[US Blues]

Save us, @Baldr ! You're our only hope!

https://fudzilla.com/news/51229-someone-produced-a-us-16-495-cd-player

 

[tincanear]

As I understand it, the Schiit Mega combo buritto filter works by upsampling 16/44, 16/48 files... Curious if anyone hears a difference with HD sources or perhaps I don't properly understand how schiit applies their filter?

Mike's filter is one of the main reasons I am planning to purchase BF2

IMO, HD claiming 32-bits is just a marketing gimmick, because for linear PCM, that dynamic range is on the order of 180 dB (jet engine at 1 foot is around that level). most recordings don't use even 16-bits of dynamic range. also, how many digital recordings were actually captured at 96kHz or faster rates? The music recorded in the 80's and 90's was likely on PCM machines at 16/44 or 16/48 and subsequently upsampled during mixing, mastering, etc so that it could be sold as "HD" at 96, 192, 384kHz.

Mike's filter does indeed do 8x upsampling of 16/44 or 16/48 files to 352kHz or 384kHz, respectively, then fed to the Analog Devices (e.g AD5781, AD5791) DAC chip(s), followed by an analog stage (presumably of first, 2nd, or 3rd order low-pass) to remove the ultrasonic components. Schiit's filters optimize phase and time shift compared to off-the-shelf filters.

 

[Varejao17]

Save us, @Baldr ! You're our only hope!

https://fudzilla.com/news/51229-someone-produced-a-us-16-495-cd-player

Pfft. Luxman’s going for the low-end of the market.

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/dcs-vivaldi-version-20/

Note that the transport alone is $42k

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

I love mine and use it every day for work with a pair of HD 4xx's and an Antlion modmic, I haven't really done any critical listening with it, but I haven't disliked what I've heard enough that I'll be retiring my current travel rig (Eitr/Modi MB/Vali 2/Cthulu) to shop duty and will be taking this along with me from now on...

Joke’s on them, I already a work at a nuclear dump site.




Hel will probably fare well against most DAC/amps, but Mojo is no joke.

Is there anything else around the same price that you could rec over the Schiit Hel? I'll be using these headphones. Focal Elegia, Ultrasone Edition 11, Audeze Sine DX, Hifiman Arya. So I need some power that the Hel has which honestly is more than enough. But I want to keep it under $550 Aud which is why the Schiit Hel is a great option for me. I do have a E1da 9038s Gen 2 and Fiio Q5s with the Am3d THX module, they were good but I'd like something that has the power but overall better sq than the two for home use. I am still new when it comes to home use desktop dac/amps. I'll be using my Samsung S20 as source. I got all my Flacs in it haha.

 

[yonson]

Is there anything else around the same price that you could rec over the Schiit Hel? I'll be using these headphones. Focal Elegia, Ultrasone Edition 11, Audeze Sine DX, Hifiman Arya. So I need some power that the Hel has which honestly is more than enough. But I want to keep it under $550 Aud which is why the Schiit Hel is a great option for me. I do have a E1da 9038s Gen 2 and Fiio Q5s with the Am3d THX module, they were good but I'd like something that has the power but overall better sq than the two for home use. I am still new when it comes to home use desktop dac/amps. I'll be using my Samsung S20 as source. I got all my Flacs in it haha.

Not that I've tried... I'm pretty loyal to Schiit, as long as they keep building high quality, no nonsense products right here in good ole USA and stand behind them, I really don't have any need (or want) to try to find something else that may or may not be .003% better in some obscure category that only bats and other creatures might possibly pick up...

 

[jkpenrose]

IMO, HD claiming 32-bits is just a marketing gimmick, because for linear PCM, that dynamic range is on the order of 180 dB (jet engine at 1 foot is around that level). most recordings don't use even 16-bits of dynamic range. also, how many digital recordings were actually captured at 96kHz or faster rates? The music recorded in the 80's and 90's was likely on PCM machines at 16/44 or 16/48 and subsequently upsampled during mixing, mastering, etc so that it could be sold as "HD" at 96, 192, 384kHz.

Mike's filter does indeed do 8x upsampling of 16/44 or 16/48 files to 352kHz or 384kHz, respectively, then fed to the Analog Devices (e.g AD5781, AD5791) DAC chip(s), followed by an analog stage (presumably of first, 2nd, or 3rd order low-pass) to remove the ultrasonic components. Schiit's filters optimize phase and time shift compared to off-the-shelf filters.

