[tommo21]

Schiit has a new balanced amp that can drive even the he6. With built in dac it's only $499.00

Yeah it's temtring, but I already got the Modi Multibit and Vali 2, and also the Valhalla 2 at the moment, so I will wait and read reviews and impressions first.

 

[Hibuckhobby]

Demonstrating once again that tastes, preferences and perceptions differ.  I have an H-10...my second one
I might add and I've owned an Asgard and two iterations of the Lyr that I did a fair share of tube rolling in.  I
strongly prefer the H-10 to any of the other 3.  Actually, the amp I have that is most similar to it is a Burson.
 
Head-fi is an area where strong views and stronger feelings exist.  One mans "night and day difference" is
another mans "barely worth mentioning".  As far as tastes, I lean toward my Bottlehead and Decware tube
gear, so that may explain why I find the Class A solid state preferable. 
YMMV,
Hibuck....

 

[DecentLevi]

Hi guys, I finally got the chance to try a Gustard H10 amp earlier this summer at a meet in SF and I was definitely impressed! It seemed to have better impact and overall fidelity than the Liquid Carbon amp... yet still somewhat short of my Elise OTL tube amp.
 
Anyway I've also got the Gustard X12 DAC and am wondering if anybody could chime in about any advantage of the Bifrost Miltibit "Bimby" over the X12?

 

[lenroot77]

Anyone looking to sell a h10?
Shoot me a pm please with condition and price.
Thanks

 

[oakbloke]

Has anyone successfully tightened their volume knob or do you just live with the little bit of wiggle?

 

[fritobugger]

  Has anyone successfully tightened their volume knob or do you just live with the little bit of wiggle?

 
No wiggle on mine.  I do recall many pages back where some did have this issue and a solution was provided.

 

[Sdmark]

Has anyone successfully tightened their volume knob or do you just live with the little bit of wiggle?

I don't have any wiggle on mine either but I think I remember reading somewhere in this thread that someone was able to fix theirs.

 

[wwmhf]

  Has anyone successfully tightened their volume knob or do you just live with the little bit of wiggle?

 
I have no such an issue on the two H10 of mine.

 

[normanl]

  Has anyone successfully tightened their volume knob or do you just live with the little bit of wiggle?

I tightened the volume knob with "Bondhus Ball End 6 Pc Metric Screw 10946 BLX6M" and no problem ever since.

 

[oakbloke]

 
I tightened the volume knob with "Bondhus Ball End 6 Pc Metric Screw 10946 BLX6M" and no problem ever since.

Thanks for all the responses, I will open it up and see what I can do. It's very slight, but it's there.

 

[Socratease]

  Hi guys, I finally got the chance to try a Gustard H10 amp earlier this summer at a meet in SF and I was definitely impressed! It seemed to have better impact and overall fidelity than the Liquid Carbon amp... yet still somewhat short of my Elise OTL tube amp.
 
Anyway I've also got the Gustard X12 DAC and am wondering if anybody could chime in about any advantage of the Bifrost Miltibit "Bimby" over the X12?

Not sure about the Bimby, but I find I do prefer my DIYinHK PCM1702 multibit DAC over the X12.  The imaging is noticeably better to my ears, it sounds more 3D and I can "hear the silence" in the space between the instruments better than with the SD DACs.  (I.e. sound sorurces are better spatially isolated and located.)  While it's not better in every way, I find the better imaging more entertaining.

 

[audioholicx8x]

Note: I have these with the stock op-amps from massdrop.
Hi, I had this amp for a while now and it's been serving very well until a week a ago when I started hearing popping noises to both cups only when I turn the amp on . I don't hear anything when I plug/unplug my headphones and also nothing when I turn it off. But, once It shuts off completely (after 5 seconds or so), I hear the popping noise again when I turn it on. Also no popping of any sort while playing any music, video playback or gaming. Here's what I tried to do (and it didn't work at all):
-Turn it on without inputs, so I'm sure it is the amp not the dac.
-Turn it on without inputs and with all dip\gain switches off.
-I opened the top led to check if there's any internal damage and I found nothing.
-I changed the voltages from 110v to 220v.
 My question is will this pop destroy my headphones ? if it will, can I avoid such a horrifying fate by pluging the headphones while the amp is on? 
please help

 

[PWGuy]

  Hi guys, I finally got the chance to try a Gustard H10 amp earlier this summer at a meet in SF and I was definitely impressed! It seemed to have better impact and overall fidelity than the Liquid Carbon amp... yet still somewhat short of my Elise OTL tube amp.
 
