Not a lot of DAC talk on here...

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by The Alchemist, Oct 10, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. The Alchemist

    The Alchemist MOT: Schiit - Here to help!

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,189
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The SchiitR
    Home Page:
  2. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

    Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    202
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    summit-fi purgatory
    Schiit owns da market.


    They should make a bigger fulla with a battery and burrito filter.
     
  3. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,801
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Mmm... I didn't think Bifrost Multibit was too competitive with its older siblings. Something about the wooly bass and how it intruded a bit into the mids kinda bugs me. Then again, maybe Bifrost Multibit didn't have enough time to burn in? It was only turned on for a few hours (2-ish) by the time we did the comparison. Then again, I'd have thought that Marv and CEE TEE would have powered Bifrost Multibit on for a while prior to that. I didn't notice my Gungnir Multibit sounding significantly worse when it's turned off for about 2 hours, having been on for 5 days prior.

    I don't know. It sounded like the position of "Redacted^2" on Marv's DAC chart is somewhat accurate to me, or at least relative to Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil.
     
  4. Pyruvate

    Pyruvate Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,425
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Here
    Hey Bill, when did you listen to Bifrost Multibit? Was this one of the prototypes or the one at RMAF?
     
  5. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,801
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I listened to it versus Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil last Saturday when we had a meet at DrFindley's house. You can find my impressions regarding that comparison and more here
     
  6. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    What I really want to know is how the Bifrost Multibit is compared to the Gungnir DS? Is the Gungnir even worth getting if it is not multibit?
     
  7. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,461
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Marv's DAC chart of teh awsum cheezeburger has been updated to show the Bifrost Multibit now (in place of redacted^2). It stayed in the same place but seems pretty close to GungDS. A notch up but a notch left. Seems Bifrost Multibit is the better deal unless you think it is too warm.
     
  8. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,801
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Yeah, Bifrost Multibit is quite a good bit warmer/thicker than Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil.

    If my memory is reliable (I very well could be wrong about this), Gungnir D-S is a bit on the cold/lean side, with it sounding quite thin. So whichever one you prefer will probably come down to the system. If your DAC and headphone are thin/lean sounding, I'd go Bifrost Multibit. Otherwise if you have something like LCD-2 or HD650 (stock, with no intention to mod), you might as well go Gungnir D-S. Synergy also plays a part here.
     
  9. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,461
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Hmmm, how does the Gungnir D/S compare to the Bifrost Multibit, err Multifrost, w/regard to spatial cues. The Bifrost Multibit sense of space and location is pretty nice.
     
  10. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,801
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Well... to be honest, I'm not sure. I am only about 40 - 50% sure on tonality, but... staging and other things are basically a wash for me.

    From warmest to coldest, it goes Bifrost Multibit -> Gungnir Multibit -> Gungnir D-S, and that's basically all I know/can remember. The rest of the other stuffs are hard to gauge because I never had the chance to directly compare Bifrost Multibit and Gungnir D-S.

    But honestly, my advice is for you to consider your upgrade paths.

    Go Bifrost Multibit if you know you'll get an HD800 at some point later, because that will allow you to grab the HD800 without a major change in amp being an absolute necessity.

    Go Gungnir D-S if you know you'll go with something like an LCD-2/3/4, HE-1000, etc... dark-ish planar magnetic headphones, because their fuller sound will compliment the Gungnir D-S better. Bifrost Multibit may just be too thick for planars.
     
  11. maxedfx

    maxedfx New

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2015
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Location:
    UAE
    What if I have the HD 800 and no amp and dac yet?? Which will be better??
     
  12. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    Weird, the Gungnir D/S I heard was on the thicker, warmer side of things.
     
  13. Dot

    Dot Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2015
    Likes Received:
    29
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    NY
    Home Page:
    I have a number of DACs here in for review, and more on the way.

    Benchmark DAC2 DX and HGC
    Mytek Stereo 192 DSD
    Grace m920
    Resonessence INVICTA
    exaSound e22
    Altmann Attraction DAC
    Exogal Comet Plus
    Violectric V850

    Coming soon:

    Lavry DA11
    Schitt Yggdrasil
    Antelope Pure2
    Audeze Deckard

    Up for DAC yack!
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2015
  14. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,461
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Bring it!
     
  15. bixby

    bixby Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,987
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northern Colorado
    I can see how you could call it a bit warmer depending on what can and what amp. Jexby's DS Gungnir through my system sounded a bit cooler than my Matrix X-Sabre in some upper and mid bass freq range and it was also more extended. But the Gungnir DS was better at low bass extension and slam and a bit less warm in the midbass vs the X-Sabre.

    The Gungnir Multibit can also sound a bit lean when used with some setups. By and large it sounded rather smooth and a bit warmer to me than the DS in a few setups, but with one particular Moljnir 2 with some unknown tubes, it actually sounded a bit spotlit up top and just a hair cold in the treble vs some other setups. The bass on that same setup was deep, tight and without any midbass warmup. These observations were all relatively minor flavor changes and were nothing like hearing a Mytek in the treble. Compared to that dac these seem way warmer.
     
  16. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    Interesting. I didn't have that experience from memory with the Gungnir DS and XSabre. The latter was lean and flat sounding. Gungnir had low end extension, power, more thickness throughout, and was sweeter sounding up top. Oh well, bound to be folks with differing opinions for a myriad of reasons!
     
  17. Kamikazi

    Kamikazi Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2015
    Likes Received:
    53
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Have heard rumours of a first Yggdrasil to colonise Cape Town. We are monitoring the burn in process, hopefully we get a chance to listen to it soon!
     
  18. bixby

    bixby Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,987
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northern Colorado
    Yes, hands the myriad of reasons. The no power leg usb cable gets rid of a lot of complaints with the X-Sabre, but yes the Gungir does have much better extension top and bottom. And the X-Sabre still has a bit of the notorious glare, but killing the usb power and going big on the power cable does have some effect. I remember thinking that it seemed to me the X-Sabre had more depth, perhaps that was leanness in the mids or at least set back as the Gungnir DS did sound more forward there. And it could have been the cans and Lake amp, it all comes into play for sure.

    I kinda wish I could put a bunch of those dacs in a row and just swap them out. It would make it a bit easier for conclusions in a particular setup.
     
  19. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

    Anti-SBAF PSYOPS Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,532
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Austin, Texas
    I actually preferred the X-Sabre to the D-S Gungnir, especially with the no power leg USB cable. I haven;'t had as much experience with it with a regular USB cable, but I really enjoyed the somewhat laid-back presentation of it versus the sometimes too intense Gungnir. I wouldn't characterize the X-Sabre as warm, and on a spectrum I'd put the Gungnir closer to warm than the X-Sabre.

    Is the cutting the 5V power really that influential on the sound of the DAC? I remember Marv talking about how it improved the Master 7 along with the OR5, but that seemed more due to Audio-Gd's poor USB implementation.
     
  20. bixby

    bixby Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,987
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northern Colorado
    While all comparative talk in audio seems to be magnified, I think the average person could hear the improvement of a bespoke powerlegless usb cable on the X-Sabre.

    Compared to the zero observed effect of the Wyrd in front of the Matrix with a Wireworld powered cable, I think it has merit. Even a cheap $5 usb cable cut to test sounds quite different.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page