Schiit Audio Gungnir 2

[mdelrossi]

Spent the past few hours with Cyan 2 and G2.

Very interesting!

:>)

Do tell!

 

[Blindranger]

Spent the past few hours with Cyan 2 and G2.

Very interesting!

:>)

Such a tease!

 

[bagwell359]

Still hoping for a Gumby A1 vs G2 comparison, as well as the Musician Pegasus II/Aquarius comp.

 

[automojo]

Have had my Gungnir 2 in for 3 days and my initial impressions are in. I find Yggdrasil A1 and MIB have more bass presence and quantity, while the Gungnir 2 presents a bit leaner and maybe even a bit poofy in the bass (Bass is not a tight single hit, but rather like a whiff, personally not a fan.) I find MIB to be the best DAC overall for myself and my system. While Gungnir 2 has similar resolving ability in the treble and a blackground akin to the MIB, it's just light-bodied and a bit prickly in the treble. I also find the imaging/depth/staging a bit "restricted" feeling in comparison to the Yggdrasil variants. It's as if elements in a song are locked in a horizontal grid such as | | | | | instead of being smoothly blended throughout the stage. It also does't have the holographic front-to-back layering/depth of Yggdrasil. Just sounds a bit flat.

Unfortunately, my unit seems to have a grounding issue, which also seems to be par for the course with Schiit gear at this point. I don't think I've bought a new piece of Schiit gear without some kind of problem in the last few years.

It's quite cold and dry here in NJ and with the heat running there's always gonna be some static. I've brushed my hand across the Gungnir 2 a couple times which resulted in the whole DAC dying, lights shutting off and emitting no sound. Power cycling fixes it, but I've never had an issue like this with any other Schiit DAC or components from any other company. Now I've had my fair share of problems with Schiit gear, but nothing this intrusive. I hope this is resolved with a refund quickly.

In any case: I much prefer MIB in my headphone system (and even A1 as a flavor DAC) over the Gungnir 2, issues with my unit aside.

Interesting to hear this all flesh out.
IMHO the Yggdrasil* GS2 look like a even better bargain vs Gum2.
I have this and a OG with analog upgrade.
In my 2 speaker systems, from this description the G2 would get kicked to the curb.
Sealed bass 2x10" in both pairs, as well as ribbons.
IMHO the G2, still sounds like the Gumyball 1, in general-and maybe even worse.
Myself, I didn't care for either Gumyball 1 variants.
It appears the G2 has the same type of lean sound signature I don't care for, and usually associate with digital music.
Maybe this works for some can's-but it's not ideal for inroom/speaker playback I have found over the years.
Reminds me of 90's SS Acurus type power amplifiers with thin towers speakers!......
Eh.......

 

[adydula]

So much BS here!!
LOL!

Well we all are abit anal when it comes to this stuff..
Things like "kick it to the curb", "less bass, poofy bass", "more organic, plankton is great etc"... OMG..

C'mon Man (smile)..

What matters is what you like and discern.
(and what you can afford).

Side by side here with this stuff level-matched its all pretty decent.
Its the same old ancient game of what is better than everything else...never stops.

Yes there are differences but its not like those that many mention IMO.

Ok nuff said back to listening. Its Holo Cyan 2 time with G2 here still....

Alex

 

[adydula]

Such a tease!

Yeah....I will post my "experience in a couple of days.

So far they both are very good.
Differences yes, alot. No.
My review will only be with headphones.

Which one, that will always be YOUR decision.

Think about cost, where it comes from, what happens if it breaks, customer service, does it fit in your setup etc?

 

[xTrIpX]

Looking forward to additional impressions

 

[adydula]

Looking forward to additional impressions

Roger that.
Either DAC is just fine.
But for us mere mortals its never that simple!

Listening to Brandi Carlile with ADX 5000's back and forth with G2 and Cyan 2.
Whats taking so long is warmup and going thru six sets of cans to really make some "valid" judgements.
Level setting is a pain in the AXX.

:>)

 

[automojo]

Gungnir 2 is easily an Yggdrasil class DAC. With respect "to more similar than not", I found it an easy drop and replace with the Yggy MiB in the context in that I group components together for synergy as one would pair wine with a dish. For example, I have other setups with Yggy A2 and Gungnir 1-A2. In those, I can't quite drop the Gungnir 2 into those setups without screwing up the sound.

