Schiit Eitr Preview Thread

I have a DEQ2496, and use AES out direct into Yggdrasil. I know @Marvey also uses it.

Are you talking about AES-to-coax transformer > coax cable > DAC?
Or USB > Eitr > transformer > AES cable > DEQ2496 > ... ?
It would help to know what DAC you are using, and which input.

I'm not sure how much benefit Eitr would give on the input side of the DEQ2496. Given that the audio data will get processed and spat back out, what really matters is the noise/jitter performance of the DEQ2496 output.

PS: to answer your original question, one of these may do the trick, with a suitable RCA-to-BNC cable: http://www.canford.co.uk/CANARE-IMPEDANCE-CONVERTERS-AES-EBU

 

Thanks @atomicbob , I had suspected.

@Grahad2 @bengo Thank you. My plan is to go from USB -> EITR -> Coax Cable -> Transformer -> AES Cable -> DEQ2496. I currently have the Modi Multibit, and want a Gungnir Multibit. So for now I'd probably output optical from the DEQ, and I assume I could also go with a AES -> Coax adapter. With Gungnir Multibit I could just use the AES ouput.

The goal is not just to have a better USB connection, but to make use of EQ with all USB devices. The DEQ2496 has generally seemed transparent to me, but I've not done any comparison. Whether it'll hold up well once connected to better gear I'll have to see. The Gungnir Multibit has that buy-better-gear light, @bengo has it lit up on your DAC with the DEQ?

 

Gungnir Multibit has no AES input, only BNC, RCA SPDIF and optical.

If you go to the Neutrik and Sescom websites linked you can find the AES -> BNC converter.
http://www.neutrik.com/en/accessories/aes/ebu-impedance-transformers/naditbnc-f
http://www.sescom.com/product.asp?item=SES-AES-EBU-1

 

Ah, thank you @Grahad2 . I missed that not-so-minor detail. So what are the differences between BNC and coax?

I ask as I'd be using coax on one end already and it could more convenient in future when changing gear. But I'll use whatever is the better option, particularly if the DEQ could be a weak link in the chain.

 

You don't need an AES cable if you have enough physical space behind the DEQ2496.

Do you have any USB-to-SPDIF converter already? If so, I'm not sure it's worthwhile buying an Eitr just to feed into another digital (DDC) device. Better to save that money towards Gungnir Multibit.

Yggdrasil sounds great to me with the DEQ2496 in front either via TOSLINK or AES; the "better gear" light is not coming on with either input. I didn't hear an obvious difference between the two inputs, but I haven't done a proper A/B.

 

Run a signal thru the Eitr for a couple of days. Fresh out of the box, it is not performing at its full potential.

 

Well from the nervosa angle the BNC connector is much tightly specced to a 75 ohm impedance (and designed for locking) versus the RCA socket, but mainly they're just different physical connectors. I am not sure if the SPDIF RCA out on the Eitr is 50 ohm or 75 ohm characteristic (sounds like 75 ohm from the manual), but even if it's 50ohm for short runs of cable the reflections due to the >25 ohm mismatch isn't going to matter that much.

 

Impedance matching, mainly.

Here's a short discussion of RCA vs BNC Coax:
http://passionforsound.lachlanfenne...dio-quality-without-breaking-the-bank-part-2/

 

See earlier in this very thread:

 

Just got my Gen 5 USB-upgraded Gungnir Multibit back from Schiit. For those trying to choose between Eitr and upgrade and wondering about timeframes:

Mon 7/17: Purchased upgrade on Schiit's site. Received email notifying me they were ready to do the upgrade almost immediately.
Tues 7/18: Shipped my Gungnir Multibit via USPS.
Thu 7/20: Email notification from Schiit that they received my shipment.
Mon 7/24: Email notification from Schiit that upgrade is complete and Gungnir Multibit shipped back to me.
Thu 7/27: Upgraded Gungnir Multibit in the box waiting for me at my office this morning.

