Apologies for a late and fairly uninspired post. It was a long evening. And I got a new toy. Well, two new toys. A Modi and a Magni 3+ from Schiit Audio. Yes, that’s their name. Yes, it’s pronounced exactly how you’re giggling about. And yes, this is the beginning of my very own little Schiit stack.
This is my first little toe dip into the world of HiFi audio. I paired these up with a pair of BeyerDynamic DT880 headphones based on the review of Ken Rockwell. I’m not the hugest fan of Ken but he does have some solid photographic information on his site (if you can make it past all of the deliberately controversial stuff and the photos with the colors turned up to 11). Knowing nothing about HiFi audio, it was as good a place as any to start.
I decided to get the 250 ohm version of the DT880s for a little more range. To drive them, I needed an amp and a DAC (digital to analogue converter). I couldn’t find anything on Ken’s site for these in my price range (except the Apple lightning to mini plug which has an onboard DAC…that seemed a little like some of his more controversial photo gear suggestions, so this is where his input and I parted ways). After more research, I found several suggestions for the little Schiit stack as an option that punched well above its price point.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I could not believe my ears when I got the audio routed properly and an “Ultra HD” track pulled up on Amazon HD. The levels of detail are nothing short of amazing. It’s honestly a little scary. It makes me wonder what’s possible at the higher price points that audiophilia can demand. That’s something I’ll try to ignore for the time being and just focus on the big first leap that the Schiit stack and DT880’s have allowed me. If it’s anything like photography, I’m guessing the first step from iPhone earbuds playing highly compressed files to my setup is like going from a cell phone camera to an entry level DSLR. Low end, maybe, but I have made some very memorable images with humble DSLRs. The first step is always the biggest and the best. I’ll enjoy that for the foreseeable future!
