[HiFiHawaii808]

I have a bottlehead crack and I needed a DAC, so I bought the Modi Multibit. I love the sound. But, I was wondering, how much improvement to the sound does a DAC upgrade make like to the Schiit Bifrost or Gungnir?

 

[cebuboy]

I have a bottlehead crack and I needed a DAC, so I bought the Modi Multibit. I love the sound. But, I was wondering, how much improvement to the sound does a DAC upgrade make like to the Schiit Bifrost or Gungnir?

I also use a BH Crack with HD650 and Modi MB before springing for the Bifrost 2. If you have the money, get one. If you like the multibit sound, you will like the Bifrost 2.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I also use a BH Crack with HD650 and Modi MB before springing for the Bifrost 2. If you have the money, get one. If you like the multibit sound, you will like the Bifrost 2.

What type of improvements to Sound Quality will such an upgrade get?

 

[ozz]

Welp, this is the end of the road for this macbook, this is a 2008 model... Can't upgrade the OS anymore. 10.11.6 is the latest for this mac, but is just refuses to die.

I gave my 2009 away for that same reason but still works for the person I gave to just can not upgrade it.

 

[Ripper2860]

For USB on BF2 the computer or device connecting must be USB UAC 2 compliant. If it is an older USB UAC 1 MacBook, it won't work with Unison.

 

[ozz]

But o n a 2008 MacBook Pro the headphone jack doubles as SPDIF you just have to get the right cable and it could feed the B2. Monoprice has all lengths and the right cable interface.

 

[rkw]

But o n a 2008 MacBook Pro the headphone jack doubles as SPDIF you just have to get the right cable and it could feed the B2. Monoprice has all lengths and the right cable interface.

This is true. The headphone jack on older MacBook Pro doubles as an optical Toslink connector. You would need an optical cable with 3.5mm mini Toslink at one end, and standard Toslink on the other end. However, @cebuboy is already using USB+Eitr and it may not be an improvement.

 

[NigelJ]

...I ended up replacing the Asgard 3 with a Jotunheim to satisfy my long-standing craving for a balanced chain, and it turned out the Jotunheim better aligns to my preferred sound signature. I’m surprised, however, to see so few users singing the praise of this combination—and to think they wanted “cheap-ass balanced” on the Bifrost 2 specifically to have a Jotunheim-sized balanced DAC to stack on top of it!

(red highlight added)

Don't stack the Bifrost on top of the Jotunheim, stack the amplifier on top of the DAC, see:

I stack my Asgard 3 on top of my Bifrost 2. They get warm. It's fine. We wouldn't have a 5-year warranty if we didn't think they wouldn't last 10 when stacked like that. Remember, we've been around for 9.5 years now, building products that ran a LOT hotter than Asgard 3 and Lyr 3 (looking at you, previous Asgards and Lyrs), without thermal failures.

Before I stacked the Asgard 3 and Bifrost 2, I stacked my Lyr 3 on top of my Bifrost 2 prototype (which was in a 3D printed plastic chassis.) The plastic chassis melted a bit, but it worked fine for about a year otherwise.

However...stacking things on top of the amp (Jotunheim, Asgard 3, etc) is not such a great idea--which is why the manuals say you shouldn't block the vent holes.

(red highlights added)

 

[Rattle]

I don't stack my Asgard 3 and Bifrost2. They both run much cooler without being stacked. It looks cool stacked but way hotter. Way less heat if not stacked. Probably doesn't matter but the difference is huge.

 

[bboris77]

I don't stack my Asgard 3 and Bifrost2. They both run much cooler without being stacked. It looks cool stacked but way hotter. Way less heat if not stacked. Probably doesn't matter but the difference is huge.

I felt the same way. I am sure that it was 100% safe and within the spec, but the Asgard 3 gets very hot on the bottom, and the Bifrost 2 gets warm all around, much more so than the Bifrost 1. That made me slightly uncomfortable mainly because the Bifrost 2 ran at least 5C warmer with the toasty Asgard 3 on top of it than it did on its own. Whether it impacted the performance or longevity, it is hard to tell.

