Yggdrasil + Hydra Z?

Hello, guys! I am about to upgrade my system, coz now my dac (bifrost, $400) is cheaper than my usb cbale (Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7, $600)...

My target is Yggdrasil + Hydra Z USB Converter (standard version without ZPM, which is a powerful power supply).

My question is common version Hydra Z is 900 bucks, which is a little high, and Yggdrasil has Gen usb 3...

I don't know whether Yggdrasil + Hydra Z sound greater than Yggdrasil itself.....(usb in)

 

unlikely to get better sq, but you will get galvanic isolation by using a usb to spdif converter

im using a wyrd>ilink>bnc>yggrasil and I feel there is a sq difference over the stock usb on the Yggdrasil, can't say it's better or worse just a little different, probably due to the galvanic isolation,

 

Imho, Yggdrasil USB Gen3 is really excellent implementation.

With the Hydra Z via AES to Yggdrasil, you will get a slightly more defined(sharper sounding like some kind of upsampling) tone, but you lose much of the 3D soundstage of the Yggdrasil wih Gen3

Given the hefty price for the Hydra Z, you should be looking at adding Schiit Wyrd or Uptone Regen along with better USB cables or even Corning Optical USB cable(must be with Wyrd, since the corning does not have enough power) to the Yggdrasil. AC Power Conditioner is also another better alternative.

 

Uhh, what

 

I was curious about the same question, and found this:

http://headmania.org/2015/08/18/schiit-yggdrasil-dac-review/

 

Just an update on my search for an USB converter/interface for the Yggdrasil, in case someone is searching for something similar:

- bought a Yellowtec PUC2 Lite converter (USB to AES) - a little known German professional audio brand
- also bought an Audiophilleo 2 out of curiosity (USB to coaxial)
- clean USB power supplied to both converters by Teradak U9 Linear Power Supply
- Schiit Wyrd also on hand from a previous setup

Setup:

PC (JRiver Media Player) -> Chord Blue USB cable + Teradak LPS -> Converter -> Cable (AES or coaxial) -> Schiit Yggdrasil -> Rag (XLR) -> HD800 (balanced)

Results:

- Yellowtec PUC2 = cymbals sound more realistic, mids less recessed on HD800, vocals slightly fuller, soundstage slightly larger, instrument separation slightly better, bass a bit tighter and more impactful - is this what analog sounds like?
- Yggdrasil USB alone = slight sheen to the highs, cymbals a little metallic
- Yggdrasil + Wyrd = slightly clearer, about as much improvement as the Audiophilleo 2 below
- Yellowtec PUC2 + LPS = minimal to no improvement compared to PUC2 alone
- Audiophilleo 2 = background slightly blacker, music a bit clearer, not as dramatic a chance as with the PUC2

Conclusion:

- Subjectively the Yggdrasil AES input via an external converter is better than the Gen 3 USB alone
- Yellowtec PUC2 is highly underrated as a converter, and half the price of the AP2
- Audiophilleo 2 made a lesser improvement than I expected for all the marketing on the website
- Wyrd made a minimal difference to the Gen 3 USB

 

Have you try AP2 with LPS? With my previous audio-gd ref7 dac, LPS made a slight improvement to AP2.

 

It would be great if we had a way to dump the bitstream received by the DAC out to a file and compare with the source. In fact, I wonder if any of the XMOS dev boards would let you do that? It sure would be a definitive way of looking at the bit-accuracy of the transport at least. Schiit could call it the Schiit Pyp . I'd bet they could sell a few of those...

 

I haven't had a chance to try it with the LPS - may have some free time this weekend to give it a go, will report back to you =)

 

Ok, I've hooked up the AP2 with the LPS and here are my impressions:

- Gen 3 USB alone = the cymbals have a slight crunch to them
- AP2 alone = slight improvement in clarity and instrument separation, blacker background
- PUC alone = better than AP2 alone in all aspects, but especially in the cymbals and highs department, bass impact and dynamics
- PUC + LPS = admittedly I can barely notice any further improvement
- AP2 + LPS = cymbals and highs clearly improve, the crunch is gone! Clarity and microdynamics are on par with the PUC2, but the edges are slightly sharp or etched. Macro-dynamics lag behind the PUC2 slightly, bass impact is slightly less but still an improvement from AP2 alone, instrument decay doesn't sound as natural. Don't get wrong, the AP2 + LPS is much of an improvement from the Yggdrasil's USB implementation, but I find there is a similar amount of improvement between the PUC2 and the AP2.

On an arbitrary scale, using the Gen 3 USB as a baseline:

Gen 3 USB 100
AP2 115
PUC 140
PUC + LPS 140
AP2 + LPS 125

So my conclusion:

- The Yggdrasil's AES and BNC inputs are better than the stock USB implementation with a good converter,
- Both the AP2 and PUC2 are good converters,
- The AP2 does improve with a linear power supply, whereas the PUC2 does not improve with linear power in my opinion,
- Given the price disparity, the PUC2 would be my recommended buy if one does not already own the AP2. If one does, then consider an inexpensive linear power supply to provide the USB power to the AP2.

A caveat:

The above applies to the PC -> converter -> Yggdrasil -> Rag -> Balanced stock HD800

Yesterday I acquired a second hand but barely broken in pair of HE-1000s for a good price. To my surprise, listening to it with my PUC2 wasn't as enjoyable as the HD800 combo as the AP2:

- The AP2 + LPS had greater clarity that compensated for the HE-1000's inherent tendency to slightly over-smooth the edges of the music, while the PUC2 made the music slightly too smooth, like a photo that has been smoothed over - a bit lack in texture?
- The PUC2 did have the final say on bass impact though =)

So indeed while converters are intended to be transparent and not get in the way of the music, it would appear to me that they still alter the music enough to influence how different headphones sound...YMMV =)