For recording and mixing, I understand potential benefits of higher sampling rates, but for playback of final mix, not so much...

As to MCB filter, does it just upsample at lower multiple for HD sources? My understanding is it worked with 16/44, 16/48... I think I've read BF1 had a NOS mode for 24/192 samples... But I don't know for BF2

As most of what I listen to is 16/44, I'm happy to let the MCB filter do its thing

 

[A Jedi]

Got a Unison board for my OG Bifrost today. I'd like to congratulate @Jason Stoddard for designing the most complex task a man can undertake. Yes, I'm talking about getting the damn LEDs to align with the chassis holes upon reassembly. I'm pretty sure I need a cigarette lol.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Not that I've tried... I'm pretty loyal to Schiit, as long as they keep building high quality, no nonsense products right here in good ole USA and stand behind them, I really don't have any need (or want) to try to find something else that may or may not be .003% better in some obscure category that only bats and other creatures might possibly pick up...

Well then I am sold. I just want something better than my portable set up and I am interested that I can use the Hel for gaming and audio. I read a comparison of it with the Ifi Idsd nano black label and they basically said the Hel has better imaging, separation, soundstage, detail and clarity. That sold me haha. I used to own the Idsd Nano black label but sold it after getting myself a Q5s and E1da 9038s. If the Hel sounds better than the Nano Black label, I know it'll be an upgrade for me

 

[A Jedi]

Got a Unison board for my OG Bifrost today. I'd like to congratulate @Jason Stoddard for designing the most complex task a man can undertake. Yes, I'm talking about getting the damn LEDs to align with the chassis holes upon reassembly. I'm pretty sure I need a cigarette lol.

AHA! I figured it out - put the electronics into the shell first and THEN add the back piece...

 

[tincanear]

Got a Unison board for my OG Bifrost today. I'd like to congratulate @Jason Stoddard for designing the most complex task a man can undertake. Yes, I'm talking about getting the damn LEDs to align with the chassis holes upon reassembly. I'm pretty sure I need a cigarette lol.

there was a utube video entitled "bifrost full build" or something like that, where they used tweezers to position the led's in place. note that the blue and white led's can be sensitive to static discharge (won't necessarily fail right away too, but sometime later)

also the reason why newer products have the smt led's projecting vertically with light pipes.

 

[tincanear]

For recording and mixing, I understand potential benefits of higher sampling rates, but for playback of final mix, not so much...

As to MCB filter, does it just upsample at lower multiple for HD sources? My understanding is it worked with 16/44, 16/48... I think I've read BF1 had a NOS mode for 24/192 samples... But I don't know for BF2

As most of what I listen to is 16/44, I'm happy to let the MCB filter do its thing

BF1 is 4x, but will upsample 88.1 or 96 by 2x to 192. similarly BF2 is 1x-8x filter depending on input sample rate
.

 

[Rensek]

AHA! I figured it out - put the electronics into the shell first and THEN add the back piece...

Alternatively, the LEDs are much less bright if you slightly bend the LEDs back so they don't fill the holes precisely....

 

[StimpyWan]

Alternatively, the LEDs are much less bright if you slightly bend the LEDs back so they don't fill the holes precisely....

That's what I've done too...

 

[ev666il]

Does anybody have a link handy to the posts where Mike explains how the MCB filter optimizes the phase and time elements?

 

[Zojokkeli]

Is there anything else around the same price that you could rec over the Schiit Hel? I'll be using these headphones. Focal Elegia, Ultrasone Edition 11, Audeze Sine DX, Hifiman Arya. So I need some power that the Hel has which honestly is more than enough. But I want to keep it under $550 Aud which is why the Schiit Hel is a great option for me. I do have a E1da 9038s Gen 2 and Fiio Q5s with the Am3d THX module, they were good but I'd like something that has the power but overall better sq than the two for home use. I am still new when it comes to home use desktop dac/amps. I'll be using my Samsung S20 as source. I got all my Flacs in it haha.

I’d get Hel, especially if it’s also for gaming. If you don’t need the mic input, consider Magni/Modi stack or Asgard with DAC.