Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
get what suits your style and budget.
The Schiits work as a pair and are comparable to the O2+ODAC combo, the standard of entry-mid level audio gear.
I'm personally going for the Fiio E17k for its portability though. The Schiit also doesn't match my black on white room setup.
It also says, "Purity Sound is a combination of several hardware, software audio solutions and technologies that will satisfy even the pickiest audiophiles. Including 7.1 CH HD audio with Realtek ALC1150 audio codec, 115dB SNR DAC with Differential Amplifier, TI® 5532 Premium Headset Amplifier which supports up to 600 ohm headphones, cap less Direct Drive technology, EMI shielding cover, PCB isolate shielding and support for DTS Connect."
I'm guessing this 'purity sound' thing is the soundcard? Maybe it's not "on"? LOL Would you have any insight on this? And for reference, I'm plugging the headphones in the green hole.
Also, I know the difference between the modi and the modi 2? I'll get the magni 2 because a lot of people recommend it, but what about the modi's? If I were to also get a DAC, should I get the modi or modi 2?
And thank you for your time
I see that the SNR is 116 dB on your onboard sound card, I didn't look too much into which DAC it uses but seems people are very happy with the sound quality so you should try the magni 2 with your sound card as a line out and get a 3.5 mm to stereo rca cable(you don't need to get too extravagant here but don't skimp either because unlike USB cables the cables that carry your analog signals do affect sound quality. I think medialink has some reasonably priced ones that would fit the bill. I'd aim to spend between 10 and 20 USD on a good quality cable {in this case more formally known as an interconnect}) to hook it up to the magni 2. Then set windows output to exactly 77 on the 100 scale for volume as it compresses and distorts slightly at the higher settings (very arbitrary number I know).
In the event that you still do end up getting a DAC from schiit I would say the extra bucks are worth it for the modi 2. The modi 2 (and the modi as well) will have less issues with EMI as they will be outside of your computer case and in their own metal case that will further isolate them. In anycase you would likely get much better sound quality with the modi 2 as compared to your motherboards sound but you also said you had a hard time justifying it. Basically with audio your system will only sound as good as the weakest link (also consider the digital file you are playing I.e. is it lossless or lossy if it is lossy how lossy. The garbage in garbage out principal applies here.). Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.