Dedicated Schiit Yggdrasil thread

For some reason I never noticed.

 

Murphy's Law: worked like a charm. You're welcome everyone.

 

The Gungnir is damn good.

 

Wow! I don't know how many times I've read the name as Bitfrost.

 

It is. It's my likely fallback choice if other DACs don't have what I'm looking for or don't manage to sound better to me.

 

Yes the price is peanuts for some but not me. Though for some reason I don't doubt the high praise being said about it and am very intrigued by this R2R design of old. An updated Theta DAC that seems a bargain even at $2,400. On the other hand I do view DACs as almost disposable devices given how they seem bettered on an annual basis for less cash. I'll probably wait 'til there is a consensus and even the later possibility of trickle down to the (just dreaming!) $1,400 Yggy-Lite

 

It seems the Schiit guys are into future-proofing, so in that sense it's cool they don't have an annual turn around of products. On the hand it means their prices will stay the same. But if it's as good as I'm reading it's probably a steal well worth saving/waiting for.

 

I'm pretty new...actually a virgin to computer audio...maybe you can help me with a question, will these DACS negate whatever audio is already on the computer? I see some that are using BEATS audio-which I want nothing to do with if they mirror what their headphones do. I do like the 7.1 audio ability in case I ever watch movies on it, but I'm leery of how my audio will come out.

This is a naive question I know, but I've never used a computer set up before. My DACs have thus far been stand alone machines. I'm not sure how all these pieces, software intersect/cancel out, etc. Thanks.

EDIT: part of the reason why I'm interested in Schiit is because of their lack of "color" and "artificial" sound tweaking. I want to retain this ability of their DACs & amps as much as possible.

 

Yes, a USB DAC like the Schiit DACs will bypass the onboard Beats audio processing. In addition a USB DAC can also bypass the processing that the OS might do to the audio (Windows will in some cases resample the audio or mix in sounds from other sources if you let it) by using WASAPI or ASIO audio playback modes. WASAPI and ASIO allow for bitperfect audio playback.

For listening to 7.1 or 5.1 on headphones there are media player programs that are able to downmix surround sound audio down to 2.0 for headphone listening use. JRiver Media Center is one that can do that well. I use JRiver Media Center for movie watching and headphone listening. If the movie audio is in 5.1 or 7.1 it gets downmixed to stereo for headphone use, and can even add some headphone crossfeed if you want it to.

 

Thank goodness! I mean, I know that's what they're meant for, but was just double checking, especially since I wasn't aware of computers using companies like Beats to do audio. I'm not much of a headphone guy but I assume the DAC would do the same for the 7.1 set up if I was watching a movie via computer with audio through the DAC?

 

Anyone know the release date on this DAC?

 

It's getting closer to release.

 

I'm pretty interested to see how these turn out. It seems like it could be the one true successor to my current DAC, the Theta Gen Va

 

Released. $2299.

http://schiit.com/products/yggdrasil

 

Is the new Schiit DAC anticipated to represent terrific value or is the expectation that EMM Labs, Lampizator and the like will need to go back to the drawing board?

 

Did you order one?
I'm sitting on the sidelines for a bit till I get a chance to hear it.

 

The key of Yggy is there are no other dacs that work the way it does. It's a completely different approach then delta sigma dacs. People who have heard it say it beats $20K dacs.

 

I am definitely going to try to hear one soon. Not sure if I want to budget that much for a DAC at this time as I'm thinking pretty hard about buying a Line Magnetic amp and some baby DeVores.

 

The FAQs are funny, but their confidence is pretty high. SACD is dead? DSD never was? Hm. I did like the iPhone remark. I think a forum member asked that question. Ha.

Berkeley Audio Design's top DAC is also PCM only, so irrespective of design philosophy or price, it would be interesting to get some impressions.

 

SACD and DSD are a niche within a niche within a niche. For simplicity's sake, I'm okay with calling that dead. Focusing on PCM vs. checking all of the boxes is what I personally want out of a DAC today, for other opinions there's other options.

 

Well, I didn't realize that Schiit was serving something other than a niche within a niche. I have no problem with their focus on PCM, but their logic in the FAQ is silly. That said, I'd guess that those who buy their gear have become fans of the marketing attitude.

 

As I said, there are other products for those who disagree. Perhaps you should stick to threads dedicated to said products.

 

I applaud Schiit's effort to bring this type of DAC to market at the $2300 price point. Will the sound of the Yggy live up to the hype? We'll see. Will some "audiophiles" continue to scoff at Schiit's no-nonsense approach to digital and analog circuit design and aesthetics? Undoubtedly.

 

Very interested to see critical reviews of Yggy. I feel Schiit initially positioned themselves as a maker of headphone amps and DACs because this was a space where they knew they could make excellent, in-demand products at a low price point without compromising. But the risk of this is you get pigeon-holed as a "value" company, and I think some people will always want to view them as a budget headphone gear company with a silly name no matter how much better then the "real brands" they might end up being.

 

Something I'm actually more interested in then the Yggdrasil itself is if/when the new technologies will trickle down to upgrade boards for BiFrost and Gungir. Lots of companies have offered upgradable gear before, but it seems the upgrades were either too expensive to be relevant or never actually materialized. Schiit has already had two upgrades to the BiFrost (USB 2 and Uber analog) so it's not like they're asleep at the wheel here or anything, but an actual new DAC section would be the most impressive.