 

[Rattle]

I felt the same way. I am sure that it was 100% safe and within the spec, but the Asgard 3 gets very hot on the bottom, and the Bifrost 2 gets warm all around, much more so than the Bifrost 1. That made me slightly uncomfortable mainly because the Bifrost 2 ran at least 5C warmer with the toasty Asgard 3 on top of it than it did on its own. Whether it impacted the performance or longevity, it is hard to tell.

My stack got significantly toasty stacked. I didn't measure it but it was pretty damn hot, especially BF2 which never gets north of warm in my headphone rack. It almost acted as an addition heatsink to the A3. A3 was hotter than it's ever got on top of BF2 as well. I don't need it stacked as I have a small metal headphone rack that keeps things very cool and I have more than one amp and dac.

 

[cebuboy]

What type of improvements to Sound Quality will such an upgrade get?

the first thing I noticed is that there is better separation and air, top end is smoother analog like, details are great but not harsh anymore. Will listen to it more.

 

[NigelJ]

...Whether it impacted the performance or longevity, it is hard to tell.

I am not certain if you realise that the Jason Stoddard I quoted in my post is the co-owner and founder of Schiit Audio, the designer of their amplifiers, and has input to their DAC designs. As he clearly stated that there "it's fine", I do not think that anyone need have any concern about stacking with the amplifier on top:

I stack my Asgard 3 on top of my Bifrost 2. They get warm. It's fine. We wouldn't have a 5-year warranty if we didn't think they wouldn't last 10 when stacked like that. Remember, we've been around for 9.5 years now, building products that ran a LOT hotter than Asgard 3 and Lyr 3 (looking at you, previous Asgards and Lyrs), without thermal failures. ...

Edit:

I did not intend to imply that they will not run cooler when not directly stacked: either placed next to each other (but remember to allow space between them for ventilation through the Asgard's side vents); or on racking. Nor did I intend to imply that cooler running would be an issue. However, remember they are intended to be reasonably compact desktop components and not full size components, that would be more expected to be placed on a rack. I would not like to discourage possible future owners, by giving them the erroneous idea that they cannot be safely stacked and require extra space or dedicated racking.

PS I am currently happily using an Asguard 3 and Bifrost 2 stack as a living room system, but am in the course of planning a new setup in which they may well end up not stacked and placed on racking along with my AV equipment.

 

[bboris77]

I am not certain if you realise that the Jason Stoddard I quoted in my post is the co-owner and founder of Schiit Audio, the designer of their amplifiers, and has input to their DAC designs. As he clearly stated that there "it's fine", I do not think that anyone need have any concern about stacking with the amplifier on top:


Edit:

I did not intend to imply that they will not run cooler when not directly stacked: either placed next to each other (but remember to allow space between them for ventilation through the Asgard's side vents); or on racking. Nor did I intend to imply that cooler running would be an issue. However, remember they are intended to be reasonably compact desktop components and not full size components, that would be more expected to be placed on a rack. I would not like to discourage possible future owners, by giving them the erroneous idea that they cannot be safely stacked and require extra space or dedicated racking.

PS I am currently happily using an Asguard 3 and Bifrost 2 stack as a living room system, but am in the course of planning a new setup in which they may well end up not stacked and placed on racking along with my AV equipment.

It is good that Jason confirmed that it should not impact the longevity of these components. My only question would be whether the fluctuations in temperature caused by turning the Asgard 3 on and off while it is on top of the Bifrost 2 could potentially affect the performance of the DAC in any way. Remember, the Yggdrasil is famous for requiring an extended warm up time to sound its best. I know that there has been a lot of debate whether this is placebo or not, but let's assume for a second that it is real. Since the Bifrost 2 is also a resistor-based DAC, it is plausible to assume that it has a temperature range in which it operates most efficiently. Since turning on the Asgard 3 changes the operating temperature of the Bifrost 2 by at least 5 degrees Celsius, it would be interesting to know how that affects the performance of the DAC. Perhaps people who stack these 2 should keep the Asgard 3 on all the time to eliminate temperature fluctuations.

Or maybe it's just all audiophilia nervosa, and it makes exactly zero difference

 

[quimbo]

I placed these between my BiFrost 1 and Lyr 3 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081KVKCZ9/ - and the temperature is lower based on feel. I also put a set between my desktop and BiFrost 1