I just got my Uber upgrade in the mail today. The installation went fairly smooth with a few notes:
It works great if you remove the metal chassis first, leaving the actual board attached to the aluminum cover with those middle bottom screws still in. This method is mentioned in one part of this thread. I then got under the DAC while keeping it level and removed those middle screws holding the board, so the board never got to move around. I got to looking and if someone had the entire thing tilted up and unscrewed the board completely, it would have fallen forward and I could see potential for the LEDs getting bent or other damage occurring. I also note that by removing the screws between the aluminum cover and chassis, there were some metal shavings around the holes. Some light debris ended up on corners of the board inside. If you have this, make sure you get that cleaned up, because a large enough shaving could cause damage in a worse case scenario, or who really wants metal scraps on their board? ha. I really wouldn't recommend someone that has never taken apart such devices to attempt this over sending it in to Schiit, not that it is difficult, but I could picture things going wrong. Not something to rush through either. Another small thing I had to do was bend one capacitor slightly out of the way of the screw hole, on the new board. I could not get the screw in unless I did so. Just make sure you are ESD safe and have good lighting if you do this. Get all of the screws relatively firm, but not overtightened. I had to do a very small amount of guiding to get the LEDs in the holes, just a slight tweak a couple times and they went in fine. Tape the button in place on the front before you even start, with some painter's tape, etc.
Here are my impressions of the upgrade with my setup. I use my Bifrost (SPDIF) with Asgard 1 and HD600s:
Well I had read all of the feedback on here, and of course I had no clue how much people were exaggerating about the differences, if any. I kept having doubts about making the purchase because it might not be worth the money and the trouble of taking the thing apart. I made a list of about 10 songs that I specifically listened to in a sequence, a couple times a day, for many days, at the exact same volumes each time. I felt this was maybe the best bet to hear the initial differences, since you can't just go back and forth between the new and old board. With this embedded in my head, I made my first listen:
I was very surprised of the differences in sound. I honestly had a large grin on my face for this first listening session. It's very obvious the first time, but I notice my brain adjusts to the new sound quickly after multiple listens. The best way I could describe it is everything is a bit clearer. It is as if another thin grainy film was taken away, same thing I experienced coming from no dedicated DAC to this Bifrost initially. There is something slightly different about treble overall. I can't fully describe it yet, but the best thing I can say is it just sounds cleaner, and slightly more textured/detailed. As some others had mentioned, there actually is some changes in the low end. It isn't that there is more boom, but rather it just sounds like it's more concentrated and somehow impacts harder. It isn't an enormous change, but is quite obvious right off hand.
Overall I'm really happy with the upgrade. It was the best improvement I could make for such a small cost. It isn't "twice as good" of course, but it is pretty damn good for the money.
