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DAC Delima


Foxman

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I have never owned a DAC and after doing some research, since I really like listening to the playlist I have on my iPhone, I pulled the trigger on a Schiit Modi 2 Uber. I purchase the lightning to USB 2.0 cable and finally get my system put together and... my phone says the Modi device requires too much power. Back to the drawing board. I ask around, look at the Schiit website. According to it, I need the camera adapter from Apple, lightning to USB, and then a USB to USB 2.0. Order the cables, do the update on my phone and.... my phone says, USB Modi device requires too much power.

 

I unplugged everything, I turned everything off and back on. Anyone got anything? Is it worth the aggravation?

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I don't think it was intended to be powered by a phone feeding it signal.  Plug a USB cable from a wall charger into the port marked with the wall plug maybe?  That was a guess after looking at a photo of the back.  Downloaded the manual and that's what it says to do...

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@Foxman  This might be of help to you. If you use an older iphone with a headphone jack, you can connect with a 3.5mm to rca male "left and right" cable. Then input the rca into your amp or receiver via aux input.  If you have a newer iphone, apple sells a "lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter, pretty low cost like $9. I'm not an Apple guy so I have not personally used this adapter or arrangement.

 

I do this with my Cowon dap to my McIntosh mc-150 amp, headphone out to rca cables to amp input. With the dap to amp i control volume with dap volume adjust. Going into my older Sony AVR, I use the AVR volume control/remote.

 

This eliminates multiple digital to analog conversion, or vice versa. I understood your question above as you want to play your playlist in your iphone to your main system. 

I'll add using my Cowon dap to my McIntosh amp for music playback is awesome, absolutely no noise, and I use a 15' 3.5 mm extension cable so i can control music selection or "controls" via the dap from my sofa or bean bag chair. I'm not a bluetooth guy for music transmission yet, i prefer wired method, earbuds or headphones or my multiple daps. 

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@polizzio Yeah, I have been using a lightening to 3.5mm then a 3.5mm to dual RCA's, but have been led to believe that the DAC in the iPhone is not great. What I do know is the comparison between a CD and what I hear from the phone is night and day, though I download the CD's lossless when I put it on my computer. So, the best explanation for the loss of fidelity is the built in DAC on the phone. Hence... the Modi 2.

 

@Schu I am running this into a Pre-Amp connected to my Rotel RMB-1075 amp.

 

@glens I had not seen that on the website, I'll have to download the manual and read that. Thanks. EDIT: From the manual:  "This light turns on when you’ve selected a USB
source. The USB input is self-powered, so it does
not require power from your computer or other
USB source to run. However, Modi Uber will have
to be turned on for your computer to “see” the
USB input." So... I am back to square 1. 

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@glens You are on to something after all. I found this on the website and am ordering yet another adapter, though, this is it for me.

 

 "If you have an iPhone running iOS7 or above or iPad running iOS6 or above with the Lightning connector, you can use the Lightning to USB 3 Adapter from Apple, or the Lightning to USB Adapter from Apple, together with a powered hub to avoid the "this device draws too much power" error. You'll also need a USB cable."

 

It makes no sense to me, but, it is what it is. 

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I have the modi 2 or 3 I can’t remember right now. I am using the USB cable with the camera adapter. Works perfectly with my iPhone XR and an old iPad. It is worth messing with. 
 

edit: when I get home tonight I can post exactly which cable and adapter I am using. It works flawlessly.

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1 hour ago, glens said:

The Modi 2 Uber has a DC input jack and a supplied wall wart.  At least that's what the manual says.

That's exactly why needing an additional powered USB hub doesn't make sense to me, but that is the solution the Schiit website suggests. I guess the powered hub isn't for the Modi necessarily, it is for the phone, but still seems odd.

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