and then run another input for the digital out of the player, into the DAC and then into the preamp... so that he could A/B the built in DAC of the player to the Denafrips DAC. I guess that I'm weird in that when I get some new thing, in as much as I'm able to do, I like to directly compare it with the old...
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I have my Oppo BDP-103 hooked up to my Bifrost and into my preamp. I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. I primarily use the Bifrost, though.
 
Gigantic said:
I have my Oppo BDP-103 hooked up to my Bifrost and into my preamp. I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. I primarily use the Bifrost, though.
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Yeah, seems like you can spend a lot of money on some really tiny differences as far as that goes. I guess that if you really have money burning a hole in your pocket that you're compelled to spend on audio, it's more wise to spend it on speakers and amps... or maybe even turntable gear, if you're into that. Maybe one of the nice things about the whole digital realm is that very good sound quality can be had with a fairly modest investment. I get the feeling that turntables, carts and preamps make a much larger qualitative differences as you go up the chain...
 
RunOutGroove said:
Yeah, seems like you can spend a lot of money on some really tiny differences as far as that goes. I guess that if you really have money burning a hole in your pocket that you're compelled to spend on audio, it's more wise to spend it on speakers and amps... or maybe even turntable gear, if you're into that. Maybe one of the nice things about the whole digital realm is that very good sound quality can be had with a fairly modest investment. I get the feeling that turntables, carts and preamps make a much larger qualitative differences as you go up the chain...
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I think it speaks as much to the quality of Oppo DACs as anything. For streaming, the sound quality as you move up the ladder is definitely noticeable. Realistically, the Bifrost 2/64 is my endgame for the time being, but I remain curious about the Gugnir and Yggdrasil. I don't have any intention of seeking them out, but if I received an unexpected largesse, I wouldn't rule them out.
 
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