[Digital Enigma]

AND a linear PSU!

Isn’t it a switcher?

 

[RickB]

It's often difficult to distinguish between "bright and edgy" and "clear and articulate."

For me, there was a burn in process with the MMB2, whether hardware burn in, brain burn in or a mixture of the two. At first it sounded bright and edgy, but then after a few weeks I realized it was very clear and neutral with that fantastic multibit imaging. . And an obvious upgrade over MMB1.

 

[Digital Enigma]

No it does not. I almost didn't buy a MM2 because of these comments. I find it more resolving than my MM1. A greater clarity in the details of the music. I really can't go back to the MM1 after using the MM2. This is just my take on it, of course.

Ok I ask because people believe the schiit multibit “analogue magic” is a thing of the past.

 

[Hyde00]

Ok I ask because people believe the schiit multibit “analogue magic” is a thing of the past.

I don't know if I'd go that far but there's definitely a shift in their "house sound". So I could see why such accusation.

For example all 3 of the following went from warmer sound to more technical but colder sound:

MMB1 -> MMB2
Bifrost 2 -> Bifrost 2/64
Gungnir A1 -> Gungnir B1

Only exception I think is Yggdrasil A1 to B1 got warmer.

MMB1 was 4x oversample, MMB2 is 8x oversample, maybe MMB3 they'll go with 16x oversample LOL.

 

[mlsstl]

Reading through this thread there’s a lot talk about schiits new multibit dacs sounding more bright and edgy. I haven’t heard older MMv2 but for those of you who can compare or have compared does the new one sound more like a delta sigma DAC in comparison?

I have the MM2 and also an Asgard 3 with their ESS9028 DAC card and a Lyr 3 with the multibit card. I've done some back-to-back comparisons of the three just to satisfy my curiosity, though nowhere close to being a review quality effort. A couple of observations -- the ESS9028 card always sounds great on first listen, but after a short while I find it bright and rather two-dimensional. However, if that was my only option, I could certain live with it and enjoy my music. I find the MM2 and multibit card very similar -- while the ESS9028 sounds more impressive on initial listen, I find the multibit DACs far more listenable and "3-D" sounding for extending listening. Note that I used to have a Bifrost 2, and while an excellent DAC, for my listening capabilities I don't find it worth well more than double the cost of the MM2 or the multibit card.

 

[Empyah]

I had the Bifrost 2 for a few years, but only "compared" them by doing the upgrade. I'm not entirely convinced it is an upgrade, but rather a way for Schiit to deal with the AD chip shortage. It's not like they intentionally switched to TI to make a better product, though they likely made some changes that could have been improvements. And since they had this new board, it became an opportunity to sell it as an "upgrade". Don't get my wrong, I'm not saying Schiit is dishonest though. But at best, it's probably a side-grade. Someday I'll switch back to the old board for comparison; I've been suspecting at some point people will start hyping it as the better version.

I do have

This is likely very true, its going to come from the headphone and the recording.

No it is not, ANY part of the chain can influence any percieved subjective parameter such as sibilance.

 

[Empyah]

Dacs aren't sibilant...nope. Neither are amps...

Yes they can. In fact any part of the chain can.

 

[adias]

lol I believe you, I think Modi 3+ was the last AKM Modi, after that with 3E and Modi+ are all ESS.

I haven't heard 3E and Modi+ but generally speaking I think ESS chips are usually brighter than AKM chips so it's totally possible.

I'm very tempted to buy the Modi+ just so I can say I've tried it.

The new Modi+ is quite good. Less layered than the MMB2 but quite good. My experience is with capable speaker installations, not headphones.

 

[Hyde00]

Yes they can. In fact any part of the chain can.

I agree with this, I think the chain is a math problem. They all add together to form the final outcome.

Granted headphone holds more % of influence, but amp and dac definitely still holds a certain % too so they too can influence the final sound.

The new Modi+ is quite good. Less layered than the MMB2 but quite good. My experience is with capable speaker installations, not headphones.

lol gotcha, I'll keep an eye out for 1 then if a good deal ever pops up. Just to satisfy my curiosity LOL.

 

[adydula]

SIbilance is more from the source itself IMO.
YMMV.

 

[mlsstl]

As someone who did some concert sound work and a bit of other recording some decades ago, i find sibilance is primarily in the source -- vocals too closely miked, or the wrong mike, or levels too high with clipping, a harsh sounding mixing board, etc. However, I also find some playback equipment handles the issue better than others. I find delta-sigma DACs more likely to highlight sibilance than the multibit versions. Multibit DACs kind of remind me of tubes -- they seem to handle clipping and overload better than the DS versions. However, these are just anecdotal observations on my part, nothing that I've ever put any effort into confirming.

 

[Hyde00]

However, these are just anecdotal observations on my part, nothing that I've ever put any effort into confirming.

It's ok I think this hobby is about theory + observation and you see if they match, if they match then great! If not then you revise your theory and observe again.

Too bad the current trend is to only care about theory, but I do think theory and practice go hand to hand.

Thank you for your feedback!

 

[EagleWings]

Sibilance can be from the source and some DACs have the tendency to make even non-sibilant recordings, sibilant. I’ve heard many DS DACs that are better at not exaggerating sibilance and some multibit DACs exaggerating or adding sibilance. DACs are just all over the place. Ugh.

 

[artur9]

Re: sibilance. Foreigner's Cold As Ice
Most systems I've heard make the word ice sound like iiiisss-uh. The DAC I'm using with my MJ3 makes it sound like ice. The stereo in my 2017 Tiguan, you don't want to know.

 

[renatonoel80]

Hello. Someone had this problem with the MM2 , After a while running the sound gets bad, then changing the Usb cable back to normal sound again, after a while have to change the Usb again, have to go taking turns the Usb cable. And also a doubt can leave it on 24h or better turn off when the audition ends ?