Schiit DAC/Source thread, Bifrost / Gungnir / Yggdrasil / Urd

Also, speaking to DACs in this range specifically, I remember chatting a little bit with NickMimi since we share a DAC, and when Nick tried to upgrade from the Exogal to an Amber 3, he ended up preferring the Exogal. So yeah, I have some concerns even for myself about making too small of a jump regarding DACs in this price bracket specifically, lol.

And literally last night, I was listening to my RNHP/BF2 upstairs before going to bed and like, that combo still sounds pretty great, so you know, keeping things in perspective and all that.

6 Likes

my experience too

going bf2 to qutest, i much prefered the bf2, but the qutest was technically ā€œbetterā€

4 Likes

actually @bmn1251 you upgraded from the yggy to a mojo evo b4b right? Would you say they are in similar vein?

Edit: or wait, you had the la voce as well, don’t remember when you had a yggy

3 Likes

so i went yggy to la voce3 to mojo

but yea the mojo is for sure like an yggy. the la voce not quite. but did serve me well

6 Likes

Out of the V550 x Ferrum stack x Burson Soloist GT" (basing it on the soloist 3xp that you heard) which one of them you think synergizes with the Yggy the best in the same way how bf2 rnhp and soekris vio work together? or Its all sound preference at this point?

1 Like

It is preference yes, although I do personally think I would like the ferrum or soloist combo a bit more than the v550 with the yggy, think it better focuses on what the yggy is good at. But really none of those are bad pairings and all of them would likely be quite solid, the yggy would be on my list with any of those amps depending on the sound I would want

2 Likes

@rgdelato don’t forget, eventually you develop a preference for your own sound signature. Upgrades are great, I love them, but eventually you should settle on what you enjoy at some point. I mix and match a whole bunch of stuff, personally I’ve hit the limits of my own abilities. My equipment may scale, my ears and wants don’t at the moment. Good luck buddy and remember to enjoy the music toošŸ‘

7 Likes

What an enjoyable little DAC the BF2 is. Just the perfect piece of kit especially given the price. I paid $530 for mine used, missing the remote but it’s for a desktop system. Great bit of balance, fun, technical enough and using it in RCA out as my amp is only SE, it’s great. It does clean up with a reclocker. Even though this one is the Unison USB, it still drags behind when fed from a PC.

11 Likes

I forgot i had a remote. Not missing much as i think its just phase, input, mute. I agree too its the perfect desktop/pc dac.

Phase is the only ā€œcriticalā€ one, since there is no other way to change it short of swapping RCA connectors (not that I ever did when I owned one).

1 Like

Thanks for the head’s up on the Phase. The led is not lit so I’m good there. Also for shits and giggles I checked the firmware and the last time Schiit released a new FW version was 9/26/19 so I’m going to assume I have that as the S/N on this just over a year ago.

I think phase also may reset every time it was shut off and turned back on. I can test tonight but once again i never had the need to use it.

Having listened with the BF2 as a source now for a few weeks I like it more and more. What I have noticed compared to the cheaper dacs I know is that micro details are are lot better. Individual notes have more definition and more life like decay. That’s the the best way I can conceptualise what is happening. I notice it with quiet, soft music and acoustic instruments like piano or strings. It’s very nice. Makes the sound the amp has to work with smooth but textured. Electric guitar music sounds really energetic too.

11 Likes

One big step up for me was not only that micro detail but also more accurate timbre. Some songs with the tape static effect used to sound like pop rocks fizzing in outer space. The BF2 made it very clear it was tape static and you can hear the reel and the clip where it looped.

5 Likes

Perhaps it’s just that I’m listening to mine more critically because I’m impressed by what it’s doing and thus I’m just more engaged or more aware. I think it does lack in stage width when compared to the Yggy but at the same time it does something I never noticed on the Yggy; that being it allows me to better see the dimensions of the room and relative location of instruments/voices. Honestly the amp might have a lot to do with it since I didn’t have the Aural Audition back in the day when I was using the Yggy on my desktop, but as it stands today, I like this chain much more than the Yggy, Burson Conductor I had previously.

6 Likes

Curious and neat to know. There’s a Yggy inbound for the Oor but I will be sure to try it out with the v550 too.

I’ve been using the BF2 with the v550 because well why not, and it is not bad. From memory it is a better match than with the v281, but that could be a result of the v550s elevated technicalities over the 281 coming through. I prefer the BF2 more with the Oor but its not by a super wide margin. I am looking forward to hearing the differences between BF2 and Yggy and also how they Yggy and each of the amps get on.

8 Likes

@Delta9K and @DDT, how has the yggy been so far?

6 Likes

It is definitely one of the DACs ever made.

10 Likes

I was thinking of looking for another used bf2 so i dont have to move mine all around, which i actually stopped doing since it was such a PIA. But now youre all making me want a Yggy.

3 Likes

Word, I’m so jelly. The Yggy seems so awesome but I don’t have a balanced amp to use it with. smh. In terms of all dacs tho, the Yggy just seems the most intersting/appealing to me too.

1 Like