Schiit Bifrost 2

I have experienced this sort of thing in general (don't have bf2) when the "tap" is sufficient to partially dislodge the USB cable from the port, sometimes just replacing it restarts playback, others it has to be restarted.

 

Thanks! But these are light taps. Not enough to move the DAC at all or even close. And I’m using spdif from a Pi2AES. :-/

 

Yeah, I would be very surprised if it happened with a coax connection. Good luck.

 

Just another example.. Burson Swing DAC was noticeably worse from a fancy LPSU, and much better with stock PSU. Sometimes stock is best for no other reason than "it just works best"

 

Doh! It happens with my RDAC too but not when I tap on the RDAC. When I tap on my RCA switcher. That must be the culprit. Must be loosing connection momentarily and if this is bad enough the Bifrost goes into standby or something and the source has to be chosen again. Good thing I’m replacing the switcher.

 

Hey man, I've been experiencing the same issue.. Compared to my Lyr 3 (which is dead silent), the BF 2 is really noisy. I also use the Unison input with my MacBook Air. I don't know what's causing it, but before I'm going to contact Schiit I will try to fix it by trying out different things. I've just ordered an ifi iPurifier 3, a better quality USB cable, an AC line filter and the ifi iDefender 3. I will keep whatever helps. And if nothing helps, I'll shoot Schiit an email. If you're (and anyone else silently reading along) is interested in hearing about my findings in 1-2 weeks, I'm gonna post them here.

 

I had trouble with noise in my system and I’m pretty sure replacing all my power cables with well shielded Pangea power cables fixed the issue. The noise hasn’t come back since I replaced all mine. I can’t say for certain this is what fixed it but the timing makes it hard to refute.

 

It's interesting you noticed differences with those. I bought a couple Pangea SE and tried them with every device and heard no audible difference (but I didn't really have any obvious power problem to begin with, 230V power here if it matters). So I auctioned them off again with only a bit of loss. YMMV.

 

turns out the Bifrost 2 is broken and it’s headed to the Schiiter right now. I removed the RCA switcher from the chain and it still happened. So that made it pretty conclusive. Plus the previous owner said he noticed the same thing but thought it was a bad coaxial cable (understandable).

just thought I’d update this since some members were kind enough to offer advice.

 

yeah the main difference was the interference type noise disappearing. Now I’m not going to etch this in stone but I do think I heard a ln SQ difference as well. Blacker background (first time I’ve ever used that descriptor), more slam, more dynamics, more separation between notes. I’m not typically subject to confirmation bias either because I go into first impressions totally open minded. But it was subtle and even if these changes were real it is not worth the price. To eliminate the noise it was though.

 

Got my b-stock BF2 in today, let it warm up for almost 12 hours. I did do some quick demo listening about 3-4 hours in and liked what I was hearing. I'm not sure I'm hearing massive improvements at the 12 hour mark, it may be a few hours is all this unit needs.

Chain: MacBook Pro->Bifrost 2 (Unison USB)->OG Saga (passive mode)->Lyr 3 (new production tung-sol)/Fleawatt power amp

Headphones: HD580 and RS2e with TTVJ flat pads
Speakers: Blumenstein Orcas

The standout aspects of this DAC that immediately grabbed me were the sense of space, the black background, and the way it reproduces vocals (especially male vocals). The black background especially makes the music sound lively as notes seem to pop up almost out of nowhere and disappear into nothingness, so things really pop. Yet it doesn't feel artificial, unsurprisingly for a Schiit multibit DAC it all sounds quite organic, just cleaner. I never really understood what people meant by the grey background of the Gungnir and Yggdrasil because it sounded plenty black to me, but now I get it.

Coming off the original Bifrost MB, the 2 feels brighter but sounds closer to neutral to me (the Gungnir A1 is my reference and I know that one is described as warm so perhaps that's just my brain getting acclimated to a certain tone). The 2 is also drier. The Bifrost MB is a pretty thick and dense sounding DAC, even with the v2 sound, and the 2 feels comparatively thinner and airier. As a result it feels more nimble. It's easier to pull out fine detail because there's more sense of space, and it's entirely possible the higher grade of D/A chip is in fact more resolving. Compared to the Gungnir A1 (balanced outs on the Gungnir), the Gungnir still wins for me in terms of texture and spatial cues/layering, but doesn't feel quite as open (this may be a result of the blacker background of the Bifrost adding a greater sense of open space), and while the Bifrost doesn't supply the Gungnir's incredible bass slam, it trades that slam for what sounds like better bass quality to my ears. I have to give the Bifrost the edge in terms of clarity over the Gungnir, but the A1 Gungnir really has this special something that seems to have little to do with pure technicalities.

