Schiit Yggdrasil Less is More (and MIL and OG) Impressions + Measurements

PersonallyI prefer tender hands to tender feet but whatever floats your boat

 

On LIM vs. GS, LIM wins (except maybe for metal)

I expected LIM to come out ahead, but the technical difference of GS to LIM is on the magnitude of Gungnir A1 to GS.

LIM demolishes GS on blackground and has some of the best layering and instrument separation I've heard.

When it comes to detail and agility, LIM deals with busy passages dramatically better than GS. LIM is a touch dark and there's other DACs that'll smash it on plankton, but LIM is so cohesive. GS meanwhile has some sparkly frequencies that can edge toward prickly (which can sometimes be a good thing). You could argue the GS treble behavior makes it seem a tad wider than LIM but this is a pretty small edge, considering how compressed the GS mids feel by comparison and how much taller LIM is. Bass and slam is pretty good on both, but while the bass really got my attention on GS, it just seems like part of the landscape on LIM.

LIM's correctness is backed up with a real world example. I had a coworker that moonlights as a music producer listen to Jot 2 + LIM on HD600 and I played him a track on TIDAL where he had been in the studio when it was recorded. He said LIM faithfully reproduced what he heard in the recording session. Ironically, he said this was not what the artist intended, as they mixed the track with the expectation the average listener would have a pretty poor system. He said many artists will not even mix for TIDAL, as most listens will be at lower Spotify quality. While he's not an audiophile, the coworker commented he thought LIM was "too clear," which I somewhat agree with, depending on the genre.

LIM is smooth and refined, and that's not what I want for more visceral genres. For metal artists like Five Finger Death Punch, I preferred the more jagged GS signature that seemed more in-character for that kind of thing. So LIM isn't my favorite DAC for gritty music, but I still prefer it for jazz, electronic, and basically everything else. Its velvety goodness makes for an ethereal experience.

Follow-up Comments:
LIM's darkness is a relevant consideration. On the MJ2+LIM stack, HD800SDR's are just right, but LCD-2r1's and HD6XX's aren't as involving. Those combos feel like they lack a little air and are not working for me. GS with the little extra treble sparkle is preferable on the darker phones. The HD600 with Jot 2+LIM was pretty good but I prefer MJ2+LIM+HD800.

 

I was reading through this thread and couldn't find exactly why the RCA on the LIM sounds better than the OG? Is it something Schiit implemented / changed?

 

It is too bad this thread went quiet. I am enjoying reading about these comparisons.

 

I agree and am suprised. I have been looking forward to some MIL impressions but I guess everyone is buying the LIM! I am enjoying my LIM for sure.

 

There are only 19 pages of info. Not sure what you guys want...

 

Y'all rando goofballs realize LIM is still a 10-12 week delay, right?

 

I returned my LIM. A2 all the way!

 

What can I say?

 

Enjoying my LIM too much to post, personally. That blackground in the above Adderly is ZOMG BETTER x10000 than A2's frankly UNACCEPTABLE haze. (just kidding, of course, although it is blacker)

Tend to agree, though, the 10-12 week lead time had probably led to a paucity of new users to chime in other than who has already, but whatever's going to be said has already likely been said. I get it, though, I check the thread a lot, too, for purchase validation or what have you, but generally LIM has been a good tonic in that sense in terms of the various audiophilia nervosas.

 

I couldn't stand the "summing" affect of notes in the LIM. How it rounds off the "grit" or "plankton" into solid tones. Like too much noise reduction in photography. Really bothered me when I owned it. Not as bad as the 2541 that was awful to me. But still just not great for 2,500$ IMO. If it were priced at 1,500 I think it would be acceptable.

The A2 is so much more resolving of information, and all that grit along the sides of notes that's turned Ito smooth surfaces on the LIM.

I did enjoy the blacker background but unless I'm comparing them, I don't notice it on the A2.

I also enjoyed the purity of tone, but the A2 has great tone too, just a little step behind and not worth the trade offs in the end for me.

 

Yeah, I hear what you mean re: grit, but it just doesn't bother me that much, I guess. There's still plenty of plankton on tap for my preferences, at least. LIM sounds more "natural" to me.

In terms of a value proposition, I do agree with Marv that that tone/timbre is a step above all other comers I've heard (not that I've heard nearly as much gear as he has), and probably worth the price tag for me, even if I hadn't bought LIM via self-install/as an upgrade and had to purchase a whole new unit. It has this odd uncanny quality to it that is difficult to thumb down or articulate. I do wonder sometimes, given that I'm running an OG HD800 with few mods, if its a system synergy thing for me where the LIM is patching over some of the 800's timbral issues.

In my review in the other thread I was talking about how I think I'm just sensitive to blackground, and reading other impressions where folks are more bothered by the plankton differential than I am made me realize that Schiit nailed the "flavors" marketing pretty well. It's a sidegrade, and it's just going to come down to what you can live with and without, probably. I'm still open to the possibility that LIM is FOTM, though. It's whatever for me. Maybe eventually I'll experience a sea change and move back to A2 after selling the LIM cards, but I doubt it after 2 months now of use.

 

LiM 90% awesome 100% awesome... repeat, everything is awesome (lego movie)— but just gorgeous tone.

A2 80% awesome 65% disappointing 75% interesting... 120% shit pants... 98% awesome... etc— more drama and air, realistic tone.

--old post on head-fi, my gut reaction... still taking my time with LiM--> surprised no MiL impressions/action, @purr1n ?

 

I still wouldn't be surprised at all if the Schiit brain trust came out with a firmware update for the MIL boards down the road (after reading some threads here on TI throwing some tips on how to better tame the 20-bit chip).

The LIM does sound more natural than my GS I had. I will say it's a tad less exciting, but I like Marv's analogy on how having fun all the time isn't really the best thing, and LIM is like the one you marry

 

actually the back orders improved to 6-8 weeks a couple weeks ago… (not that I’ve been keeping track or anything)

 

https://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil-upgrades shows 10-12 weeks.

It is what it is, backordered for a considerable amount of time, therefor, fewer reviews and/or chatter since those of us who were considering grabbing boards or whole DACs are sitting on our hands. No need to bitch.

 

Ahhh my bad, I meant the entire unit and not the boards themselves. I ordered a black LIM Yggdrasil back on 10/9 with the same 10-12 week backorder, I’m hoping the updated 6-8 weeks means I’ll get mine sooner!

Otherwise - Appreciate all the feedback and knowledge here!

 

Sorry, I'm having a hard time following. Does GS = current OG being sold on website.Or does OG = A2? If that's the case then GS is unattainable new?