I’ve reviewed this DAC and it’s companion product, the Magni Headphone Amplifier on the Magni page, I invite you to read that review as well. Up until very recently, I was kind of oblivious to why I’d need a product like this (and I’m an engineer). I have become convinced that this is an essential piece of equipment that’s a vital piece in the chain of reproducing good audio, though it isn’t immediately apparent why it’s so vital.

Back when we listened to vinyl records or analog tapes, we didn’t need DAC’s. The music was already in analog format. But today, most music is stored in digital form on your computer or iPod. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) is needed to convert the digital form into something your ears can understand. While many products have cheap little DACs built into them (like iPods), they are just barely enough to do the job. As it turns out, they aren’t good enough if you want to listen to really good headphones, really good amplifiers, or really good music.

I’ll put this simply: If you’re going to invest in some good quality audio gear, then you need a good DAC. It’s just as important as a good amplifier or good headphones. Fortunately, this DAC is inexpensive (as DAC’s go), and it’s good enough for the vast majority of music you or I will listen to. You can buy better, but you’ll spend a lot more. The Modi is built to work with the Magni, though you can use it with other amps too.

I recommend spending some quality time at Head-fi.org, where you can learn more about headphone audio. Once I decided on buying the Magni, the Modi was an easy choice. And they look awesome together too.

When I did research on different DACs I kept reading about Schiit Audio. Schiit is a relative newcomer to the world of audiophile quality equipment. Great to see a company who has a sense of humor about their name but takes their products very seriously. I also like the fact their products are made in the USA. That’s a rare find.

I originally settled on the Bifrost. I sent an email to the company, explained my needs and asked about the differences between the Bifrost and Modi. I received a fast reply from Jason Stoddard himself, one of the co-founders of Schiit Audio. He explained the USB section is basically the same, however capped at 24/96 for driverless operation. (The detectable difference between 24/96 and 24/192 is debatable. File me under the camp who thinks 192KHz is beyond overkill.) Since I only needed USB, the Modi seemed perfect for my needs, and at a price point, I couldn’t lose.

The quality itself is fantastic. The Modi has an all metal construction, and a great look on my desk. Sound quality is unbeatable at this price point. You can buy better sounding DACs, but be prepared to spend 3-4 times the price. I’m using the Modi with my very budget minded setup, iMac USB out > Modi > Topping TP21 > Energy C100s, with good quality interconnects.

This product is my first foray into computer-based audio… That said, I will say that I am a long-time audiophile, and have all tube equipment, including my CD player… So I was up against some formidable equipment to compare this relatively inexpensive DAC to…

Well, I can honestly say that the Modi held its own against my other comparisons… I will add here that anyone evaluating the Modi should give it a generous break-in period of at least 100 hrs. play time… No, I’m not kidding… The unit really opened up after that period of time used…
Trust me here…

I listen to mostly classical music, and I started by streaming some music from Pandora… My computer runs Windows 7, and the computer instantly recognized the Modi, and self-loaded the proper drivers… As I said, after the break-in, the sound was quite sumptuous, and I would say very near CD redbook quality…

The Modi is a dedicated USB asynchronous device… Asynchronous means that the unit takes control of things like clocking and reapportioning computer audio resources in real time…

At any rate, for .00, I don’t think you can do any better than this unit… I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to use their computer as an audio component for their stereo system… (m.)