[pctazhp]

@UntilThen I read that Yiggy is really an update of Mike's landmark Theta 5, which I owned and loved. So you are carrying on a worthy tradition

I also have started to wrap my empty head around the concept of "balanced" Gumby and Yiggy. I have assumed, for example, the Gumby might just be the equivalent of 2 Bimbys, and not really needed for a single ended amp such as Euforia. Well, that's why I'm a lawyer and not an engineer. Schiit explains that Gumby and Yiggy are "balanced" internally in the digital domain and that is a major advantage. But they also explain that the balanced "digital" signal is internally summed for purposes of the RCA outputs and there may not be much difference in SQ between RCA and XLR outputs. I don't really know what any of that really means, but I thought it was interesting.

After I sell some of my iron pile, I think I'm probably headed towards Gumby. I would find it disrespectfully to try to equal such an esteemed HeadFier as yourself by trying to equal you with Yiggy

 

[UntilThen]

Did you owned this $10,000 Theta Digital Gen VIII D/A converter? That is a serious looking dac for 2004 and it over samples to 384khz. It's 29 lbs and even has a remote.

Fyi, my Yiggy serial number is 972, which makes me as common as your milk delivery guy. I bet he has one too.

Another fact I read. Yggy's filter alone cost all of Bifrost.

 

[UntilThen]

Yggy uses 4 of these, at a cost of $143 each.

http://www.analog.com/en/products/digital-to-analog-converters/ad5791.html#product-overview

AD5791-EP supports defense and aerospace applications (AQEC standard)

Part of my reason for buying Yggy is my backyard aerospace project. It's coming along nicely.

 

[pctazhp]

Did you owned this $10,000 Theta Digital Gen VIII D/A converter? That is a serious looking dac for 2004 and it over samples to 384khz. It's 29 lbs and even has a remote.

Fyi, my Yiggy serial number is 972, which makes me as common as your milk delivery guy. I bet he has one too.

Another fact I read. Yggy's filter alone cost all of Bifrost.

Ha))) I didn't even know that existed. Ownership must have been restricted to NASA. Consistent with my humble roots, I just had the "people's DAC" - Theta 5.

As with you, I would not risk disrespecting my milkman !!!

 

[UntilThen]

Compared to the 2004 monstrosity, I have to say that this 2017 model is more beautiful. It's beauty in simplicity. I'd run my hand over the casing occasionally just to feel how smooth it is.

Ps... Yggy weighs 25 lbs.

 

[UntilThen]

After 72 hours with Yggy, I get this spooky feeling that someone is standing behind me when I'm listening to music. When I turn around, I realised that they are just the backup singers. Phew what a relief.

Also it is sounding as analogue as a turntable. I may not have to buy this TT after all.

 

[pctazhp]

Another fact I read. Yggy's filter alone cost all of Bifrost.

Perhaps, but:

 

[pctazhp]

I'd run my hand over the casing occasionally just to feel how smooth it is.

CAREFUL. THAT KIND OF THING CAN GET YOU IN TROUBLE !!!!

 

[UntilThen]

Seriously 16/44.1 flac files sound so good now. I didn't know redbook can sound so good. Yggy is so quiet. The blackest black.

Ps... I think I'm not giving enough credit to Euforia and HD800. After all it's the whole chain that is responsible for what I hear.

... not forgetting tubes !!! Running Sylvania 6sn7wgt and Chatham 6250 now.

 

[UntilThen]

Holy schiit it's 3:27am..... I am working tomorrow !!! Byeeeeeee !!!

 

[mordy]

Seriously 16/44.1 flac files sound so good now. I didn't know redbook can sound so good. Yggy is so quiet. The blackest black.

Ps... I think I'm not giving enough credit to Euforia and HD800. After all it's the whole chain that is responsible for what I hear.

... not forgetting tubes !!! Running Sylvania 6sn7wgt and Chatham 6250 now.

Hi UT,

I am sure you mean 6520 tubes, not 6250 - see what happens when u go to sleep too late! BTW, I never liked the Chatham 6AS7 tubes that I have. And neither the Chatham 6080.
OK - I'll try them in the Euforia......

 

[UntilThen]

It's all Yggy's fault that I stay up late every night listening to 'Black Magic Woman'.... and yeah it's 6520.

Btw there were some recent sightings of Tung Sol 6520 with dimples plates. I have reasons to believe those are 5998.

How can you not like Chatham 6as7g. Next to GEC 6as7g, it's the next best 6as7g IMHO..... and usually my opinion isn't humble.

 

[UntilThen]

It's now 3 days 7 hours 56 minutes and 16 seconds since Yggy was powered on.

I think I am more transformed than Yggy by now.

 

[mordy]

It's all Yggy's fault that I stay up late every night listening to 'Black Magic Woman'.... and yeah it's 6520.

Btw there were some recent sightings of Tung Sol 6520 with dimples plates. I have reasons to believe those are 5998.

How can you not like Chatham 6as7g. Next to GEC 6as7g, it's the next best 6as7g IMHO..... and usually my opinion isn't humble.

Hi UT,

What is a more beautiful sight?

This?

Or this?

These are my Chatham 6AS7G tubes. They sound OK but not in comparison with the GEC or Bendix. To me the bass is less controlled and these tubes are a tad slow and less dynamic.

