I finally have some time to type up a brief review of the Schiit Magni 3 amp. For $99 you get a nice sounding amp that can drive just about anything out there. I have it as my main rig amping a pair of MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Open headphones which are tricky to drive due to their low efficiency and low impedance. I love the sound and form factor!
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I compared it against my much more expensive desktop amp, the BUDA from Headroom.
The footprint of the Magni 3 is tiny. It is just about the size of 4 decks of cards stacked 2×2! It has rubber feet keeping it from moving about on a desk or laptop stand. The headphone jack is on the front along with the volume knob and power LED. On the back you get the power input, the source input ( for a DAC ), gain selector ( high and low ), and lastly the output for using it as a preamp.
Getting the most from the amp is really up to your source and headphone. The amp itself gets out of the way of the audio because it is dead quiet, has plenty of oomph to drive your headphones and IEM’s, and will not add any unwanted color to your music. It will not make your bright-sounding headphones bassy and it will not tame the blistering highs that pierce your ears. It is just there to give you some control of the ear-speakers that are your headphones and beef up the signal.
That said you may run into issues with your headphones not sounding their best, not because of the amp, but because your DAC may not have high enough output. I have a DAC that does not output more than 1 volt and the amp had issues trying to amplify that signal loud enough for my headphones. Industry standard is more around 2volts output from a DAC so I swapped to a different DAC, interestingly enough the Schiit Bifrost 4490, and with its 2 volt output the Aeon Flow Open sounded as it should.
Comparing it to the much more expensive BUDA ( $99 for the Magni 3 vs $1500 for the BUDA ) the Magni 3 holds its own. So much so I am hard pressed to find any major differences. The BUDA is fully balanced and single-ended and has 3 gain selections. Other than that I found it extremely difficult to hear any differences even with my most discerning test tracks.
Here is my short list of test tracks:
Artist: The Spanish Guitar Music Coleccion
Track: Vivaldi Guitar and Lite
Album: Spanish Guitar Music
Artist: Maroon 5
Track: Can’t Stop
Album: It Won’t Be Soon Before Long
Artist: Great Big Sea
Track: Something To It
Album: Rant And Roar ( Bonus Track )
The Magni 3 keeps fine control of the low notes. Poor amplification loses control of the low end because of improper impedance, not enough power, or just too much distortion. The Magni 3 has none of these issues. If your think that because it controls the bass so well that the treble is lost you would be mistaken. Listening to Great Big Sea’s ‘Something To It’ reveals distortion and sibilance-free treble. Chimes, cymbals, and brush strokes on the snare are all audible through the Magni 3.
I really have no faults to mention about the Magni 3. It sounds really good and exceptional for $99. There are other amps to consider if Schiit is not your thing. The JDS Labs Atom is one I recommend. It measures a bit better and costs about the same. I don’t have one around for comparison, but from what I remember it is also another great sounding amp.
Headphone Reviews by NA Blur 