Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Bill-P, Oct 7, 2015.

  1. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    I think I’m one of those people. When I’m home, I work in front of my 2-channel setup, and after a full day of listening, the highs on Gungnir Multibit A2 got a little fatiguing (I also think I’m a little sensitive to it). I went from Gungnir Multibit A2 to Yggdrasil A2 for the sweeter treble, and I don’t get that feeling anymore after a full day.
     
  2. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I’ve read this before from others as well. I definitely did not get this when I had Gungnir Multibit A2 and Yggdrasil A2 and was comparing the two - to me, Gungnir Multibit A2 sounded more rolled off on the top and more forgiving. But it might depend what frequencies/anomalies you’re more susceptible to.

    Also there has never really been an official “A2” version of Gungnir Multibit - it makes me wonder whether running changes may be going on here as well, and therefore some level of unit variation.
     
  3. Josh358

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    Thanks much, that does sound like the Gungnir MB could be a better match for me. I'm listening on Tympani IVA's and they're ruthlessly revealing of high frequency distortion in recordings. So while I enjoyed the detail on the ES9038Pro-based Exasound e38 Mk II, the high frequency glare set my teeth on edge and I'm reluctantly sending it back.

    Right now I'm using my Lynx E22 to drive the Gungnir and found it very subtly less gray than USB through an iFi decrapifier and less subtly less gray than direct USB, but for a permanent solution I would probably feed it with an AES16e card since I normally triamp.

    I did love the detail on the Yggdrasil when I heard it with dynamic speakers, though -- the sheer palpability of the instruments!
     
  4. Josh358

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    ^This, LOL.
     
  5. Darren G

    Darren G Friend

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    I have been converted to the dark side. It's not about accuracy, it's about listen-ability. An accurate DAC that we won't listen too is useless. A listenable DAC that we enjoy music on is a win. If someone's G2 provides a listenable experience, then it is good gear. The Y2 does that, and the G2 no doubt does that too. Listenable. That's all that matters.
     
  6. Josh358

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    I can't think of a better demonstration of that than the contrast between the Exasound and the G2. I'm not really a fan of prettying up the sound -- live music sounds great -- but some distortion isn't that offensive and some takes your scalp off and for me, anyway, digital glare is the kind that takes your scalp off. With the G2 I can actually go back to enjoying the music, something I could never do with a delta-sigma DAC. So if the Yggdrasil or anything else can do that even better or more accurately I'm all for it, but listenability comes first.

    I think at this point I've decided to keep the Gungnir and try the Yggdrasil, so I can do a real comparison. If this discussion illustrates anything it's that sound can vary depending on perception and setup, e.g. when I switched from USB to SPDIF the Gungnir became almost a whole new DAC, and using the balanced outputs was an improvement as well.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
  7. Darren G

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    Trusted ears have written that the difference between G2 and Y2 are down in that 1-3 percent range, maybe 5 percent if you have a golden ear, but ... I am extremely sensitive to digital repetition and that glare you wrote about @Josh358 so it was worth paying the difference. Y2 (once warmed up) never annoys me, and often wows me. It does not sound (entirely) like live music, but that's for other reasons. If you get both, looking forward to reading your impressions.
     
  8. Kernel Kurtz

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    I think when people use the A2 moniker they (like myself) are referring to revision B, which has been much discussed earlier in this thread, circa mid 2018.
     
  9. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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    True enough...the thing is they officially announced the Yggdrasil A2, not the Gungnir A2.

    Unless I'm off that's what @rlow is speculating about. Some are saying Gungnir Multibit/A2 has fatiguing treble, others find it rolled off. Is it unit variation (ongoing changes before announcing G-A2), or user preference? Interesting question.
     
  10. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Given that Schiit has an A2 board for the Yggdrasil available for purchase, A2 makes sense. Gungnir does not have this so why A2 was ever thought up doesn't follow the naming scheme properly.

