Life after Yggdrasil: Watering the Ash

May I request the Boulder 2120 DAC? I don't know where you are drawing the line on price.. It's half the price of a select II. Haha

 

I'm not really drawing the line anywhere on price. Though the more expensive things get the more interesting it becomes to get a proper audition with them. And, in that vein, I AM drawing the line at any "buy it and return it if you don't like it nonsense" for components that are priced at this level. In fact the only time I'm going to allow that will be for components that a) don't cost the same as a BMW and b) are only available via direct sales. Otherwise, they'll need to have a proper dealer network or a sensible audition program*.

For now I'll add it to the list, and when the time comes I'll see what they can facilitate audition wise.

--

*While I sympathize with manfacturers/dealers not wanting to send expensive hardware out for review to potential "tire kickers"**, if their products are so expensive/rare that that's the only way things can be heard then it's a problem of their own making and not mine to solve for them with my wallet.
**Technically that'd be an accurate description here ... as I'm not looking to buy another DAC right now ... these are auditions for their own sake. Some manufacturers embrace that and want to be part of it (e.g. Vinshine Audio) and other's don't. Especially where I'm not much of an "everything is awesome" type, nor do I find a particularly compelling correlation between price and performance.

 

http://boulderamp.com/where-to-buy/

There is a 2020 selling for $11,000 here
https://www.higherfi.com/digital/boulder-2020-dac

Boulders stuff is said to be better than dCS best.

The $11k one is a 90lbs DAC.

 

Another Dac I have some interest in is the ch1 precision: http://www.ch-precision.com/products/c1
One of the best headphone rigs I've ever heard was the ch-1>goldmund>he1kv1. I've never been sure what exactly made it special sauce, I have always suspected the c1 must be a very musical and engaging dac. However I have never had another chance to audition it.

Thanks again for doing this @Torq, your work here is amazing. This is the best DAC resource on the internet. I just wish I could help you!

 

I will add it to the list ... with the usual "we'll see what it takes to get hold of one" caveat.

In looking at their prices and options I'm going to make another comment as well. They offer an optional Ethernet card for audio-input (the built-in Ethernet port isn't for audio for some retarded reason). They charge $5,000 (yes, FIVE THOUSAND) for this in order to get UPnP/DLNA support. Given the standards at work with UPnP, DLNA (and OpenHome, if it even supports those extensions) and their underlying network requirements, that's pretty much indefensible and I have to see it either as extreme price-gouging or utter incompetence.

They can't have been stupid enough to put the sample-clock on the input card, especially where the protocols you implement for UPnP/DLNA and Ethernet are not clocked in any sense that's relevant to audio. In fact, not only is it a clock-immune packet-based system, but you're not even guaranteed that packets will arrive in order! So that's out. So one has to wonder, beyond the likelihood that they only sell a handful of such cards a year, why they're charging $5,000 to solve a $200 problem!

 

Looking at the list right now, there is preponderance of high-dollar DACs on there. That's fine, in and of itself, but I'm not sure how directly relevant it is to the broader membership here. Some of these units are going to be the equivalent of several mortgage payments for many people. Others run on the level of a nice, new, car. A couple exceed the national median household gross income for a family with both parents working.

So, I'm going to prioritize auditions in what I hope will be a broadly reasonable fashion ... biasing that to lower cost units (roughly) as follows:

• Up to or around $1,000
• ~$1,000 - ~$2,500
• ~$2,500 - ~$5,000
• ~$5,000 - ~$10,000
• ~$10,000 and up.

 

What makes the Ross Martin Audio PCM1794A special:
1. $250
2. Multibit
3. Balanced outputs
4. DC coupled - no capacitors in the signal path
5. Hand built to order, which translates into 6 ~ 12 weeks from order to shipping - no instant gratification here

*edited* - forgot an important attribute

 

Once I get moved which, if nothing goes wrong this afternoon, will begin in earnest tomorrow, we'll have to get together. Not just so I can take you up on your offer of putting the RMA PCM1794A through this process either! Maybe get a few of the other Seattle-area types in on it too.

 

Wow... I sat, wondering, over that guys site quite a lot at one time, and then forgot about it.

Would love to see it feature here.

 

Here's to a smooth and 'incident' free move.

And yeah a gathering of a few of us audiophools would be nice.
It's been a while.

JJ

 

Any advice to finding a used Yggdrasil? It seems that you can't get a new Gungnir Multibit until late next month from Schiit. So I started looking for previously owned Yggdrasil. Trying to find one is not that easy. I am looking for a recent one that has had the last factory updates... GEN 3 USB and the BNC inputs update.

 

As far as I know, ALL Yggdrasil's have the Gen 3 USB board.

As for finding one, it's the usual list of suspects ... Head-Fi, here, Audiogon etc. They tend to come up for not-much-below full MSRP (I think the lowest I've seen one go for is $1800).

 

There's one on Audiogon now...

 

BluBliss,

Thanks for the info. I told the guy I wanted it...Let see what he says! Seems they don't ever last more than a day or two....That's some popular Schiit!

Cheers,

Larry

 

Any of you guys mod your Yggdrasil to anodize the case to black? All my other equipment is black...it would look great to have a black Yggdrasil. I can't imagine the case is hard to take off....but who knows. I don't care about the sides or back not being black ...probably over thinking this...Silver ...what's the big deal anyways...

 

Schiit occasionally has black units available. They're the result of reworked flawed casework and are highly desirable. No guarantees about when or if that will happen again, but if you're willing to wait, it tends to get noticed here.

Back to @Torq: I know Benchmark doesn't get much love on SBAF, but it always seemed like a no-nonsense company and I have found its engineering notes blog interesting. What about adding the DAC3 to the list? It certainly seems to have specatcular measurements.

 

It's not hard to take apart. But it is a complete tear-down if you want to do anything to the bottom plate as the main board is attached directly to that.

 

I can add it to the audition list.

For the sake of my ears, I hope it has improved markedly over the first one ...

 

Hey Guys,

I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas ....bought that Yggdrasil on Audiogon. Spoke to the current owner, Todd...seems like a good dude...He's in Oregon and I'm in Northern Cali so it should be here by early next week....I'm getting psyched up already. I started down this Schiit hole looking to get a new Gungnir Multibit...but the wait was killing me. Out of stock until late April ....so I figured I could find an "experienced" Yggdrasil for not a ton more than a new Gungnir Multibit....I gotta pay sales Tax here in CA.

Looking to see how this Baby will make my HD800S's sing! Todd has some type of set-up that allows him to run straight to his Amp...I will find out how's this is done...

 

I really love mine. Now, my "experience" is AGD R2R, some Cambridge DAC, and Chord Mojo (your Chord Mojo to be more precise ), some lesser ones such as ODAC, Oppo HA 2 etc. Compared to AGD (M11) it's brighter, compared to all the DACs I have owned it's definitely more transparent. Would be looking forward to your impressions.