Worthwhile Upgrade or Pile of Schiit?

Arts & Media Music
1

I’ve been pretty happy with my iFi Zen Dac (v1) for a while now but I think I’m ready for a more full featured audio system. I’m purely a headphone user and I’m currently running my turntable and CD player through an audio input on my PC to push it through the iFi, that’s what I’m trying to solve.

From what I’ve seen building a Schiit stack seems to be the answer for me (Magni, Modi, Loki, Sys) but before I drop ~$450 I thought it made sense to check with you guys to see if there’s anything I might be missing.

2

Back then I was looking at ChiFi. Try SMSL. They have cheap Amp+DAC stuff for less.

3

Well, I hear this is some good Schiit. But one doesn’t know before one tries. What’s the return policy of these devices?

On the other hand, there are plenty of other products that have a decent preamp for regular line and phono inputs.

4

Instead of investing in high-end consumer/audiophile gear, I usually just get low- to mid-range pro gear. So far I’ve been pretty happy with my Focusrite Scarlett and Sterling headphone amp. Not as many knobs to tweak, no fancy analog tubes, but it still sounds pretty good, and way cheaper.

3 Likes
5

What headphones are you using and what audio input for the computer?