I had the Yiggy/Rag combo and sold the Rag for a moon 430 amp which I think is dramatically better.....eventually I sold my Yiggy and replaced it with a Chord TT which I use DAC only with my Moon 430...I like the flexibility of the TT but most importantly I think it sounds better than the Yiggy....perhaps I am one who likes the Chord sound because I also loved the Hugo...to my ears the Yiggy is a bit bright and fatiguing while the TT provides the same detail but lets me listen for longer periods of time without fatigue....the TT also gives me a sense of space that just seems right to me.....I am certainly not saying I am the final word...only that as one who started with the Yiggy and moved to the TT these are my thoughts and impressions

jlbrach said:

I had the Yiggy/Rag combo and sold the Rag for a moon 430 amp which I think is dramatically better.....eventually I sold my Yiggy and replaced it with a Chord TT which I use DAC only with my Moon 430...I like the flexibility of the TT but most importantly I think it sounds better than the Yiggy....perhaps I am one who likes the Chord sound because I also loved the Hugo...to my ears the Yiggy is a bit bright and fatiguing while the TT provides the same detail but lets me listen for longer periods of time without fatigue....the TT also gives me a sense of space that just seems right to me.....I am certainly not saying I am the final word...only that as one who started with the Yiggy and moved to the TT these are my thoughts and impressions

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I have never found the Yggy to be bright in my system but the Chord 2qute I have seems to be a little bright at times .
I suspect the amp and speakers , streamer? are causing the differences in our setups

On other words, get better amps and 'phones......    

A minor update, before I get back to this process formally.
 
First, over the last couple of months I bought a couple of the DACs I had auditioned to explore in a longer-term manner.  I did this partly because I still needed (and, indeed, need) a DAC for the originally posted purposes but needed a break from auditioning.
 
The DACs in question were the Auralic Vega and the PS Audio Direct Stream Junior.  I purchased both used at a price point where I would not lose anything if I chose not to keep them (something I deemed likely with the Vega and less likely for the Direct Stream).  As it happens I chose not to keep either unit and have sold them on locally.
 
The Vega was never on the shortlist, but was an enjoyable enough listen - and something I just felt was priced higher than necessary to get a similar level of performance elsewhere.  At the price I paid (substantially less than one would expect based on the asking prices for used units in the trade forums here) it was more than a good deal, but just wasn't getting the listening time to justify keeping it vs. either the PS Audio or my existing reference.
 
In the case of the Direct Stream Junior, that was harder to let go, but at the end of the day answered a couple of questions, the most notable of which being whether I would prefer it, long term, to Yggdrasil - and it turns out that I don't.  It's different, rather than "worse", and if you need DSD support is obviously an option where the Schiit DAC isn't.
 
So, at this point, I don't need further time with the Direct Stream Junior, and thus I am removing it from my shortlist.
 
Note that the "full" version of this DAC, the Direct Stream DAC remains on the shortlist; i's only the Junior I've decided not to persevere with.
 
Finally, I am removing Chord's DAVE from my shortlist.  This is not based on any sonic attribute or shortfall, I've simply decided that I won't be buying one for myself (for several reasons, which, again, have nothing to do with how it sounds) and consequently there is no reason for me to burden a dealer with providing a demo unit for a more protracted period.  This does not change my impressions of the unit at all, and the existing write-up will remain as-is.

Originally Posted by Torq /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Note that the "full" version of this DAC, the Direct Stream DAC remains on the shortlist; i's only the Junior I've decided not to persevere with.
 

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A while back I posted brief impressions of the Direct Stream DAC as potential upgrade to my Yggy, and the Yggy came out on top on SQ - irrespective of price. The DSD did look more high end though. I said at the time that the comparison may have been unfair to the DSD, as the demo unit had "only" 1 day (or just under) to warm up. And since then they've done another firmware upgrade, this time to the output section, so it's improving all the time.
 
