REVIEW: Schiit Modi DAC $99
- Thread starter oscar09
- Start date
oscar09
DUCK!
pyle sounds like..... ill just keep it to myself.
Catswold
It's psy-cat-delic!
A good way of looking at flac vs. mp3 is to consider a flac file similar to a compressed (non-music) data file. It's smaller because it removes all of the redundant (repeated) data sequences (1's and 0's), but when you uncompress it, you have the whole data file as it originally appeared--compress a document file, when you decompress it, all the words and letters appear identical to the original.
If you could compress a document with mp3 you would be losing every other letter (for example). You might still be able to discern what was said, but it would not look like the original.
Flac is "loss-less" compression, mp3 (and the like) are called "lossy" compression.
Flac conversion is virtually instantaneous (by far the most efficient lossless music compression algorithm).
Here is an FAQ for flac:
http://xiph.org/flac/faq.html#general__native_vs_ogg
Will
If you could compress a document with mp3 you would be losing every other letter (for example). You might still be able to discern what was said, but it would not look like the original.
Flac is "loss-less" compression, mp3 (and the like) are called "lossy" compression.
Flac conversion is virtually instantaneous (by far the most efficient lossless music compression algorithm).
Here is an FAQ for flac:
http://xiph.org/flac/faq.html#general__native_vs_ogg
Will
oscar09
DUCK!
Once an MP3 version is created it is compressed for ever and can not be uncompressed. The sound quality is compressed for ever and there is nothing that can be done to bring back what was lost in the compression stage.
Converting an mp3 to AIFF or FLAC or any other losless format is just a waste of time, all you are doing is making the file bigger but the sound quality is still the same as the mp3.
If you want to hear a true lossless file you have two options... either you grab your original CD and rip it at a lossless format OR you buy from sites such as HDtracks that offer music in lossless formats.
Converting mp3 to AIFF is just messing with the formats and such data, sound quality is the same as mp3, so saying that a difference can be heard is basically your brain making you believe you hear a difference because you saw the small mp3 file turn into a big lossless file.
Converting an mp3 to AIFF or FLAC or any other losless format is just a waste of time, all you are doing is making the file bigger but the sound quality is still the same as the mp3.
If you want to hear a true lossless file you have two options... either you grab your original CD and rip it at a lossless format OR you buy from sites such as HDtracks that offer music in lossless formats.
Converting mp3 to AIFF is just messing with the formats and such data, sound quality is the same as mp3, so saying that a difference can be heard is basically your brain making you believe you hear a difference because you saw the small mp3 file turn into a big lossless file.
oscar09
DUCK!
Confirmed it works. Several members over at Head-Fi have confirmed it worked. Some say they even ran it straight without a powered hub and that it worked.
Any more listening impressions/reviews?
My Musical Fidelity V-DAC isn't recognizing any input any more and I'm not sure if I want to spend the money for repairs and $60 round trip shipping to England to fix it. It's nicely reviewed, but also 3+ years old, so I'm wondering if something like the Modi might not now equal or surpass it's performance??
Let us know!!
My Musical Fidelity V-DAC isn't recognizing any input any more and I'm not sure if I want to spend the money for repairs and $60 round trip shipping to England to fix it. It's nicely reviewed, but also 3+ years old, so I'm wondering if something like the Modi might not now equal or surpass it's performance??
Let us know!!
nj pheonix
Lunatic Member
I'm in , I think this will push me over the MOG cliff
Meh, it's a USB-powered $100 DAC.. you're bound to see cheerleading and "ho-hums" at the same time. What I'd watch out for, in trying to decide whether to buy one, are reports that it is better or worse than another USB-powered DAC on the same computer. I said "USB-powered" twice because I'm trying to point out that it is effectively on a different power supply for every user. It may do a great job of not caring about that, I do not know, but that's part of what makes that comparison important.
Reports of it failing or succeeding to perform something dramatic over a computer headphone output don't really mean much. There are just too many variables. It's all about expectations, associated gear, and how much of a problem you have to be solved in the first place.
Reports of it failing or succeeding to perform something dramatic over a computer headphone output don't really mean much. There are just too many variables. It's all about expectations, associated gear, and how much of a problem you have to be solved in the first place.
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oscar09
DUCK!
I saw and still see a lot of people comparing it to +$200 DACs. I feel people were expecting it too much from it and forgot that it is just a $100 DAC. I'm sure the guys at Schiit couldn't make a giant killer for $99. Personally I feel this is the best DAC anyone can get for no more than $100. It is the best introductory DAC in the market right now. I doubt there's a DAC at $100 or less than can beat this DAC. :thmbsp:
In the context of this forum, it is catching the attention of both tight-budget folks that are quite familiar with digital audio, and high-end folks that are interested in dipping their toes into a computer source, and some people in between. There are some very different sorts of expectations in there. Beyond expectations, different wishes, hopes, concepts of function, biases, etc.
That's the real question, and below $100, IMO, reliability is a big factor too, obviously unproven here.
oscar09
DUCK!
I've been satisfied with it. It sure isn't no giant killer but it does deliver satisfactory performance. I've only seen people return it since they put it up againts their $400 plus DACs and expect it to be at par. but I really haven't seen so many complain about it yet.
Hmmm....
I just went and read some stuff over at the Schiit site and it's only clouding my choice now. I had the VDAC and liked it fine until it crapped out, so I'm looking at going from a three year old $300 DAC with S/PDIF, optical and USB inputs and wall wart power to a new $100 USB only DAC that runs off the 5V power.
So it gets down to where I want to go now. Should I buy a lesser DAC to access my digital files, or maybe just play them through the soundcard via the outputs, and save a bit more to buy a more modern DAC with traditional inputs?
...and down the MOG rabbit hole too.:yes:
This. For me the internal DAC on my Mac mini was superior. That might not be the case with everyone though.
Okay so quick update. The Schiit Modi does not work flawlessly with stock Ubuntu 12.10. It randomly causes pulseaudio to crash often. It does however work with my ArchLinux machine (running the most recent version of arch). Running under Arch I don't experience any of the problems I experience with Ubuntu 12.10. I have not been able to pinpoint the reason for this, but I can say that it is not the kernel version as I am running 3.7.* on both machines. (Was previously running 3.5 on Ubuntu 12.10). I don't have much time, but if I ever figure it out I'll post instructions on getting it working correctly with Ubuntu. It does work perfectly with 3 Arch machines though. I would assume most people would be using Ubuntu considering its ease of use. Just wanted to post about this considering last time I definitely made a statement that wasn't accurate.