Whose Talking Schiit Around Here

[Mr Peabody]

LOL, couldn't help myself.

Anyone heard about their Yggdrasil? My friend has one and say in some ways it's better than his Lampizator L7. Let me tell you that's saying a lot. Especially since the Ygg is showing a price of $2299.00. I hope to be able to hear this killer this weekend, if I do, I will be back. Mr Feanor might have just been onto something with his "budget" DAC :)

[blackraven]

A buddy of mine had a Yggy and sold it. He found it to be a little fatiguing, dry and edgy, otherwise he liked it. He ended up buying a PS Audio DSD and like it much better. But he eventually sold it be because it did not have the bass that he liked and he felt it was too transparent and airy. He now has a Luxman like mine. The Luxman has a fuller midrange. I actually had the DSD in my system a few times and I actually prefer it to my Luxman. Go figure!

I am sure the Yggy is an excellent DAC and it is all about system matching and personal preference.

I think that Feanor would love the PS Audio DSD as it is smooth as glass, detailed with tremendous air and transparency. But it cost twice of what the Yggy sells for.

[Feanor]

There is rather extensive thread on the Yggdrasil over on Computer Audiophile, see HERE (http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/schiit-yggdrasil-best-digital-analogue-converter-available-24351/).

The main theme that emerges is that the Yggy is remarkable "detailed". I haven't heard the Yggy, (unfortunately), although I have heard its baby brother, the Schiit Bifrost Multibit. In between the Yggdrasil and the Bifrost Multibit there is also the Gungnir Multibit; they are similar to each other in employing DSP chips to oversample and filter using a "closed form" filter and use "ladder", a.k.a. R-2R, DAC chips. The differences are in the quality and refinement of the implementations; also, the Bifrost version is single-ended only.

I'm going to talk about "detailed" as it pertains to my Bifrost Multibit, ("Bimby"). "Detailed" doesn't quite convey the full meaning: audiophiles have (mis)used the term when what they really mean was "etched" -- not a term for accuracy or realism. The Bimby is definitely the most "detail" DAC I've owned, (bear in mind it's a $600 item), but here I mean it conveys the most accurate and realistic timbres, decays, and spacial information by far that I have heard. Of course, I'm not sure whether this attributes can be extrapolated to the higher-end Yggy and Gungnir Multibit, but it seems likely given the similarity of the technologies employed in all three.

While I'm praising the timbre, decay, and spacial accuracy and realism, I'd probably have to say that these Schiit DACs aren't likely to be to everyone's taste. One or twice I've heard their highs described as "crisp"; I'd agree, though I must insist the perceived "crispness" is disagreeable only on relatively poor recordings; (the Bimby is very good at distinguishing good from not-so-good recordings). Nevertheless some people are strongly prefer "smoothness" and "warmth" on all or most of their recordings and will find the Schiit Multibits wanting in this respect. So I'd hesitate to recommend the Schiit Multibits unreservedly to certain people according to their known preferences, and here I'd in include Blackraven and his acquaintance that he mentioned.

[blackraven]

Feanor, when I use the term smooth, I mean no harshness, glare, grain, fatigue or edginess. It does not mean lack of detail or resolution. I actually prefer the DSD DAC slightly more than the Luxman because it has more detail and spaciousness without sacrificing smoothness even though the Luxman sounds more analog and warmer.

I would love to hear the Yggy and I am thinking about getting the uber multibit for my son.

[Feanor]

Feanor, when I use the term smooth, I mean no harshness, glare, grain, fatigue or edginess. It does not mean lack of detail or resolution. I actually prefer the DSD DAC slightly more than the Luxman because it has more detail and spaciousness without sacrificing smoothness even though the Luxman sounds more analog and warmer.

I would love to hear the Yggy and I am thinking about getting the uber multibit for my son.

BR, I didn't mean to imply that you were willing to sacrifice detail or resolution, however ...

Harshness, fatigue, edginess, etc. very often depend on the recording -- it stands to reason that distortion can and sometime are introduced in the recording and mastering processes. Not to mention that some sound engineers prefer a brighter sound that might exaggerate such distortions. Furthermore, some engineers prefer a very "close up" perspective which, I suspect, means recording high-frequencies that aren't heard, or not heard in the same way, in the typical seat in the typical public venue.

I have owned equipment that some reviewers have denounced as harsh, strident, etc., but that I have found to be the case ONLY for poor recordings. My ClassDAudio SDS-258 amp comes to mind: it can sound shrill on poor recordings but just fine on the best recordings. (By "best" recordings, I mean those the tended to sound relatively good regardless of the playback equipment.) Even the Pass Labs amps, (at least my X150.5 with my ARC s/s preamp), can be fatiguing in case of some albums, and some critics have commented on this, e.g. Morricab over at Audio Asylum.

I don't know about the Yggy, (which competes with equipment in a higher price range), but the Bifrost Multibit is remarkably "detailed", (in the best sense of the word); also, in my experience it is remarkably good at distinguishing excellent vs. good, vs. poor recordings -- it doesn't cut any slack for the latter.

