[Rossliew]

You'll do well as a used gear trader lol

 

[UntilThen]

You'll do well as a used gear trader lol

Hello this is the Ragnarok and Yggdrasil's thread....

 

[Rossliew]

Obviously we are derailing it..over and out!

 

[JerryLeeds]

Just ordered the Gen 5 update cards for my Yggy & Gumby ... self installing

I want to see if this ends up being better then my two setups:
PC - JRiver - ISO Regen/SU-1 (powered by two LPS-1) - Yggy
&
Mac Mini - Audirvana - W4S Recovery/DXIO PRO3Z (powered by iFi power adapters) - Gumby

Also thinking of switching sources to either a UltraRendu or SMS-200 Ultra ... wondering if the source change isn't as important as it use to be for SQ

 

[nigeljames]

Hi guys

I have had the Ragnorak/Yddrasil for about 4 months now and just wanted to give my thoughts and comparisons to my Audio-gd NFB-7 and Master-6 combination that I have had for a few years.

Even though the Yggy was ordered first the Ragnorak arrived first and was connected via balanced connection to my NFB-7 for burn in purposes. Immediate impressions were good but not at the same level as the NFB with my Master-6 via acss, but this was to be expected. For 2 weeks that was the way it stayed. Performance improved with burn in but still remained short of the Master-6. However that could be because of the ACSS vs XLR differences even though both had pure silver interconnections (ACSS was homemade costing around £60 and the XLR was an Artisan Ultimate Silver Dream costing just over £200) so I expect differences were minimal.

Then the Yggy arrived and the setup was changed accordingly. From that moment on the Yggy was connected to the Ragnorak only as I only had one xlr lead.

For a few weeks I allowed the Yggy to burn in while listening quite a bit and the sound which was already quite impressive got better and better.

The combination of the Schiit amp and dac lead to a very detailed, full bodied sound that seemed to be slightly on the warm side. It was at it's best with the HE6's and HD800's. It, like the AGD set up, was good but not ideal for the Beyer T1's.

However the disappointment was with the Audeze LCD2.2's. Compared to the AGD the sound was too warm and thick. It was still enjoyable but lacked the highs, clarity, energy, and involvement I was used to.

Over the next couple of months I still listened to both combinations regularly and decided that the Schiit gave a warmer slightly fuller sound which never failed to please. Soundstaging was different and very realistic, but it is hard to say whether it is better, and had very slightly more detail overall.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try the Yggy into my Master-6. Whoa that's better.

The Yggy/master-6 combination brought greater transparency, energy and life to the sound, partly because of the slightly brighter, but never bright tone of the Master-6.

Personal taste plays a big part in any review or discussion about hifi but for myself the Master-6 gives me more of the kind of sound I want whether through the Yggy or NFB-7. As for the Yggy/NFB-7 comparison. I would say that the Yggy is the better DAC but at $600 more it should be at least slightly better, however the NFB-7 still has areas where it easily competes with the Yggy and has a character I love with an energy and dynamism that is intoxicationg.

I always wanted to try a R2R dac but the PCM1704 chipped dacs have always disappointed me and until the Yggy there were few alternatives. However the Yggy really is an exceptional DAC and will make a great alternative to my NFB-7.
One of the reasons I purchased the Ragnorak was for its speaker driving ability. It is an exceptional amp and I could easily keep it and be very happy with it but the Master-6 is closer to my tastes and the main reason I bought the Ragnorak was because I had planned to add a speaker system. However my plans have changed and I no longer intend to go down that route.
Because of this I have decided to sell the Ragnorak and I have already listed it on this site hoever the Yggy is a keeper.

 

[samuelnsh]

I got the Yggdrasil last month and have been pleased with its clarity and natural voicing. I'm heavily contemplating the choice of selling my HDVD800 and Deckard, replacing them with the Ragnarok.

