Schiit (MultiBit) Bifrost

Does the Bifrost Uber even exist anymore?

When you choose the regular non-MB Bifrost on the Schiit site there's no mention of it.

 

Nope, there's now just 2 version: Uber Version with the new AKM DAC chip for the price of the regular one and the MB one.

 

I'd still like to hear some impressions on the AK4490 bifrost but it's hard to see why people would want it when they can get the MB bifrost for $200 more.

 

Depends if the MB upgrade is worth $200 to someone's ears. And that's kind of hard to know...I haven't seen any direct comparisons.

 

curious about the mega-combo-burrito....bigbig secret seems.

 

I directly compared the Bifrost Multibit and Gungnir Multibit and found the Gungnir Multibit better across the board, notably in detail and soundstage. I do however, find the Bifrost Multibit to very enjoyable with its warmer tone when paired with certain headphones and tracks.

 

Totally agree. Bifrost Multibit is fantastic for Live Concert Recordings! It adds a full-size volume to instruments. A Piano sounds like a Piano!
Classical Music: Trios, small Orchestras - fantastic experience. Large Orchestras it struggles a little.

 

my thoughts on the Bifrost Multibit are up here

 

Great write-up, Bixby, and love the site.

 

I am not worthy, but thanks

 

Great review. One thing though, the AKM4490 upgrade is not yet available for Gungnir. Though that would be pretty interesting to see.

 

oops, better fix that, thanks

 

Very nice review. I'm a big fan of the Bifrost Multibit, and I thought you highlighted its strengths well - space, focus, warmth, etc. And weaknesses - maybe a touch soft in the treble. Such an amazing DAC overall.

 

That was a well written review! Great job!

 

Has anyone paired the Bifrost Multibit with the Black Widow? If so, how do they sound together? I know that the Bifrost Multibit is considered a touch warm, and the BW is somewhat bloomy. Do they make a good match or do they become too syrupy together?

 

you cant leave cans from this equation

 

Hmm, good point. Currently have HE-400S with Focus Pads and Grado 225e, down the line I was eyeing an HD800 or HD800S. After that I could tailor any other headphones to fit with BW.

 

I finished up my 3 days with the Bifrost Multibit loaner last week, which I quite enjoyed. My source at home is a Sonos Connect (they used to call it ZP 80) feeding a Marantz amp of unknown model number (well, not unknown but I cannot recall off hand). I have entry-level Kef Q series speakers and a number of headphones, but primarily Senn HD 600 and Oppo PM-2. I had ordered the Cavalli Liquid Carbon in December and timing seemed perfect with the LC to arrive within days of my loaner period for the Bifrost Multibit. So, my plan was to have a proper head amp for evaluation of the Bifrost Multibit. Ah, the best laid plans. . . . As some may know from my other posts, my LC failed within 24 hours and was shipped back to Cavalli for refund or return (TBD). So, unfortunately I had to use my Marantz headphone jack for my headphone listening. This likely had an effect on my listening impressions, but I will say in its defense that my amp pairs quite nicely with the HD 600 (and my AKG cans), but not so much the Oppo.

The first couple of days I simply listened to the Bifrost Multibit, primarily with the Senn HD 600, but it also got some speaker time. I enjoyed my listening time quite a bit. However, my subjective impressions without any direct comparisons between DACs was that I could not tell much of a difference and it certainly was not night and day or anything. But over the course of the two days I did at times feel like I heard slight improvements in staging/layering and perhaps notes having a bit more weight (or in completely subjective terms being more natural or organic). Given how subtle this was (to me), I did have to question whether I really heard this or was just noting things that I had read in others’ impressions of the Bifrost Multibit. Ultimately, I subjectively felt the Bifrost Multibit, in my setup, was a subtle improvement on some tracks, but I also lacked some confidence in my own ears.

On day 3, I dug out another set of RCA cables so that I could output from both the Sonos directly to the amp as well and do quick switching between Bifrost Multibit as DAC and Sonos as DAC. The comparisons I did were sighted (although I often forgot which DAC I was on) and seemed about the same in level but were not properly level-matched. Since it was night, I only did headphone listening with the HD 600. I did not attempt to do any blind testing. Rather, I would play entire songs back and forth between DACs, significant snippets of songs (like 1 minute) back and forth, and finally some quick switching of isolated passages. During most of these comparisons, I found that things I thought I heard as improvements on the Bifrost Multibit ultimately sounded the same on the built-in Sonos DAC. Wider soundstage on Bifrost Multibit; oh it’s the same on Sonos DAC. Sublime clarity on cymbal crash – that’s definitely better on Bifrost Multibit; nope hear same thing on Sonos. And on and on. The whole process was very fatiguing and not enjoyable, but it was enlightening as to what I was capable (or not) of hearing. By the end though, I did feel like the Bifrost Multibit had some noticeable improvements (not just differences, but improvements) on certain passages of certain tracks, but these were still fairly subtle in A/B comparisons. In one particular instance, I felt like the rendering of the opening acoustic guitar picking on the intro to Ryan Adams’ Magnolia Mountain just had more fullness and felt more real/live for want of a better description. There were other such instances as well.

None of this should take away from the Bifrost Multibit. I enjoyed my time with it. I think it sounded nice in my modest system and I believe was subtly better (in my system) than the built-in DAC of my Sonos. I have no doubt that the Marantz amp was part of the problem. It was really unfortunate that the LC was not available to me during this period to take that issue out of the equation. But I also think my own ability to appreciate subtle differences has a part to play as well. As it stands, in a straight-up trade I would absolutely be happy to drop the Bifrost Multibit into my system. Even if differences are subtle, I see no downside and would likely enjoy some modest improvements. I am just not sure there is enough improvements for me, based on this short trial, to warrant a $600 expense, at least with the rest of my chain such as it is. I am hoping I do have the opportunity after I have a proper headphone amp in place to get a longer listen. I would also like to have had a chance to A/B with speakers because there is no question that the Marantz drives those fine. I also think the short loaner period and having to listen mostly late at night may have hampered my ability to properly evaluate the Bifrost Multibit. Hopefully I will have another shot at the Bifrost Multibit (or perhaps the Gungnir Multibit) when my setup is more ideal to see if I would benefit from such a stand-alone DAC.

 

I'm currently using an E-MU 0404 USB as my DAC and it has an AK4396 chip, same as the Modi 2 I believe. Is the Bifrost Multibit an appreciable step up from this chip? It would be a $400 jump for me, more or less.

 

Yes, going Bifrost Multibit will be an appreciable step up since it's a change in the entire DAC architecture. However, you should wait for the Schiit prototype shown in the meet: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...uary-16th-orange-county-meet-impressions.1148
it's definitely a DAC, and all clues have shown that it's going to kick ass perf/price wise.