With respect to "bass-lite", I would not necessarily categorize the Gungnir 2 as that. The Yggy MiB does have more heft in the lowest of lows, but around the mid-bass region, there isn't much difference. Also consider that the HD800 was used for this comparison, and that Lindsay and I have different sonic priorities.

From what I'm seeing-that doesn't seem to really be the case.
Wishful thinking though.
IMHO get a GS2+.
$100+..
Schiit's best bargain EVER.
Then you won't second guessing-and all these endless comparisons.
Why?
Because you have the real McCoy...
I guess if you want all the extra bling stuff with the G2.
IMHO it's all about the sound.
You forget that, and then you have these 20+ page posts, that have a circular pattern.
That leads back to the Yggdrasil, more or less...at least in my opinion regarding Schiit MB Dac's.

 

[bagwell359]

So much BS here!!
LOL!

Well we all are abit anal when it comes to this stuff..
Things like "kick it to the curb", "less bass, poofy bass", "more organic, plankton is great etc"... OMG..

C'mon Man (smile)..

What matters is what you like and discern.
(and what you can afford).

Side by side here with this stuff level-matched its all pretty decent.
Its the same old ancient game of what is better than everything else...never stops.

Yes there are differences but its not like those that many mention IMO.

Ok nuff said back to listening. Its Holo Cyan 2 time with G2 here still....

Alex

Thats why i my prior post I didn't ask for a G2 vs Yggy (any) comparison. There is a large group of Yggy >> G people here. Some have even projected w/o listening.

Could we go with a clean sheet, and dare I ask for double blind comparisons...? No I guess I dare not.

At least could we hear from folks that like the G1 A1 or A2 R2R? If I want Yggy snobbery, I know where to find it. I'm not joking BTW, and if feathers are ruffled? So be it.

 

[matthia]

Analog measurements show really good linearity and SINAD. It's due to multiform analog stage implementation that yields really transparent performance. It's actually the best performing Gungnir ever even better than the OG DS Gungnir

• THD+N: <0.0008%
• • IMD: <0.0006%, CCIF
• • S/N: > 124dB, referenced to full output
• • Crosstalk: -132dB, 20-20kHz

Very interesting would be a multiform implementation with the chips of the Yggy MIB (Texas Instruments DAC11001B x 4).
I am sure Schiit will release this (if technically feasible) for Yggdrasil next year, maybe together with the Singular D/S DAC.

 

[automojo]

.

 

[bagwell359]

Goes hand in hand with a audio site.
It's 99% opinions....1% fact.....

Yeah, I get it, I'm an audiophile snob, but I do a lot of double blind, and I don't care a whit for brand names, reputation, buzz, or whatever. Stand and deliver. From the mind of a guy with a Marketing degree who spent 30+ years in hi tech - as a software eng.

 

[Guidostrunk]

From what I'm seeing-that doesn't seem to really be the case.
Wishful thinking though.
IMHO get a GS2+.
$100+..
Schiit's best bargain EVER.
Then you won't second guessing-and all these endless comparisons.
Why?
Because you have the real McCoy...
I guess if you want all the extra bling stuff with the G2.
IMHO it's all about the sound.
You forget that, and then you have these 20+ page posts, that have a circular pattern.
That leads back to the Yggdrasil, more or less...at least in my opinion regarding Schiit MB Dac's.

Can you give us your impressions of both dacs? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the comparison of the 2. I know Marv has the G2 and the yggy mib and gumby og a2 so if you have more to offer to the sound comparison, that would be great.

 

[automojo]

Can you give us your impressions of both dacs? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the comparison of the 2. I know Marv has the G2 and the yggy mib and gumby og a2 so if you have more to offer to the sound comparison, that would be great.

I don't have a G1 anymore. The G2 was on a weekend loan. I can revisit it after the 1st. Thanks
I will have to be more objective-I really didn't like it off the bat. It's not snobbery. Frankly you can get a fully loaded Yggy used for the same $ as a G2. Or new for $100+.