[DenverW]

So I previously had a Gumby and "downgraded" to a bifrost 2. I'm curious to all the current and former BF2 owners: how far up the ladder do you need to go to find a noticable improvement in sound to the bifrost 2? Previously I didn't mind the downgrade because my amp may not have been as revealing.

I've been looking into chord, denafrips, and other brands. Anyone feel that it was worth it, or stick with the BF2, which is excellent?

 

[mab1376]

So I previously had a Gumby and "downgraded" to a bifrost 2. I'm curious to all the current and former BF2 owners: how far up the ladder do you need to go to find a noticable improvement in sound to the bifrost 2? Previously I didn't mind the downgrade because my amp may not have been as revealing.

I've been looking into chord, denafrips, and other brands. Anyone feel that it was worth it, or stick with the BF2, which is excellent?

My only real comparison is my ps audio nuwave dac, and the bf2 definately is my preference between the 2. The Ares II is appealing to me but i want to audition it before making the leap since i like the bf2 so much.

 

[Xerosnake90]

So I previously had a Gumby and "downgraded" to a bifrost 2. I'm curious to all the current and former BF2 owners: how far up the ladder do you need to go to find a noticable improvement in sound to the bifrost 2? Previously I didn't mind the downgrade because my amp may not have been as revealing.

I've been looking into chord, denafrips, and other brands. Anyone feel that it was worth it, or stick with the BF2, which is excellent?

I feel like you'd need to jump into that 1k+ category to get a noticeable upgrade as opposed to a side grade like the Ares II. I don't know if I'll upgrade DAC until I can spring for an Yggy

I'm more interested in upgrading my Amp at this point. I'm very satisfied with the BF2

 

[carbonF1]

So I previously had a Gumby and "downgraded" to a bifrost 2. I'm curious to all the current and former BF2 owners: how far up the ladder do you need to go to find a noticable improvement in sound to the bifrost 2? Previously I didn't mind the downgrade because my amp may not have been as revealing.

I've been looking into chord, denafrips, and other brands. Anyone feel that it was worth it, or stick with the BF2, which is excellent?

Funny you say that, as I'm planning on purchasing a Gumby as a replacement for my Bifrost 2, mostly so I can take advantage of a fully balanced hardware design and built-in clock management. With what I've been looking at, any true upgrade would be at least $1k+ USD, and the "wow! improvement!" factor starting well into the $2k+ USD range (Holo Audio Spring, Yggdrasil for new, Luxman DA-06 and PS Audio Directstream for used). To me all of those options seem overkill for a headphone rig. I will most likely repurpose the Bifrost for whenever the time comes to dive into speakers.

 

[RickB]

Has anyone here heard Spoon's album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga as rendered by B2? It's incredible...

 

[Tralfaz]

So I previously had a Gumby and "downgraded" to a bifrost 2. I'm curious to all the current and former BF2 owners: how far up the ladder do you need to go to find a noticable improvement in sound to the bifrost 2? Previously I didn't mind the downgrade because my amp may not have been as revealing.

I've been looking into chord, denafrips, and other brands. Anyone feel that it was worth it, or stick with the BF2, which is excellent?

I've had this same thought but have so far held off because I don't think I've gotten the best out of the BF2 yet.

Previously I've posted about the surprising improvements I realized by using a quality USB cable between my iMac and BF2, first an AQ Cinnamon and then an AQ Carbon.

I recently replaced the Mogami interconnects I was using between my BF2 and the Linear Tube Audio MZ2-S with a pair of Discovery Signature interconnects I "borrowed" from my main system and was (once again) impressed by the improvements: greater soundstage depth, more solid images, more open presentation with instrumental and vocal lines easier to follow.

There may be performance yet to be wrung out of the BF2 though it's also possible it's now as good as it will get (or at least close to it), we'll see. Regardless, I'm a good place with the BF2 and am holding off replacing it for foreseeable future.

Good luck with your search, wherever it takes you!

