Schiit has continued to introduce a new product, this time a pure headphone preamp called Magnius to pair with the Modius DAC. This headphone amp model has a price of $249, on par with the current Asgard 3 model, but Magnius is equipped with balanced headphone XLR 4-Pin, Balanced XLR Input / Output, and power levels up to 5W per channel.
The Magnius Headphone Preamp is as its name suggests, developed on the Magni Heresy platform, with a major focus on specifications and features for users. Magnius’s design uses the Opamp system to get nice measurements at a reasonable price, the incoming feedback circuit (FeedForward) and buffer on the OPA1688, differential amplification using LME49724, and TPA6120A2 for the Output Stage stage.
Magnius’s design is fully balanced with 4 independent amplification channels and even the volume potentiometer used is also balanced with the 27mm the Japanese Alps “Blue Velvet” RK27114. Much better than amplifiers in the same price range that only use a 9mm potentiometer and single-end just don’t have to balanced 4 channels like the RK27114.
The balanced product’s output power is up to 5W RMS x2 at 32 Ohms and up to 0.5W RMS x2 at 600 Ohms, and stays extremely silent with In-ear headphones. Power at the single-ended 6.3mm end is also pretty impressive with 2.0W RMS x2 at 32 Ohms and 0.15W RMS x2 at 600 Ohms.
And similar to the Modius DAC line, the Magnius Amp also has balanced XLR inputs and a Pre-Out balanced XLR port with regular RCA Input / Out.
Unlike the Asgard 3 series, Magnius is designed for the best parameters, balanced headphone amp with high power with build quality in the US, and to show the level compared to Chi-Fi brands. For Asgard 3 it is a single-ended circuit however it uses a Class A Bias amplifier to 0.5W and the Continuity Amp circuit runs at Class AB with bias similar to Class A at next 3.5W. If you intend to use single-ended headphones, the ability of Asgard 3 will have a better sound quality and more power, but measured, Magnius is better.
Schiit Magnius price and availability
Schiit Magnius headphone preamp and amp has been officially on the shelves on Amazon.com for $249.
You can also read our iFi Micro iDSD Signature DAC / Headphone Amp Review that features almost all the advantages of the Micro iDSD Black Label as well as a 4.4mm jack.
