[JerryLeeds]

Anyone do any comparisons between the BF2 vs RME ADI-2 DAC?

I know the feature set on the RME is huge.

 

[Alcophone]

Bifrost 2 #3 in the house! Curiously, with a lower serial number than #2. Working so far, came with new firmware.

 

[Alcophone]

Schiit published a video showing what the LEDs look like during a firmware update:


That was helpful. In hindsight, when I attempted the update with unit #2, the LEDs just showed the normal boot sequence for me. Since I was able to select the USB input without the USB cable plugged in (same on unit #3), I assumed the update was successful. Checking again, the micro SD card I used was formatted with FAT, not FAT32. When I first tried it, I saw "FAT" and figured "great, not exFAT", but forgot about the the old FAT16.
Windows did not allow me to format that card with FAT32 and 32 kB cluster size because it's a 2 GB card (16 kB was the highest offered). With a 4 GB card that I tried, Windows would have allowed formatting with FAT32 and 32 kB cluster size, but it already used that, so I didn't reformat.
I copied the two firmware files onto that card (which still had other files on it), tried again, now the LEDs flashed like in Schiit's video, and everything's still working.

So, if you do the firmware update yourself using Windows 10, you'll need a micro SD card with at least 4 GB capacity (though third party formatting tools might allow 32 kB cluster size with less capacity), it needs to use FAT32 (not FAT/FAT16/exFAT), and 32 kB cluster size (didn't try a different one, but that's what Schiit says on the website).

 

[Alcophone]

Is anyone using WASAPI (event) mode in foobar2000? My unit seems super picky about the buffer length settings, the default 25ms results in only 44.1 and 88.2 kHz sounding fine, while 48/96/176.4/192 kHz are choppy/distorted. With 200ms all sample rates sound that way, with 0/10/20ms all sample rates sound okay. 21/22/23/24/25ms all result in some (but different) sample rates not working. Adobe Audition with WASAPI or ASIO4all habe the same issue, and changing the buffer offset in ASIO4all also breaks different sample rates depending on the setting.
What are your experiences? I think I checked that with the first unit and didn't have issues.

 

[Ripper2860]

Any of you fine folks know if the Bifrost 2 Unison USB chip is USB bus powered or is it powered via the main power circuitry? Can I use a USB cable with no 5v+ line?

 

[JerryLeeds]

Question ... How do you determine the firmware version present on the BF2?

 

[tincanear]

Any of you fine folks know if the Bifrost 2 Unison USB chip is USB bus powered or is it powered via the main power circuitry? Can I use a USB cable with no 5v+ line?

for Bifrost 2, assume powered by the USB cable. to confirm, try unplugging the usb, power off Bifrost 2, then plug usb back in and see if host device sees the turned-off Bifrost 2.

 

[JoeKickass]

for Bifrost 2, assume powered by the USB cable. to confirm, try unplugging the usb, power off Bifrost 2, then plug usb back in and see if host device sees the turned-off Bifrost 2.

Confirmed it does not show up on the PC until you flick the on switch

 

[Ripper2860]

for Bifrost 2, assume powered by the USB cable. to confirm, try unplugging the usb, power off Bifrost 2, then plug usb back in and see if host device sees the turned-off Bifrost 2.

Confirmed it does not show up on the PC until you flick the on switch

So if the host PC does not see the USB connected BF2 until the BF2 is switched on, then that indicates that the Unison USB chip is powered by the BF2 power supply and not powered via USB 5v+ from the PC. That makes sense as that is likely one of the design features that contributes to the lower noise attributes of Unison USB. It also means I can use my custom HQ USB cables that have the 5V+ line neutered.

(And confirms that the USB controller chip in EITR and Modi MB are powered by the PC USB 5v+ as neither worked with the neutered cable, while my Topping D50 DAC does work with the neutered cable. )

Thanks!!!

 

[internethandle]

So if the host PC does not see the USB connected BF2 until the BF2 is switched on, then that indicates that the Unison USB chip is powered by the BF2 power supply and not powered via USB 5v+ from the PC. That makes sense as that is likely one of the design features that contributes to the lower noise attributes of Unison USB. It also means I can use my custom HQ USB cables that have the 5V+ line neutered.

(And confirms that the USB controller chip in EITR and Modi MB are powered by the PC USB 5v+ as neither worked with the neutered cable, while my Topping D50 DAC does work with the neutered cable. )

Thanks!!!

