[theveterans]

I listened to Sennheiser HE-1 the other day, with for some shop-reason Auralic streamer/dac going XLR3 to the HE-1. I experienced alot of micro details in the music I brought which I dont get with my Yggy - V281 - LCD4, and Im wondering why. offcourse, we cant compare a 60k system to my system, but Im starting to wonder if the Yggy is missing the micro details. Though, the 3D perspecive and punch and engagement is way better on my system than I heard on HE-1 with the Auralic, on that side Im very happy.

Just my opinion, but just sell your Yggy and V281 and use them to fund a used Chord DAVE.

 

[theveterans]

Interesting that the Yggdrasil sits atop some peoples thrones, one day I'd like to audition one for myself. It could change my mind on Schiit DAC's.

For the price to performance, definitely. However, keep in mind this is just based on the taste from one person. Some other well known reviewers prefer Chord Hugo 2 over Yggdrasil, but then again, it's a matter of personal taste.

 

[paradoxper]

I listened to Sennheiser HE-1 the other day, with for some shop-reason Auralic streamer/dac going XLR3 to the HE-1. I experienced alot of micro details in the music I brought which I dont get with my Yggy - V281 - LCD4, and Im wondering why. offcourse, we cant compare a 60k system to my system, but Im starting to wonder if the Yggy is missing the micro details. Though, the 3D perspecive and punch and engagement is way better on my system than I heard on HE-1 with the Auralic, on that side Im very happy.

Check the LCD-4, for sure.

 

[manpowre]

I thnk I have to audit another pair of lcd4, or mabye check out Focal Utopia at home.. and I have to get my LCD4 into the shop and review the Auralic part to check out what those modules sound like too. Its not that I dont have micro details, just the setup with HE-1 put micro details to another level.

To get a Chord Dave selliing the Yggy and the V281, I still have to put 5kusd into the pot here in North Europe.

 

[D2Girls]

Let me get this straight. You listened to a $3500dac (over $1k more than yggy) on $60k headphones and compared it directly to your lcd-4 on yggy?

 

[Jimster480]

Let me get this straight. You listened to a $3500dac (over $1k more than yggy) on $60k headphones and compared it directly to your lcd-4 on yggy?

It was probably a box with a Realtek $1 chip that they have in a huge case with giant transformers for 60k and he thought his yggy was bad because of the price lol

 

[Torq]

I've actually owned both Yggdrasil and Auralic Vega (their best, current, DAC), among others, at the same time, and for several months (there's a picture of that somewhere earlier in the thread, I believe).

At first listen, the Vega seemed hyper-detailed and in initial impressions it'd be very easy to think it out-resolved Yggdrasil. A little more listening, and we're talking in terms of a couple of hours, and it becomes apparent that the extra "detail" from the Vega is really closer to what detail there is being presented in an "over-sharpened" manner. In real terms, with a suitably resolving chain, it becomes rapidly apparent that it's Yggdrasil that's delivering more actual detail.

That's not to say some might not prefer the presentation of the Vega, but even after months of ownership, side-by-side with Yggdrasil, it was quite apparent that once you were past first-impressions, the Vega wasn't quite as resolving, or as dynamically nuanced, as the Schiit DAC. Which is one reason why I retained the Yggdrasil, added a second one, and sold the Vega (and I paid far less for the Vega than I did for Yggdrasil).

Going further, as much as I enjoy my LCD-4, they are the last flagship headphone I would use for evaluating overall system resolution. They're musically beautiful, and do some things that no other headphone does as well, but if I was exploring resolution I'd be looking towards Focal's Utopia, Sennheiser's HD800 or HD800S, or, if using planar-cans, the Abyss AB-1266. Not to say that the LCD-4 don't offer excellent resolution, but they are, in all my evaluations, out-resolved by all four of the previous mentioned headphones here (and I live with all of those on a daily basis).

Comparing components when the systems under comparison differ by more than the individual component being evaluated is not useful.

 

[hifimckinney]

This was in response to manpower's comment 'I listened to Sennheiser HE-1 the other day, with for some shop-reason Auralic streamer/dac going XLR3 to the HE-1. I experienced alot of micro details in the music I brought which I dont get with my Yggy - V281 - LCD4, and Im wondering why. offcourse, we cant compare a 60k system to my system, but Im starting to wonder if the Yggy is missing the micro details. Though, the 3D perspecive and punch and engagement is way better on my system than I heard on HE-1 with the Auralic, on that side Im very happy.'


Not sure what feeds your DAC but if you haven't tried Dante, I would recommend that you try either AtteroTech unDAES or RDL SF-ND2 before doing anything further. It just shows best out of your DAC by delivering pristine digital data.

 

[manpowre]

@Torq thanks for that excellent summary.. I believe you are spot on with what I experienced, as I wrote earlier in this thread I did experience better transparency and liveliness with my current setup than what I heard in the shop with my own music. For all the other comments about comparing a 60k setup vs my yggy, comeon guys, not worth our time and your time writing it, atleast write something usefull like @Torq.

