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Jason, the cofounder of Schiit Audio (its pronounced exactly as you think it is) regularly posts updates about the company to an audiophile forum, and his posts

• Dracophoenix 4y ago
  Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. I enjoy the company's no-nonsense designs, but as Audio Science Review and NwAvGuy have proven, objectively higher quality audiophile equipment can be bought or built for much less money than Schitt is asking for.
  • Qub3d 4y ago
    Objectivity and audiophile in the same sentence always makes me suspicious, especially when you are looking at the 100s to 1000s of extra dollars for 3-5% improvement on measurements (and good luck detecting that in an ABX test). I moved to a modi/magni stack from a Fiio portable and I don't know if I'll ever bother to upgrade again.
    • MuffinFlavored 4y ago
      Ironically, I'd be pretty hard pressed to believe you could tell the "quality" from a Fiio DAC compared to an iPhone
      • bee_rider 4y ago
        IIRC the iPhone dac/amp is supposed to be fairly decent for driving, like, normal headphones. At least in the past (not sure in the post-dongle days).
        • ZekeSulastin 4y ago
          The Apple USB-C dongle is actually pretty well regarded as an inexpensive step up from onboard audio for “normal” headphones, and some folks will use it as a starter DAC to pair with an amp for less “normal” headphones …
          • SSLy 4y ago
            sadly, it doesn't support mic if on windows - at least last time I've tried
          • bee_rider 4y ago
            That's interesting. It looks really tiny on their site, so I guess the analog signal must be generated in the computer? So it seem more like a "PC manufacturers typically put more effort into their USB implementation than their 3.5mm implementation" sort of thing, I guess?
            • oasisbob 4y ago
              It's even more interesting, there really is a tiny DAC embedded in the Lightning connector: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+Lightning+to+Headphone+Jack+Adapter+Teardown/67562 https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+Lightning+to+Headphone...
              • bee_rider 4y ago
                Neat! I had no idea. Wonder if their USB-C version is better than the one that came with my non-Apple laptop...
      • ericbarrett 4y ago
    • bee_rider 4y ago
      I wasn't familiar with Audio Science Review, but I looked them up and enjoyed their review of a *$350 power cord*. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/gr-research-b24-ac-cord-review.35685/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/g... At least from this one sample they look legit, if anything counter-audiophile, in the sense that it is objectively measuring the lack of improvement. I'd also call the basic schiit stack (which I also have) counter-audiophile -- it is just a nice, solid piece of kit. (and an immediately obvious improvement over my PC's built in stereo jack, haha).
      • zrobotics 4y ago
        Lol @that link, $350 for a power cord and it's only 14AWG w/ no UL/CE rating? I'm apparently in the wrong business.
        • orangepurple 4y ago
          You don't understand. It's oxygen free copper! /s
    • mlyle 4y ago
      > > objectively higher quality audiophile equipment > Objectivity and audiophile in the same sentence always makes me suspicious While we can't detect all the things that people talk about or rave about... There's a whole lot of things we can measure pretty well; THD+N, intermodulation, frequency response, jitter & phase noise, etc. If something measures better on those simple measurements, and we're not deliberately looking for some warm distortion, etc-- we can know it's better. His point is that cheaper equipment performs better on objective tests that Schiits. The "better" may not matter, but the point is that cheaper and better is a more desirable combo than more expensive and worse.
      • atoav 4y ago
        I mean human hearing is well known by now. We have a pretty good understanding what makes up certain sounds. Yet, given the nature of the subject on the fringes of perception people start to develope a lot of fantasy, like a child walking through the dark woods seeing monsters and mysterious creatures everywhere. You can surely measure everything, but you also have to do it. Where audio stuff gets the hardest (and what makes the most impact) is room acoustics and the conversion from and to sound waves (so: microphones and speakers and their position within said rooms). The power amplifiers, preamps etc. can then either be adequate or inadequate to drive those speakers or amplify those microphones neutrally. If you want everything else than high fidelity (e.g. the subtle crossover distortion and warm sound of a class AB tube amplifier) this is a different thing, but don't call it high fidelity.
      • orangepurple 4y ago
        More expensive and worse wins if it enhances your perceived social status. For example, Ferraris are not the best track cars, they're not the worst either, but they are a potent status symbol. In any case there exist much cheaper options which can outperform them.
  • xeromal 4y ago
    Got any recommendations? I have some Schiit equipment.
    • seanp2k2 4y ago
      RME ADI-2 was and still is my endgame DAC + headphone amp. Requires a funky adapter to use in dual output balanced mode, but boy does that make the HD800S sing. https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-pro-fs-be.html https://www.rme-audio.de/adi-2-pro-fs-be.html ASR Review: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-rme-adi-2-pro-comparison-to-adi-2-dac.2682/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r...
    • Dracophoenix 4y ago
      Schitt's good [1] if that what you already have. Unless you made your purchase a decade ago or feel dissatisfied with the product in some way, Schitt isn't a bad choice. One plus is that Schitt also provides paid upgrades for some of its higher end boxes. My "issue", for lack of better phrasing, is that Schitt is not the most optimal in terms of performance per dollar. As far as recommendations are concerned, there are many on this webpage: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Reviews/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Rev... If you have a particular featureset, utility, budget, design, genres of music, etc. I'd be happy to offer what I can, but I'd also recommend that you take the time to review what works for you. After all, it's your ears, not mine. [1] ;)
      • xeromal 4y ago
        I'm very happy with Schitt. I just asked out of curiosity because the person mentioned equipment that is cheaper and better. My Fulla E was $120 so I was curious what is good in that price range! All good though. I'm very happy as-is.
        • Dracophoenix 4y ago
          > the person mentioned equipment that is cheaper and better I'm the same person. But it's good to hear that you're fine with what you have. The review site I linked should statisfy your curiosity.
  • olkingcole 4y ago
    The newer stuff (magni/modi 3) has fixed the Audio Science Review guy's complaints and he now recommends those models. I went through all this when I was shopping for reasonably (to me) priced gear. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-schiit-modi-3-dac.4742/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r... > I am recommending the Schiit Modi 3 without reservations. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-topping-a30-and-schiit-magni-3-headphone-amps.4024/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/r... > Both Topping A30 and Schiit Magni 3 are recommended for budget friendly choices in headphone amplifiers. Let your preferences in looks, usability, etc. guide you in your selection.
    • coldtea 4y ago
      >The newer stuff (magni/modi 3) has fixed the Audio Science Review guy's complaints and he now recommends those models. Now, I might be cynical, but this can also happen in a shakedown (bad review, money exchange, oh, good now) scenario - whether with updated version of the product in between or not. It's not like thosr are uncommon.
• xeromal 4y ago
  I have a Fulla E from these guys. Love it!
• discardable_dan 4y ago
  This writing is insufferable. If I removed every errant newline and "bear with me" sentence, the posts would be half as long and twice as interesting.
  • brainfog 4y ago
    ok
• RF_Savage 4y ago
  On the whole the Schiit Audio origin story and growing pains one can read in those threads is very educational to anyone considering running a niche hardware company. Tons of real world experience on what worked and did not work. Not too much info on running hardware companies out there.
• Lio 4y ago
  > ...Schiit Audio (its pronounced exactly as you think it is)... I'm imagining "Downtown" Clay Davis from The Wire. No idea if that's correct or not but it makes me laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70eU840lc38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70eU840lc38