New Schiit! Ragnarok and Yggdrasil

[David Aldrich]

David, Jason and others have said there will be "trickle down" technology from the Yggy to their lower priced DACs.

 
I have not, you must be thinking of Mike.

 

[llkmi]

  The "glassy/steely treble" you're hearing dos NOT go away… if you leave the Yggy as is… and depending on your ancillary gear… 
 
Yes, the sound continues to improve, however this is w/ the Yggy being the least expensive piece of gear, incl. cables, except for a few PCs….
 
I however, in my system, DO NOT find it fatiguing at all… just detail driven, slightly thin & lacking a higher degree of analog flow… I strongly suggest you get other things in the system right, such as polishing/cleaning all connections on both ends.. also a Digital PC for Yggy… also feet/footers...
 
More than likely fuses, though I haven't tried yet...
 
Not sure what's better up to 5K..
 
David

Hi David,
 
Once the sound improved the real issue I had, which was a fatiguing distortion or ringing, (almost like a tuning fork) in the treble region did resolve. I agree it does seem a bit extra illuminated in that same general frequency range at times but it definitely seems recording dependent. I do agree with your description above. I need to do more listening now that the treble resolved and am away for a few days so it will be interesting to hear how it sounds when I get back. It is of course playing music 24/7 while I am gone.
 
What I have noticed though is the treble is not prominent in all recordings so I get a feeling that Yggy is clearly exposing the differences in the recordings. Some sound dull, some sound bright and some just right. I am not sure yet if recordings with energy in that area have that area exaggerated slightly or just simply exposed. Either way, once the irritation resolved, I agree that it just seems pure and non fatiguing.
 
Every component has a sound signature no matter how high end, and system matching is always important. For me it is about maximizing the sound for a given budget and doing that with proper system matching. At the level of my current system, the Dac is no longer the weak link in the chain. All other combinations were improved with Yggy in the chain. So I am happy working with it and playing around with other factors as I continue to improve my system. My feeling is once you have a highly resolving source, it is easier to tell the differences and limitations in other components.
 
For now I am just enjoying it.
 
L 

 

[llkmi]

   
So far yes, still takes a week (or two) to get back to "awesome" if left off even for a while. A minute or two to move the DAC... no big deal. More than that? Need to start over or at the very least a few more days. Keep in mind that no one has had an Yggy for more than a few months at this point. Things might be different a year from now.

Thanks for the feedback! I guess I won't be bringing it anywhere for a comparison any time soon!

 

[noshortcuts]

  Thanks for the feedback! I guess I won't be bringing it anywhere for a comparison any time soon!

Get out the cheese and wine and have others come to you!

 

[mikoss]

Or just buy a cheap APC (or other brand) UPS to plug it into while you transport it.

 

[wink]

Quote:U S Blues

 Sorry friend, I thought the wink would convey the intended humor implied by assuming that the Yggy will surpass the Hugo

I would do no such thing,,,,  at least not unintentionally.....     

 

[RoundRound]

If anyone is interested I posted my impression of the Yggy and Hugo/TT in the Yggy impressions thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/766347/schiit-yggdrasil-impressions-thread/255#post_11695742

 

[mikoss]

Why you no sell Iggy to your cousin after two days?

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I have not, you must be thinking of Mike.

Sorry David A.,

A case poor writing on my part. I was responding to a post by another David. My apologies!

 

[purrin]

  IIRC some DAC's out there with ENOB of 21 (Vega, DAC2 HGC) as verified in Sterophile measurements. 

 
You can't verify DAC relative accuracy with Stereophile measurements. Completely different thing.
 
In any event, I found that Yggy easily outresolved Vega, which was already pretty darn resolving (only be surpassed by two or three other DS DACs). Not to mention other aspects you already mentioned.
 

Why you no sell Iggy to your cousin after two days?