@hifimckinney , I do feed my yggy with usb - Intona galvanization - Gustard U12 - AES, which I definetely can hear is the best setup of all the combinations I have tried on my budget, and I havent tried offcourse Berkeley usb - aes. But as far as I can go and I also compared to different modules in the shop (which is well equipped) I found this to be better last year when I compiled my system.

I have been thinking for some time to get a pair of Utopia, but I wanted the children deseases to go away first. I think @Torq is right, its most probably a combination of the Auralic DAC being a bit more resolving than the Yggdrasil, and the HE-1 being more resolving than the LCD4, but again the Yggdrasil is more staging, liveliness and punch, and suits the LCD4 quiet well in that aspect. I guess this is why I got confused, I couldnt pinpoint to the why. Which is why I turned to this forum for some excellent thoughts and recommendations towards the issue.

Im packing my LCD4 and going to the shop to test the Auralic DAC to see whats going on here.
-----------------------

EDIT:
Since none wrote further I just edit this instead of posting a new one.

Back from the shop where I brought my LCD4, for all those who told me to check my LCD4's, the issue is definetely not the headphones. In the shop I tried several things today,
* Auralic G2 streamer - Vega G2 DAC - HDV820 as amp - LCD4/Utopia/Foc Clear
* Auralic G2 streamer - HDV820 dac and amp - LCD4/Utopia/Foc Clear

After spending a few hours at home listening to music which I brought with me on a usb stick to the Auralic G2 streamer I was prepared for the Vega G2 dac and my LCD4. Immediately I recognized what I heard a few days ago, the more resolving detailed music. It was just like everything got lifted to a new level to be honest. The main problem was offcourse that the HDV820 dont power the LCD4 properly, atleast to a level Im happy with coming from V281 at home, so I recognized the lack of power driving LCD4. At home I have more punch and livelyness to the music than the HDV 820 amp could do for me. So atleast I now know that it was the DAC that did part of the differennce listening to HE-1 together with HE-1 being more resolving to begin with.

The Utopia again (I heard them last year after launch) didnt impress me in any configuration. It was too much resolving to a level it was too much, not balanced soundstage atleast with Vega G2 Dac.

The HDV820 with the Focal Clear - WOW.. for the price, damn. The HDV820 drives the Focal Clear very very well. Coming from LCD4 I felt the lower part of the spectrum a little rumbling, and unclear.. but what a combo for the price. So well balanced. With that headphone the HDV820 really shines both as a dac and amp. If it wasnt for the fact I have LCD4 already, thats the combo I would go for.

I guess I need to get the Auralic Vega G2 dac home for more listening..Or make a budget for the Chord Dave, but Im afraid Chord Dave wont power the LCD4's properly.. havent heard it, just worried since I'm used to the power from V281.

The HDV820 dac/amp with LCD4 just became tame compared to the combo I have at home and the auralic Vega DAC.

Im not happy with the price of the Vega G2 dac. Thats whats holding be back atm.

Its going to be an interesting winter - again..

 

[winders]

Tory did not say the Vega was more resolving than Yggdrasil. You might want to read his post again....

 

[manpowre]

Tory did not say the Vega was more resolving than Yggdrasil. You might want to read his post again....

I guess he said "At first listen, the Vega seemed hyper-detailed and in initial impressions it'd be very easy to think it out-resolved Yggdrasil", Im well aware he was talking about Vega, I heard Vega G2.

 

[Torq]

Or make a budget for the Chord Dave, but Im afraid Chord Dave wont power the LCD4's properly.

For both my LCD-4 and my Abyss, I don't personally find DAVE has enough grunt to be fully satisfying for me, when driving them directly (compared to DAVE via my WA5LE Mk2). For my Utopia, and my HD800S, I find it to be perfectly fine coming straight out of DAVE. Though often I listen through the Woo anyway.

I think DAVE delivers something like 210mw into the 200 ohms of the LCD-4 vs. the ~8 watts on tap from the Woo (I think the HPA V281 yields about 3 watts into 200 ohms). And, to be fair, they play loud enough ... but the overall experience is just not as convincing/involving.

This was something I experienced when I first "reviewed" the DAVE; my perception/experience remains the same even now I own one.

 

[D2Girls]

It was probably a box with a Realtek $1 chip that they have in a huge case with giant transformers for 60k and he thought his yggy was bad because of the price lol

I agree with him. I believe him that a system that costs 20 times more will have more "micro detail". Definitely.

 

[Jozurr]

If it wasn't for the flat/narrow sound stage, I'd probably have kept the Yggy. I sold it and got the Dave and I'm very happy with it. The 3d staging was the biggest difference for me on the Dave, along with slightly more microdetail retrieval and lastly better timbre. However, I still do wonder if there's something in between the Yggy and Dave that brings the gap closer, specially with regards to the flat soundstage on the Yggy.

For reference, I used both USB/AES inputs on the Yggy with my Cavalli Liquid glass, Auralic Taurus MKII etc - with multiple headphones.

 

[Limniscate]

I found the Dave to be a little edgy compared to the Yggy in my system. You have to hear the Dave with the Blu2; it's unreal.