Full of Schiit

ALL212

I've been through a few DAC's over the years and have had some decent ones. I've also owned a few that didn't stay in the system very long. I recently picked up some new speakers that opened up my listening experience. As I rotated my DAC's through the main rig I found some differences but suspected there was something missing.

I've recently sold my LITE DAC 60 and the Stello DA 220 - both were very good DACs. In their stead I purchased the Oppo Sonica. A very flexible and also good sounding DAC but I kept reading about Schiit and the Multibit approach with the non-standard (to audio) D/A converters they were using.

Bring on the Schiit. I like their irreverence towards this hobby, kind of a no BS approach to what to expect with their products and also not afraid to post about their failures and successes as they bring a product to life.

I played with the idea of a Gungnir Multibit but have sold a few things so decided to dive headfirst into the Yggdrasil (yes, I'm sure you actually have to spit between the g's to pronounce that correctly). As I ordered I noticed that they were available so expected the Yggy to arrive shortly. A couple days later I noticed that there was a shipping delay and emailed in to see what the status on my order was. I got a very prompt and honest response that there would be a delay in shipping mine. I kept in touch with Laura from Schiit and got updates as I requested them. Finally...finally my box of Schiit arrived double boxed with plenty of space age foam surrounding it so no issues with packing or shipping at all.

I'm feeding the Yggy from an Oppo UDP-203 with hard drives attached to it. The Yggy is "only" a DAC - no fancy stuff - so the Oppo is the media source for me. Schiit recommends some break in time before full evaluation. I've had mine running since Saturday night - 8pm ish so we're coming up on 48 hours of Schiit experience.

So...
DAMN!! Go buy yourself some Schiit.

Everything is "tighter" and I'm not going to get more precise than that. All instruments live in their own space, nothing over rides anything else. Soundstage is dead on as the speakers have disappeared. This DAC is hands down the best DAC I've ever owned.

At 16" x 12" x 4" and 25 lbs it's not a small pile of Schiit.



Stock picture of the Schiit butt.

agfrost

Awesome, Aaron! I must say that thoughts of the Yggy have tantalized... Nice to get an endorsement from someone who has ears I trust.

Unknown

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ZLTFUL

Pronounced "eegdrahsill"...sorry, bit of a Norse mythology buff.

Been pondering some of their Schiit myself.

Unknown

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mrbiron

Wasn't built from scratch...not impressed
When do we expect to see the "upgrade thread"?

DollarDave

I have a bifrost multibit and a modi 2. I highly recommend both. The modi 2 works great with a chromecast Audio that I use in my workshop Luxman system. The bifrost is mated with a Luxman pre and a marantz amp leading to a set of Hales Transcendence 5's with very good results.

CoolJazz

If you're only 48 hours in, then you've got a whole bunch of better yet coming up. Wait until you reach full bloom! It's fun hearing it as it all comes together.

The Yggy has a warm up/ break thing like no other.

CJ

ALL212

mrbiron wrote: »

Wasn't built from scratch...not impressed
When do we expect to see the "upgrade thread"?

Since we're dealing with Schiit do we refer to this as a "scratch" and sniff project?

I'm not opposed to cracking the case but only after my work salary doubles so you may have to wait a bit before that will happen. There were a couple of capacitors in the stock picture on the Schiit site that looked like they might be improved on...

ALL212

CoolJazz wrote: »

If you're only 48 hours in, then you've got a whole bunch of better yet coming up. Wait until you reach full bloom! It's fun hearing it as it all comes together.

The Yggy has a warm up/ break thing like no other.

CJ

I've got Odyssey Audio gear so I'm very used to break in periods. Klaus' stuff doesn't even begin to open up until well after 200 hours.

I've left it on and running with music running through it since Sunday night so it'll be getting there shortly.

heiney9

Nice grab Aaron! Always been intrigued by Shiit. Maybe in the Fall when things slow down a bit we can have a small get together and hear your current rig, it's been awhile. I haven't really listened to my rig all Summer because I just don't have the uninterrupted time I need. Always something or some project going on.

Congrats, awesome piece of gear. I was always impressed with the Stello you had, so this must be some good Shiit.

H9

vcwatkins

Grats! Lotta love for this dac. Would love to try.

afterburnt

I am going to their show room on Friday so actually get some Schitt on my hands.

SCompRacer

Way to go Aaron!

I like their design. Love that balanced out. First dibs for when you upgrade to that EMM Labs DAC2X....

ALL212

afterburnt wrote: »

I am going to their show room on Friday so actually get some Schitt on my hands.

Let them know - another happy customer!!

