Schiit Asgard 3 vs Magnius

[vt]

I'm trying to make a decision between the two......recently purchased the Asgard 3 with Schiit's plug in 4490 Dac board, and don't like the DAC at all. I'm definitely going to buy the Modius, because within my budget range it is a really well regarded and tested DAC, and it also has an interesting USB input that supposedly deals with clocking issues and this is unusual in the budget world I think. The other plus is it's balanced, which is why I'm tempted to swap out the Asgard for the Magnius, and dip my toes into balanced output for a couple of my headphones. The thing is, I really do like the sound of the Asgard very much, DAC aside it's really punchy and full, and I've always been partial to A-A/B amps, way back to my first decent Yamaha years ago.

I'm concerned about the trade offs if I switched to the Magnius, because even though I'd be getting the balanced option, I'm concerned I'd lose that sound of the integrated Asgard (and the warmth!).

Does anyone have the Magnius, or have an opinion on the matter?

[jackpine]

IF you don't like Schiit 4490 DAC I'm thinking their 4493 DAC is just going to be a very subtle bit better. I think multibit or a different manufacturer is going to be what you want.

[vt]

You may be right, but it's also the difference in implementation between a simple plug in board and a full board built around the 4493 chip. But the other big factor for me is the unison USB input, which looks like it's pretty cool stuff, especially around jitter. I'm not an engineer, but I've read/heard that they've been able to resolve clocking issues and I think this may make an audible difference. I have my fingers crossed, I don't have the budget for an Ares 2 or bifrost, wish I did.

[vcautokid]

Magnius is definitely better than the Asgard 3 with the DAC option. I have both, though I enjoy the Asgard 3, the Magnius itself takes it up a other notch. Both balanced and unbalanced. Just plain good. For a budget DAC, it is where I at least like being. Your mileage may vary.

[garbulky]

Should I give Magnius a go? I have an A-100 which is fantastic but the Magnius has that balanced input and ultra low noise which might be interesting to try with the HD800S.

[vt]

Thanks for the input Autokid, plus one for the Magnius. It seems more people lean in favor of the Asgard, and I like it too, but haven't heard the Magnius. I may end up with it anyway, because unlike with the Asgard, I can pair the Modius with the Magnius via XLR, and still have the RCA outs available to run to my TA-100 as a preamp. I'm not 100% sure if this will work or if the Modius will switch automatically when headphones are plugged into the Magnius, but I don't see another way to connect to both the headphone amp and the TA, and use the Modius as the DAC for both.

Please correct me if I'm wrong!