[Autiomatic]

As someone who has often lurked and seldom said much, I now have a question I wonder if someone may help me with. I have owned the original Bifrost for many years, and have upgraded it as much as it can be (most recently the Unison USB upgrade). Last night I did a comparison between my Modius (both outputs) and my Bifrost on a fairly resolving system, and found the Bifrost to have a more 3D image. The Modius seemed flatter in comparison and musical elements seemed to occupy more definite space in the soundstage on the Bifrost than the Modius. Being able to discern this difference has ignited the upgraditis in me and I’m wondering, for those who may have chosen to upgrade from the OG Bifrost to the Bifrost 2, how much of a difference there is between the two. I’m particularly interested now with this recent upgrade, and the comparisons to the Yggy LIM. The OG Yggy is my dream DAC, but it would likely be many years (or a lottery win) before that could become a reality.

I should also mention that I’m very intrigued by the in-house delta-sigma design that Mike and Dave are working on, and have been waiting on it’s release before committing one way or the other.

 

[theveterans]

As someone who has often lurked and seldom said much, I now have a question I wonder if someone may help me with. I have owned the original Bifrost for many years, and have upgraded it as much as it can be (most recently the Unison USB upgrade). Last night I did a comparison between my Modius (both outputs) and my Bifrost on a fairly resolving system, and found the Bifrost to have a more 3D image. The Modius seemed flatter in comparison and musical elements seemed to occupy more definite space in the soundstage on the Bifrost than the Modius. Being able to discern this difference has ignited the upgraditis in me and I’m wondering, for those who may have chosen to upgrade from the OG Bifrost to the Bifrost 2, how much of a difference there is between the two. I’m particularly interested now with this recent upgrade, and the comparisons to the Yggy LIM. The OG Yggy is my dream DAC, but it would likely be many years (or a lottery win) before that could become a reality.

I should also mention that I’m very intrigued by the in-house delta-sigma design that Mike and Dave are working on, and have been waiting on it’s release before committing one way or the other.

I upgraded from BF1 way back then. From memory, BF2 OG (AD5781ARUZ chip) is tighter than the BF MB with better bass definition and slightly farther presentation than BF MB (not that farther staging means laid back sound IMHO). Yggy OG card is in a whole different level compared to BF2 where the sense of space is now extending from very front to back unlike BF2 OG where staging in front to back is more compressed. Yggy has more microdetails especially in the pitch/timbre inflections of instruments (thanks to its better power management, VXCO reclocker and more advanced DSP board) than BF2. Tonality wise, they're very similar with Yggy OG's bass texture is more defined but has similar level of impact.

 

[theeclone]

As someone who has often lurked and seldom said much, I now have a question I wonder if someone may help me with. I have owned the original Bifrost for many years, and have upgraded it as much as it can be (most recently the Unison USB upgrade). Last night I did a comparison between my Modius (both outputs) and my Bifrost on a fairly resolving system, and found the Bifrost to have a more 3D image. The Modius seemed flatter in comparison and musical elements seemed to occupy more definite space in the soundstage on the Bifrost than the Modius. Being able to discern this difference has ignited the upgraditis in me and I’m wondering, for those who may have chosen to upgrade from the OG Bifrost to the Bifrost 2, how much of a difference there is between the two. I’m particularly interested now with this recent upgrade, and the comparisons to the Yggy LIM. The OG Yggy is my dream DAC, but it would likely be many years (or a lottery win) before that could become a reality.

I should also mention that I’m very intrigued by the in-house delta-sigma design that Mike and Dave are working on, and have been waiting on it’s release before committing one way or the other.

I owned an O.G. Bifrost multibit but that was a while ago, and I used spdif and Gen 5 USB. To me Unison has made a really big difference so it's hard to compare. I remembered thinking the Bimby had great slam. Ppl say that about the O.G. BF2 but I think the Bimby had more.

In general I found the O.G. BF2 to be sweeter, more neutral, and warm without being as muddy. Less haze than bimby. And I think better spatial placement.

The 2/64 has even better spatial placement than the O.G. BF2 to my ears. Bigger overall soundstage. More grit, better dynamic control, more controlled and extended bass. More sparkly highs.

