[ckhirnigs113]

I'm using the Tidal app on my iPhone for all my music streaming. I have the Tidal Desktop App on my Windows PC. I'm going to try and do some comparisons using some music I'm very familiar with to see if I can notice a difference.

And now back on topic!

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

Hi guys,

Trying to decide what my next logical upgrade is from the BF2. I've had the Yggy GS and Gumby and the BF2 is detailed, very smooth but they sound rather flat. Not D/S flat but not as dynamic as I'd hoped. I'm wondering if the issue is because I'm running them from SE. I plan on pairing my next DAC with a tube amp so having SE outputs that are gimped is going to be a problem. I'm thinking of getting the Topping D90 as it's said to be very detailed and pairing it with a nice tube amp like the DecWare or BHC would allow me to circumvent it's downfalls (small soundstage, flat sound, brighter leanings, etc.) Does anyone want to chime in? At this point pairing a R2R or multibit DAC with a tube amp that I plan to tune warm doesn't seem to make much sense to me as it's be overly congested. Yggy A2 is tuned like the BF2, the Gumby was nice but seems to only sound its best from balanced, and the Amethyst/Metrum offerings might be too warm to mix with a warm amp.

I can give you some impressions this week I have the BF2, D90, BHC, MOGWAI OG, Pendant and a Matrix i3Pro incoming...

 

[scottshields]

Curious about how many leave their BF2 on all the time? I'm sure many have likely seen this:



For any who've tried turning the BF2 on/off vs leaving on I'd love to hear thoughts you'd be willing to share around if and what the sonic differences may be? I won't lead the witness with my thoughts here first.

 

[Ripper2860]

I leave my 2 BF2s on 24x7, Texas power grid permitting. Honestly, I think a 20 minute warmup is all that is required to get the BF2 electronics nice and toasty for optimal performance. In my case, it's how my gear is situated making the rear power switch difficult to access that causes me to leave it on at all times.

Schiit has stated previously that Gumby and Yggy are their only DACs that benefit sonically from extended power on / warmup.

(I'm not gonna beat the power switch location dead horse.)

 

[Guidostrunk]

24/7 here. I even leave my amps on 24/7. The Mjolnir 2 takes forever to get to optimal performance.

 

[Tralfaz]

Another owner who leaves the BF2 on all the time. Sometimes I think it makes a difference sonically but mostly I do it because it's a pain to shut off and turn on because of the location of the power switch.

 

[scottshields]

Another owner who leaves the BF2 on all the time. Sometimes I think it makes a difference sonically but mostly I do it because it's a pain to shut off and turn on because of the location of the power switch.

I've started leaving mine all all the time too and It seems like the bass has improved to my ears. I have a Eurforia but the tubes should already have burned in. Perhaps it's just my looking for a difference.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Tubes?

 

[scottshields]

Tubes?

Sorry I meant to convey that while I have a tube amp that is sourced from a BF2 that the tubes should be fully burned it at this point to minimize that as the factor for the change in sonics I felt I observed from the BF2

 

[Neweymatt]

Curious about how many leave their BF2 on all the time? I'm sure many have likely seen this:



For any who've tried turning the BF2 on/off vs leaving on I'd love to hear thoughts you'd be willing to share around if and what the sonic differences may be? I won't lead the witness with my thoughts here first.

Hmmm, well I've been switching the BF2 on each morning, and then off at the end of the day, where it is on my desk its no problem to reach the switch. I don't think it needs much "warm up time", maybe 5-10 minutes? if I do listen to it immediately, it can sometimes sound a bit "glassy" or "grainy".

Might just leave it on 24/7 for now, after hearing PS Audio thoughts and recommendations. Will keep an eye on the electricity bill...

 

[Neweymatt]

2) I realized that although digital bits are digital and all, my music sounds way better through my main Windows pc rig vs iPhone

Weird, I noticed similar comparing iPhone->CCK->BF2 playing the same Tidal tracks as MBP->BF2.

No idea why the laptop sounds better, more detailed, and with deeper bass, but it definitely does. Is the CCK at fault here maybe?

 

[Guidostrunk]

Weird, I noticed similar comparing iPhone->CCK->BF2 playing the same Tidal tracks as MBP->BF2.

No idea why the laptop sounds better, more detailed, and with deeper bass, but it definitely does. Is the CCK at fault here maybe?

I use android and for me my laptop sounds better. For the longest time I used a phone and tried a laptop we had laying around a few years ago. Never looked back.
It was and still is always said that pc/laptop is too noisy via USB.
Regardless, it still sounds better than my phone no matter what app I use or bit perfect player.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Sounds like the consensus is that phones are not as good as computers as a source. I wonder how much improvement comes with going to a dedicated streamer.

 

[Smoothstereo]

What audio player are folks using on their Windows 10 pc/laptop with BF2? If pc/laptops are better than using Android phone, i might need to switch to my laptop.

Just thought it was more convenient with Android phones and thought sound was on par compared to pcs/laptops.

 

[Neweymatt]

Sounds like the consensus is that phones are not as good as computers as a source. I wonder how much improvement comes with going to a dedicated streamer.

Yes, that is a very good question, wonder if anyone is using a dedicated streamer like Allo DigiOne or pi2AES with Bifrost?

Darko seems to rate the former, and the latter gets raves on A Nother Forum....

I'd be quite happy to tinker with an RPi based box like this, but only if it's going to deliver noticeable SQ improvement over what I have already with Unison USB from the MacBookPro.