ALL212

SCompRacer wrote: »

Way to go Aaron!

I like their design. Love that balanced out. First dibs for when you upgrade to that EMM Labs DAC2X....

DAMN...would you look at that - Schiit just jacked the resale price on the Yggy to $20,000. I'll let you steal it from me for $15k.

ALL212

heiney9 wrote: »

Maybe in the Fall when things slow down a bit we can have a small get together and hear your current rig, it's been awhile.
H9

Probably should pull the group together again. Let's see what the fall brings. I think we can keep this group looped in also just in case we feel the need for foreigners.

FTGV

SCompRacer wrote: »

Way to go Aaron!

I like their design. Love that balanced out.

And they paid some attention to the power supply. Shunt regs for the analog section.Nice.

GlennDog

Nice purchase!

I'm headed in the DAC direction, too . . . soo . . . . I was wondering if you or anyone else here has had any experience with PS Audio PerfectWave or DirectWave DAC

The used market puts these 2 in the same $$ vicinity . . . . thoughts?

TIA

G

SCompRacer

ALL212 wrote: »

DAMN...would you look at that - Schiit just jacked the resale price on the Yggy to $20,000. I'll let you steal it from me for $15k.

It's been said a good deal is a state of mind...

SCompRacer

FTGV wrote: »

And they paid some attention to the power supply. Shunt regs for the analog section.Nice.

Reminds me of some things we have done with our DAC's...

Modular design too. Future upgrades possible.

I'm on the fence waiting for Twisted Pears newest offering. Of particular interest is a new output board he has been sitting on.

FTGV

SCompRacer wrote: »

I'm on the fence waiting for Twisted Pears newest offering. Of particular interest is a new output board he has been sitting on.

I haven't been following the latest developments for some time. My interest has shifted more to finding that special 6mm projectile and powder combo.

SCompRacer

FTGV wrote: »

I haven't been following the latest developments for some time. My interest has shifted more to finding that special 6mm projectile and powder combo.

I hear you! My stuff sounds really good, but Aaron is stirring the upgrade pot again...lol

Absolute_Zero

I've not had the pleasure but from what I've seen from a few different publications and sites, based on what is measured, I don't think I could consider them. They seem like a product that does improve with a USB bus isolator and separate power.

SCompRacer

FTGV wrote: »

I haven't been following the latest developments for some time.

FWIW, a Bufflao IV with 9028 DAC chip. It is essentially a 9018 with an improved core and digital stage. The analog stage is basically the same. The main thing I am interested is the output stage he has been tinkering with. He has said it won't be a kit but fully assembled. Better than the discrete output of the Legato, he says. I won't go dual mono this time due to the mapping issues with DSD.

Per Russ..."ES9038 absolutely needs a special output stage - it's output current and current consumption is huge - it needs very special care to be sure. This is because the analog output is directly referenced to the AVCC input - there is no PSRR. So with the huge currents involved you need very special care indeed."

SCompRacer

Very interesting!

FTGV

Thanks Rich. I will have to get my read on.

SCompRacer

He called the prototype output board "Counterpoint III," a folded cascode output with a common mode servo. This was talked about in 2012 in the thread linked below at diyaudio. IMO and others, the Legato balanced output is a tad better than the IVY III balanced out. The advantage to the IVY III, no common mode DC.

This discrete balanced out of the Legato is what nudged me into a balanced out pre amp, as I already had a true balanced input amp. Oh what we do sometimes for small gains in SQ..... It started with the Krell KSA I rebuilt, then the Krell KRC HR with R2R ladder volume and ended with the ARC Ref 3.


http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/twisted-pear/224305-legato-3-common-mode-dc-choose-deal-2.html

ALL212

More Schiit...
"Fully discrete JFET buffers for balanced output and discrete JFET summing stages for single-ended output, direct coupled throughout"

So... what the heck does that mean? Guess I don't care as more importantly how the heck does it sound?

My pre does not support balanced inputs. However, Cardas makes a rather nice balanced to rca adapter all pinned up and ready.



I'm in the middle of the evaluation. Initial impression is that there is some mid bloom with the balanced out to adapter to RCA. But I've got a lot more listening to do.

I also just upgraded the digital cable to a Wireworld Silver Starlight 7.

Sweet things are a'playin'!

SCompRacer

Oh c'mon, you know what it means to be discreet.

Those connectors don't look balanced at all. One ends obviously heavier than the other.

ALL212

Discreet - when you told your wife you bought a few cables but don't mention the speakers that came with them...?

I stuck one of those in each ear and my head stayed in one place - balanced!!