[Liu Junyuan]

I don't mind resolving, what I don't like is the presentation of the extra resolution.  There is something very digital about the GMB sound.  I have heard very resolving DACs at the California Audio Show two weeks ago, and they are not obtrusive.  The Bricasti M1, for instance -- too bad I can't afford it    The other is the Ayre QB-9 DSD.  

Stillhart, looking forward to your comparison with the AudioGd DAC-19. 

While I completely concur it best to allow the Gungnir to run for some time prior to drawing too many conclusions, I may know what you mean, coming from my Theta. Are you referring primarily to non-acoustic music? The Theta sounds amazing with most natural instruments, voices, and live recordings. It made me decide at last to part with my dear DS Gungnir. Some electronic music, especially ambient, excelled on the Theta over the DS Gungnir. Yet it also has this propensity to sound harsh and almost glassy with other electronic music I previously enjoyed on other DS DACs. I recall reading somewhere here Moffat admitting this to be the case, accompanied with a characteristically wry comment that his R2R DACs are meant for "real" music and not some "artificial" sound-waves concocted on a machine. I wonder if this is what is going on in the Gumby as well. Your comment on the digital nature of the sound is interesting.

Perhaps the 1704 chip in the AGD R2Rs have less of an issue here, given their different flavor from those of the Schiit DACs.

I would try to play some acoustic music and A/B between your TEAC to see which comes out better. For me the Theta is anything but harsh with such recordings and surpassed the DS Gungnir by a significant margin in terms of raw enjoyment. I would expect the Gumby to then surpass the 25 year-old Theta here.

Also, not sure if your connection via optical is the best for Schiit's gear. I have heard mixed reports, usually on the negative side, but have yet to try myself.

 

[Baldr]

A clarification --
 
NOS DACs are fine -- it is the analog reconstruction filter "brick-wall" proper to those designs which add significant time-domain anomalies to the output.
 
An Yggy or MB Gungnir really behaves as a NOS DAC in the sense that it preserves all original samples,but also interpolates to 8x the original sample rate, so that proper time-domain performance is passed to the output.  A quasi-hybrid, if you please.

 

[lukeap69]

A clarification --

NOS DACs are fine -- it is the analog reconstruction filter "brick-wall" proper to those designs which add significant time-domain anomalies to the output.

An Yggy or MB Gungnir really behaves as a NOS DAC in the sense that it preserves all original samples,but also interpolates to 8x the original sample rate, so that proper time-domain performance is passed to the output.  A quasi-hybrid, if you please.

Thanks for the clarification Mike.

 

[MattTCG]

  A clarification --
 
NOS DACs are fine -- it is the analog reconstruction filter "brick-wall" proper to those designs which add significant time-domain anomalies to the output.
 
An Yggy or MB Gungnir really behaves as a NOS DAC in the sense that it preserves all original samples,but also interpolates to 8x the original sample rate, so that proper time-domain performance is passed to the output.  A quasi-hybrid, if you please.

 
Thanks Mike, I appreciate the clarification. I was also wondering why the GMB doesn't get nearly as hot as the DS Gungnir. Not that it matters but I found it curious. 

 

[hodgjy]

Hey Matt,
 
How does the HD650 pair with the GMB? Is the added resolution and neutrality easily apparent? I love the HD650 except for some loss of detail and its slight problems with congestion.
 
Thanks.

 

[Dalgas]

   
Thanks Mike, I appreciate the clarification. I was also wondering why the GMB doesn't get nearly as hot as the DS Gungnir. Not that it matters but I found it curious.

I too wonder why that would be the case...

 

[jimmypowder]

Hey Matt,

How does the HD650 pair with the GMB? Is the added resolution and neutrality easily apparent? I love the HD650 except for some loss of detail and its slight problems with congestion.

Thanks.

Have you bought a replacement cable for the 650's ? I did and noticed significant improvement in resolution . The stock cable stinks .

 

[hodgjy]

Have you bought a replacement cable for the 650's ? I did and noticed significant improvement in resolution . The stock cable stinks .

I don't believe in cable replacement magic. I use replacement cables for strength and aesthetics, but I've never heard a difference between them.

 

[jimmypowder]

  I don't believe in cable replacement magic. I use replacement cables for strength and aesthetics, but I've never heard a difference between them.

Try it .There is no doubt after I did that it improved resolution with the 650's

 

[hodgjy]

  Try it .There is no doubt after I did that it improved resolution with the 650's

No fancy cable will overcome these little wires connected to the drivers. 

 
Besides, I want to know about the GMB, not aftermarket cables. I hate how every thread gets hijacked by cable talk.

 

[drc73rp]

 

[MattTCG]

  Hey Matt,
 
How does the HD650 pair with the GMB? Is the added resolution and neutrality easily apparent? I love the HD650 except for some loss of detail and its slight problems with congestion.
 
Thanks.

 
Well, I've only put about 72 hours on GMB so far. But I'd say that there is an appreciable upgrade from the DS gun. The GMB resolves incredibly well and the detail I'm hearing with the 650 is both impressive and enjoyable. 

  I too wonder why that would be the case...

 
Still wondering. 

Have you bought a replacement cable for the 650's ? I did and noticed significant improvement in resolution . The stock cable stinks .

 
I have a Norne Zoetik and like it a lot. But mostly for the flexibility and custom length. 

 

[BRCMRGN]

  No fancy cable will overcome these little wires connected to the drivers. 

 
 

 
That's a great theory, but not always true in the real world. I was at the Networld/Interop show where 100Mb Ethernet was first introduced, many, many years ago.  One of the demonstrations had a 100 meter spool of twisted pair cable connected to 1 meter of rusty barbed wire (1 strand per conductor) nailed to a piece of plywood and connected to a short twisted pair cable on the other end.  They were running 100mbps of traffic error free over that rig, including the barbed wire. I doubt that they could have had much more than one meter of barbed wire and have it still work, but it demonstrated clearly how much headroom the twisted pair cable spec has.  Maybe an inch of copper wire won't undo all of the goodness of the 4-10ft fancy cable preceeding it.

 

[porridgecup]

Has anyone here tried using a Jitterbug and/or REGEN with the Gungnir (w/ Gen 2 USB)? Curious if they're worth trying. I also know lots of people seem to be combining both the REGEN and Jitterbug.

 

[Mediahound]

  Has anyone here tried using a Jitterbug and/or REGEN with the Gungnir (w/ Gen 2 USB)? Curious if they're worth trying. I also know lots of people seem to be combining both the REGEN and Jitterbug.

IMO, the Schiit Wyrd will do more than a Jitterbug.