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Schiit Bifrost vs Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC and Meier Corda Stagedac - Page 2

post #16 of 65
11/18/11 at 9:05am

As someone who is considering a Lyr-Bifrost combo, I look forward to your Lyr impressions. Keep up the great work. smily_headphones1.gif

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post #17 of 65
11/18/11 at 12:58pm

Probably the most honest and balanced review of the Bifrost that I have read. From the review I think I'm more a MM person, the thing holding me back is that it's twice the cost of the Bifrost.

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post #18 of 65
11/18/11 at 6:05pm

Cheers, AiDee, and thanks for a readable, thorough and informative review. It doesn't hurt that my observations agree pretty much entirely with yours.

 

If I had to use one adjective to describe the Bifrost, it would be "Swiss." As in unflappably precise, relentlessly neutral and civil but hardly warm. In other words, if you value beauty over detail, look elsewhere.

 

This DAC really untangles mixes, making it easy to follow what's happening. Kind of the opposite of the "wall of sound" approach. Details like soft cymbal hits or musician comments almost float out of the mix. It does plumb the depths, but there's no extra bass - call it "bloom" or "bloat," it's not there: which may be bad for bassheads. Neither is there any added midbass warmth.

 

Try different cables if at all possible. Right now I'm using Nordost Baldur interconnects. It's all about the system. I find the Bifrost/Baldur/Lyr/LCD-2 combo very serendipitous, possibly beacuse Schiit didn't design the Lyr to be overly detailed or dry. Which tubes don't do anyway.

 

Looking forward to what Schiit does next.

 

 

 

  

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post #19 of 65
11/18/11 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 

Just catching up - thank you all from Pudu on for the kind comments.

 

45longcolt, thanks for the added observations and additional perspective they provide. The "Swiss" analogy strikes me as exactly right!

 

I'm catching up with some work I shifted to finish the first part of the review. I've spent way too long catching up with other threads this morning - oops wink.gif

 

I hope to restart and get to the other parts of the review shortly.

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post #20 of 65
11/19/11 at 8:41am

 

Hey Andre,

 

A very nicely written, well considered, well thought out review.

You have raised the bar!

 

Now all I have to do is find a comparitive review of the Schiit with an Arcam rDAC (I can get the Arcam from a local shop).

 

I have always wondered if "blackness" has to do with how well the power supply, etc reject noise.

 

C.

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post #21 of 65
11/19/11 at 10:20am

Chris J-

 

Blackness, as you call it, can be compromised either by the unit itself or the power it's being fed. That's why I use a power conditioner, which lets more of the music come through. As the cliche goes, it's like cleaning your windows.

 

AiDee -

 

Await your further views with interest. The Bifrost is good enough that pretty much any system change will be audible. Deciding whether the result is an improvement or not can be the challenge. I kinda miss some of the warmth my old DAC (PS Audio DL III) imparted, but overall I find the Bifrost's attributes irresistable.

 

 

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post #22 of 65
11/20/11 at 3:50pm

Looking forward to the StageDAC comparision.

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post #23 of 65
11/20/11 at 11:23pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks Chris wink.gif and thanks again 45longcolt.

 

NumLock - a little checking with the Stax to finish off for part 1, then I'm on to the Lyr this week.

 

StageDAC will be late next week at the earliest I'm sorry!

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post #24 of 65
11/22/11 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 

Added a short update re highs. Lyr section due in a week or so.

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post #25 of 65
12/3/11 at 6:32pm

great write up. im subscribing for that stagedac/bifrost comparison regular_smile%20.gif

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post #26 of 65
12/3/11 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 

Cheers daly. I'm pretty close to posting. Had hoped to do so yesterday but real life ya know... wink_face.gif

 

If not in 10 hours then in 48.

 

Edit: BTW, a slight change to the scheduled programming. The Bifrost/Stagedac comparison is now all three and all through the Lyr. As this is fairly major, I will probably give it the space reserved in the 2nd post.

 

There is a Bifrost-Lyr-T1 versus Stagedac-Concerto-T1 comparison requested by another head-fier also to come, in another week or so.


Edited by AiDee - 12/3/11 at 7:41pm
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post #27 of 65
12/4/11 at 4:07am

Thanks a lot for keeping us informed!

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post #28 of 65
12/6/11 at 12:32am

Good work, AiDee. Subscribed in eager anticipation of the StageDAC comparison.

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post #29 of 65
12/7/11 at 2:03am
Thread Starter 

Thanks RazorJack and cooperpwc!

 

I have just posted (one day late!) part 2 of the review. It is slightly different than originally intended. My first thought was to also compare the Concerto/Stagedac pairing with the Bifrost/Lyr pairing. One might reasonably have expected synergies here. In the event, both amps have remained very much in the background.

 

Perhaps that's ok - this really is all meant to be about the DACs!

 

All the same, the Bifrost-Lyr-T1 and Stagedac-Concerto-T1 comparison still to come might bring the amps more to the fore. We shall see. Seven to 10 days perhaps?

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post #30 of 65
12/7/11 at 4:07am

Excellent part 2, had a great time reading it. I like your writing style btw; clear statements and well structured, unlike certain reviewers around here who go around in endless circles using vague audiophile terms that don't really say anything...

 

Pretty impressive that the Bifrost manages to hold its own against the two (significantly) more expensive dacs. I really respect Schiit for making US-built high quality stuff and sell them for such relatively low prices. If I didn't already have mostly completed head-fi rigs or a nagging feeling of upgradetitis for a dac/amp, I would definitely get me a piece of Schiit.

 

No need to rush for the Schiit vs. Meier with the T1 comparison though! Although I got a T1 incoming very soon :-)

This time will you fully utilize the Stagedac's potential (crossfeed and tonal balance) ?

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