Schiit (MultiBit) Bifrost

In this particular case, it might help if someone could post a definition of "warmth" in a DAC.

Does this just mean the lack of "hard cold" sound of $29 CD players? Or are we talking about an actual FR boost in the Cello and upper Bass region (in the Senn 518 sense)?

 

hello,

@The Alchemist it looks like the main board has standoffs akin to a PC's motherboard, or at least that's what i see.

 

When you open the Bifrost - the mainboard is only attached by screws to the backplate of the chassis, the mainboard is suspended in mid air with no support except from the screws on the backplate -at least that is how mine is. Maybe it is just easier to assemble that way, or maybe there is a more functional reason thus I asked the question.

 

hello,

@The Alchemist ah, i think i understand. so the five, white inside, silver outside, chimney like legs (at about 12, 230, 330, 7 and 9 in your first picture) do not have fasteners in them to the chassis?

those are what looked like standoffs to me.

 

@The Alchemist

I'm on mobile right now, so I'll update with pics in a bit. I think Jason did it because of cost. The modi, bifrost, and gungnir boards all slide out. The Yggdrasil is the only one that doesn't need to, since it has it has its own piece of metal underneath it (three piece chassis, I think). Modi, frost, and gungnir all have two pieces of metal for the chassis, and I think it's to minimize the amount of metal they have to deal with. Therefore, it would be smarter to deal with a board that slides out, rather that deal with a third piece of metal.

 

Yes!

I heard the Gungnir D-S type awhile back and didn't feel that it was different enough to acquire in my already too large collection of D-S DACs. I've just spent 6 hrs listening to my Schiit. Will be having a marathon weekend of listening. Older albums in my library seem to especially benefit from the Bifrost MB. Can't believe how good Emerson, Lake and Palmer sound. Take a Pebble is so dynamic. The section with the guitar in the cave / pool of water effect is entrancing. Yet Ottmar Liebert Luna Negra binaural is downright spooky. Find myself turning my head around in response to sounds on the album.

 

Wow, time to pull out some ELP. Which version (Album, year or remaster) were you enjoying?

I had a bit of a revelation here this week when I got a fiber optic gigabit ONT modem. Gone was the cable modem and all of the neighborhoods ground noise, I suppose it was flowing through the router and on to the Mac. I have never heard the Matrix X-Sabre so sweet up top and with better dynamics.

Still cannot wait for the Bifrost Multibit to make it to CO.

 

The ELP to which I refer is the self titled original debut album (Lucky Man) and the CD was first release, no remastering funny business.
Now I am experiencing Gary Stroutsos Within You Without You. Some colleagues of mine recorded this album. No punches pulled with low frequencies from the authentic ancient instruments challenging the playback system. Some are felt more as pressure than perceived pitches. Wow.

 

I've been having some fun this evening by resampling in JRiver MC to compare the comboburrito filter to NOS. Every time the filter sounded so much more involving. My 192k Pat Benatar Crimes Of Passion went from flat sounding NOS, to full of depth and life. Every recording I listened to benefited from the filter to my ears. I've now set JRiver to resample anything greater than 96k back to 96k.

 

That's correct, they are not fastened to the chassis, those fastener chimney's are actually connectors for the USB board and Uber/Multi-bit boards. Those upgrades attach to those chimneys. In Pic two of my original post when you see the top of the Mainboard, you can actually see one of the chimneys connected to the USB expansion board. The screws you see on top of the expansion boards are all connected to the chimney screws. The screws you see on top of the Bifrost when it is assembled, and the screws on the bottom of the chassis when assembled connect the U-shape front metal part of the chassis to the inner metal part of the chassis. The only thing connecting the mainboard are the screws on the back of the Bifrost thus leaving the mainboard/PCB suspended in mid-air and not attached to the floor of the chassis like a motherboard is to a PC for example.

Here are some pics I found online (as taking it apart is a pain) that I drew arrows and circles on to help show you what I mean as it is difficult to explain in just words for me.

 

I kinda looks like those standoffs reaching down from the mainboard are long enough to touch the bottom panel.
Even though there aren't any screws used, those standoffs look like they support the board just due to gravity.

JJ

 

Now that I am looking closer at it , you could be right. Perhaps it just becomes suspended when you take the outer U-Shaped covering off. Good point JJ

 

Uhm...

Relative to my Gungnir Multibit, Bifrost Multibit sounds like it has a bit more congestion in the lower frequencies. Or otherwise, Gungnir Multibit is cleaner, tighter, more controlled, and more detailed with lower frequencies. Bifrost Multibit sounds loose and kinda blurry/bloated in comparison. Not that Bifrost Multibit is particularly bloated, but relative to Gungnir Multibit, it sounds bloated.

I don't think I perceive it as an FR boost (no extra impact, in fact, Gungnir Multibit has more impact), but more like... there's more "sustain"? Or lower frequencies linger around more than they should. There is a permeating fog/cloud/gray-ness down low.

The funny thing is that when I finally tried to connect Bifrost Multibit to my Wyrd today, it got... brighter. Not in a good way either. It was even brighter and edgier than Gungnir Multibit, and yet not any cleaner.

So for some reason, Wyrd is not working its magic with Bifrost Multibit, and I wouldn't recommend pairing Bifrost Multibit up with Wyrd.

 

Quote: "Relative to my Gungnir Multibit, Bifrost Multibit sounds like it has a bit more congestion in the lower frequencies. Or otherwise, Gungnir Multibit is cleaner, tighter, more controlled, and more detailed with lower frequencies. Bifrost Multibit sounds loose and kinda blurry/bloated in comparison. Not that Bifrost Multibit is particularly bloated, but relative to Gungnir Multibit, it sounds bloated."

In many years, I've never heard bloated bass called "warmth". It's usually called "bloated bass".

 

Too bloated for HD650 (via Valhalla)?

 

Incorrect. You are not disassembling it correctly. Undo all screws around the perimeter, as well as the back panel screws, and the inner chassis slides out. The motherboard is very firmly attached to the aluminum chassis by the PEM standoffs on the PCB.

Expecting a couple of connectors on the back to support the full weight of the PCB is not a good idea.

 

Here's to hoping one or 2 or the yggdrasil chassis get scratched

 

I thought I would share something I noticed with my upgraded Multifrost that is different from how it operated in Uberfrost form. Usually I have the input set to USB, but on several occasions I tried to cycle through the inputs. What I noticed is that it takes about 10 seconds or so, once I choose optical input, before you can choose the next input. I decided to email nick@schiit for an answer and was replied to in a very quick time. Apparently the firmware searches for a signal on optical before allowing you to change the input. All of this is just fine and normal. I thought anyone that has upgraded may want to know about this small change.

This DAC is still kicking ass! I have a hard time walking away from it.

 

He said that the bass is bloated relative to Multibit Gungnir - their more expensive model.

I don't think the bass on any of the Bifrost models is bloated relative to most DACs.

In fact, he said just that in his last sentence: "Not that Bifrost Multibit is particularly bloated, but relative to Gungnir Multibit, it sounds bloated."

 

Thank you, I did not think the board was meant to be in-air unless there was some type of functionality to it being that way.