Schiit Audio Bifrost 2
Sep 18, 2019 at 9:14 PM Post #76 of 4,812
Yeah the bass quantity increased throughout the day and mids opened up a bit. To me, however, it still sounded great cold :)

What amp were you using? I've been using the Jot balanced all day, which has pretty tight defined bass and forward mids so maybe that helped. The Bifrost 2 + Jot balanced really sounds great.
I use a mainline and a whammy. My set up allows me to directly A/B between the old and new bifrost. There was no comparison when the new one was cold. It sounded like crap cold compared to the old one (warm). Once the new one warmed up for an hour, it was fine.

I realize this nears close to audio science, but I just don’t see how a person can compare something as subtle as a DAC with out instant A/B testing. That’s just me.
 
Sep 18, 2019 at 10:00 PM Post #78 of 4,812
I see, that makes sense. I might try A/Bing the SE vs. balanced on the Jot with the Bifrost vs. Modi Multibit for fun.
The challenge there is the volume. The balanced output of the Bifrost will be much higher than the SE output of the Modi.
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 12:25 AM Post #80 of 4,812
My Bifrost2 arrived today, having a quick listen..
using Lyr3 with multibit card installed, reissue Tung-Sol tube and HD6XX headphones. Initial impressions against the multibit card are.. favourable. More on that below.

Unfortunately the Bifrost2 is louder than the card so volume needs to be adjusted when changing between them. I hooked up both the BF2 and the card via USB to the computer and flip the input switch on the Lyr3 as well as changing output device on the computer to change between them (takes about 1-2 seconds).

The BF2 is clearly better in all regards I can think of, including soundstage, holography, realism, separation, transparency, effortlessness, vocals (that can be hauntingly realistic). Changing to the card and all “falls flat” (in comparison mind you, the card is really good too).

In short; the card is magic, the BF2 is (a lot) more magic!

WOW!-moment: Enigma - The platinum collection, song Voyageur (club mix)

Shivers down my spine-moment: Michael Jackson - Thriller, song Thriller (especially just before and when Vincent Price starts saying “darkness falls across the land...”)

I’m sure there will be more moments as the listen continues.. :)
Sounds good, thanks for sharing.
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 6:50 AM Post #81 of 4,812
Here is a stupid question ...

The schiit website shows a pic of the new bifrost 2 in black ... The side panel shown appears to be silver ... Is that due to lighting and shadows? Is the whole unit black (top and both sides) ... Again sorry for the stupid question
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 7:41 AM Post #82 of 4,812
Here is a stupid question ...

The schiit website shows a pic of the new bifrost 2 in black ... The side panel shown appears to be silver ... Is that due to lighting and shadows? Is the whole unit black (top and both sides) ... Again sorry for the stupid question

The side panel, actually it's part of the inner/bottom chassis, on the majority of their products is a gray steel. I have the Asgard 3 in black and can confirm the bottom chassis including the sides is not black.
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 7:46 AM Post #83 of 4,812
Has anyone compared:
Unison > Bifrost2 > SE
versus
Gen5/Eitr > Gumby > SE?
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 6:23 PM Post #84 of 4,812
Got my Bifrost yesterday and initial impressions are very positive. It's a big step up in every respect from the SMSL SU-8, as it should be considering the massive price difference. What strikes me most is the bass improvement: extension, slam, rumble, everything about the bass is better. My TH-900 rattles my skull on certain tracks where it didn't before. Resolution, dynamics, and separation are noticeably improved as well. Very happy with the purchase.

PC running Tidal > USB -> Bifrost -> XLR -> Massdrop THX 789
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 10:15 PM Post #85 of 4,812
I noticed the default bitrate for my Bifrost 2 was set at 32/192 out of the box, which is odd because I thought the max supported was 24/192
Anyone else try it on the higher bitrate? Not sure if I can tell a difference to be honest, but I don't have the best ears...

En4fYvP.jpg
 
Sep 19, 2019 at 10:19 PM Post #86 of 4,812
Interesting, on my Mac it was also defaulting to 32/192. I changed it to 16/44.1 (it clicks when you change it), which I think enables it to use its own filter for oversampling (please someone correct me if I'm wrong). I use Audirvana with it set to no additional oversampling. I read somewhere Bifrost will 4x oversample based on its own filter.
 
Sep 20, 2019 at 1:51 AM Post #87 of 4,812
Interesting, on my Mac it was also defaulting to 32/192. I changed it to 16/44.1 (it clicks when you change it), which I think enables it to use its own filter for oversampling (please someone correct me if I'm wrong). I use Audirvana with it set to no additional oversampling. I read somewhere Bifrost will 4x oversample based on its own filter.
Correct. New bifrost is 8x, even. 4x OS was old bifrost.
 
Sep 20, 2019 at 6:53 AM Post #88 of 4,812
Got my Bifrost yesterday and initial impressions are very positive. It's a big step up in every respect from the SMSL SU-8, as it should be considering the massive price difference. What strikes me most is the bass improvement: extension, slam, rumble, everything about the bass is better. My TH-900 rattles my skull on certain tracks where it didn't before. Resolution, dynamics, and separation are noticeably improved as well. Very happy with the purchase.

PC running Tidal > USB -> Bifrost -> XLR -> Massdrop THX 789

How good is Bifrost 2 at soundstage in comparison to SU-8? I prefer SU-8 to Mimby because of large soundstage.
 

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