yggdrasil - gungnir MB - bifrost MB - a terse, ribald comparison

Would answer your question if I understood it.

 

I believe his question was rhetorical as you seem to have resurrected a 2 year old thread.

 

Well, I asked essentially the same question in the advice thread, and didn't even get a smart-assed remark as a response, so i'm doing better already.

 

How much do you like your HD600? Is it your desert island headphone? There isn't really anything out there that is just better in every way. No one can really tell you in which order to build your system, it's something you should figure out yourself and then use the resources here and elsewhere to decide what to get in specific. You are asking a question that is too open-ended which is why you've received smart-ass replies or no reply at all.

I'm big on source first, with $2,000 you can get a Gungnir Multibit and then start looking for an amp upgrade. Or don't, the Vali 2 is pretty impressive in what it can pull from better sources and not really offensive in any way.

P.S. someone needs to come out with something new to buy in the ~$1200 range as telling people to buy Gumbys 24/7 gets old.

 

I was doing some masterings research on stevehoffman.tv a few days ago. They shortened how long before an inactive thread gets closed, since I spent much time there. It was frustrating having maybe two or three dozen threads on the exact same subject to go through. I'm sure they had their reasons but it didn't work well for me.

 

This is good advice. Gungnir MB and maybe look for someone to sell their MCTH when it is no longer FoTM amplifier for them. Then live with your HD600 and that system for a year and see if you really wish to change out the HD600 for HD800.

I will counter the second suggestion with Schiit MB DACs are not FoTM. They are solid performers which have been standing the test of time.

 

Thanks for your response. In terms of source, I really was trying to decide whether the Gungnir Multibit is worth double the cost of the Bifrost Multibit, or whether in the end I should just keep the Modi Multibit and be done with it. I clearly can't afford an end game amp, but was considering a Jot or a Mjolnir. The Jot certainly is a different flavor than the vali2, and I am not particularly treble sensitive, but haven't heard a lot about the hd600/Jot combo, unlike the 650. And the 600 are as close to a desert island headphone as I have ever had, but have been drawn to the elear. Not opposed to non-Schiit gear, but the sq/$ calculation always seems to favor Schiit. Did give some thought to the Metrum Amethyst, but having never had an nos dac, I don't want to spend that kind of $ on something I don't know that I will like. I have only heard the Gungnir Multibit for about 20 minutes, in less than ideal conditions with unfamiliar music, but am about as sure as I can be under the circumstances that I would love it. I am currently leaning toward getting a Gungnir Multibit and using it with the Vali2 for a while and thinking amp later if I think there is an improvement to be had within my budget. That would mean writing off the Elear, but I am ok with that. Actually, even thought about Gungnir Multibit/Jot/HD650. Still considering it.

I wasn't expecting someone to tell me what to do, only trying to get opinions so that I could be more sure I hadn't failed to consider anything. No such thing as too much information in this context.

 

Thank you Bob. I was contemplating that amp anyway, but was unsure if it would be much of an upgrade from the vali2. What say you?
I never thought of getting rid of my hd600, only adding to it. It is my favorite hp of all that I have had, and I think it will scale up to anything I will ever be able to afford. Ironically, it was yours and johnjen's posts concluding that aside from the balanced aspect (which is not part of my reason for looking at the Gungnir Multibit) it was hard to distinguish Bifrost Multibit and Gungnir Multibit from one another that got me thinking that maybe I should just buy Bifrost Multibit and use the additional $ for something else. Any other thoughts?
Thanks again.

 

Thanks Marv, but not sure I have that kind of time, especially since not knowing to what you refer means I could do nothing but transducers. That 6-9 months could turn out to be very valuable time that I don't want to spend standing still audio-wise. Appreciate the effort though.

 

This will be my last reply as I think you've already gotten enough advice: do not consider the Bifrost MB as it exists right now. You are correct in assuming it won't be enough of an upgrade from the Modi MB. If you're interested in upgrading within the Schiit eco-system make it Gungnir MB or nothing. It is an even better value now than it was two months ago thanks to the Gen5 USB being included on all new units. This upgrade will highlight the magnitude of difference between the Gungnir and Bifrost whereas before it may have been slightly obscured by mediocre digital sources.

With regards to the single-ended versus balanced output argument, the notion that the Bifrost Multibit is "close enough" to the Gungnir when only using SE outputs is -- sorry to say -- ridiculous. They use different chips with different power supplies with different output stages. The Gungnir is hardware balanced throughout and putting the signal through a summing circuit before the SE output may result in a slight loss of transparency, but no where near enough to bring it down to current Bifrost level. The end.

Remember @JoshMorr's wise words:

 

The Modi Multibit is a pretty kick ass DAC. For $250, I don't think it has a rival. If you are looking to upgrade your amp but remain in the Schiit ecosystem, listen to Marv and wait half a year. Trust me, there is something coming that will definitely interest you. If you want to upgrade your DAC, save pennies for a Gungnir Multibit, if that's too pricey, wait a few days to see what Emotiva does with the Stealth DC2. If you like the 600's, stick with them, maybe pick up a 650 and mod it. Don't waste your time with anything else in the sub $1k market, it will just be a side grade and a waste of time. Been there done that. I spent 3 hours comparing flagships at the Source AV and honestly, the 650 was right up there, and probably better than most. Only the Utopia seemed like a major upgrade.

 

@Senorx12562

How about a used Gungnir you send to Schiit for the MB upgrade. Save a few bucks down the line to use on amplification, get 2 years warranty in your name:

http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649341591-schiit-gungnir-dac/

edit: on second thought (and a quick check on schiit's website) that's only saving you 150$. Nevermind carry on.

 

Sounds like computer hardware...always something better...in 6-9 months.

 

When johnjen and I compared the two DACs we did not have the advantage of Gen5 USB DDC which allows a more significant differentiation. I can tell the two apart now in double blind ABX testing and the Gungnir MB definitely has more resolution. I haven't heard the MCTH yet. Others on this forum have. Note their comments.

 

I am going to get Gungnir Multibit and stand pat for awhile. Keeping the rest of my chain the same has some benefits aside from savings, as a known baseline for comparison purposes. Might move the modi to my speaker setup which currently sports a base-model geek pulse. Thanks for your input.

 

Just in case anybody gaf, here's what I ultimately decided, and my impressions...oh, nevermind.

 

I'm down to hear your impressions of the Gungnir Multibit @Senorx12562

 

After lurking for about 3 years, finally got around to making an account because this thread that is very relevant to the situation I'm in. I've had my HD650 + BHC / M2U + K7xx and TH-X00 ebony setup for quite awhile now and was looking for some upgrades and wasn't sure which components were the biggest impact. I have been mulling on where to spend ~ $1.5 - 2kish on (just like the senor) . It looks like the very first component shoud be the DAC and it should be the Gungnir Multibit. I thought I was set to grab the Mjolnir 2 to pair it with... but then there is that 'just wait 6-9 months' thing. Are we going to see an upgrade to Mjo3? or is that pointing to something else?

Would it be a disservice to pair the Gungnir Multibit with a Magni2U while I sort out which amp?

Another thing I have found out while using the TH-X00 Mahogany (sold) and Ebony the last few months is I have treble sensitivity. Sometimes, I'm not able to listen longer than a few minutes. How much would an upgrade to Gungnir Multibit help with that or will I need to ditch the TH-X00 for warmer headphones (Ether flows come to mind).