Did I mention the ineffable quality this DAC has with vocals? I've gotten straight up goosebumps on some songs because of the way this DAC renders vocals. Not even the Gungnir has this quality to it. Maybe an Yggdrasil does, I've only ever heard them at meets where I doubt they were sounding their best. It's quite addicting.

Things may still reveal themselves with more warm up, but even if this is the final sound of the DAC, it's a marked upgrade over the original Bifrost, especially those who have the original multibit boards in them. It sounds extremely refined and I'm kind of blown away that Schiit packed this much into such a small package for such a relatively low price. It sounds nuts to say that you can now get a DAC that in some areas bests a Gungnir for a bit more than half the price. When you factor in all the Autonomy system that allows for all possible upgrades to be down easily at home, this is easily the biggest value in Schiit's entire product lineup, or perhaps second biggest value after the Vali 2+.

I've got a Pi2AES coming this week, so I'm looking forward to hearing the Bifrost without USB, although I have enjoyed Unison and think that for 90% of listeners, it's the best solution. I will be plugging in my Liquid Platinum to the Bifrost to try out that combo (currently it's connected to the Gungnir). I've also got a SW51+ coming and once that arrives I will definitely be trying that with both DACs and comparing the two.

 

Nice write up, @Merrick.

What exactly about the vocals is impressing you? I thought it was mostly the Stellia, but I guess the BF2 should get some credit for the microdynamics I'm hearing in vocals through my main rig. Subtle inflections and breathiness that makes me feel like I'm right there in the recording booth.

 

Yes, micro dynamics are undoubtedly a big part of it, along with the incredible amount of detail the DAC puts out. There’s a certain resonance it lends to male vocals in particular that make them jump out the mix a bit. It’s nothing unnatural, and it’s not mid-centric, I don’t know exactly what the mechanism is that’s making it sound so affecting.

 

Day 7 with my Bifrost 2. Listening with Kef Ls50 desktop amped by Rogue Sphinx II. A huge step up from what i had....But It seems like this dac is almost to much of a good thing. Really in your face on some songs. I know some of that is the kef's fault . I've done a fair amount room treatments. And I am using a subwoofer. What I'm trying to figure out is . Do I send this back and get the Gungnir MB. Opinions appreciated.

 

^ This

Also your Sphinx is class D, which In my experience is a bad match with the Kefs.

No.

Have you considered tube rolling? That’s probably the simplest thing to try, but I’m not sure what tube rolling can do to improve the sound in the Sphinx.

Another option is looking for a different amp that’s not class D (assuming you don’t want to change speakers, which honestly would be my main recco).

Bifrost is showing you what your amp and speakers really sound like. Gungnir Multibit will make this situation even worse, not improve it.

 

Thanks ! That makes a lot of sense. I have done some tube rolling. Subtle changes if you can find tubes that are quiet enough not to drive you crazy. How about the Ragnarok Dac/Amp. Does it have enough power to drive the Kef's?

 

Thanks for suggestions rlow. Going back to rolling the tubes because honestly the bifrost 2 has changed everything. This is a big boy dac. Compared Topping d50 and a Dragonfly 1.2 it replaced. Thanks for help.

 

I’ve not heard the Ragnarok, so I can’t say for certain, however the likelyhood is that any glare or hardness/dryness in the upper midrange and treble from the class D amp in the Sphinx will likely be resolved or diminished with the Rag. I suspect it would be a good pairing (and other reviews have said that it is as well) however don’t go for the one with the DAC card of course, since you already have a much better DAC with the Bifrost.

As far as enough power, unless your room is very large and you like to listen very loud, I suspect it will be fine.

 

I wouldn't recommend Ragnarok 1 with KEFs, despite the enthusiastic Stereophile review, but I imagine the Ragnarok 2 could pair well. I don't have tons of experience with KEFs, but the best pairing I've heard with a KEF speaker was at my buddy's house on his Naim Supernait 2 integrated.