[Mr Peabody]

Blackraven, any idea how much break in your friend gave the Yggy? From what I've been told it was some bright at first but later settled into something "special". We're having a bit of snow today so not sure if my ride is going to get us over to listen to the Ygg. What we're getting is probably laughable to you guys up north, LOL

[blackraven]

He had it for a few months but I am not sure how many hours he had on it. I just emailed him last night to see how he likes the used Luxman. Fed Ex lost it and he got a refund. So he bought the Aqua La Voce another Bur Brown based DAC.

LA VOCE S2 precision dual R2R dac DFD decoder (http://www.aquahifi.com/la_voce.html)

Mr P. I am interested on your impressions of the Yggy. I did not get to hear my friends as he lives 90 miles away.

[Mr Peabody]

Sorry to let you down, I was tricked. Everything I reported on the Yggy was true but my friend didn't have one, his friend does. My friend said he had one to lure me to his house. Why, you ask?

Well, he had Legacy Focus SE speakers and for some years was having some Legacy speakers built for him. For a while he didn't even know what they would be, except Bill told him they would be something special. Then the concept of the V, then the V hits, you may have heard them at Axpona, then he's on a list to get his etc. So when I got over there last night that's what the surprise really was, he has his V's. I think I should start another thread to discuss hearing them as to not hijack my own thread, LOL

[Feanor]

Here's another Yggdrasil review ... Schiit Yggdrasil | Headphone.Guru (http://headphone.guru/schiit-yggdrasil/)

This one is extremely positive. It express the opinion especially improves 16/44.1 Redbook CD beyond previous experience; I can only say that my experience with lessor, but similarly conceived Bifrost Multibit tends to confirm this.

[Feanor]

I've just "pulled the trigger" on a Schiit Gungnir Multibit.

The Gungnir Multibit is, unfortunately at (or rather beyond) my budget limit otherwise I would have sprung for the Yggdrasil.

Let me be plain that the Gungnir Multibit expresses my esteem of my Bifrost Multibit, not dissatisfaction. However the "Gumby" offers the same DSP oversampling a filtering as the Yggy, unlike the "Bimby" which has a slightly downgraded version. The Gumby also provides fully balanced operation and a fully discrete analog section. Vibs are that the Gumby offers significant upgrade especially in balanced mode, and since my preamp and amp are both fully balanced I hope hear at least a little improvement over the Bimby.

Other than the price, the major factor in my choice of the Gumby was my indifference to DSD. I know it's favored by a lot of people but it's not very relevant to me. 99% of my current collection is 16/44.1 and furthermore given the relevant selection on the market, virtually all of the music I'm likely to acquired in the mid-term at leas is also Redbook CD.

Indeed, as various commentators, including me, have stated the Schiit Multibits are especially strong in case of 16/44.1.

Other DACs I considered were:


PS Audio NuWave DSD
Wyred4Sound DAC-1 LE (with Femto clock)
Gustard DAC-X20U
Gustard DAC-X12
Audio-GD NFB-1DAC
Mytek Stereo192-DSD


If DSD had been important I'd probably have gone with the Wyred4Sound. If, as well as DSD, budget had been even more important I'd have gone for the Audio-GD. BTW, Audio-GD has a great reputation and their NFB-1DAC is a an obvious bargain.

[blackraven]

Bill, DSD is over rated in my book. But it also depends upon the DAC and the recording. My Luxman's sweet spot is 352-384khz. It sounds better than most DSD that I have played.

Congrats on the new DAC. Keep us posted on how it sounds.

[Feanor]

Bill, DSD is over rated in my book. But it also depends upon the DAC and the recording. My Luxman's sweet spot is 352-384khz. It sounds better than most DSD that I have played.

Congrats on the new DAC. Keep us posted on how it sounds.

I'll keep you posted. Frankly, I'm not expecting as big an difference going from the Bifrost Multibit to the Gungnir Multibit as I got going from the Bifrost Uber to the Multibit.

[MothAudio]

I was at the end of the demo trial with the Modi 2 Uber when Schiit announced the release of the Modi Multibit. Couple of days later placed my order and shipped the Modi 2 Uber back. DAC is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.

I'm driving the Silverline Sonatina (http://http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/silverline_sonatina.htm) with a Moth Audio 45/2a3 SET amp, both revealing yet smooth, so based on the descriptors of the multibit technology it should be a good fit.

9992

9993

[Feanor]

I was at the end of the demo trial with the Modi 2 Uber when Schiit announced the release of the Modi Multibit. Couple of days later placed my order and shipped the Modi 2 Uber back. DAC is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.

I'm driving the Silverline Sonatina (http://http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/silverline_sonatina.htm) with a Moth Audio 45/2a3 SET amp, both revealing yet smooth, so based on the descriptors of the multibit technology it should be a good fit.


It's interesting to see that the 'Multibit' technology has trickled down to the Modi. It sounds like it uses some of the same components as the Bifrost Multibit. I've owned the latter and found it amazingly good, significantly better than the Bifrost Uber which was very good in itself.