Schiit AudioModi+

Tonal profile

A DAC and nothing else: ESS ES9018 behind Schiit's own Unison USB receiver, OPA1656 analog stage, one pair of RCA outputs at 2.0 V RMS from 75 ohms. There is no volume control and no headphone jack — the amplifier Schiit sells to sit under it is a separate box called Magni+, and the two are frequently quoted as one product.

Gain staging

Fixed 2.0 V RMS output, above the 2.0 V consumer reference only nominally, so anything downstream needs its own volume control. On optical or coaxial the unit is not bus-powered at all and needs the supplied 5 V wall-wart; on USB it draws bus power, and Schiit's own fix for a 'draws too much power' host is to add the wall-wart, after which the DAC re-enumerates as a 0 mA device.

Production Warning

Discontinued. Schiit's live catalogue now lists Modi 5 in this slot, and the Modi+ product page is gone; the numbers here come from the last capture of that page and from the Modi+ owner's manual, which Schiit still hosts.