I have two amps for driving my HD800: Woo Audio WA2 and HDVD800. HDVD800 presents the micro-details nicely and has a larger sound stage; WA2 sacrifices a bit of detail for a much silkier presentation. Despite having a larger sound stage, HDVD800's spacial imaging is a little "artificial" sounding to me. It's as if the 3D space that it tries to create is larger than what the amp & headphone pair can optimally render. For instance, when I listened to Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 over the weekend, HDVD800 -> HD800 rendered the space way too wide with not enough depth, so the strings are coming from the far right and left while the rest of the orchestra was disproportionately close to me in the front. In contrast, WA2 -> HD800's width, depth and the layering of sound was proportional, albeit quite close to me.

All these said, I'd really like an amp that could present the micro-details on or beyond HDVD800's level, while also presenting a large sound stage with proportionate width and depth. I wonder if the Ragnarok fits the bill!

As for the Deckard, I'm happy with the way it drives my LCD-X, I just don't think it's necessary to keep it around if I do get the Ragnarok.

Appreciate your input!

 

[Jkane101]

Ordered both will hopefully have them in hand by the end of October. Should be quite the improvement from the Lyr/Bimby I've had since '14

 

[UntilThen]

I got the Yggdrasil last month and have been pleased with its clarity and natural voicing. I'm heavily contemplating the choice of selling my HDVD800 and Deckard, replacing them with the Ragnarok.

I have two amps for driving my HD800: Woo Audio WA2 and HDVD800. HDVD800 presents the micro-details nicely and has a larger sound stage; WA2 sacrifices a bit of detail for a much silkier presentation. Despite having a larger sound stage, HDVD800's spacial imaging is a little "artificial" sounding to me. It's as if the 3D space that it tries to create is larger than what the amp & headphone pair can optimally render. For instance, when I listened to Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 over the weekend, HDVD800 -> HD800 rendered the space way too wide with not enough depth, so the strings are coming from the far right and left while the rest of the orchestra was disproportionately close to me in the front. In contrast, WA2 -> HD800's width, depth and the layering of sound was proportional, albeit quite close to me.

All these said, I'd really like an amp that could present the micro-details on or beyond HDVD800's level, while also presenting a large sound stage with proportionate width and depth. I wonder if the Ragnarok fits the bill!

As for the Deckard, I'm happy with the way it drives my LCD-X, I just don't think it's necessary to keep it around if I do get the Ragnarok.

Appreciate your input!

Get Yggdrasil and Ragnarok. They are the 8th wonders of the world.

 

[samuelnsh]

Get Yggdrasil and Ragnarok. They are the 8th wonders of the world.

I ended up getting it, the pairing is wonderful

 

[billerb1]

Good review/comparison.

 

[Jkane101]

My yggy/rag both arrive tomorrow! Please Fedex show up early..like 8am!

 

[billerb1]

My yggy/rag both arrive tomorrow! Please Fedex show up early..like 8am!

Congrats !!! Your life will never be the same.

 

[Julyan]

what are the differences between the gen 3 and gen 5 boards?
it seems my usb board stopped working. shiit europe offered to repace it with a gen 5 but i will have to pay for it.
about self installation i thought opening up your iggy voided waranty. also is it like a computer card just plug it in or does it need soldering?

 

[jcn3]

what are the differences between the gen 3 and gen 5 boards?
it seems my usb board stopped working. shiit europe offered to repace it with a gen 5 but i will have to pay for it.
about self installation i thought opening up your iggy voided waranty. also is it like a computer card just plug it in or does it need soldering?

it's just a card -- the case comes apart in a few pieces. apparently about a 30-40 minute exercise. there's another web site that has specific details on how to do it.

to get schiit's official description of the differences, go to jason stoddard's blog on this site.

 

[Julyan]

it's just a card -- the case comes apart in a few pieces. apparently about a 30-40 minute exercise. there's another web site that has specific details on how to do it.

to get schiit's official description of the differences, go to jason stoddard's blog on this site.

thanks I found probably the same site showing how its done.
also saw a you tube movie of someone replacing the board.
thanks i will check out the blog.