The USB boards seem identical except for the craziness that is going on at the top Right of the new board. Seems like it was modified by hand for some reason.
The USB boards seem identical except for the craziness that is going on at the top Right of the new board. Seems like it was modified by hand for some reason.
The capacitor is actually the same but the upper right hand "craziness" is not happening in the comparison between toschek's board and a picture of the new board. That capacitor was definitely not there in the original USB board - nor, apparently, in your own Bifrost's old USB board. Again, the primary difference is the actual C-Media chip itself, it seems, which is entirely different in the new USB board. I would again suspect that toschek's Bifrost was purchased sometime after yours, where they then tweaked the old USB board, added that new cap, and then kept it for the final upgrade USB board.
Also of note, to me, is that your pic of your old analog board confirms that Schiit, at some point, changed some of the resistors (? I'm not an engineer here)/topology of the DAC/Analog board for the Bifrosts being shipped versus the DAC/Analog board that was shipped near the Bifrost's launch. This would be why the user in the "Official Schiit DACs" thread seemed to have a board the looked closer to the Uber board already installed in his own Bifrost, even though he hadn't yet purchased an Uber board.
Yeah. The capacitor is actually the same but the upper right hand "craziness" is not happening in the comparison between tschek's board and a picture of the new board, too. Again, the primary difference is the actual C-Media chip itself, it seems, which is entirely different in the new USB board.
Also of note, to me, is that your pic of your old analog board confirms that Schiit, at some point, changed some of the resistors (? I'm not an engineer here)/topology of the DAC/Analog board for the Bifrosts being shipped versus the DAC/Analog board that was shipped near the Bifrost's launch. This would be why the user in the "Official Schiit DACs" thread seemed to have a board the looked closer to the Uber board already installed in his own Bifrost.
Actually, the C-Media chip in my old board and new board are identical down to part numbers and everything (and they are both different from the 6moons picture which is a 6631 but has a different part number)). It's possible that Jason and Co. found a way to enable the additional features through the modifications.
Very very interesting. I am going to take mine apart tomorrow to try and align the LEDs, and I'm going to take a look at the USB board as well. Your old board does not look like mine, and the new one does, except my C-Media chip looks different. I wonder if shorting those pins is all that it takes to enable 176 output. Another odd thing that I had not noticed before when looking at the playback properties for USB is that my Bifrost does 88.4 at 16-bit but not 24-bit. I don't really every use the USB section, I'm connected on my PC by both toslink and USB but prefer the optical input for various reasons. I guess I never thought to look.
Can someone do me a favor? If you are playing files out of a PC laptop into the new USB board on the Bifrost, please right-click your volume slider and select "Playback Devices". Can you tell me how many devices are labeled with "Schiit"? I believe there should be two; USB Speaker and SPDIF out. Can someone confirm that for me?
Very very interesting. I am going to take mine apart tomorrow to try and align the LEDs, and I'm going to take a look at the USB board as well. Your old board does not look like mine, and the new one does, except my C-Media chip looks different. I wonder if shorting those pins is all that it takes to enable 176 output. Another odd thing that I had not noticed before when looking at the playback properties for USB is that my Bifrost does 88.4 at 16-bit but not 24-bit. I don't really every use the USB section, I'm connected on my PC by both toslink and USB but prefer the optical input for various reasons. I guess I never thought to look.
Yeah, not sure what's going on with the boards. I'm pretty sure that revisions were made but didn't change things drastically enough to alter the sound. I'm pretty sure Jason and Mike know what they are doing.
Yeah, I don't doubt that they do. It's probably a case of one part or another going out of production or perhaps being priced out of this segment or simply not meeting QC metrics established by Schiit.
The Schiit haters can run their mouths all day long, but in spite of the goofy name and idiosyncratic advertising copy, they are one of the good gals and guys. Simply delivering on the "upgradeable" promise is amazing in this industry and segment. To me that kind of follow through is a hallmark of integrity in a company, and is something we all could stand to see more of in the world.
Yeah, I don't doubt that they do. It's probably a case of one part or another going out of production or perhaps being priced out of this segment or simply not meeting QC metrics established by Schiit.
The Schiit haters can run their mouths all day long, but in spite of the goofy name and idiosyncratic advertising copy, they are one of the good gals and guys. Simply delivering on the "upgradeable" promise is amazing in this industry and segment. To me that kind of follow through is a hallmark of integrity in a company, and is something we all could stand to see more of in the world.
I agree, but I'll bet they make $30 to $50 dollars on each upgrade. I hope so. I want them to make a profit so it makes sence to stay in business. So far, they give good value which is rare in the audio business. On another note, I hope someone has both a Bifrost Uber and a Gungnir to compare them now.
Can someone do me a favor? If you are playing files out of a PC laptop into the new USB board on the Bifrost, please right-click your volume slider and select "Playback Devices". Can you tell me how many devices are labeled with "Schiit"? I believe there should be two; USB Speaker and SPDIF out. Can someone confirm that for me?
Thanks, that helps! I sent the whole Bifrost back to Schiit for inspection and repair if necessary. I've been building/upgrading computers since 1996 but this goes to show that no matter how careful you are, something can still get borked. It may end up costing me the price of another upgrade card and the install; but I fully accept the responsibility because Schiit did warn us about do-it-yourself upgrading.
The moral of this story is (for me at least): It is worth the delay and the extra cash outlay to let Schiit do the work. If for nothing else other than peace-of-mind.
I put my uber and usb2 in today. About the LED's. I think everyone will mess this up. It's nearly impossible to align the led's into the holes after you've bolted the board to the steel (dark gray frame). for terminology, I'll talk about the a) aluminum part (wrap around outer portions) b) steel frame (dark gray part that the board was bolted to from the rear) and c) the board (red pcb innards)
I couldn't get them lined up, so I removed the board from the steel frame. I put the aluminum part face down, put the selection switch button in to sit in place by gravity, then I lowered the board down into the aluminum part with generous clearances to line up the stupid leds. Once they were in, I let it rest, and slid the steel frame down into the aluminum part, around the board until it all meshed, being careful not to lift the board or pull the leds out of their holes. you have to wiggle the board a bit as the power switch nears it's hole (due to angle of the lever of the switch).
(my gut says this is how they assemble them as schiit. so reassembly is not the exact reverse steps as disassembly.
So, my leds are back in their holes properly as they should be. I couldn't have done it any other way.
Thanks, that helps! I sent the whole Bifrost back to Schiit for inspection and repair if necessary. I've been building/upgrading computers since 1996 but this goes to show that no matter how careful you are, something can still get borked. It may end up costing me the price of another upgrade card and the install; but I fully accept the responsibility because Schiit did warn us about do-it-yourself upgrading.
The moral of this story is (for me at least): It is worth the delay and the extra cash outlay to let Schiit do the work. If for nothing else other than peace-of-mind.
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