 

Nope, but I've been on the look out for a way to get usb into my hardware equalizer that doesn't cost a fortune or get into nervosa territory. The Eitr not only looks perfect for this but it's cost can potentially be ameliorated by getting a Gen 2 Multibit DAC, which will hopefully come down in value with the Gen 5 boards now available.

If it wasn't for the equalizer I'd be getting a Gen 5 DAC/Upgrade without question. As anyone unsure clearly should be doing.

Thanks for the advice, guys.

 

that may be the case, I only spent like $70 trying to improve USB over the years, last thing I got was a nice Belkin gold 6Foot cable... a shame it's built nicer than what came with my NFB10ES2, either way it's feeding the Etir. I swapped cables and ports and nothing changed,

my only issue with the Etir [and it's more my computer than anything] is that I can't shutdown and boot up with the USB plugged into the Etir, I had the same problem with my NFb10ES2, I had to have it powered down when it was being USB fed, if I had it powered on my PC wouldn't boot up. I changed my BIOS settings to only bot from my HDD or my Disk Drive, I also disabled all USB during boot up [I have PS2 keyboard still] and nothing changed :/ the Etir will freeze my Bios when I plug it in... but my PC is wonky, I have no intention to trouble shoot it, so I've started to put my PC to sleep instead of doing a full shutdown. That seems to have been the quick fix, sleeping every day with a power cycle once a week may be better than a full shutdown and start up every night anyways,

I hope that's the case, just figured out how to get the Etir to stay powered on and plugged in without having to un plug it every time I start up my PC

All in all having it has lead to a better quality of sound, and really a more convenient at home audio solution! Got to un-install those pesky Audio GD drivers too finally

 

Sounds like bollocks to me. What on earth would account for such a change?

 

Thank you, I was going to post the same thing.

 

how can we not shill that kind of efficiency and customer service

 

First try an Eitr and then tell us what you hear, Professor.

 

@atomicbob Thanks, very cool response. Something I've put on my reading list.

 

Hm. I've read through quite a bit of this thread, and I'm still 50/50 on whether I need an Eitr, or a Wyrd.

My current problem is I have electrical hum coming in to my Bifrost. Unplugging the USB cable from the powered port I'm using results in no hum being present on my Bifrost anymore. Selecting a different input also results in a black background (except curiously, SPDIF which is crackly to all hell despite not being connected to anything).

Eitr boasts galvanic isolation and a SPDIF input. But Wyrd should (in theory) solve the issue I'm having, as I've pretty much narrowed it down to that.

Should I just spring for a Wyrd, and if it doesn't work, re-sell it and then shell out for the Eitr?


edit: SPDIF crackling noise issues go away if it's plugged into something powered and/or grounded, so that's nice at least.

 

I've not noticed this in months of testing.

A few minutes of being powered up, with or without a signal, and it's as good as it's going to get.

Clock/crystal dependent devices generally drift as temperature changes - which it typically will do between power-off and has-been-powered-on-for-a-bit. The net effects of that are a) a changing jitter profile as the clock comes to temperature and b) poorer jitter performance, relatively speaking, until the optimum (or, at least, stable) temperature for the clock is reached.

The thermal changes with Eitr are so slight, however, that a few minutes of power-on time should be more than sufficient to get the clocks to a stable temperature.

And that's NOT to say there's any audible change in this case, just to point out the one mechanism by which such a thing could occur.

So, in essence, the need for days of active use, effectively "burn-in", for Eitr is bollocks. That it'll likely measure a bit better after being powered up for a bit is reasonable. Whether that's at all audible, let alone reliably detectable, is likely self-deception.

..

For a bit more insight, and an example or two, @atomicbob Did some DDC warm-up time measurements that show changes, if minor, and again of questionable audibility, for DDCs. These, of course, are jitter-focused.

--

That sort of thing will get you nowhere, fast, around here.

 

if it were my shekels i'd spring for the eitr right off the bat. it'll solve your usb issues and also add other benefits.