The All Purpose Advice Thread

Another question, ( I don't mean to be blowing up this thread). When connecting a DAC to a PC, which connection is best:

USB
Coax
or
Toslink ?

 

It depends on the DAC. If you get an upgradable Schiit multibit DAC they will already have the Gen 5 USB board, the onboard equivalent to the Eitr. If you already have a Schiit DAC or any other DAC with S/PDIF coax input the Eitr would be your best bet if your source is a computer.

 

thanks @cskippy , as you stated above, most of Schiit's products have USB GEn 5 now, I just got a Schiit DAC without it just about a month ago but it doesn't have Gen 5

 

@The Alchemist - If you upgraded to a Bifrost Multibit, Gungnir Multibit or Yggdrasil recently and did not get in on the change to USB Gen 5, that would be disappointing. Stuff like that is kind of luck of the draw, though.

Regardless, from everything I have read here an Eitr (or USB Gen 5 via making an appointment to mail the DAC for a Schiit installation or waiting for the self installation board to become available) is now the recommended way to go to connect to a computer.

Edit: Edited out some misinformation. Thanks @cskippy !

 

I'm actually quite sure Mike meantioned that Gungnir Multibit and Bifrost Multibit share the same USB card but Yggdrasil's USB card is different (larger) since there ard no size constraints.

However, that's no issue for @The Alchemist since the onboard and Eitr are priced the same with shipping and do exactly the same thing. So just get an Eitr when you can afford it.

 

You are right @cskippy . Bifrost Multibit also switched to USB Gen 5. Sorry for the misinformation everybody.

 

You can get the Upgrade to the Gen 5 board for the Following:

From Schiit

"The new Gen 5 board is an upgrade for any Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil with the Gen 1, 2, or 3 USB inputs, and now ships standard with every new Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil."

 

Yeah. I don't know why I had that idea in my head. I've corrected my post.

 

it's all good my friend

But I would sure like that GEN 5 upgrade board @schiit

 

If you have lots of different dacs Eitr could make more sense. It works just the same, but allows you to move it between anything you want. So if you have multiple dacs it could be more convenient than the internal board in one dac.

 

Thank you @Galm - I have just have a single DAC, but I love it.

 

Did you buy the DAC new? They might only do upgrades for new DAC purchasers. In which case, you should get the Eitr.

 

@ButtUglyJeff -

Acording to Schiit:

"The new Gen 5 board is an upgrade for any Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil with the Gen 1, 2, or 3 USB inputs"

What I get from that statement, and if you look on Schiit's website, you can purchase the USB Gen 5 board into any of the above DACs (Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil)

The only difference is that they now ship standard with every new Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil.

 

Only catch is you have to send it in, doesn't look like they'll let you install it.

 

http://www.schiit.com/products/gen-5-usb

 

While Schiit does not recommend installing upgrades (It even states "No User-Serviceable Parts Inside") to DACs or any of their other products, it is actually quite simple to do the upgrade yourself if you are familiar with electronics and know what you are doing. Just beware if you make a mistake, it voids the Warranty.

If you do not know much about electronics and installing boards, then yes, I would definitely have Schiit upgrade the board for you, and they have a convenient scheduling system that allows you to keep your Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil until they're ready to do your upgrade immediately.

I installed a USB Card Board to the Bifrost and it was fairly easy, however I have a lot of experience with electronics and circuit boards.

Your safest bet is of course to have Schiit install the board for you.

Please Note Schiit states "No User-Serviceable Parts Inside" means "opening this product voids the warranty."

 

Oh yes of course, if I were in you're situation with the old board I would also be more than comfortable upgrading myself. I work with electronic internals every day.

What I was more implying is that I'm not sure Schiit will even send you the board? Their site is implying they'll only allow you to send the product in for upgrading by them. Probably to not deal with the flood of questions about how people broke their product doing the upgrade.

This is what was making me think that: "STATUS: In stock for Schitt-installed upgrade."

They seem to be explicitly stating that it's in stock for them to install it, not to ship to you. Normally they'd give a shipping estimate in days like it'll ship in 1-3 business days.

Now perhaps some of the more elite members here would know Schiit well enough to get one sent, but I'm not so sure for the masses.

 

You make a good point @Galm

 

Now for a question of my own...

Some guy on reddit has been talking about how BA's are worse than dynamics because of distortion across the board... Like a 20 dollar dynamic driver EQ'ed is better than like a Zeur XR.

"Yep.

Multi balanced armature drivers are just plain bad compared to a well designed dynamic driver. Dynamic drivers are cheaper to produce and have lower non-linear distortion.

Of course this is the audiophile world so expensive = better even though for IEMs it's not true at all but placebo and post-purchase rationalization say otherwise.

The Sony MH-750 is superior to the $1000 IEMs out there and it only costs $10. The QC is quite bad on it though."

And when I asked about detail retrieval:

"It's better because of the low distortion. Any difference in perceived detail is a result of refereeing frequency response."

I'm now somewhat confused... I would have assumed BA's are harder to implement, but I also would have assumed it can be done... I'm assuming this guy isn't quite right? Or is he on to something?

 

Sorry to post in this section again, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good headphone that is relatively inexpensive (of course not an audiophile headphone) with a low ohm rating that is easy to drive that is relatively inexpensive yet has pretty decent sound for the price. I am looking for an over-the-ear headphone (not an IEM). I know there are plenty of over-the ear headphones out there, but is there an over-the-ear headphone that stands out for a relatively low price range?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you everyone!