Schiit Audio Bifrost 2

[zexk]

Got my BF2 back from Schiit, they actually were able to reproduce my problem this time and did some repairs. So now I'm getting to know it.

Is it supposed to still be visible in Windows even with the power off? Trying to actually use it while it's off crashes stuff because, well, it's off. But I don't think I've ever noticed if it was still visible to Windows when off before.

Yes. My BF2 still shows up under device manager even when it's off. It also the same with my Gungnir, Modi Multibit 2 and Eitr.

 

[Quiz]

I leave my Bifrost 2/64 powered on 24/7 and noticed that it gets pretty darn hot if the A/C is off in my room. If the A/C was off in my room for some extended period of time, the Bifrost is *almost* too hot to touch for an extended period of time. If the A/C has been on in the room, then the Bifrost is cool. The same thing happens with my Saga 2 which is stacked on top of the Bifrost. It too gets very hot when the A/C is off.

Just want to know if this is normal or anything to worry about?

 

[mekap]

I leave my Bifrost 2/64 powered on 24/7 and noticed that it gets pretty darn hot if the A/C is off in my room. If the A/C was off in my room for some extended period of time, the Bifrost is *almost* too hot to touch for an extended period of time. If the A/C has been on in the room, then the Bifrost is cool. The same thing happens with my Saga 2 which is stacked on top of the Bifrost. It too gets very hot when the A/C is off.

Just want to know if this is normal or anything to worry about?

I don't turn my BF 2/64 on 24/7, but when I turn it on and listen for a few hours, it doesn't get hot, it's slightly warm, just a nice warmth when you touch it with your palm.

I think it's not normal that it's hot. It's not a class A amplifier, it's a DAC, it shouldn't get that hot.

 

[theveterans]

I don't turn my BF 2/64 on 24/7, but when I turn it on and listen for a few hours, it doesn't get hot, it's slightly warm, just a nice warmth when you touch it with your palm.

I think it's not normal that it's hot. It's not a class A amplifier, it's a DAC, it shouldn't get that hot.

The DAC has an output stage that’s class A voltage gain only and it has a linear power supply hence why they get hot. Yggdrasil gets even hotter than BF 2/64 on the same room temperature BTW

 

[mekap]

The DAC has an output stage that’s class A voltage gain only and it has a linear power supply hence why they get hot. Yggdrasil gets even hotter than BF 2/64 on the same room temperature BTW

He says that the BF gets very hot and he has to turn on the air conditioner. I think that this is not normal for the DAC, it should not get very hot and be very hot.

 

[theveterans]

He says that the BF gets very hot and he has to turn on the air conditioner. I think that this is not normal for the DAC, it should not get very hot and be very hot.

My room has AC on all the time and even then my BF2 OG is still a gentle warm to touch. I recon on a 28-30 degrees C room simulating a typical tropical country climate, BF2 will be at least about 50 degrees hot

 

[dstarr3]

Yeah, mine gets warm to the touch, maybe like body temperature, so around 100'F. 50'C sounds way too hot, though. Might want to reach out to Schiit and see what they think

 

[Rattle]

If I stack my jot 2 on top of my BF2 they both get pretty damn hot. If I don't stack then they get warm. Stacking makes 2x more heat easily. @Quiz try setting them up not stacked and if it still runs hot as hell there's probably an issue. If it's just warm to the touch it's probably fine.

 

[Blindranger]

I would add spacers under the components, especially if stacked, to ensure maximum airflow. It dramatically helped keep my pile of Schiit cooler.

 

[STEVEN DAVIS]

I finally got my bifrost 2/64. I am absolutely in love how long should I let it warm up before listening?

 

[theeclone]

I finally got my bifrost 2/64. I am absolutely in love how long should I let it warm up before listening?

