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Schiit DACs (Bifrost and Gungnir down, one to go)? The information and anticipation thread.
Nov 23, 2011 at 9:13 PM Post #1,711 of 3,339


Quote:
judmarc said:
It's going to start showing a less merciless, more musical side after some burn-in. 
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Too bad, I want a merciless DAC.  I want some cruel, vicious, resolving Schiit from that Statement DAC!
 
 
Nov 23, 2011 at 9:20 PM Post #1,712 of 3,339
I plugged an Audiophilleo2 into my chain as a USB to Optical converter - wow. This sidesteps the barely 'serviceable' SPDIF out of my MacPro and boy, does it really let Bifrost sing. Quite an amazing little converter. 
 
Nov 23, 2011 at 9:48 PM Post #1,714 of 3,339
So in my journey, the Bifrost was so revealing I had to switch from my preferred tubes in the Lyr, to my previously preferred tubes, the Gold Lions. Problem is one of those GL's was bad, noisy. Got my replacement today and I'm REALLY digging this setup: Bifrost> Lyr(Gold Lions)>LCD2.2(Norse Audio Cable).
 
Though I was skeptical, I'm beginning to believe there's something to this burn-in thing. My Apogee Duet was a definite pleaser, but the Bifrost out of the gate had far less self-noise. And tonight it's sounding positively sweet and almost 3-D. 
 
 
 
Nov 24, 2011 at 6:48 AM Post #1,719 of 3,339
This has been mentioned a few times, but I will re-iterate that the Bifrost improves with 100 hours or more of burn in. It just sounds more and more natural.
 
DAC's are so easy to burn in, cos you can just set repeat on overnight and turn the volume down. Amps and speaker on the other hand...... It is possible you will never know what a speaker is capable of because come audiophile capacitors need 100's of hours break in at high current (decent volume), which is very hard to do in an apartment, unless you like to make enemies with your neighbours.
 
Nov 24, 2011 at 9:57 AM Post #1,720 of 3,339


Quote:
anaxilus said:
Too bad, I want a merciless DAC.  I want some cruel, vicious, resolving Schiit from that Statement DAC!
 
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This is always a bit of a difficulty when we talk in metaphors.  After 100+ hours burn-in, I found the Bifrost no less resolving.  There is in fact *more* information to go along with its resolving character, making the result sound more like real music (more "musical") and thus easier to listen to pleasurably for very extended periods (less "merciless").  
 
At the very beginning, I found the Bifrost's sound a bit "thin" (some folks have referred to a lack of bass), and while the various instrument and vocal parts could clearly be picked out, somehow they didn't sound like an integrated whole together.  This or any other subtle wrongness or lack, together with good resolving ability, can make a component sound "merciless," that is, you hear lots of detail, but somehow it's not quite right.
 
After burn-in, all the detail is still there, but you get the very subtle volume and phrasing changes and timing cues from the instruments and vocals that let you hear how everyone is playing together and playing off each other.  Also, no more thinness - there's the full, rich sound (on material recorded that way) of real musicians and singers.  No lack of bass.  So there's actually more audio information coming to you, but instead of sounding even more detailed and "merciless," that detail is coming to you in its full context.  There's a rightness to the sound that lets you just relax and enjoy the music rather than sitting there working to analyze what you're hearing.
 
Nov 24, 2011 at 11:21 AM Post #1,721 of 3,339


Quote:
judmarc said:
This is always a bit of a difficulty when we talk in metaphors.  After 100+ hours burn-in, I found the Bifrost no less resolving.  There is in fact *more* information to go along with its resolving character, making the result sound more like real music (more "musical") and thus easier to listen to pleasurably for very extended periods (less "merciless").  
 
At the very beginning, I found the Bifrost's sound a bit "thin" (some folks have referred to a lack of bass), and while the various instrument and vocal parts could clearly be picked out, somehow they didn't sound like an integrated whole together.  This or any other subtle wrongness or lack, together with good resolving ability, can make a component sound "merciless," that is, you hear lots of detail, but somehow it's not quite right.
 
After burn-in, all the detail is still there, but you get the very subtle volume and phrasing changes and timing cues from the instruments and vocals that let you hear how everyone is playing together and playing off each other.  Also, no more thinness - there's the full, rich sound (on material recorded that way) of real musicians and singers.  No lack of bass.  So there's actually more audio information coming to you, but instead of sounding even more detailed and "merciless," that detail is coming to you in its full context.  There's a rightness to the sound that lets you just relax and enjoy the music rather than sitting there working to analyze what you're hearing.
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Thats exactly what I hear with the NFB7. I could not have put it any better.
wink_face.gif

 
 
Nov 24, 2011 at 10:52 PM Post #1,723 of 3,339


Quote:
 
Got it, I get what you mean now.  That's been my experience w/ some solid state devices.  They sound harsh, skewed and incoherent out of the box which tends to clear up.  I took merciless as resolving.  Some folks don't like to hear everything there is on a track.  
 
Nov 25, 2011 at 1:32 AM Post #1,724 of 3,339
when you burn in a dac, what components are necessary to be in the chain.
 
for example could i just play music, with a cable plugged into the output that was not actually feeding into an amp, does an amp need to be there too?  do headphones need to be plugged in?
I would think that as long as the dac thinks it is outputting, i.e. plug a cable into the outputs and thats it, that it may be enough.
 
thanks
 
Nov 25, 2011 at 1:38 AM Post #1,725 of 3,339
Someone must be listening and more importantly, enjoying the music too.  (Kidding)
 
My guess is the unit needs to be on and decoding something, the analog stage should work the same whether or not RCA wires are plugged in [I stand corrected.]
--
Question for you owners: do the words natural, non-digital, and analogue come to mind when listening to this; or is it far from that?
 
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