Schiit Bifrost 2

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by RobS, Aug 28, 2019.

  1. AudioNut

    AudioNut Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2018
    Likes Received:
    55
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    I meant "euphonic" in the Stereophile Glossary sense (they define it as "exaggerated richness rather than literal accuracy", though I'd probably rephrase that). It's an enjoyable sound for a lot of genres, but IMHO it's the least neutral of the three to my ear. There's a rounded, fat/honeyed quality to acoustic guitar, brass, and flute (especially flute) on the Bifrost 3 that doesn't sound as real as on the other two. Another poster above (Stuff Jones) mentioned hearing a similar thing with acoustic guitar.

    My quick review of the three would be as follows:

    - the Modi 3 is pretty much neutral, maybe the slightest bit dry;
    - the Modi Multibit rev2 is also pretty neutral; bass is looser, midrange is more natural sounding; although it may be slightly on the warm side, acoustic instruments are convincing; to my ear (don't crucify me for this), I think in many cases it has a blacker background than the Bifrost 3;
    - the Bifrost 3 is more dynamic, has the nicest bass of the three, but acoustic instruments are sometimes euphonic to the point of being unconvincing (to my ear, anyway). It's the better device for electronic music, rock, and ambient, but for classical and jazz I prefer the Modi Multibit, quite strongly actually.

    To give a tangible example, neoclassical composer Jean-Michel Blais has an album called "Eviction Sessions" which he recorded acoustically in his apartment with a small audience prior to losing his composing space. It's a quiet recording with a thoughtful, delicate quality; on the BF3 it sounds a little pumped up and lacks a degree of quiet subtlety that comes through on the Modi 3 and Modi Multibit rev2.

    Take my comments with a grain of salt; this could well be related to the cap issue Jason mentioned on the other forum.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2019
  2. McFly

    McFly New

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2019
    Likes Received:
    39
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Australia
    ^ Thats why I love mine, bulging caps or not (kidding, mines been working fine since it arrived). If I put my science hat on I suspect a bit of extra distortion in the low end, perhaps 'warming' it up. Wouldnt suprise me in measurements, not that I care if its measured or not. I sold the Gungnir Multibit. Love the remote, love the sound, love Schiit's prompt delivery and service.
     
  3. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

    Pyrate BWC MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    18,652
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    On planet
    This DAC is a beast. Here is one example (out of hundreds) of measurements in progress.

    Distortion measurements 1000 Hz, 0 dBFS, SE output:
    20190924 Bifrost-2 A04 THD+N THD nth-HD 4+HD+N 60Hz FFT SE 8dBu.png
     
  4. McFly

    McFly New

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2019
    Likes Received:
    39
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Australia
    I was gonna put "I wonder if atomicbob is whipping up something in the measurement kitchen" in my post above, appears I didnt need to. Props
     
  5. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,455
    Trophy Points:
    113
    This DAC really is quite the "beast" as you put it. I find it a little ironic that the bifrost, once considered somewhat of the ugly stepchild of the schiit dac lineup has now becoming the darling of the show.

    But the sound don't lie. The bf2 has some real chops. It's effortless rendering of source material exhibits an addictive nature. The feature set is comprehensive no matter your amp or setup. It even will output simultaneously to two amps!

    Of course this will lead to speculation on just how far the boys at schiit can take the Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil. And of course I'm curious as well. But the form factor kind of seals the deal with bf for me. Gungnir Multibit was always difficult for me to accommodate on my desk and Yggdrasil was out of the question. But I do applaud our good friends for bringing in a "beast" of a DAC that performs at a level much higher than it's price would suggest.
     
  6. StageOne

    StageOne Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,121
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    US
    I had a chance to listen to the new Bifrost 2 about a week ago I agree, it was most impressive and it's step up from the old Bifrost MB. It compared quite favorably to the Gungnir which I thoroughly enjoy. Depedening on your sonic preference you could go either way and be happy. If you were looking towards depth and seperation of instruments I've give the nod towards the Gungnir but if bass was a priority that would tilt towards the BF2.
     
  7. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    There's a Bifrost 3?
     
  8. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2016
    Likes Received:
    6,226
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    [​IMG]
     
  9. AudioNut

    AudioNut Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2018
    Likes Received:
    55
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    That was a typo... was typing that out quickly over lunch yesterday. Bifrost 2.
     
  10. Ksorota

    Ksorota Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,780
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    01810
  11. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,937
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Texas and California
    Home Page:
    Yes, and we'll be sending MicroSD cards to all Bifrost 2 owners next week, since this is a maintenance release. So you won't need to download and make your own card if you don't want to.
     
  12. Roman

    Roman Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2018
    Likes Received:
    219
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Location:
    Moscow
    If I'm waiting for a replacement because of bad batch do I need to update the firmware once my unit arrives or is it already done by the factory?
     
  13. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,937
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Texas and California
    Home Page:
    It'll already be done.
     
  14. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2017
    Likes Received:
    9,589
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Staten Island, NY
    Home Page:
    With all of these favorable comparisons about Bifrost 2 vs Gungir Multibit, I'm wondering how Bifrost 2 compares to another DAC I've seen compared to Gungir Multibit - Theta Gen V.

    All this talk about Bifrost 2 being 'warmer' than the other Schiit DACs with more bass slam just makes me imagine the Theta Gen V. I loved that DAC so much when I had it on loaner and am kind of hoping I ought to just go for Bifrost 2, not worry about USB bullshit, and save some money on unicorn hunting.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2019
  15. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,373
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Hong Kong
    @schiit

    This maintenance release eliminates USB lockout

    Is USB lockout the 'all LEDs flashing' state?
     
  16. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    While testing my new SW51, I played this test tone sweep: 22 kHz → 8 kHz Sweep + Voice Over
    and heard some really bad aliasing sweeping up and down above my hearing cutoff (13-14kHz). Thought it was the amp, but turns out it's the BF2 as it's barely (micro iDSD) or completely (Modi Multibit) inaudible from my other DACs. Sounds the same whether from the BF2's USB or S/PDIF input.

    The file is 160kbps ogg, so there's definitely some compression involved.
    https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_frequencycheckhigh.php
    Here's the file pulled from the website for those whose systems aren't connected to a PC.
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=1idBiRfAOgKZEyrEgmjcdh0vu2Ltnri1d

    I then found these high def sweeps in wav format sampled at 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz going from 1kHz to the Nyquist. Just played them using USB input and the aliasing is still pretty bad.
    https://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_highdefinitionaudio.php

    Does anyone else hear the same thing? Or is this just my unit. The FW isn't supposed to have any effect on sonics, so I haven't tried that yet.
     
  17. Metro

    Metro Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,590
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    San Francisco
  18. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Likes Received:
    6,835
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Home Page:
    FWIW, I played those sweeps on my original Bifrost Mulibit and could only hear the faintest of aliasing. I had to turn it up pretty loud. I think the super multi combo burrito filter Mike and Jason always talk about is still not perfect, but good for the time domain, but bad in the frequency domain, but fix the frequency domain before the DAC using DSP.

    A 160 Ogg file is very compressed. I wpuld not doubt there would be aliasing effects.
     
  19. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

    Pyrate BWC MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    18,652
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    On planet
    More bifrost-2 measurements are posted here
    Unison USB measurements will be out a few weeks as I setup a Win10 measurement system.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX

    He means the Bifrost 2 has a sound closer to the Classic R2R sound as opposed to the Reborn R2R or Modern Delta-Sigma sound. Definitions here:
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...-incorrect-audio-blog.7261/page-2#post-249650
     

Share This Page