However, based on what I heard under those particular conditions, if you have the DSD on your shortlist for an improvement over the Yggy, then I think you also need a Plan B )   
 
For those that remember, I did eventually choose the DAVE.

theattorney said:

  A while back I posted brief impressions of the Direct Stream DAC as potential upgrade to my Yggy, and the Yggy came out on top on SQ - irrespective of price. The DSD did look more high end though. I said at the time that the comparison may have been unfair to the DSD, as the demo unit had "only" 1 day (or just under) to warm up. And since then they've done another firmware upgrade, this time to the output section, so it's improving all the time.
 
However, based on what I heard under those particular conditions, if you have the DSD on your shortlist for an improvement over the Yggy, then I think you also need a Plan B )   
 
For those that remember, I did eventually choose the DAVE.

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Well, it's not like I've not heard the Direct Stream DAC - so I know where it sits vis-a-vis the stuff I've properly auditioned so far.  And, as said in my write-up of said unit, as much of my interest there is based on the potential that comes with using an FPGA converter implementation and actually having the manufacturer take proper advantage of the "Field Programmable" part of it as it is anything to do with how it sounds.
 
Lots of stuff left to listen to, possibly including one or two new entrants since I built the original list.
 
So plan "B" is really plan "A" ... i.e. simply to continue the process.  And the default position from plan "A" remains in effect - if I don't find anything that convincingly beats my reference criteria I'll just get another Yggdrasil and possibly an additional "different-but-not-necessarily-better" DAC for variety.  Remember that those criteria are NOT limited purely to it's sonic performance.
 
Regardless, DAVE is out of contention for my purchase this time around and as previously said that's based on things unrelated to how it sounds.

Have you heard the Burl B2 Bomber Dac?

It has a aoip Ethernet card built in.

kazsud said:

Have you heard the Burl B2 Bomber Dac?

It has a aoip Ethernet card built in.

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No, can't say I have.
 
Can't say I want to, either.
 
One of the local, Seattle, Head-Fi crowd is considering buying one and I might hear it if they bring it to a meet or something, but it's not something I would bother with otherwise.
 
First, it's seriously ugly and not something I would even remotely want to have on display in my music room.  To be honest, I'm not sure I'd want to look at it in my studio either.  Second, it's an AKM4399 implementation ... and I've yet to hear even one of those that wasn't handily bested by Schiit's Modi Multi-bit (and at 1/10th the price in this case).
 
And then I already have my Dante/AOIP solution sorted (with the proviso that I'll likely ditch the RedNet 3 in the next day or so and switch to the D16 AES), and while the RedNet units are VERY Red, and very visible, they're also something you can hide easily - not so much the case with a DAC.

Save yourself a heap of trouble and just get a second YGGY..........   zimple......   

wink said:

  Save yourself a heap of trouble and just get a second YGGY..........   zimple......   

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I view this whole exercise as a public service by Torq.  In that vein, I encourage him to continue and not just take the easy path.
 
That being said, if at anytime this public service becomes too onerous I would also encourage him to take a step away and find something more fun to do.
 
@Torq, I think you'll get many karma points for continuing, despite the vicissitudes

artur9 said:

I view this whole exercise as a public service by Torq.  In that vein, I encourage him to continue and not just take the easy path.

That being said, if at anytime this public service becomes too onerous I would also encourage him to take a step away and find something more fun to do.

@Torq, I think you'll get many karma points for continuing, despite the vicissitudes

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+1. For me, this thread has already given great value. Insightful comparisons to other gear I would not personally have the time or opportunity to hear. Even if Torq never writes another word this is the best 'Yggy versus the rest' thread on head-fi. In a way, whatever Torq finally chooses for his personal needs is beside the point. The insights have arisen from the journey rather than the goal that motivated it.

artur9 said:

 
I view this whole exercise as a public service by Torq.  In that vein, I encourage him to continue and not just take the easy path.
 
That being said, if at anytime this public service becomes too onerous I would also encourage him to take a step away and find something more fun to do.
 
