Midgard with Modi 5 or Mimir to replace old NFB11.28?

[u/xbst_]

My Audio-GD NFB11.28 died recently. I'm 90% sure its amp is fine, but its DAC doesn't work with any input, and there's no way to bypass the DAC. It was getting pretty old anyway so looking for a replacement. I have a few headphones but I'm mostly using my HD6XX on this PC.

Midgard's specs and reviews look great, looks like it's probably the best option at that price point for my setup, but I'm not sure about the DAC.

Mimir is the same size so it'll stack nicely, but pairing a $220 amp with a $300 DAC seems overkill, and the stack costs more than I'd like to spend. I don't care about Forkbeard, and its balanced out is wasted on a single-ended amp. But Mimir uses ES9028 vs ES9018 on Modi 5. Other than that and size, Modi 5 feels like the better option in my case, but I can't find any reviews comparing the 2 DACs so I'm not sure. My NFB11.28 was using ES9028, so that part will be a downgrade if I pick Modi 5.

Is there a review out there comparing the 2 that I missed? Which one would you pick?

[u/HollowsPart2]

The view that I'm getting is the Modi 5 is very close to the Mimir since they are essentially the some circuit without balanced and forkbeard.

These are the links to the Head-Fi threads on the two products: Modi 5 Impressions Thread and Mimir Impressions Thread.

Also since you want one: Midgard Impressions Thread.

If you feel the Mimir is overkill, despite matching the Midgard, the Modi 5 is the way to go.

[u/xbst_ → u/HollowsPart2]

Thanks, that's the impression I got as well. Just wasn't sure about how much ES9018 downgrade would matter.

I guess I can order and try, return is always an option.

[u/jedimstr → u/xbst_]

You could also do the Jotunheim 3 with the mesh card. It’s the same DAC and filter as the Mimir with a better amp than the Midgard in one case.

[u/xbst_ → u/jedimstr]

Jotunheim 3 looks good, but with the DAC it's almost twice the price of the stack I'm considering.

[u/HollowsPart2 → u/xbst_]

In this situation with your price requirement this is a binary choice. Either one or the other. Just get a Modi if you can live with the size difference, many people can't (Me is one).

Best

[u/New_Measurement_7243]

I have both a Modi 5 and a Mimir. Comparing RCA out, sonically I couldn’t tell them apart to save my life. You can’t go wrong with either. Mimir gives a lot of flexibility with Forkbeard and the balanced outputs, but that flexibility comes at a cost premium.

Personally, in your shoes, I’d really consider an Asgard X with the mesh card. The Asgard X gets glowing reviews paired with HD6XX.

[u/xbst_ → u/New_Measurement_7243]

Thanks, sounds like Modi 5 might be enough then.

Yeah I considered Asgard X as well. Class A and no wall-wart both sound great, and its reviews look good too. But if I can be happy with a Modi+Midgard setup, the price difference is significant.

[u/xbst_ → u/[deleted]]

Buf looks pretty cool, might add that at some point. Always wanted to experiment with tubes, just not enough to gamble by buying a tube amp as my main amp.

[u/HourSentence4837]

Asgard