Schiit Modi 5: Give Your Digital Sources a Better Voice
A compact external DAC can improve the link between your digital music and your amplifier—and give familiar equipment a useful new role.
A CD player, a streamer and a television box have something in common: somewhere between the recording and the speakers, digital audio must become an analog signal. The circuit that handles that conversion, together with its analog output stage, helps determine what reaches your amplifier.
We tend to focus on where music comes from. The point where it leaves the digital world deserves attention too.
That is the reason to consider an external DAC—a digital-to-analog converter. It takes over conversion from the source device, letting that device concentrate on reading a disc or delivering a stream. Against a noisy or poorly implemented analog output, even an affordable dedicated DAC can make a substantial improvement. If the existing conversion is already good, the audible difference may be small.
The Schiit Modi 5 makes that idea accessible. Listed at US$149, it accepts USB, optical and coaxial digital inputs and sends analog audio through RCA outputs. Its Mesh conversion combines Schiit’s own digital filter with a delta-sigma converter. It can run from USB power; an optional AC adapter enables its Linear Override mode. schiit.com
The attraction is practical. A CD player with a compatible digital output can keep doing the job it already does well: reading your collection. A streamer can retain its interface and services while handing conversion to a separate component. Several sources can share the same route into an amplifier.
Television sources need a little more planning. With an Android TV device or Apple TV, check the actual connections. The Modi has no HDMI input, so an HDMI-only source needs a compatible television optical output or a suitable HDMI audio extractor. The signal reaching the DAC should be stereo PCM; Apple TV offers a stereo PCM setting. Compatibility depends on the complete connection path.
The RCA output then connects to a line input on an amplifier, a headphone amplifier or suitable powered speakers. Speaker amplification and volume control remain elsewhere in the system.
An external DAC also gives you independence. You can replace a streaming device without rebuilding the analog side of your setup, or keep using an older player whose mechanism still works perfectly.
The Modi 5 earns its place in The Object through that modest, useful proposition: improve a specific link while preserving the equipment and music you already enjoy.
Sometimes a better system begins with a small box between two things you already own.