Yesterday Schitt announced a new DAC called Modius, designed to give audio fans and gamers improved audio at an affordable price.
Co-founder Jason Stoddard explained the reasoning behind the name.
“The Modius name came from the internal development name of ‘Modius Maximus,’ which is exactly what it is a bigger, better Modi” said Jason Stoddard. “It uses a better AKM DAC than the Modi, it has more inputs than the Modi, it adds balanced outputs, and it brings our Unison USB input to a much more affordable price level.”
Schiit press release
This makes the new DAC rather interesting, giving it a wide number of functions; especially given the specs of Modius.
Modius is based on the AKM AK4493 D/A converter, a step up from the AK4490 used in Modi. It was chosen for its high price-performance ratio, critical for a balanced, designed-and-built-in-California DAC selling for only $199. Despite the low cost, high-quality parts are used throughout, including precision thin-film resistors and film capacitors, and separate gain stages for the balanced and single-ended outputs, to optimize the performance of each. A 32-bit, 200MHz-class Microchip microprocessor handles both Unison USB and system code, extending the application of Schiit’s unique architecture.
Schiit press release
Schiit’s Unison USB is a proprietary USB Audio Class 2 architecture, with code solely developed by Schiit to run on general-purpose microprocessors. This allows Schiit to provide a very high-performance USB input that is focused on performing only a single critical task: PCM audio transmission. It also makes Schiit one of a handful of companies developing their own USB solutions, rather than relying on USB interfaces purchased from other manufacturers.
Modius is an excellent DAC for virtually any system, balanced or single-ended, but it also pairs ideally with Schiit’s current and past lineup of 9″ wide products. Stacked under any Asgard, Valhalla, Jotunheim, or Lyr, Modius provides more input flexibility than an internal DAC card, without taking up any additional desktop space.
This means it perform better than the FiiO K5Pro we reviewed some time back, with only a slightly higher price point of $199.99. Naturally, this could be a real game changer and result in a good compromise between price and value.
Those interested can currently order it from Schiit’s official website. It comes in either a black or silver finish and should ship in a couple days.
