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REVIEW: Schiit Modi DAC $99

oscar09 said:
Yes USB ports are noisy, thats where getting a better USB cable benefits, to send a cleaner signal. There are $3,000 USB cables, are they better than a $50 dollar one? i dont know, but i sure wouldnt spend more than $140 on a USB cable... unless i won the lottery! :banana: You can try any USB cable, even a printer one. IT would be nice to do an A n B comparison to see how a regular one compares to an audio dedicated one.

As for using your DAC with another thing other than a pc it is possible. I dont use android devices but im sure it is also possible to do it with them. For instance, with an ipad, i can connect the camera connection kit that sends out 16bit/44.1kHz and bypasses the internal DAC, then plug it into a powered USB HUB and then to a DAC and BAM you got music. Im sure you can do it with your nexus 7, just make sure you can bypass the internal DAC and send out the digital signal to the DAC.
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Hmm, I'd like to see if this works. As far as I know the Nexus 7 doesn't have a DAC. Hell, it doesn't even have a speaker as far as I'm concerned. All it does is make a horrible noise. An ipad is entirely different than an Android tablet, that's why I'd want to try it before purchasing somehow to see if it would even work.
 
withmusic said:
Hmm, I'd like to see if this works. As far as I know the Nexus 7 doesn't have a DAC. Hell, it doesn't even have a speaker as far as I'm concerned. All it does is make a horrible noise. An ipad is entirely different than an Android tablet, that's why I'd want to try it before purchasing somehow to see if it would even work.
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It if it has some sort of speaker to play any music or video audio then it does have a DAC, a very cheap one as all mobile devices do.
 
withmusic said:
Hmm, I'd like to see if this works. As far as I know the Nexus 7 doesn't have a DAC. Hell, it doesn't even have a speaker as far as I'm concerned. All it does is make a horrible noise. An ipad is entirely different than an Android tablet, that's why I'd want to try it before purchasing somehow to see if it would even work.
Click to expand...

It has a DAC like all tablets and Phones. I'm not sure if you can send audio via the USB for processing but you should be able to find an app that let's you do(perhaps rooting might be needed).

My Nexus S phone has a Wolfson DAC which I use with the Voodoo sound app to take full advantage of it's capabilities making it a decent MP3 player for a phone.
 
ryuker16 said:
It has a DAC like all tablets and Phones. I'm not sure if you can send audio via the USB for processing but you should be able to find an app that let's you do(perhaps rooting might be needed).

My Nexus S phone has a Wolfson DAC which I use with the Voodoo sound app to take full advantage of it's capabilities making it a decent MP3 player for a phone.
Click to expand...

Hmm, it also has a headphone jack (mini), so I wonder if that would be more appropiate to use. Would bypassing the DAC in the tablet be as simple as just hooking up an outside DAC to it in any fashion it can be done?
As for rooting my tablet, I'd rather not, it's the only one I have and I don't want to destroy it for it's intended purposes such as controlling my Squeezebox Touch and portable database functions, etc.
 
prisoners said:
Just ordered one based on this thread. This will allow me to use my Peachtree iDac in my main system instead of my computer room....and I'll be pissed if I can't tell the difference between a $100 unit and a $1,000 one.
Click to expand...

Well? Did ya get your Shiit yet? How's it compare to your Peachtree??? :yes:

Jimmy
 
withmusic said:
Hmm, it also has a headphone jack (mini), so I wonder if that would be more appropiate to use. Would bypassing the DAC in the tablet be as simple as just hooking up an outside DAC to it in any fashion it can be done?
As for rooting my tablet, I'd rather not, it's the only one I have and I don't want to destroy it for it's intended purposes such as controlling my Squeezebox Touch and portable database functions, etc.
Click to expand...
If you use the headphone jack you are not bypassing the DAC in the tablet, if sound makes it to the jack it has been processed by the internal DAC.

What you need is to find out if you can output the digital signal through the tablet's USB/HDMI/Charger port either natively or with a software hack. Then the external DAC can work its magic.

