Schiit Introduces $99 Magni and Modi

 

December 11, 2012. Today, Schiit Audio announced the availability of its newest products, the $99 Magni headphone amplifier and the $99 Modi USB DAC. Magni is the most powerful amp in its segment, and is the only amp in its price class offering fully discrete design. Modi is the most advanced USB DAC in its segment, with an AKM4396 D/A converter and active filter output stage for driving long cable runs.  Both products offer class-leading warranties, and are made in the USA.

 

“We’re excited to debut Magni and Modi,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s Co-Founder. “Since our expansion, we’ve been working on seeing how far we can push the price/performance barrier, and Magni and Modi are the result. Combining large-scale production runs with highly automated assembly and efficient chassis design have really paid off.”

 

Despite their low prices, both Magni and Modi offer exceptional features and specifications. 

 

Magni delivers 1.2W into 32 ohms, and is perfectly capable of driving many orthodynamic headphones, as well as offering >100dB signal to noise for compatibility with many IEMs. It includes a 115V-compatible “wall wart” style power adapter in its $99 price. In addition, its distortion performance is less than 0.004% at 1V out across the audio band, and its output impedance is less than 0.1 ohm.

 

Modi uses the same CM6631 USB input receiver as Schiit’s USB module, running in USB Audio 1.0 mode for driverless operation at all sample rates from 16/44.1 to 24/96, including 24/88. Featuring a premium AKM 4396 D/A converter and an active output filter stage built around the AD8616 opamp, Modi delivers exceptional performance and the ability to drive long cable runs.

 

Magni and Modi also feature a 2-year parts and labor warranty, which is 2X that of typical products in this segment, as well as a 15-day money-back guarantee, with 15% restocking fee.

 

Magni is in stock and shipping now, at $99 plus shipping. Modi is available to order and will be shipping in 3-5 days, at $99 plus shipping. Magni and Modi are available only directly from Schiit Audio at www.schiit.com.

 

Founded in June 2010 by audio industry “old dogs” Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, Schiit Audio has a simple, if somewhat insane, mission: to bring superior performance, design, and quality to audio products at near-Chinese prices, while manufacturing in the USA.

 

Jason Stoddard was the former engineering lead at Sumo, designing power amps that included Polaris II, Polaris III, Andromeda III, Ulysses, Ulysses II, The Ten, The Five, as well as preamplifiers including Athena II, Diana, and Artemis, and Sumo’s first digital line: Axiom and Theorem.

 

Mike Moffat was the founder of Theta, Theta Digital, and Angstrom, and his audio history covers an impressive list of firsts, including the first standalone DAC, the Theta DSPre, the first use of digital signal processing and bit-perfect digital filter algorithms, the first DTS surround processor, and more.