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Schiit Bifrost 4490 impressions
Aug 4, 2016 at 4:13 AM Post #391 of 467
Has anyone with a 4490 Bifrost tried the new Multibit Modi?  Prices are very close and I'm very torn which path to take.
​Lots to like from the consistent impressions given.  I'm leary of some of the "shouty" "aggressive" sounds that I heard in the original Modi. Sounds like most of that has been addressed.  And the bass has more texture, control, and slam (a big deal to me).
 
Thanks for thoughts!
 
Aug 4, 2016 at 8:58 AM Post #392 of 467
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Aug 25, 2016 at 8:10 AM Post #394 of 467
dbaker1981 said:
I have a bifrost 4490 and I was wondering. I found a good deal on a sacd player and I was wondering if i could hook this up to the bifrost. Tia
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Yes you can, just take one of the digital connections (Fibre optic or coaxial) out of the CD player and connect into the corresponding digital in on the 4490. That way the 4490 will do the DAC function. The CD player will simply become a transport.
 
Sep 5, 2016 at 2:12 AM Post #395 of 467
Hello Head Fi I read the boards often but am new to posting. I have both the Bifrost 4490 and Modi Multibit and would like to contribute my opinion.

I prefer the sound of the 4490 Bifrost. The Bifrost sounds cleaner, more expansive, wider, smoother. But even if the Modi Multibit is grainier and more closed in, it does best the Bifrost in one area: the bass feels growlier, the treble attacks harder, the sound has more "impact." But, the 4490 Bifrost is so smooth, so wide, so easy to listen to that even if the edges of the music can sound a touch glossed over when compared to the Modi Multibit, I would still consider it the better DAC.

However, to the people reading this seeking guidance on which to buy, here is my advice to you: the Modi Multibit is a phenomenal DAC that will leave you wanting for nothing. I think, if your budget will not allow for a bifrost/asgard (or valhalla or lyr) combo, buy a Modi Multibit with a Magni or Vali and don't think twice.
 
Sep 7, 2016 at 5:46 AM Post #396 of 467
So had my girlfriend over tonight & we listened to the two DACs blind. My GF listened to three songs, and preferred the 4490 bifrost over the Mimby two out of the three. We then switched and I preferred the bifrost all three times.
 
Interestingly, the first song I played for my GF had vocals, and she prefered the 4490 Bifrost because she said the vocals sounded fuller. So the next song I played was an instrumental jazz track, and this time she preferred the Mimby. Next I played a vocal reggae track and her preference went back to the 4490 Bifrost.
 
For myself, two of the tracks my reaction was like "oh yeah this is easy I clearly like this one over that one" with 'this one' revealed as the 4490 bifrost. Those two songs were vinyl rips with big dynamic range, no brickwalled mastering. One track I was like "Hmm, switch back? Ok now switch back again? Uhhh, its really really close but I think I like this one over that one just a touch. But really they're kinda the same." That time the recording was a pretty hotly mastered Dubstep track sourced from a CD (Aeriel by 2562, some damn fine dubstep
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Sep 7, 2016 at 7:40 AM Post #397 of 467
sallison87 said:
  So had my girlfriend over tonight & we listened to the two DACs blind. My GF listened to three songs, and preferred the 4490 bifrost two out of the three. We then switched and I preferred the bifrost all three times.
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When I read this on the Mimby thread it kind of made sense. Here it doesn't really. What 2 DAC's were you listening to?
 
EDIT: I see your thread before this now, my bad.
 
Sep 7, 2016 at 3:55 PM Post #398 of 467
Hey franzdom, I edited my post so hopefully it makes more sense now. Also added some notes on our listening. Sorry if posting the same thing in both treads feels like spamming a bit? I want to make sure if someone is searching for buying advice on the 4490 bifrost they stumble upon this.
 
Sep 11, 2016 at 7:57 PM Post #399 of 467
Hello all, I will probably get the Bifrost Multibit very soon, but I'm wondering if any of you can help me about USB drivers first.
 
From previous experience trying the 4490 version of the Bifrost (two separate DACs, on both a Win. Vista and Win. 10 PC), I've had major issues getting the drivers to install. I first tried installing the Bifrost drivers from the Schiit website, but no matter how many ways I tried, I always got an error message, the same issue on both systems (don't recall what it was off the top of my head but would recognise it if someone can name it).
 