    Stands to reason that if Schiit did have a Gungnir A2, they'd also sell the board separately for those wanting to do the upgrade. They don't, therefore Gungnir A2 doesn't exist to the public at this time.
     
  11. Kernel Kurtz

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    This is true, though it is also clear there are two distinctly different iterations of GM (so far). The filters here are going to substitute any of the slang names people have come up with regardless, but Rev. B is probably the most accurate description as it is supposedly reflected on the circuit boards (though I have not looked myself).
     
  12. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    People says that there is a silent "A2" version based on the PCB printing screen numbers on the Gungnir MB analog PCB board. The four AD DAC chips (Analog Devices AD5781BRUZ) are also on the analog board. On a A1 analog PCB board, it says "Gungnir-UpAna-1.0, Schiit audio 2015, GMU 1.0". Later version has a date of 2017, if my memory serves.
    From what I read, The Yggdrasil A1 and A2 sounded more distinctive (less hazy, more "black") than those between Gungnir MB A1 and A2. Just be chill, because no matter which version you got, you got the multi-bit sound with Mike's unique up-sampling digital filter (Schiit bitperfect closed-form digital filter) sound. The cheapest Modi MB shares the same sound signature.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
  13. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    “Rev B” definitely brought a change to the previous version of Gungnir Multibit. And the fact that it came out around the same time as Yggdrasil A2 which rev’d the serial number as well to version B I think is a good indicator that some of the “Analog 2” tech made it into Gungnir Multibit. Maybe this was for sound quality reasons, or maybe it was for operational /inventory/ production simplicity on Schiit’s part. Maybe both. My unit had been purchased in April 2018 and had the B serial, and Marv I think hinted at the B revision as early as March or Feb, which wasn’t long after Yggdrasil A2 was launched. The fact that it wasn’t announced though could simply have come down to timing and the fact that the Yggdrasil upgrade was a big headache for Schiit. Or it could have been that it simply didn’t make enough of an impact on the SQ like it did for Yggdrasil therefore not worth the upgrade. Or not all of the tech was adopted. Who knows.

    Regardless, we know the sound changed due to some unannounced changes around that time. My point was, there could have easily been other “unannounced” changes since then, be they minor or not, that could have resulted in some level of variation in units over the last year or so.

    However I suspect the real reason for some difference in opinion on certain aspects is due more to individual system chains, as well as differences in individual sensitivity to certain frequencies. In particular, the high frequency nasties, I find, tend to come through from the transport/computer that is used to feed it (especially if USB is somewhere in that chain).
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2019
  14. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I don't know what is inside but my "B" model was purchased in September of 2017.
     
  15. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    September ‘17 interesting. I know there were Yggdrasil B serials with A2 boards as early as Oct ‘17, but didn’t realize there were Gumbys from before that with B serials.
     
  16. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I guess I should add that regardless of what is inside, I am quite enamored of the thing, and for now at least, feel no need to think of upgrading my dac. Not that I could afford to even if I were so inclined, mind you.
     
  17. Don Quichotte

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    I can confirm this, I bought a Gungnir Multibit in November 2017 and it matched the A2's / Rev.B's sound description on this forum to a T. Had some technical problems and got the analog boards swapped to new ones in February 2019. The sound remained exactly the same.
     
  18. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    [​IMG]
     
  19. Darren G

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    Havent listened to G2 yet, but Yggdrasil A2 A2 feeding the Mojo 2 is holy f**k this sounds so good, almost like being there. Thanks to the Schiit team. Gonna go have another ear orgasm. This is good gear.
     
  20. Josh358

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    Well, the latest wrinkle is that something went wrong with the right balanced output of the Gungnir -- it looks like it's missing a leg because the voltage at the amp drops in half. Unbalanced outputs are still fine. So I emailed Schiit, explained the problem, and told them that I had been planning to compare it to Yggdrasil and whether there was anything they could do to facilitate a comparison. Waiting to hear back, and meanwhile listening to the Gungnir through the unbalanced outputs -- this DAC is so beautiful it's hard for me to stop listening and leave the room!
     

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