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

I have a Digigram VX222 PCI soundcard with AES out coming next Tuesday. I will post my impressions here soon. Currently feeding my Yggdrasil through SPDIF coax. I have APO Equalizer with 2 VST plugins running on my Windows pc and found USB Gen 5 to be kind of unstable for this purpose. With higher CPU load caused by the plugins I get frequent clicks in sound through USB. SPDIF coax sounds a bit better too but I am looking forward to AES input...

 

That should be a great card. I have the pci-e version and i prefer it to the Lynx Aes16e. Also works out of the box with recent linux distro's if that's your thing. Can be had cheap used as well, i paid 170 euro for mine.

 

My motherboard is rather old and I went for the PCI version which I got for 30 Eur with AES cable only. 170 Eur is pretty good for the PCIe. I could not find it under 300 Eur used. Plenty of them cards on Ebay with missing cables though. But that cables are specific for each Digigram soundcard, so no universal cables available afaik. Cable missing -> avoid.

 

Mine didn't come with a cable either but the pinout is in the manual so i just made it myself. If you've never soldered before those tiny pins on a D-sub 9HD can be a bit tricky though.

 

So do we all agree the Eitr sucks?

 

Eitr helps in some setups, not in others. For instance, it helped clean a basic Pi USB source for an original Bifrost Multibit when I had it. From reading SBAF and other forums, I've concluded that it's more difficult to clean up a PC's USB audio than the single-board computer (Pi or Sparky) streamers I've been using over the last several years. After many iterations, the only lower-cost source I can recommend for the pre-Unison Yggdrasil is Pi+Pi2AES with the default Meanwell SMPS. TL; DR Forget USB and Eitr until Unison is available, but even then Pi2AES is at least as good, arguably better.

 

I mean it was a considerable upgrade over shitty usb inputs in non-schiit DACs, and when it came out there weren't many options.

Now? Eh. I agree with @schiit deciding to let it go.

Between unison, the various pis, Dante, and singxer et al if you absolutely must high-end your usb, its time is past.

 

I've said it before on another topic, but Pi2AES sounds (AES) better than Unison. I have unison on my Yggdrasil a2 and it's no contest.

 

Any opinions on the Matrix X-SPDIF 2 digital converter ? It measures very well and has been recommended by Audiosciencereview.
I thought about using it's AES out to feed the Yggdrasil. It is not cheap but AES PCI soundcards from RME/Lynx/Digigram frequently cost even more.
But again, it is a USB device...

 

ASR has less integrity than head-fi, which is quite the achievement.

You'd expect a measurement nazi website that constantly recommends gear that sounds like ass based on measurements to at least do their measurements properly but Amir massages/fabricates them depending on how much he gets paid.

Having said that, it might be good.

Even a morally corrupt clock is right twice a day, if you'll allow the mixed metaphor.

 

I'm surprised ASR would recommend any kind of digital converter honestly

 

I've used other DDCs (Eitr, Singxer). They helped a bit in particular situations, but there's nothing like a carefully designed digital transport. As @neogeosnk noted earlier in this thread and elsewhere, and I have experienced (to the point I have a 2nd one on order for a different system), Pi2AES is the best value we know of for this purpose (~$250 for Pi2AES, case, SMPS, Pi 4).

 

My friend had one with his Genelec SAM speakers. Compared to a RME HDSPe AIO pci-e soundcard, it sounds slightly veiled and/or muddy when using AES/EBU outputs on both devices.

Compared against a Devialet Expert Pro 250 USB input (X-SPDIF 2 feeding the same device via AES/EBU input), same kind of effect can be detected.

Based on these observations/opinions, I cannot really recommend it.

 

Alright we'll see if the Pi2AES with Yggdrasil parts the clouds, makes angels weep and sing. I have my doubts. As soon as purr1n writes up his dummies guide on the Pi2AES I'm picking one up. He's right, geeks make simple shit too convoluted to follow.

 

Just pickup a used Lynx soundcard, you can find one for ~300usd and it's a good pairing with the Convert-2

 

Since when do you need a particular DAC to hear piano pedaling. lol.

Or the different "types" of piano for that matter.

Your impressions are all over the place.

 

None of the other sigma delta DACs or even the cheaper multibit stuff I've had were that resolving. I definitely hear more of what kind of piano is being played than just a piano.

 

I had it for about 3 weeks, pretty good but not as good as dedicated device like Allo or Pie2AES.

 

Here's my short setup guide for my stand-alone Pi2AES-based system I use at work. I've ordered another Pi2AES for home, which will be running as a network bridge from Roon (likely running Ropieee) for my Y. A2-based headphone system. I currently use an Allo USBridge with Sbooster LPS and beta Unison that were IMO close to the Pi2AES source when I tested it briefly before taking it to work, but I could do with getting rid of multiple power supplies and the increasingly outdated DietPi distro required by the USBridge.

 

I appreciate this, thank you. Dude having a touch screen was exactly what I had in mind for convenience with the Pi2AES. Very nice setup. This is what I was looking for.