[W0lfd0g]

Kudos AiDee
 
I own the Concerto and Stage DAC and can relate to everything you report about them.  I also particularly appreciated the method you used in attempting to minimise the variables to a standard reference point. 
 
I have just bought a Lyr and am about to pull the trigger on a Bifrost. 
 
Could the faint hum in the BL combo be attributed to the tubes used?  Does the buzz disappear or change in quality or quantity after you roll the tubes?  Sorry if this issue has already been addressed and I have overlooked. 
 

 

[Argo Duck]

Thanks W0lfd0g, much appreciated.
 
There's no question hum varies with tubes. An increase in noise can be one sign of a tube dying. But with NOS particularly it's hard to know what you're getting until you try.
 
If you haven't already been there, read the Lyr tube rolling thread - many posts from head-fiers (MisterRogers, MrScarey, Lord Soth to name a few) much more expert with Lyr and tubes than I 
 
Be warned - it's a long read!

 

[budget minded]

VERY helpful review and comparison! i had been looking at the eastern electric minimax gear as well as the yulong D-18, but don't much care for the higher prices or "warm & forgiving" euphonics descriptions. i like speed and detail, as long as there's ease to it too.
 
i recently upgraded my stereo system to a pair of energy RC-10 speakers with the first aluminum domes i've owned, and really like the improvement to treble speed and even bass weight over my previous reference NHT superzeros, and really wanted to upgrade my DAC after my system sounded too lean in a squarish reverberant room, but am now in a larger and warmer sounding one.
 
with the increased treble resolution i'm getting now, i can hear much clearer differences between my sony DVD player and pansonic class D receiver's internal DAC. i used to prefer the sony, but had to do a lot of A/B comparison to hear differences, but now can hear that the panasonic has much more treble info and razor sharp imaging over sony's overly warm and thick sound i'd equate with the yulong/EE sound with the panasonic having more of a bitfrost personality. i guess i liked the larger and more diffuse sound of the sony, but now, really like what the panny does for cowbells and especially the resolution in "white noise" type instruments like maracas where you can hear the beads more clearly. i guess you could call the sony warmer and more forgiving, but it just sounds thick and slow compared to the panasonic.
 
bitfrost sounds like the unit that will agree more with my speed and detail (acoustic suspension only!) tastes more as well as my bargain hunting preference. besides, there might be room for improvement down the road if schiit upgrades DACs. i just like percussion too much to tolerate slow and euphonic lush presentations, and prefer instrumentals over vocals too.
 
thanks for the review and comparisons. it's really helped a lot that you went into so much depth comparing each unit's strengths and weaknesses against each other. i prefer transparency over musicality,

 

[budget minded]

+after further consideration, i think i'm going to stretch my budget back to the $700 range and get the schiit gungnir upgrade as it has better all around sound and particularly more bass slam which my little 2 ways would appreciate. i'd rather buy something once than keep upgrading in small increments which is way more expensive than just getting the most bang for the buck at the mid-fi price range.
 
if the gungnir is a noticable improvement in every way, it's worth twice the price to get it right the first time, and with it's better class A amp, would be a better base for upgrades when and even better grade of ever evolving DACs comes along.

 

[Argo Duck]

^ glad you appreciated the review.

I haven't yet heard the gungnir but several head-fiers whose preferences and listening skills I respect have. From their impressions, the G' seems to be a large and worthwhile improvement over the bifrost. If you go ahead, let us know how it works out.