Gen 5 USB (so, also the Eitr), if I'm recalling correctly, was powered by the DAC/device's power supply, but still needed 3V (not sure where I got this from, could be a little less) or so to complete a handshake/power some handshake circuitry on the Gen 5 board. Jason explained as much back when. Unsure if that's still the case on the Unison board, but the only way to tell for sure would be to tape over the 5v+ pin on a USB cable's B connector, plug it into a BF2, and try and play some music (or use a data-only cable).

edit: well, or have Jason/someone from Schiit tell us as much

 

[Ripper2860]

Interesting. That might explain the EITR, but not Modi MB (no Gen 5 variation), but it is a rather unorthodox unit using non-audio DAC chip that may require special handling. Thanks!!

 

[bigbenrfan99]

My unit arrived yesterday. After a few hours of warmup time, I have very favorable initial impressions. I definitely think I'm hearing a fuller sound with more details and more bass impact compared to what I'm used to with my Modi Multibit with both coaxial and USB inputs. I will spend more time with the Bifrost 2 before directly comparing them. I'm using a Lyr 3 and a Grado GH4. Just when I thought out, Schiit pulls me back in.

 

[BringingthePhunk]

Excuse my ignorance, especially if I'm about to ask a very stupid question. I am a happy owner of a Jotunheim with Multibit DAC added.
So on the Schiit website, it states the that the Jotunheim Multibit DAC module is "Schiit’s unique digital filter and multibit DAC architecture, as used in Modi Multibit..."
And then on the Modi page, it states the DAC module is "Schiit’s unique digital filter, and using the same Analog Devices AD5547 multibit DAC as Bifrost."
The Bifrost page then states it has the same chips as the Gungnir which has the same chips as the Yggdrasil.

Does that mean by getting the Jotunheim Multibit DAC, it's the same DAC as inside the Yggdrasil? I feel like I'm misunderstanding something basic here...

 

[Alcophone]

Excuse my ignorance, especially if I'm about to ask a very stupid question. I am a happy owner of a Jotunheim with Multibit DAC added.
So on the Schiit website, it states the that the Jotunheim Multibit DAC module is "Schiit’s unique digital filter and multibit DAC architecture, as used in Modi Multibit..."
And then on the Modi page, it states the DAC module is "Schiit’s unique digital filter, and using the same Analog Devices AD5547 multibit DAC as Bifrost."
The Bifrost page then states it has the same chips as the Gungnir which has the same chips as the Yggdrasil.

Does that mean by getting the Jotunheim Multibit DAC, it's the same DAC as inside the Yggdrasil? I feel like I'm misunderstanding something basic here...

That was true for Bifrost Multibit (Multibit version of Bifrost 1), which uses the same 16 bit chips as Modi Multibit and the multibit module, but Bifrost 2 (which only comes as Multibit) uses better chips now, though still a lower grade of the 18 bit chips that Gungnir Multibit uses (AD5781ARUZ vs. AD5781BRUZ), and two instead of four (since Bifrost 2 is "cheap ass balanced" while Gungnir Multibit uses two chips per channel in order to be hardware balanced).
Oh, and Yggdrasil uses 4x AD5791BRUZ, which are 20 bit chips.

 

[kumar402]

On another forum it's not just considered established fact that the Gungnir Multibit has received a silent Analog 2 update, but that the Bifrost Multibit also has seen a change that supposedly makes it sound significantly closer to a Gungnir Multibit (Analog 1, presumably).

Call me extreme, but to confirm burn-in as the reason for sound differences, I would buy two new units at the same time, open them up to confirm there are absolutely no visible differences (Schiit silently sold a few Yggdrasil Analog 2s at the old price before announcing the change, so it's conceivable that someone ordering two units may receive one older and one newer revision), confirm that the sound is the same initially (to account for good parts/bad parts, differences in the burn-in time at Schiit HQ, etc.), then use one for, say, 200+ hours with the other one sitting in a box, then turn the new one off and let it cool down for, say 4+ hours, then turn both units on at the same time, ideally with a Y splitter for power and identical power cables. If I then hear profound differences, going back and forth with the exact same cables, transducers, etc., I would be relatively certain it's burn-in (vs. warm up, silent revisions, parts differences, etc.)

Well as an owner of Gungnir MB, I can say with confidence that Gungnir sounds different 3 to 4 days after being on then on very first day. On first day it sounded cold and bright. I left it on for few days and then compared against Qutest and to my surprise I experienced dense tonality of Multibit for first time with better treble. I never switched it off after that and got better surge protector to protect it.