 
LOLOLOLOL!


 
uote:

  Every component has a sound signature no matter how high end, and system matching is always important. For me it is about maximizing the sound for a given budget and doing that with proper system matching. At the level of my current system, the Dac is no longer the weak link in the chain. All other combinations were improved with Yggy in the chain. So I am happy working with it and playing around with other factors as I continue to improve my system. My feeling is once you have a highly resolving source, it is easier to tell the differences and limitations in other components.

 
I totally understand.
 
I do believe in component matching and synergies, but the Yggy is so resolving without any warts, that perhaps tonal or timbral coloring is best accomplished later down the chain with amp or transducer. Let's say I preferred a warmer more lush sound. It would be stupid to buy a less resolving but warmer DAC to start (usually for more money) because that ability to reproduce low-level information is already not as good. Easy to make things sound warmer, leaner, etc. Difficult to make things sound more detailed than what's on the recording or have less strange artifacts. 

 

[llkmi]

  Get out the cheese and wine and have others come to you!

LOL - it is in my cozy home office which is cluttered with all the stuff we have nowhere to put, excess audio components and stuff I need to sell on eBay  - so it would be an awkward listening party at best, taking turns sitting behind my desk My other room is an acoustic disaster so that's not much of an option either (assuming I would even want to restart the burn in/ warm up again after moving it.)

 

[amalgamist]

  I'm very interested in how the Yggy compared to Chord Hugo, anyone with any impressions?

 
last post on this page http://www.head-fi.org/t/766347/schiit-yggdrasil-impressions-thread/255

 

[Maxx134]

 
IIRC some DAC's out there with ENOB of 21 (Vega, DAC2 HGC) as verified in Sterophile measurements. 

You can't verify DAC relative accuracy with Stereophile measurements. Completely different thing.

In any event, I found that Yggy easily outresolved Vega, which was already pretty darn resolving (only be surpassed by two or three other DS DACs). Not to mention other aspects you already mentioned.

Why you no sell Iggy to your cousin after two days?

 
Every component has a sound signature no matter how high end, and system matching is always important. For me it is about maximizing the sound for a given budget and doing that with proper system matching. At the level of my current system, the Dac is no longer the weak link in the chain. All other combinations were improved with Yggy in the chain. So I am happy working with it and playing around with other factors as I continue to improve my system. My feeling is once you have a highly resolving source, it is easier to tell the differences and limitations in other components.

I totally understand.

I do believe in component matching and synergies, but the Yggy is so resolving without any warts, that perhaps tonal or timbral coloring is best accomplished later down the chain with amp or transducer. Let's say I preferred a warmer more lush sound. It would be stupid to buy a less resolving but warmer DAC to start (usually for more money) because that ability to reproduce low-level information is already not as good. Easy to make things sound warmer, leaner, etc. Difficult to make things sound more detailed than what's on the recording or have less strange artifacts. 

This! ^ ^ ^

This is exactly the solution to the scenario that played out in comparison to the Lampy4...

I felt I could have easily swapped in more romantic sounding tubes into my amp and achieved a similar if not greater sound, because the yggy gave more resolving audience applause.
So that was proof that the yggy was the more accurate one..

I have that option to change sound because I use a tube amp.
Thats why I would only recomend a tube amp to anyone looking for an amp.
I wont want to be responsible for suggesting an amp that is "fixed" in signature,
which is what all Solid State amps are..

 

[Jose R]

I have that option to change sound because I use a tube amp.
Thats why I would only recomend a tube amp to anyone looking for an amp.
I wont want to be responsible for suggesting an amp that is "fixed" in signature,
which is what all Solid State amps are..

 
Although generally true that you can alter the sound of a tube amp by changing the output tubes, or driver tubes.
 
The same can be said for solid state headphone amplifiers which use operational amplifiers as output devices. More so in the case of DIY, but also in the case of a few commercial amplifiers.
 
Those amplifiers with discrete output stages are probably "fixed" in design.

 

[Jones Bob]

 
 
Those amplifiers with discrete output stages are probably "fixed" in design.

 
Wish that were so.....

.
 
Then I could put to rest the DIY demons in my head.