Edit - Did a bit of searching, you can easily do this (but it requires rooting) - http://www.head-fi.org/t/627459/use-a-standard-usb-dac-with-a-nexus-7-step-by-step-guide
 
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Gang-Twanger said:
I was under the impression that there WERE plenty of DAC's out there with an optical input. This one, on the other hand, is clearly-designed for the USB-only crowd who don't have any other connectivity options (People with cheap laptops often only have USB to work with and nothing else, so this is a good day for those people).
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Many people consider asynchronous USB to be the best mode of transfer, so it's not about a lack of other options. It's worth noting, though, that high end asynchronous USB units do not use the USB connection for the power supply like this.
 
mprince said:
If you use the headphone jack you are not bypassing the DAC in the tablet, if sound makes it to the jack it has been processed by the internal DAC.

What you need is to find out if you can output the digital signal through the tablet's USB/HDMI/Charger port either natively or with a software hack. Then the external DAC can work its magic.

Edit - Did a bit of searching, you can easily do this (but it requires rooting) - http://www.head-fi.org/t/627459/use-a-standard-usb-dac-with-a-nexus-7-step-by-step-guide
Click to expand...

Thank you for this info, rather important. I am now educated on that one.:yes: The Nexus only has a USB port. (I keep thinking I should have gotten a Kindle, but then I would be locked into their environment and I wanted a true Android tablet so I went with the Nexus 7).
As for rooting, yeah probably dead easy, but will also be potentially harmful to the tablet and render the other functions I need it for unusable.
So if I want to get this DAC it could only be used for my PC and I just have no interest in using the PC as an audio source as it is too bulky.
 
Audio Mon said:
Planning on purchasing an HK3490 for my new system. Would the Modi offer significantly better sound than the Harman Kardon built in DAC?
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As an owner of a harman kardon HK3490 receiver, I would really appreciate anyone's opinion/info on this gentleman's question. I have a Sony Vaio laptop w/Itunes (about 2,300 tracks) and its my only digital source at the moment so a DAC with only USB connectivity is all I need, unless my receiver already has a better DAC. I think?

thanks!
 
haffy111 said:
As an owner of a harman kardon HK3490 receiver, I would really appreciate anyone's opinion/info on this gentleman's question. I have a Sony Vaio laptop w/Itunes (about 2,300 tracks) and its my only digital source at the moment so a DAC with only USB connectivity is all I need, unless my receiver already has a better DAC. I think?

thanks!
Click to expand...

I dont think a receiver has a built-in DAC.
I believe the DAC's are in your CD player/changer and or your lap-top, but a receiver i dont think has a DAC.
 
bad400 said:
I dont think a receiver has a built-in DAC.
I believe the DAC's are in your CD player/changer and or your lap-top, but a receiver i dont think has a DAC.
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They actually do. That HK they are talking about does, it takes in optical and coaxial inputs so it has a DAC. Any receiver or stereo with digital inputs has a DAC inside...

As to the guys asking if the Schiit Modi is better than the integrated DAC on the HK, i believe it is. Personally from my experience, any external DAC on its own its a whole lot better. Just because its sole purpose is to be a DAC. The Schiit Modi is just $99, trying it out wouldn't hurt.
 
parnold said:
The .83 cent monoprice cable will perform just as well as the $150 one. slick design on this dac!
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If you want to believe that go ahead... This is a USB cable we are talking about, not speaker wire. some are made out of copper others silver, etc. it's data that is being transferred.

Like I said already, for you all saying all USB cables are the same, go to computer audiophile and tell them every USB cable is the same, see what they tell you.
 
withmusic said:
Thank you for this info, rather important. I am now educated on that one.:yes: The Nexus only has a USB port. (I keep thinking I should have gotten a Kindle, but then I would be locked into their environment and I wanted a true Android tablet so I went with the Nexus 7).
As for rooting, yeah probably dead easy, but will also be potentially harmful to the tablet and render the other functions I need it for unusable.
So if I want to get this DAC it could only be used for my PC and I just have no interest in using the PC as an audio source as it is too bulky.
Click to expand...

rooting doesn't have any negative effects. Just grants your more abilities like overclocking and changing the clock syncs.

For some devices rooting is easy(google phones)....others are utter PITA.
 
I got a box of Schiit in the mail today, can't wait until I can go home and listen.
 

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