 

[Guipnox]

Rice pudding + Schiit Bifrost 2 + Little Dot Mkii with Voskhod Rocket 6J1P-EV / 6ZH1P-E + Crown D75-A + Hifiman HE6seV2 = FeelsAmazingMan

 

[sennfan83261]

Rice pudding + Schiit Bifrost 2 + Little Dot Mkii with Voskhod Rocket 6J1P-EV / 6ZH1P-E + Crown D75-A + Hifiman HE6seV2 = FeelsAmazingMan

A good thing about those old workhorse Crowns is that the SE out does not have resistors in series, so technically one should get the same power output from the SE out and the rear speaker taps. In other words, one doesn't need to get a adapter (speaker taps to 4pin xlr) for those amps.

Dude why so many of them? Thinking about running two of them as monoblocks?

 

[Guipnox]

A good thing about those old workhorse Crowns is that the SE out does not have resistors in series, so technically one should get the same power output from the SE out and the rear speaker taps. In other words, one doesn't need to get a adapter (speaker taps to 4pin xlr) for those amps.

Dude why so many of them? Thinking about running two of them as monoblocks?

Yeah, they are pretty straight forward to use. Just plug your headphones.
With a preamp, you can even use them to power dynamic/sensible headphones.

I bought the first one after we talked, remember? I liked it a lot, then bought 2 other ones to resell and keep one for me.
Too bad the middle one in the pic (the first one I bought) is defective. Me and my wife tried them all and there are sound differences between them.
We are going to blind test a lot during the following days in order to verify that and to compare Bifrost 2 with my interface's (Audient iD4 mkii) DAC.
Unfortunately, the usb cable I'm using isn't the original provided by Schiit. It's a printer one my dad has here lol
But I bought a Oyaide NEO d+ Class A USB Cable from Amazon US. It should arrive here in Brazil in 15-20 days.
I still need XLR interconnects, replaceable grills and a cable for my HE6seV2.

I don't know how to run two of them as monoblocks. But maybe I can do it.

 

[sennfan83261]

I don't know how to run two of them as monoblocks. But maybe I can do it.

I remember our exchanges. My post was just am FYI to everyone else. As for running two of them in mono mode (Google Crown D75a manual, manuallibs website has it), that manual says that it must be set internally by the factory. I forgot about that part. Glad to see that you are enjoying that amp. It also works well with more sensitive planars like my LCD-3, HEKv1, and HE500. Nice macrodynamics.

 

[akelew]

Rice pudding + Schiit Bifrost 2 + Little Dot Mkii with Voskhod Rocket 6J1P-EV / 6ZH1P-E + Crown D75-A + Hifiman HE6seV2 = FeelsAmazingMan

How does the rice pudding affect it? Is it cold, warm? And how textured is it? Looks pretty full bodied, coming from an open back! Is that an equalizer you have on it? Did you use that to scoop anything?

 

[Luckyleo]

So I previously had a Gumby and "downgraded" to a bifrost 2. I'm curious to all the current and former BF2 owners: how far up the ladder do you need to go to find a noticable improvement in sound to the bifrost 2? Previously I didn't mind the downgrade because my amp may not have been as revealing.

I've been looking into chord, denafrips, and other brands. Anyone feel that it was worth it, or stick with the BF2, which is excellent?

Good question! However, the people in this thread may have a bias towards BF2..... Just guessing though

 

[DenverW]

Good question! However, the people in this thread may have a bias towards BF2..... Just guessing though

I do too! If I didn’t like the B2 so much I wouldn’t be struggling to find an upgrade under 2k .

 

[theveterans]

Good question! However, the people in this thread may have a bias towards BF2..... Just guessing though

Agreed. Unless you prefer a leaner signature but with more resolution in the bass, a GMB A2 would suffice. However, a true step up to me is Yggdrasil LIM. Pretty much take BF2's strengths (e.g. black background), add that TOTL tonality to it and further refine the soundstage depth (BF2 tends to stage slightly further back while LIM expands that evenly from front to back)

 

[Lovebox]

Rice pudding + Schiit Bifrost 2 + Little Dot Mkii with Voskhod Rocket 6J1P-EV / 6ZH1P-E + Crown D75-A + Hifiman HE6seV2 = FeelsAmazingMan

Didn't know Casio doing DAPs now, awesome!