You should listen right away! Then see if you notice improvements over time. I would run music through it constantly for a few days personally. Some don't put much stock in long burn in time. I'm not one of them

 

[pure5152]

I finally got my bifrost 2/64. I am absolutely in love how long should I let it warm up before listening?

from my personal experience, it sounds a little harsh in the highs and slightly veiled on first start; after 24 hours it sounds a lot clearer but the veil/harshness doesn't really go away until around 48 hours. it continues to improve subtly (more nuance/microdynamics/involvement) until about a week in, where it just starts to sound effortless/refined and all harshness/veil is gone. I describe the sound as "breathtaking" at that point, it just sounds so good

as for why warming-up can make a difference, mike moffat has mentioned that multibit dacs need time to settle into their INL spec. resistors vary with temperature, and the very precise resistor values in multibit dacs need time to thermally stabilize and output the correct voltages (i.e. the INL error lowers as the resistors stabilize). it seems to take around 24-48 hours for this to happen in 16-bit dacs, but from my personal experience the bifrost 2/64 takes up to a week to fully stabilize into what its fully capable of, similar to the gungnir a2 which I consider the bifrost 2/64 to be roughly on par with when fully warmed up/stabilized

 

[FellowTraveller]

from my personal experience, it sounds a little harsh in the highs and slightly veiled on first start; after 24 hours it sounds a lot clearer but the veil/harshness doesn't really go away until around 48 hours. it continues to improve subtly (more nuance/microdynamics/involvement) until about a week in, where it just starts to sound effortless/refined and all harshness/veil is gone. I describe the sound as "breathtaking" at that point, it just sounds so good

as for why warming-up can make a difference, mike moffat has mentioned that multibit dacs need time to settle into their INL spec. resistors vary with temperature, and the very precise resistor values in multibit dacs need time to thermally stabilize and output the correct voltages (i.e. the INL error lowers as the resistors stabilize). it seems to take around 24-48 hours for this to happen in 16-bit dacs, but from my personal experience the bifrost 2/64 takes up to a week to fully stabilize into what its fully capable of, similar to the gungnir a2 which I consider the bifrost 2/64 to be roughly on par with when fully warmed up/stabilized

@pure5152 Do you mean that you leave it on all that time, and that after a week of being on all the time it stabilizes into its best performance? I think that's what you mean but just want to be sure. I've never actually tried that.

 

[STEVEN DAVIS]

from my personal experience, it sounds a little harsh in the highs and slightly veiled on first start; after 24 hours it sounds a lot clearer but the veil/harshness doesn't really go away until around 48 hours. it continues to improve subtly (more nuance/microdynamics/involvement) until about a week in, where it just starts to sound effortless/refined and all harshness/veil is gone. I describe the sound as "breathtaking" at that point, it just sounds so good

as for why warming-up can make a difference, mike moffat has mentioned that multibit dacs need time to settle into their INL spec. resistors vary with temperature, and the very precise resistor values in multibit dacs need time to thermally stabilize and output the correct voltages (i.e. the INL error lowers as the resistors stabilize). it seems to take around 24-48 hours for this to happen in 16-bit dacs, but from my personal experience the bifrost 2/64 takes up to a week to fully stabilize into what its fully capable of, similar to the gungnir a2 which I consider the bifrost 2/64 to be roughly on par with when fully warmed up/stabilized

I can definitely confirm that after 48hours it sounded ALOT better then it did when I hooked it up for the first time. It just sounded so much more refined. It was pulling out alot of micro details in songs aswell. Really a amazing piece of kit. I was feeling like a made the wrong choice as I was really shooting for a holo cyan 2 but now I absolutely love my bifrost. It's incredible

 

[STEVEN DAVIS]

from my personal experience, it sounds a little harsh in the highs and slightly veiled on first start; after 24 hours it sounds a lot clearer but the veil/harshness doesn't really go away until around 48 hours. it continues to improve subtly (more nuance/microdynamics/involvement) until about a week in, where it just starts to sound effortless/refined and all harshness/veil is gone. I describe the sound as "breathtaking" at that point, it just sounds so good

as for why warming-up can make a difference, mike moffat has mentioned that multibit dacs need time to settle into their INL spec. resistors vary with temperature, and the very precise resistor values in multibit dacs need time to thermally stabilize and output the correct voltages (i.e. the INL error lowers as the resistors stabilize). it seems to take around 24-48 hours for this to happen in 16-bit dacs, but from my personal experience the bifrost 2/64 takes up to a week to fully stabilize into what its fully capable of, similar to the gungnir a2 which I consider the bifrost 2/64 to be roughly on par with when fully warmed up/stabilized

I can definitely confirm that after 48hours it sounded ALOT better then it did when I hooked it up for the first time. It just sounded so much more refined. It was pulling out alot of micro details in songs aswell. Really a amazing piece of kit. I was feeling like a made the wrong choice as I was really shooting for a holo cyan 2 but now I absolutely love my bifrost. It's incredible