[J Ottawa]

In the "no Chi-Fi" category, I just finished doing an additional A-B test between my RME-ADI-2 FS (ESS, made in Germany) and the Modius E + Midgard (Made in the U.S.A.). I also purchased some XLR cables locally made in the Great White North.

Please note the following changes from my first A-B test posted earlier on this thread.

1. RME filter is set to NOS with PEQ high frequency compensation.
2. New XLR cables between the Modius and Midgard: Take Five Audio Mogami 2549 (I like local buying as much as possible for all my gear. "Take Five Audio" are local here in Ottawa, Canada - killer value and they export to the USA. Exchange rates favour American buyers).
3. Please note that perceptively I assume the RME is better than my current Schiit gear because I was an early adopter of RME (Babyface Pro, AKM 4490 ADI) and I love RME. I've been living with the RME for years now and I do not feel like I'm missing much, so I'd be happy to continue with the ADI-2 DAC.
The remote is a good feature.
The cost is more, but you get more features as well as a one box solution.
Alternatively, I like how Schiit stacks up.
4. Test carried out with Newmann NDH-30 headphones. No Halo test, yet! A balanced cable will be ordered in the New Year.

With that out of the way, I listened to music from Alain Toussaint, Yosi Horikawa, along with some Radiohead (The National Anthem) and Anne Sophie-Mutter (The Four Seasons). I've been listening to the Schiit stack for a little over a week now.

I started with the RME, moving to the Modius + Midgard (M&M), back and forth we went.
RME gave me lots of detail and clear lower bass delineation. I discovered this was at the cost of soundstage, both deep and wide, and this after comparing it with M&M.

The Newmann headphones were better at deciphering the sound spectrum and let me peer deeper into the representation of each device; M&M being more bass emphasized but resolved much better with the Neumann headphones.

Bottom line: from a pure musical perspective, I much prefer the M&M stack over the RME.

After this time in the continuum, I am shocked. The soundstage also carries over to my active speakers, the Yamaha HS7s giving me PRAT in my smaller room.

I can warm up the sound with the RME with some PEQ tricks, but one test and subsequent result is telling: the song "Letter" from Yosi Horikawa, at the 4 minute 10 second mark, you can clearly hear the pen scribbling across the paper, panning. * This important detail is missing with the RME (it may be a setting thing, I don't know).
This is not the first time I notice more detailed presentations of the soundstage, both deep and wide with the Modius + Midgard combo.

Which brings me to this intersection: will investing in more expensive Schiit audio equipment further improve my lot, like with a Kara or Freya and Yggdrasil?
Or, is the M&M combo just a magical sweet spot, a value leader both from a pricing and sonic point of view?

Fun times for hi-end affordable gear.

 

[G8torbyte]

I can warm up the sound with the RME with some PEQ tricks, but one test and subsequent result is telling: the song "Letter" from Yosi Horikawa, at the 4 minute 10 second mark, you can clearly hear the pen scribbling across the paper, panning. * This important detail is missing with the RME (it may be a setting thing, I don't know).
This is not the first time I notice more detailed presentations of the soundstage, both deep and wide with the Modius + Midgard combo.

Fun times for hi-end affordable gear.

The scribbling sounds like the test that Zeos used to run when he was testing the imaging of headphones and speakers. I don't really put any credence to his reviews but that sound-bit was a good way to check imaging and holographic staging.

 

[J Ottawa]

The scribbling sounds like the test that Zeos used to run when he was testing the imaging of headphones and speakers. I don't really put any credence to his reviews but that sound-bit was a good way to check imaging and holographic staging.

Thanks for that note G8torbyte. I wasn't looking for it, it just happened! There is a big difference in soundstage and this was something I could tangibly note and share. Hopefully it is something others can listen to and latch onto it.

 

[theveterans]

Which brings me to this intersection: will investing in more expensive Schiit audio equipment further improve my lot, like with a Kara or Freya and Yggdrasil?
Or, is the M&M combo just a magical sweet spot, a value leader both from a pricing and sonic point of view?

I own both Yggdrasil+ More is Better paired with Saga OG and Bifrost 2 paired with Midgard.

Unquestionably for me, Your Modius E and Midgard combo is the magical sweetspot for the price. You'd have to spend many times its price to get extra 15% better with a Yggdrasil+ MIB / Saga combo

 

[J Ottawa]

I own both Yggdrasil+ More is Better paired with Saga OG and Bifrost 2 paired with Midgard.

Unquestionably for me, Your Modius E and Midgard combo is the magical sweetspot for the price. You'd have to spend many times its price to get extra 15% better with a Yggdrasil+ MIB / Saga combo

All that for a 15% improvement...wow. Thanks for making it relative and putting a $$ figure to it. I'm thinking maybe a Kara Preamp in my near future; try it with my Modius (E) in my main stereo for eval purposes and take it from there. I really want the remote control for volume.