I still don't really understand what it is about multibit that seems to do better at these kinds of things than delta sigma, though now I'm also intrigued that Schiit are working on a unique DS dac! Didn't know that until your post. I seem to remember seeing videos of Mike talking about how many feet the wavelengths of bass frequencies are, in response to questions about multibit dacs. I never really understood what he was getting at. It was like he was saying that multibit more accurately recreates the bass frequencies. But then again I think DSD (1 bit delta sigma) has great bass

 

[Bassic Needs]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I'm having the exact same problem. If I switch the bifrost off for a few hours it will connect to my Fold 4. If I leave it on for a few hours I can't get any connection out of it.

Yes good news in post 2723 and 2724 I share what the problem and solution was: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-audio-bifrost-2.914084/post-16902421
Basically, the BF2's USB input needs a power boost from a plug-in USB hub. I bought this one for example: "SABRENT Multi-Port USB Type-C Hub with ..." https://a.co/d/44wGF6q

 

[MartyMcfly3004]

Yes good news in post 2723 and 2724 I share what the problem and solution was: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-audio-bifrost-2.914084/post-16902421
Basically, the BF2's USB input needs a power boost from a plug-in USB hub. I bought this one for example: "SABRENT Multi-Port USB Type-C Hub with ..." https://a.co/d/44wGF6q

You are an absolute legend. Will try this out and if it works I will let Schiit support know as they couldn't work it out.

 

[Bassic Needs]

You are an absolute legend. Will try this out and if it works I will let Schiit support know as they couldn't work it out.

Unfortunately Schiit's tech support seem to be unaware of this problem and solution despite it being documented on their own site: https://www.schiit.com/guides/usb-problems

DAC Not Recognized/Disconnecting

1. You may have a low-power USB port. In their quest to save us from excess USB power consumption, Windows and MacOS can cause problems by selectively suspending operation and/or having only low power available from the USB port.

2. On PCs and Macs, you may be able to eliminate it by disabling port power management. See here:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-windows-10-turning-usb-devices and https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204032

3. For all devices, a definitive solution is to use an externally powered USB 2.0 hub and insert it between your computer and your DAC. This provides power that an underpowered USB port cannot.

 

[MartyMcfly3004]

2. On PCs and Macs, you may be able to eliminate it by disabling port power management. See here:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-windows-10-turning-usb-devices and https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204032

This also makes sense why my macbook has never had an issue as I always use a powered hub with it.

 

[MartyMcfly3004]

You are an absolute legend. Will try this out and if it works I will let Schiit support know as they couldn't work it out.

Used my MacBook usb c hub and it works perfectly - this is with the Bifrost having being turned on for the last week, and it also means I can add my 250gig thumb drive to my hub so I can access my Flac files via UAPP, and the phone is being charged.

4 years of iPhone use made me forget the possibilities available with Android!

 

[tinariwen]

So a while ago (when the upgrade was released), I bought a Qutest as an upgrade to the OG BF2.

I decided I preferred its sound in my setup (Qutest, Cayin Ha-300mk2, Susvara). I realised after a bit of back and forth that the sound was cleaner, for want of a better word. Maybe more separation, maybe more detail, or a blacker background, or better extension.

The BF2 had better dynamics, but the biggest problem for me was the slightly strident lower treble. Something I hadn’t noticed before as I’d never bothered to compare the BF2 with other DACs. Once I’d noticed it though, I couldn’t stop hearing it, and so the BF2 has been boxed and put to one side.

Does the new upgrade card fix that issue, and maybe bring it closer in other aspects to the Qutest? I asked you guys back when the upgrade card was released and got some informative answers, but wondered if more of you would have the same or different opinions now

 

[Guinibee]

Hello all,
Been jumping around this thread trying to determine if I should upgrade my OG BF2 card to the BF2/64 card. The 10-12 week wait hurts, as well as the $300, but from what I'm reading there's more details with the new card and people overall enjoy the upgrade. My biggest worry is with the sample rate issues...did all that get resolved yet? I didn't want to filter this whole thread to find out, but looks like about a month ago it was a big issue. Is it still much of a problem? I figured if I have to wait 10-12 weeks it'll likely be resolved by then anyway...provided it's on the firmware side and not hardware related.

