Musical Fidelity V-Dac II vs Schiit Bifrost vs Fiio E17/E09K Advice

[Autiomatic]

I'm looking for a bit of advice.  I'm currently streaming my digital music library (256kbs & up lossy files, no lossless rips) through the spdif out on my Apple TV into a Fiio E17/E09K combo into a pretty low-end Onkyo TX-8255 set up with some old Technics floor standing speakers and a pair of Audioengine P4s.  I'm sure the Fiio's fine for my current set-up but of course I'm experiencing some gear itch and looking at other DACs. While I understand it's likely overkill for what I'm running it into, I'm happy with the amp/speaker combo at the moment.

My conundrum is this: For the last couple of weeks I've been watching a used listing for a like-new V-Dac II that's going for $175 CDN, but would ultimately prefer a Bifrost, spdif only, with the Uber upgrade.  I've not actually heard either the Bifrost or V-Dac II and am basing my preference on reviews, but I do currently own the Schiit Modi and use it in a separate set-up and enjoy the Schiit sound. 
 
Considering that the Bifrost would cost me $444.95 from my preferred Canadian reseller, I'm wondering if I should spring for the V-Dac II at that price and either upgrade to the Bifrost later,  learn to love the V-Dac II and nix the Bifrost altogether, OR skip the V-Dac and save the $175 for the Bifrost.  This also begs the question of how much difference either would make when compared to my current Fiio gear.  At the moment I'm more concerned about DACs but will likely upgrade the other components down the line (ie: receiver, speakers, etc).  I also have my eye on upgrading the E09K to the Asgard 2 at some point as well.
 
Sorry for the long-windedness of the post, but any advice from folks experienced with these particular DACs would be greatly appreciated, especially since I'd like to grab the V-Dac while it's still listed if it's worth it.

 

[nickaroux]

Hi Automatic-
I just read your post from a few years ago (today is 10-01-16).  What did you do with regard to the VDAC ll vs. Schitt Bifrost?  I liked your post and was disappointed there was no response,
 
I own the original VDAC and the VDAC ll, but have never listened to another, so have limited experience.  Almost all my music is listened to through my computer with the VDAC between that and my Dynaco ST-70 tube amp and hand-made speakers (a Japanese fellow who lives in France).
 
Do you know if the Schitt Bifrost outputs pure DSD signal, or is it converted to PCM internally?  Does the Bifrost with uber upgrade have the capability to output 24bit/192khz via USB, or must one use Toslink?
 
Thanks and hope the evolution of you system continues to be rewarding.
 
Nick

 

[jstachowski]

Hi---
 
   The Schiit Biifrost only speaks PCM, not DSD.  If you want to decode DSD, they don't have anything currently.  They used to have the Loki, which I have, which only does DSD.  
 
   And these days I would recommend listening to the multibit version of the Bifrost.  I hope to spend some time next weekend at CanJam at RMAF to listen to that as well as Jotunheim.  Last year I listened to Yggy, but that's way out of my price range.
 
Hope this helps---
Jerry

 

[Autiomatic]

  Hi Automatic-
I just read your post from a few years ago (today is 10-01-16).  What did you do with regard to the VDAC ll vs. Schitt Bifrost?  I liked your post and was disappointed there was no response,
 
I own the original VDAC and the VDAC ll, but have never listened to another, so have limited experience.  Almost all my music is listened to through my computer with the VDAC between that and my Dynaco ST-70 tube amp and hand-made speakers (a Japanese fellow who lives in France).
 
Do you know if the Schitt Bifrost outputs pure DSD signal, or is it converted to PCM internally?  Does the Bifrost with uber upgrade have the capability to output 24bit/192khz via USB, or must one use Toslink?
 
Thanks and hope the evolution of you system continues to be rewarding.
 
Nick

Hi Nick, thanks for reviving a very old thread! (One I had forgotten about, to be honest : )
 
In the end I was able to pick up a used Bifrost with the updated analog section a couple years ago.  I just upgraded this to the Multibit version this spring, which I am very happy with.  As the above poster stated, the Bifrost is PCM only and can't do DSD.  It is capable of 24/192 via USB, however.
 
If you didn't need DSD and were looking for a good solution I would also recommend checking out the Schiit Modi Multibit, which is essentially a non-upgradeable Bifrost Multibit with a less robust power supply, for a very reasonable price.  Thus far my experience with Schiit allows me to recommend them highly!