Anyway I've also got the Gustard X12 DAC and am wondering if anybody could chime in about any advantage of the Bifrost Miltibit "Bimby" over the X12?

I'm looking for the same exact comparison!  Anyone!?

 

[PWGuy]

  I was unfortunate that my H10 blew up a couple of weeks a go, but I got lucky and bought a second hand Schiit Valhalla 2 the next day, and I have to tell you that even though I was very satisfied with my Burson op-amped H10, the Valhalla 2 is better for me. I felt the H10 got a little dark(slightly veiled compared to the Valhalla 2) at times and lost some detail and clarity from upper mids and up to the treble range. The Valhalla uses tubes, but it's not as tube-sounding as other tube amps I've tried. It's for me and my taste better than the H10. I feel it's got a little bit more of everything, not by a mile, but enough for me to notice it already on first listen. I also believe changing the tubes gives more of a change than rolling op-amps in the H10. Just my 2 cents..

Interesting .. assume you had the big red Burson V5s and not the newer, smaller Bursons?  How's the bass impact and quality?
 
I'm considering selling my H10 to fund a Schitt amp but only if it's a better solution than what I have - H10 with Burson V5s full boat.  Bass is key for me, though - I have to boost the bass EQ levels in FooBar even with the H10 but it sounds so amazing with my Alpha Prime closed-back headphones!

 

[DecentLevi]

@PWGuy you're in luck! I've now owned the X12, Bimby and Mimby (Bifrost Multibit and Modi Multibit), and here's snippets of my impressions from another thread:
 
Initial impressions with Bimby:
Several A/B comparisons with my former Gustard X12 DAC reveal the Bimby has more micro-detail and organic / layered bass, and without being colored, has a larger / more expansive soundstage! Yaaay!! Looks like all my focus on multibit / R2R DACs vs. Delta Sigma have been well placed!
 
Later impressions:
After just finishing a multiple A/B critical listening comparison of my delta-sigma (DS) vs. multibit (R2R) DAC, the differences I've notices were huge and far encompassing. Generally you get a much more organic / lifelike sound with larger soundstage & imaging that's much more 'out of your head', and better defined layers - making the delta sigma DAC sound 'brittle' and artificial after listening to the DS.
 
(somewhat later)
A seasoned industry insider / hobbyist told me the Bimby DAC is slightly darker tonality, as well as the Elise and HD 650 (he's tried my Elise also). I'm sure he's mistaken on the Elise amp, but I'll tell ya my ears yearning for more detail / linearity. I like the Bimby enough to keep it though for it's realism, but it seems as if this pairing is dark enough to oust the HD 650 for now, which is also darker than neutral, even with my mod.
 
My Bimby not only seems dark-ish, but also a smidget too euphonic / colored which further hampers its' pairing with the Elise (making it double colored), necessitating 'colder' / brighter sounding tubes, which may prove a struggle. I bought this DAC new and still have a few days in the 14 day return period. 
 
Initial impressions with Mimby:
Compared to my Gustard X12, it’s a big step up! Markedly improved transient response (slam of the dynamics), more ‘focued’ imaging, more detailed, and a superb realism. Everything sounds absolutely engulfing / enveloping, tonally perfect, crisp, yet clear and clean as a whistle. Yet seems slightly musical and/or euphonic. Compared to the Bimby at twice the price, this has better dynamics / clarity and slightly less euphonic (a good thing), while the Bimby has slightly better imaging and soundstage.
 
Sounds like a $1,000+ DAC, all crammed into a tiny little box for several hundred! Absolutely the most staggering price to performance of a DAC made to date. Only downside yet is soundstage seems slightly small. And this is only without burn-in and using mid-tier tubes!"
 
Update several days later:
My initial impressions remain unchanged, and I really think the Mimby is a game changer, and an unwavering performer! It does seem to have slightly less soundstage and ability to handle multi-layered bass than the Bimby, but that is more than made up for by its' vastly improved transient response, more neutral / less colored and cleaner sound sig. Yet my tastes still yearn for a slightly dryer / colder sound, so I may still compare other multibits such as the Gumby at some point. But for now I'm absolutely satisfied with this little DAC. Also being a former owner of the Modi 1, this is an astronomical step forward! (mainly in resolution and realism)