Yggdrasil Refined - New Schiit Yggdrasil Analog 2 (Yggdrasil A2) Sound Impressions

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by drgumbybrain, Jan 16, 2018.

  1. Azteca

    Azteca Friend

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    To answer all further handwringing: Get the best thing you can afford.* If that means the best and newest thing, yay. If it means something that was the best thing until a year or two ago, yay. If it means something that's low or mid-tier, but can bring you joy lots of enjoyment, yay.

    *"can afford" doesn't mean you have that much money or credit available. It means it would be sensible to use that money to buy something you don't need compared to handling obligations or saving for other future purchases or experiences.
     
  2. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Just a brief follow up after living with the A2 upgrade for a couple of weeks now. My previous comment still stands regarding the increase of detail and separation over the A1. I can't tell if it sounds much better now than after that initial 24 hours of warm up. I may have read somewhere that A2 doesn't take 2 weeks to warm up and stabilize like A1 did after you hit the initial break in. If this is the case I can believe it. It just seems like it sounded really great after about 1 day, with some very slight refinements if any, after that.
     
  3. Jeffjazzer

    Jeffjazzer New

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    It will get better. Mine took a few weeks to stabilize. If you like it now just wait!
     
  4. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    Not that you can go back, but you start realizing how much you'll miss once you don't have the a2/ unison
     
  5. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Does he have Unison?
     
  6. Jeffjazzer

    Jeffjazzer New

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    Quote below from the Rasberry I2s thread - #2111. He says AES through the Pi2AES board may sound better than Unison Usb. Interesting. I am running my Yggdrasil with the PiAES board and a Raspberry Pi4 and it does sound excellent, though I do not have the Unison to compare.


    My Yggdrasil has one of the beta Unison USB boards, which I've been driving with an Allo USBridge powered by an Sbooster LPS (Allo board) and a wallwart (Sparky board) configured as a Roon Bridge. I had compared this with the Pi 3+502DAC setup powered by an Audiophonics LPS, either coax or AES to the Yggdrasil. USBridge>USB>Unison Yggdrasil sounded cleaner, less etched. But with Pi2AES the story changes. I have to persuade my wife (who has better hearing) to do a blind(ish) test, but if anything Pi2AES might be cleaner. Given how much work Schiit put into designing Unison to fit their DACs, if this stands it would be very impressive for Pi2AES, given that this USBridge>Unison setup sounded better than AES from an Auralic Aries Femto when I compared them extensively (sold the Aries).
     
  7. joeexp

    joeexp Don't ship this man FD-X1 ever

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    So we have the opinion of the wife of Jeff to go by. Your wife better knows what she is talking about.
     
  8. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    @Jeffjazzer thanks for bringing @earnmyturns perspective about other inputs for Yggdrasil. In order to prevent confusion you could tag or quote directly. Try selecting the quote and you can add to multi-quote and bring it to another thread.
    I think the main point is that Unison is excellent and convenient but is not the end of the story. If you have Pi2AES and are happy then no need to upgrade. Importantly @earnmyturns are you using the SBooster LPS to get the high level of performance from Pi2AES?
     
  9. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    @joeexp he was quoting @earnmyturns from here:

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...pi-i2s-to-spdif-hat.1990/page-106#post-276492

    @Jeffjazzer you should figure out how to quote here, or add links to things you’re referring to avoid confusion.

    Also Joe, @purr1n has said that he still prefers the AES from his Theta Data transport over Unison, so it’s still entirely possible that, with a good enough transport (the Theta is a one of those vintage crazy CD transport monsters) feeding SPDIF or AES, you may be able to better Unison, especially compared to low end USB sources. I suspect that we will ultimately hear the full potential of Unison via @baldr’s CD transport, which will be optimized from both ends.

    I purchased a Pi2AES + RPi 3B+ transport recently as well that I haven’t had a chance to put together yet. I also have a beta Unison USB board in my Yggdrasil A2. I’ll also report back once I get a chance to do some A/B testing between them.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2019
  10. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    No, just the standard Meanwell switcher that Pi 2 Design sells. The Pi2AES is now with a different audio chain at work, so I won't be able to do more careful comparisons with the Yggdrasil (like asking my wife to help) for a while. But I'd say that anyone with a Pi2AES need not get all antsy about switching to USB sources and Unison. OTH, Unison will be a worthy upgrade for anyone who has a USB source.
     