Is this pretty?

Prettier?

The above are my Chatham 6080 tubes. The bass is tighter than the Chatham 6AS7 but the mid range is a little murky and the treble is too thin.

What about these?

Mullard 6080 Langrex Special. Sounds good, but where is the magic?

Here - these tubes do everything right:

The GEC 6AS7G have that mythical energy.

Tried to pick city pictures with tube glow. The first one is Tokyo and the second Sydney.

Having the T1s forces me to re-evaluate everything - it seems that my speakers require a different tube diet to sound their best. Meanwhile I am back to factory recommended tubes - 6SN7 and 6AS7.

BTW - here is my DAC . It has an ELNA capacitor (finally figured out that I do have a separate DAC). PLEASE DON'T LAUGH!

Here are the specs:

• Usb DAC is ELE well-prepared for enthusiasts, it is cost-effective mini USB DAC, which adopt PCM2704 native in Japan and capacitor used for ELNA audio; reasonable arrayed wire shows the best function of PCM2704.
  Compatible the USB 1.0 16bit support 32 khz / 44.1khz / 48khz sampling
  Size:25x25x57mm
  Dynamic range: 100db
  Noise signal ratio： 105db （faith typical values） THD + N: 0.002%
  Internal integrated independent 12mhz clock generator built-in 8 x Oversampling digital filter
  Adopt double power supply.Analog part is + 5V , Digital parts for + 3.3 V
  SSOP- 28 encapsulation
  The chip adopt the famous PCM2704 , Uses metal film resistor, capacitance, polypropylene capacitor, double panel design, the USB interface provide power supply , output directly meet headphones
  clock : silver

In my haste to procure it some years ago I am afraid that I overpaid a couple of dollars lol.....

It's time to take my hi-fi addiction more seriously, no? I think that the T1s make me all yiggly......

 

[Snowpuppy77]

SP, your setup should be quite tasty. A quick lookup on the Mapletree Ear+ tube amp reveals a striking amp, one where the sound is described as neutral or an ss amp with soul. In that context, you could be getting the desired tone with Bimby + HD800s and that amp. I could be speculating based on what I read.

Euforia is a true honest to goodness warm and lush sounding tube amp. The degree of warm and lushness is easily altered by tubes. It's like a chameleon of many colours. The base tone is euphonic, fast, wet, clear, textured and pretty linear. Bass does not dominate as in some amps. It's tight, controlled and impactful. I can't quite decide whether it's more capable in the mid or the high frequencies. It excels with vocals as well as the high notes. Soundstage is not as wide as La Figaro 339 but hey right now with Yggy and HD800, I don't think I want it any wider.

Basically it boils down to how you pick your gear to form your setup. It's futile to consider just the amp. You need to consider the source and the transducer.

However, thanks for contributing here. I think you'll slot right in here. It's a more mature group or as @Oskari would say, the geezers club.

The Mapletree Ear+ has been a very good investment for me. Dr. Peppard built it for me himself and he is such a good person to work with. He upgraded it with high resolution Auricaps and Blackgate capacitors. Blackgates were very highly regarded and unfortunately you can't get them anymore. The Ear+ is a pretty neutral amp which is what I am after. It is a little plump in the bass however. The mid to upper bass does have beautiful tone and texture with good inner detail. However as you get deeper into the bass it keeps getting riper and riper to the point of being overly euphonic and ultimately drifting from accuracy and smearing inner detail. My Schiit Asgard on the other hand is upside down from the Mapletree. It has tighter more detailed bass. The punch of a orchestral bass drum as much more authority and detail on the Asgard. However as you climb into the upper registers the Mapletree begins to get the upper hand. When you reach the highs the Mapletree has less splashiness which smears inner detail. The Asgard gets a bit dry in the highs with what I think is the SS intermodular distortion kicking in. Not that the highs on the Asgard are bad just not nearly as good as the Mapletree. The Mapletree highs are sweet, shimmering, and detailed. They are simply ear candy. The Asgard sounds more open than the Mapletree and has an edge in overall resolution however. The Mapletree has the edge in tone quality. I am getting what some consider one of the best driver tubes for the Mapletree which is the Red Label GE 5 Star 5751. Should arrive this week. It will be the first NOS driver tube I have purchased for the Mapletree in the 10+ years I have owned it. Very curious to hear how it sounds. By the way I originally purchased the Mapletree to drive a pair of Grado RS1. Worked really well. However with the RS1s I prefer the Asgard probably due to it being a better impedance match. With the HD800S it is more difficult to decide which one I like best. Both the Mapletree and the Asgard have less than optimal power for the HD800S IMHO. That is why I am seeking an amp upgrade. If I get a tube amp it needs to have considerabily more power than the Mapletree and more resolution. That puts OTLs like Euphoria on the short list. If I get a solid state amp it also needs more power and resolution than the Asgard and a little more wetter sound in the highs. From what I have read either the Ragnarok or MJ2 would fit the bill. I will probably go with the Schiit vs. Euphoria as I can't audition without a return policy and I will not purchase without auditioning. Hoping to remedy that someday by going to a meet. Ultimately want to have both a high end OTL and SS.

Some people do not hear much of a difference between DACs. I am not one of them and you do not appear to be either. I think the source and the DAC are hugely important and should usually cost at least as much as your amp.