 

[theveterans]

All that for a 15% improvement...wow. Thanks for making it relative and putting a $$ figure to it. I'm thinking maybe a Kara Preamp in my near future; try it with my Modius (E) in my main stereo for eval purposes and take it from there. I really want the remote control for volume.

I was contemplating the Kara, but I didn't need balanced out with my Yggdrasil since I'm using an ampsandsound Forge SET headphone amp as my main amp. Saga as 5692 brown base tube buffer attenuator does its wonders already with ensuring I get phenomenal sound out of the Yggy+ MIB and Forge. SET headphone amps need a wide voltage swing (or amplitude) from a preamp in order for them to "wake the hell up" unlike SS headphone amps such as Mjolnir 3 or Midgard.

 

[Jo-JS]

No Chi-fi period, which is why I am considering the Midgard. Thanks for the info.

I'm pretty sure the Midgard also have that shortcoming of going belly up if you plug balanced trrs into the 1/4 se headphones output plug.

Chi-fi has gone a very very long way in the past 6 years. The topping a90d is an excellent example.

 

[J Ottawa]

I'm pretty sure the Midgard also have that shortcoming of going belly up if you plug balanced trrs into the 1/4 se headphones output plug.

Chi-fi has gone a very very long way in the past 6 years. The topping a90d is an excellent example.

If you are aware of shortcomings and do research, I am sure there are many fine products from China; a friend of mine has a Yaqin 300B Set Amp and it sounds great and is built like a tank, point to point wiring mostly. Being from a remote northern area, more or less, I find buying local is always a positive for the circular economy, hence my comment about the XLR cables locally sourced.

 

[J Ottawa]

I was contemplating the Kara, but I didn't need balanced out with my Yggdrasil since I'm using an ampsandsound Forge SET headphone amp as my main amp. Saga as 5692 brown base tube buffer attenuator does its wonders already with ensuring I get phenomenal sound out of the Yggy+ MIB and Forge. SET headphone amps need a wide voltage swing (or amplitude) from a preamp in order for them to "wake the hell up" unlike SS headphone amps such as Mjolnir 3 or Midgard.

I need balance going into my amplifiers, so I'm going to keep the chain "balanced". Thanks for sharing your setup.

 

[Saaki]

I own both Yggdrasil+ More is Better paired with Saga OG and Bifrost 2 paired with Midgard.

Unquestionably for me, Your Modius E and Midgard combo is the magical sweetspot for the price. You'd have to spend many times its price to get extra 15% better with a Yggdrasil+ MIB / Saga combo

Excellent to know this! I'm going to stick with this same combo for a while. I was considering returning the Midgard for the newly released Pietus Maximus but I can't afford that price tag at the moment. Perhaps I'll upgrade later if I still have the itch and I've got money to spend.

 

[Quadrangulator]

I'm pretty sure the Midgard also have that shortcoming of going belly up if you plug balanced trrs into the 1/4 se headphones output plug.

Chi-fi has gone a very very long way in the past 6 years. The topping a90d is an excellent example.

I wouldn't plug TRRS I to the single ended output. Rather, I would want to plug single ended signals into the Balanced inputs via RCA to XLR cables/adapters.

 

[ksb643]

If you are aware of shortcomings and do research, I am sure there are many fine products from China; a friend of mine has a Yaqin 300B Set Amp and it sounds great and is built like a tank, point to point wiring mostly. Being from a remote northern area, more or less, I find buying local is always a positive for the circular economy, hence my comment about the XLR cables locally sourced.

Better higher end Chi-Fi than mass produced J@# crap!

 

[J Ottawa]

Excellent to know this! I'm going to stick with this same combo for a while. I was considering returning the Midgard for the newly released Pietus Maximus but I can't afford that price tag at the moment. Perhaps I'll upgrade later if I still have the itch and I've got money to spend.

Until we know for sure what Pietus Maximus tangibly offers, and its price point, we may be a solution chasing a problem! LoL. Where I stand now is that I'll move forward if there is proof the product is well reviewed, supported with positive audio opinions and meets a need. For may main rig, I'll need a good balanced pre with remote volume capability. Benchmark LA4 and Kara meet those requirements. But the M&M combo is very very good for my office setup. (M&M = Modius + Midgard).

 

[theveterans]

If you are aware of shortcomings and do research, I am sure there are many fine products from China; a friend of mine has a Yaqin 300B Set Amp and it sounds great and is built like a tank, point to point wiring mostly. Being from a remote northern area, more or less, I find buying local is always a positive for the circular economy, hence my comment about the XLR cables locally sourced.

Schiit's "Snake Oil" branded PYST XLRs sound great! I like ampsandsound's house signature (transformers) since they translate the "tube magic" to my headphones pretty dang well!

 

[J Ottawa]

Schiit's "Snake Oil" branded PYST XLRs sound great! I like ampsandsound's house signature (transformers) since they translate the "tube magic" to my headphones pretty dang well!

I'll take a peek at Ampsandsound. I never heard of them before.