@Torq, I think you'll get many karma points for continuing, despite the vicissitudes

Click to expand...

 

argo duck said:

+1. For me, this thread has already given great value. Insightful comparisons to other gear I would not personally have the time or opportunity to hear. Even if Torq never writes another word this is the best 'Yggy versus the rest' thread on head-fi. In a way, whatever Torq finally chooses for his personal needs is beside the point. The insights have arisen from the journey rather than the goal that motivated it.

Click to expand...

 
Completely agree with both of you. I appreciate the effort that @Torq has put into this and it has been helpful to me. Keep up the great work.

Yea I was going to ask if you about rednet next.

Went to Torq's house on Friday to hear a new DAC arrival vs. the Ygg. This is the HoloAudio KitsuneTuned Edition Spring Dac that I heard at RMAF in Colorado that knocked my socks off paired to the GSX/HEK and Blue Hawaii/009. Needed to see if it did the same in a better home environment. BTW, both the Spring and the Ygg are priced the same so this is actually a fair fight.
 
https://kitsunehifi.com/product/springdacgreen/
 
Short answer is yes it did - I personally liked the Spring DAC better than the Ygg. Both are top notch, but I felt that the Spring had better resolution and a better sound stage. The Ygg sounds a bit smoothed in the treble in comparison and Ygg sound stage places you at the back of the first section with the Spring placing you on stage. I really like the up close and personal sound stage. Don't get me wrong and think this means it is congested - far from that as the Spring feels wider and deeper than the Ygg, it just means that I get more 3d instrument placement with instruments around me rather than out in front. This way I can hear the finger work and string pluck better, and have a more emotional connection to the music. Talking sound stage in terms of the traditional three blobs - Ygg places the singer forward in the center and the bass/strings back a ways in a v. This is what I would expect to hear sitting in the back of the first section. The Spring sound stage placed the bass/strings to my sides with the singer in front of me as if I was on center stage saturating me in sound. To be clear, the Ygg focuses me on the singer with the music in the background and the Spring places me in the center of the music with the focus depending on the music. Not sure how much the AMP pairing changes the DAC sound stage so what I am truly describing is the sound stage of the DAC/AMP pairing.
 
The tradeoff is that the Spring is transparent to sibilance while the Ygg will smooth it over. Not an issue with well recorded music, but long term high pitch droning will buzz the ear drums. There is also variance by HP where surprisingly, the LCD4 picked up more sibilance than the Abyss or my HEX. I say surprisingly because the LCD4 is my favorite HP that caused the most foot tapping and longer listening before hitting the forward button.
 
Playing with the oversampling, I found that the quickness that provided more resolution was smeared to sound more like the Ygg and any sibilance went away, but my preferred sound stage remained as did the better pluck and dynamics that I was hearing on the Spring. But the black space between the noted diminished. Looking at design, the Spring has a warmer in standby mode that allows the circuits to be turned off and SQ to remain high on a cold start where the Ygg needs to remain on. I also appreciated the Spring's more compact footprint as well as the display that removes some of the guesswork.
 
The listening was done with Torq's Abyss which turned out to be the most transparent test option making the Spring difference obvious. I also listened to Torq's LCD4 and my own HEX which I have been spending the most ear time. The LCD4 and HEX both sounded better with Spring as well, but it felt like the Abyss scaled better. We were using Torq's Woo WA5-LE Mk2 tube amp with Princess tubes. The Spring output was hotter so I purposely played the Ygg louder much of the time to make sure that there was no volume issues in my results. At all volumes, the results remained the same, but I felt that the extra dynamics in the Spring allowed the volume to be played the lowest without losing fidelity. Music was fed by Tidal through Roon listening to Torq's test playlist which contained both vary familiar tracks as well as great tracks for testing the various capabilities. The music list fit all genres.
 
I am very interested to get Torq's final feedback as he tries the various connection options that may or may not change the SQ differential. As for now, if I was going to buy one or the other, I would go with the Spring.

VERY intriguing!