Fortunately though I managed to get sound out of it through a driver that auto-installed itself. The issue though is that I suspect the driver that auto-installed could be a sort of indirect implementation - going through Windows then to the DAC, rather than a bit-perfect data feed. My Gustard X12 DAC for example includes several codecs such as DirectSound and WASAPI, then also Wasapi Exclusive and ASIO for direct data feed bypassing Windows processing.
 
So my question is if any of you where I can get a driver for Bifrost that will send data in bit-perfect mode to the DAC that bypasses Windows processing? Thanks so much guys
 
Sep 12, 2016 at 5:47 AM Post #400 of 467
decentlevi said:
  Hello all, I will probably get the Bifrost Multibit very soon, but I'm wondering if any of you can help me about USB drivers first.
 
From previous experience trying the 4490 version of the Bifrost (two separate DACs, on both a Win. Vista and Win. 10 PC), I've had major issues getting the drivers to install. I first tried installing the Bifrost drivers from the Schiit website, but no matter how many ways I tried, I always got an error message, the same issue on both systems (don't recall what it was off the top of my head but would recognise it if someone can name it).
 
Fortunately though I managed to get sound out of it through a driver that auto-installed itself. The issue though is that I suspect the driver that auto-installed could be a sort of indirect implementation - going through Windows then to the DAC, rather than a bit-perfect data feed. My Gustard X12 DAC for example includes several codecs such as DirectSound and WASAPI, then also Wasapi Exclusive and ASIO for direct data feed bypassing Windows processing.
 
So my question is if any of you where I can get a driver for Bifrost that will send data in bit-perfect mode to the DAC that bypasses Windows processing? Thanks so much guys
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The newest driver of Schiit supports only the latest USB-chipsets, it will give a error : Device not found on older chipsets. They have a v1.03 version (compability-version) but they advise to only install it if the automated windows update-driver isn't working. The one through Windows Update is newer (later date) than the v1.03.

The DAC work as intended with that driver. It is normal behavior that it doesn't lock-down the audio-signal automatically. When you use your computer, most likely you have multiple audio-sources at the same time : Games, music, skype etc etc. 

Many applications have a WASAPI/ASIO-mode to work in. Tidal and Foobar for example. It is in their settings. Foobar has a plugin.
When enabling it, you have bit-perfect transfer, but it locks your dac to that only signal. 

Schiit has also a alternative ASIO-driver. But it is old/outdated. Schiit does not recommend using it. Instead just use the settings in the applications you use to play music. 
 
Sep 12, 2016 at 5:26 PM Post #401 of 467
Hello, thanks for the response! So is the driver that auto installs bit perfect, or does it go through the Windows processing first? 
Yeah I'm used to having the audio signal locked to only one program, and don't mind dealing with that for that extra bit of (perceived) fidelity. Do you have a link for the alt. ASIO driver? Thanks!
 
Sep 12, 2016 at 7:13 PM Post #402 of 467
decentlevi said:
  Hello, thanks for the response! So is the driver that auto installs bit perfect, or does it go through the Windows processing first? 
Yeah I'm used to having the audio signal locked to only one program, and don't mind dealing with that for that extra bit of (perceived) fidelity. Do you have a link for the alt. ASIO driver? Thanks!
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Schiit has ASIO drivers included. However, you need a specific program such as Foobar to be able to take advantage of ASIO. BTW, it's called "ASIO for Generic USB device"
 
I don't use Schiit USB Gen 2 as my input. I prefer my good ol' Wyred 4 Sound USB to SPDIF converter which has ASIO drivers as well.
 

 
Sep 15, 2016 at 4:37 AM Post #404 of 467
Heya guys, I've had the Mimby a litle over a week now and feel like my 4490 Bifrost vs Mimby opinion is solidifying.

I stick with my initial impression: 4490 Bifrost has a bigger, wider, smoother sound while the Mimby has a tighter, more exciting sound. Sharp sounds like the twang of a guitar or the rhythmic hit of a hi-hat and tom-tom drum sound wonderful on the Mimby. But one area it falls short is on vocals. 4490 Bifrost has fuller, sweeter vocals that makes vocals on the Mimby sound grainy.

One genre of music where the Mimby kills it is jazz. Also it is perfect in a home theater for movies and video games. For all else I find myself liking the 4490 Bifrost more. But really, I don't feel like I am missing out on anything with my Mimby/Magni 2 Uber stack.

If it were my money I'd buy a Mimby with a Magni 2 Uber and call it a day. Comparing my $400 Mimby/Magni stack to my $850 Bifrost/Lyr stack, neither sounds like it is better quality than the other; they are different flavors of sound. At half the price the Mimby/Magni combo is obviously the better value.
 
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