Latest Thread Images

Thoughts on a bunch of DACs (and why delta-sigma kinda sucks, just to get you to think about stuff)
Sep 17, 2014 at 8:31 PM Post #1,486 of 6,500
wildcatsare1 said:
Down the food chain a bit, but the Wyrd is a great addition to the Bifrost and Modi, improving the noise floor, allowing the music to rise out of a deep black background.
Click to expand...


Yeah was reading some impressions from purrin that the Wyrd cleared up alot for usb-dac. The x-sabre don't use the power from the usb, but I fixed alot of problems just going to a usb hub with powersupply than directly from  my laptop, so I'll try the wyrd and see if it clears up some more.
 
Sep 17, 2014 at 8:48 PM Post #1,487 of 6,500
bleak said:
How does it sound with your GS-X2? Still happy or thinking of a upgrade?

Btw, I have the wyrd on it's way. Can report if I gain anything from adding it in front of the x-sabre.
Click to expand...

The X-Sabre still does well. I'm getting a Yggdrasil just because, though.
 
Sep 17, 2014 at 8:53 PM Post #1,488 of 6,500
maxvla said:
The X-Sabre still does well. I'm getting a Yggdrasil just because, though.
Click to expand...


Hehe, I am thinking that it will be on the top of this list in a couple of months
wink.gif

 
Sep 17, 2014 at 9:22 PM Post #1,489 of 6,500
wildcatsare1 said:
 
bleak said:
How does it sound with your GS-X2? Still happy or thinking of a upgrade?

Btw, I have the wyrd on it's way. Can report if I gain anything from adding it in front of the x-sabre.
Click to expand...


Down the food chain a bit, but the Wyrd is a great addition to the Bifrost and Modi, improving the noise floor, allowing the music to rise out of a deep black background.
Click to expand...


from this I get that the noise is audible (enough for me to get rid of the lot and label it as "bad stuff"). and more troubling, that acting on the digital part helps reducing it, making the dac the number one suspect for noise. scary story.
 
Sep 17, 2014 at 9:28 PM Post #1,490 of 6,500
Oh, castleofartlough, there you go again.......how long have you been lurking out there, your getting a wee bit slow in jumping in too save us from our gross misconceptions Lad.....
 
Sep 17, 2014 at 9:30 PM Post #1,491 of 6,500
castleofargh said:
 
from this I get that the noise is audible (enough for me to get rid of the lot and label it as "bad stuff"). and more troubling, that acting on the digital part helps reducing it, making the dac the number one suspect for noise. scary story.
Click to expand...

Lol. What's scary is your overreaction and way of processing the statement made by Wildcatsare1. You are essentially saying that every device that benefits from the Wyrd is "bad stuff". Please read up on the Wyrd and what its purpose is before coming to such a conclusion. 
 
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:15 PM Post #1,492 of 6,500
Guys, for obvious reasons, we don't allow political discussion on Head-Fi, so some posts are going to be removed.
 
Sep 18, 2014 at 11:27 PM Post #1,493 of 6,500
joelt said:
 
purrin said:
   
Now that you are assured, let me cause some doubt :) The Gungnir can be aggressive sounding with maybe too much bite and harshness when used with certain bright headphones like the HD800. I don't use HD800 that often, and when I use the HD800, I use the Anax mods, so it's not an issue for me. I rather like to hear the bite, crunch, and harshness of certain instruments, so long as there are not artifacts added to it. The Gungnir is definitely a rock arena type of DAC. Doesn't mean it can't be used for classical either; it's not the most detailed DAC out there, but it's in my top five in terms of vocal rendition.
Click to expand...

Forgive me if this has been stated already (probably has) - When using USB, adding Wyrd (with Gungnir) does help a bit with perceived detail IMO. I'm able to make out fine details in certain recordings with far greater ease with Wyrd. I didn't realize there was some amount of USB induced micro-detail smearing going on until I added Wyrd in to the chain. Everything sounds a bit more resolved. If one is going to be using USB, I'd highly recommend buying Gungnir/Wyrd together. Obviously it isn't actually making Gungnir more detailed per say, but rather cleaning up & reclocking the source. 
Click to expand...


What if the G has the USB2 mod done to it? Wondering if there would be any real noticeable improvement there?
 
REALLY wanting to see the Yggdrasil get released finally and start getting some reviews on that one.  
 
Sep 19, 2014 at 3:30 AM Post #1,495 of 6,500
purrin said:
 
 
DACs are a personal thing. The setup I use (Schiit Wyrd --> Empirical Audio Off Ramp 5 (with only i2s regulator upgrade) --i2s--> Audio-GD Master 7) is rather convoluted, but it gets results; otherwise I would have gone for a $10K DAC. But I'm cheap if it does the job.
 
Since this a DAC thread, I cannot guarantee the above results if a DAC used does not have smooth treble characteristics or is not sufficiently resolving. DAC is crucial at this stage in the game.
Click to expand...

 
10K ? You're getting warm  :wink:
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/599-berkeley-audio-design-alpha-dac-reference-series-review/
 
According to Mr Connaker, every other DAC is basically irrelevant - we might as well be kids driving go-carts around the inside of a NASCAR track while he laps us repeatedly at 200mph. Here's 10 hours of Chris' favourite video :
 
 
 
Sep 19, 2014 at 11:40 AM Post #1,497 of 6,500
Is it me or is the Gungnir USB2 still perhaps the "best buy" of the bunch in terms of value/dollar?
 
Sep 19, 2014 at 11:43 AM Post #1,498 of 6,500
ciphercomplete said:
  LOL Yeah, lately his reviews have become almost exclusively laudatory.  We have all seen it happen time and time again with review websites - they start off well enough and then turn into a Stereophile clone.
Click to expand...

 
I think you had it right the first time.  Actually, I find myself fast forwarding through the reviews of both magazines and going straight to the centerfold. 
wink.gif

 
Sep 19, 2014 at 12:02 PM Post #1,499 of 6,500
I got lost with the "The original Alpha DAC is considered by many to be the best $5,000 DAC money can buy", even back then the original Alpha was good, but not all that great, especially without a great USB-SPDIF converter.
 
I got even more lost with the "'Berkeley' previously made a $5,000 DAC sound as good as or better than many DACs costing several times more money." Umm, No.
 
At that point, I stopped reading. The review looked like it had too many words anyways. Don't get me wrong, I like the Berkeley Alpha 2.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 5 (members: 0, guests: 5)
Back
Top