I also have not updated my firmware in a while. What is this NOS mode? Seems like folks don't like it much?

My setup has no balanced either, so does the card matter for that? Right now I have an Element 3 that I run as my "easy" setup, and I have a BF2 OG > Quicksilver Headamp when I'm using my ZMF Headphones.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Hello all,
Been jumping around this thread trying to determine if I should upgrade my OG BF2 card to the BF2/64 card. The 10-12 week wait hurts, as well as the $300, but from what I'm reading there's more details with the new card and people overall enjoy the upgrade. My biggest worry is with the sample rate issues...did all that get resolved yet? I didn't want to filter this whole thread to find out, but looks like about a month ago it was a big issue. Is it still much of a problem? I figured if I have to wait 10-12 weeks it'll likely be resolved by then anyway...provided it's on the firmware side and not hardware related.

I also have not updated my firmware in a while. What is this NOS mode? Seems like folks don't like it much?

My setup has no balanced either, so does the card matter for that? Right now I have an Element 3 that I run as my "easy" setup, and I have a BF2 OG > Quicksilver Headamp when I'm using my ZMF Headphones.

I believe the sample rate issue was solved with a firmware update. From what I've read here, most people have gotten their cards shipped much quicker than the 10-12 week estimate.

From a selfish point of view, I'd like you to do the upgrade and report back because I also have the OG BF2, Quicksilver, and a ZMF. I have held off up until now because I like the sound of my current setup so much that I am hesitant to change anything!

 

[Guinibee]

I believe the sample rate issue was solved with a firmware update. From what I've read here, most people have gotten their cards shipped much quicker than the 10-12 week estimate.

From a selfish point of view, I'd like you to do the upgrade and report back because I also have the OG BF2, Quicksilver, and a ZMF. I have held off up until now because I like the sound of my current setup so much that I am hesitant to change anything!

I have been avoiding looking into audio source gear for the past 6 months since I got my QS since it's so good! I saw a Lyr+ also launched and I used to have a Lyr 3 I liked, but it's not as good as the QS. I had a Jot 2 and I never used that either after getting the QS. I sold both of those and kept the Element 3 since having a clean all in one that sounds great with a small footprint and awesome knob was nice.

Since I still own the BF2, I figured an upgrade to the new card wouldn't hurt...I might be your guinea pig. I'm actually trying to sell my VO to grab one of these Hot Cup Summer VCs...or have money for ZMF November, but man of course better source gear would launch! This hobby makes me so broke ...but I Iove it! I don't think my wife does though lol.

 

[kumar402]

Common guys...think of it as Tube rolling. Instead of tube you will be rolling the card for different flavor. If you don't like the new card..pop it out and replace with OG.

 

[TheFrator]

So a while ago (when the upgrade was released), I bought a Qutest as an upgrade to the OG BF2.

I decided I preferred its sound in my setup (Qutest, Cayin Ha-300mk2, Susvara). I realised after a bit of back and forth that the sound was cleaner, for want of a better word. Maybe more separation, maybe more detail, or a blacker background, or better extension.

The BF2 had better dynamics, but the biggest problem for me was the slightly strident lower treble. Something I hadn’t noticed before as I’d never bothered to compare the BF2 with other DACs. Once I’d noticed it though, I couldn’t stop hearing it, and so the BF2 has been boxed and put to one side.

Does the new upgrade card fix that issue, and maybe bring it closer in other aspects to the Qutest? I asked you guys back when the upgrade card was released and got some informative answers, but wondered if more of you would have the same or different opinions now

My immediate takeaway when jumpng from OG BF2 to 64 was the treble had more energy to it. I could tell this by ear fatigue I got initially when using it. Idk if my experiences answers your question but I think it's worth trying the new card.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Common guys...think of it as Tube rolling. Instead of tube you will be rolling the card for different flavor. If you don't like the new card..pop it out and replace with OG.

Haha, this is very true.