Because I discovered that adding the Oppo HA-2SE mobile headphone amp made a big difference in the performance of my Oppo PM-3 headphones, I decided my first upgrade since getting serious about this hobby would be to upgrade my amplifier. I wanted to see if going from a mobile amplifier to a desktop amplifier would make a noticeable improvement. I also didn’t like the ergonomics of using a mobile amp. It is wide and flat, like a phone, causing it to look out of place on a desk and making the small power/volume knob awkward to use.
THX has a new technology call Achromatic Audio Amplifier (AAA) that is all the rage with headphone enthusiasts right now. But products using it currently start at $300 and I didn’t want to spend that much yet. I discovered that there are three headphone amplifiers right at $100 that are all highly regarded. Of those three, the Schiit Magni 3+ checked the most boxes for me. It is by the company that defined the $100 audiophile headphone amp years ago with the original Magni. It is designed and manufactured in the USA. And it is an attractive design with a strong, metal enclosure that perfectly aligns with my desktop aesthetic.
Schiit is also an interesting company. First there’s the name. Yes, it really is pronounced “shit”. Not only is that NOT the name of the founder, Jason Stoddard, but they use it to make many puns in their marketing materials. They are also active in the online community. They are open to feedback and frank discussion of their own products. Stoddard writes an ongoing series of posts called Schiit Happened on head-fi.org that exemplifies this. Here are a couple of my favorites that I HIGHLY recommend if you are interested at all in hi-fi audio gear:
The Subjectivist/Objectivist Synthesis
Lighted by the Blind (results of blind listening to various audio products)
Once I received my Magni 3+ I compared it to the Oppo HA-2SE and I was immediately struck by how I could not tell any difference. 😳
What can I say? While the Magni is better on paper, the HA-2SE is no slouch. It’s hard to compare their value as the HA-2SE has a battery and internal DAC but cost me over 2 times as much. It’s also hard to compare their performance due to the time it takes to switch all of the connections between them. I decided I didn’t care as long as the Schiit doesn’t sound perceptibly worse since ergonomically and stylistically, it was far better.
It didn’t take long before I added a Modi, the DAC companion to the Magni. These two have a similar form factor and stack neatly on my desk under my laptop:
If only the connections were just as neat. While Schiit does offer short interconnect cables, they aren’t nearly as short as they could be and are a bit pricey considering the low cost of the Modi/Magni combo. But that’s a minor quibble.
Separately, the Modi and Magni are strong. But put one on top of the other and together they form… Schiit Stack! The powerful 1–2 punch of matching DAC and amp that takes little desk space, looks great, and provides all the oomph I’m going to need to drive most headphones.