  11. Yethal

    Yethal Facebook Friend

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    Do you have access to any other USB sources beside USBridge to test?
     
  12. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    Not currently, but the (original) USBridge + LPS combo that I own now was no worse than the more expensive microRendu with ultracap power supply when I did that comparison, although that was with other DACs and DDCs, not the Yggdrasil. That USBridge + LPS combo with the beta Unison USB in Yggdrasil beat AES from Auralic Aries Femto into the same DAC. That's I was so positively surprised by the Pi2AES+Pi AES + cheap switching PS source for the Yggdrasil.
     
  13. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    To all the folks that think they're missing out because they don't have Unison... get a Pi2AES. I have Unison on the Yggdrasil A2 and have had the allo signature/usb and a few other transports. The Pi2AES using AES mode for the Yggdrasil to me sounds better than Unison. Unison sounds great but Pi2AES is criminally cheap for the plankton and neutrality that it puts out. Even against the Auralic transports costing much more, preferred the Pi2AES. Should you get the Unison upgrade once it's available? If you are primarily using usb for music or gaming then yes.
     
  14. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    ^^ best compliment ever

    What power sources for the various transports? I suspect this makes a difference only with the Allo devices.
     
  15. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    Audiophonics, Chinese lps, iPower and batteries for the Allo. Stock cheap power supply on the Pi2AES to me sounded better than any Allo power combination I tried. Ended up using the Audiophonics to power the pi portion of the Pi2AES, made a tiny difference (2%?) but you really don't need it.

    Let me be clear, you have to use the AES connection on the Yggdrasil A2 to yield good results with the Pi2AES. Level of performance: AES>Bnc>Coax
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2019
  16. Jeffjazzer

    Jeffjazzer New

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    I can not compare to the Unison, but recent comparisons on the outputs of my Yggdrasil 2 with Pi2AES, I have come to the same conclusions. AES has the fullest most dynamic sound. BNC sounds a little brighter up top and thinner on bottom. Might be better depending on your speakers and system. Coax wasn’t as clean. Loving the Pi2AES. Have used other setups in the past. Daphile with a Windows PC, a Pro sound interface running firewire. All sounded good but not at the level of the Pi2AES.
    I’m using piCorePlayer as software now. I like it’s interface best but Moode may sound better. Have run Snakeoil in the past which also sounded really good.
     
  17. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I have similar impressions, maybe not as emphatically favoring Pi2AES but certainly putting it at or above Unison in my particular setups:
    1. Allo USBridge with Sbooster LPS for the USBridge board and a random 5v SMPS for the Sparky SBC > USB > Unison
    2. Pi 3 + Pi2AES with Meanwell 24v SMPS > AES
     
  18. Bacobits

    Bacobits New

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    Has anyone tried putting anything under the Yiggy? As in isolation feet?
    There is an appreciable difference there. Depth and airy presentation. Maybe no so much in your face complaints I have read. Smoother presentation.

    Using Mesquite wood blocks right now but also Carbon /graphite cones works very well.
    Try it. I have not seen comments on this at all.
     
  19. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

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    Week old rice pudding works best, much more texture in the sound.

    Edit: I may be inclined to believe you, this would be such an nth percentage of percievable sound difference your comment would carry more weight if a tad more descriptive of your gear, how you perceived these differences outside of a good/bad perspective.

    Most people at your level believe in fuses, I'm still using 0.2£ fuses yet the transparancy and purity of tone cannot be denied without nano quantum levatating double pro black hole limited edition bee sweat fuse.

    You may have found a difference because you're looking for one, run a week on, week off, week with pudding, stacked condoms whatever, if you miss the sound of the wood blocks then you might be on to something.

    I was always bugged about these isolation system, common sense dictates if I pick up some gear/dac while running I should hear an imediate difference...
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2019
  20. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    You old fart audiophiles crack me up.
     

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