[powerpopper]

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Why unplug? Why not use your speakers power switch instead?
 
I use a Schiit Lyr in a similar setup both as a headphone amplifier and a pre-amp. When I don’t need the loudspeakers, I simply do not turn them on, but leave them connected to the Lyr’s RCA output all the time.
 
By the way: Did you encounter any hum caused by the Lyr? In my setup I had to add a noise filter.
 
Werner.

Yes, I figured that out after I posted it. BTW, we have the same speakers (KRK Rokit 5).
 
Funny thing about hum on the Lyr. I got mine with the 6N1P tubes and experienced no hum. About a week later, I got some Tesla tubes and when I first put them in I heard some hum. They've now been on for a few weeks and no more hum. Go figure...
 

 

[Anathallo]

Huh, thanks for clearing that up, I had no idea.
 
Check another box on why PCs > Macs (joking, joking, don't want to derail the thread!)

 
Quote:

On a Mac, if using optical out, all audio routes through the optical out.  You can't redirect system sounds to the internal speakers and then for example, iTunes to the optical out.  Though you could plug in a separate USB DAC and then route system sounds to it (with some amp/external speaker combo), and dedicate Bifrost optical to music only. 
 
 


 

 

 

[wberghofer]

Originally Posted by powerpopper /img/forum/go_quote.gif
we have the same speakers (KRK Rokit 5) […]

 
Great choice Is there also a KRK 10s subwoofer in your setup?
 

Originally Posted by powerpopper /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Funny thing about hum on the Lyr […]

 
At least with my Lyr, this hum only is present on the RCA out. On the headphone socket no hum is audible.
 
Werner.

 

[weitn]

 
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Glad to received my Bifrost yesterday. My current setup is laptop (usb) -> Bifrost -> Lyr -> HD650. Initial impression, lack of mid and lack of bass. My Lyr already has more than 100+ hours of burn in. My older setup, laptop (usb) -> Fiio E17(DAC)+L7 -> Lyr -> HD650 sounds better. Will let Bifrost burn for another 50 or more hours and will hear how it sounds.

 
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Give it some time (brain burn in, not dac burn in). It will sneak up on you. Listen to the frost setup for a few days then go back to your Fiio setup and decide if you still prefer the Fiio. My guess is you will find the mids/bass less controlled and less detailed.

Wow. After burning the Bifrost more than 50 hours, no longer has the lacking mid and bass. In fact, the bass is more control, solid and punchy. Overall, there are more details and clarity. Love the clarity of mid and treble.

 

[weitn]

 
Quote:

+1.   The Bifrost is a very detailed, transparent, clean DAC.  It's not the most resolving in the world, but it's light years ahead of E17 in terms of resolution and transparency.  I often feel bad that I pay attention to all my gear, but endlessly forget about poor Bifrost being there at all.  It does its job and gets out of the way so well, it's very easy to forget it exists at all.  Which is the point of a DAC.  The E17 isn't as highly resolving, isn't as good at separation, and is probably adding a warm color to the sound.  With the Bifrost you're hearing your cans and your amp/tubes cleanly for the first time.  There's a good chance once you listen more you'll hear more detail you were missing before and realize you were mistaking clarity for thinness.  If you still like a more colored sound, it's time for tube rolling that Lyr!

  The Bifrost will really let you hear the difference of each tube.
 
I'll say, though that, to me, stock tubes in Lyr, + Bifrost + HD650 is a great combination and is definitely not lacking in bass.  At all.  (Some would argue it has too much bass and mid-bass.)  The bass in that combo is the same as my carefully tuned 12" Velodyne sub as calibrated in my speaker setup....any more would be true bloat and lose its musicality.)  Remember: In sub setup, you shouldn't actually know the sub is there...it should blend with the speakers completely.  Same applies to bass integration in well calibrated headphone gear. 
 
Give it time, but if you still like a certain coloration, you can always change tubes or add EQ.  Either way the Bifrost should be outresolving and out-timing that E17 by far.  The Fiio gear is a great value in its price range (I use an E11 with my IEMs), but the Bifrost is still in a very different class. 
 
 
 
 

After burning Bifrost more than 50 hours, Bifrost sounds great and more detailed. Love the combination of Lyr + Bifrost + HD650. Can't stop listening to my favourite songs. Not lacking any bass now. Definitely a worthy upgrade. I will definitely upgrade the tube for slightly more mid and treble.

 

[weitn]

 
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I'm absolutely sure that in some systems S/PDIF will sound better.  In my system the dice are kinda loaded in favor of USB.
 
I have a really excellent coaxial cable (Omega Mikro Zephyr), and I've heard the Bifrost using that cable fed by my Oppo BDP-83, which I'd consider a good (though certainly not state of the art) transport.  The Bifrost fed from my MacBook Pro sounds much better than the original CD from the BDP-83 over coax.  But that's another unfair comparison - the sound quality from my computer rig was already better than sound from the Oppo back when I was using a Theta Pro Basic II DAC and the V-Link.  Where I think you might get a fairer comparison is using the optical and/or coax out from a very good sound card where the computer and sound card are optimized for low electrical noise and jitter.  My guess is the folks at Schiit listened to reasonably priced PC and Mac rigs with the Bifrost before indicating they think USB may not be the greatest audio interface, so I'm sure astronomical expense isn't necessary to achieve excellent sound with the Bifrost's S/PDIF inputs.
 
Sorry for what I'm sure sounds like back-and-forth to you, but I want to make two things clear:
 
- What I hear from my system
 
- Acknowledge that other folks with different systems can and will get different results
 
Re "audiophile cable," I've tried my system with 4 USB cables.  In order of preference they are:
 
- Audioquest Carbon
 
- Audioquest Forest
 
- Wireworld Starlight
 
- Furutech GT2
 
In order of expense they are:
 
- Audioquest Carbon and Furutech GT2, both in the $100-$110 range (for the length I use)
 
- Wireworld Starlight, about $85
 
- Audioquest Forest, about $30-$35
 
So the Forest, by far the least costly, would be to my mind a relative bargain.
 

Thanks for USB preference list. Just received my AudioQuest Forest USB cable from Amazon yesterday.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

On a Mac, if using optical out, all audio routes through the optical out.  You can't redirect system sounds to the internal speakers and then for example, iTunes to the optical out.  Though you could plug in a separate USB DAC and then route system sounds to it (with some amp/external speaker combo), and dedicate Bifrost optical to music only.

This is actually incorrect. On the Mac, go to Sound Preferences, set the Output to the desired USB device (or Digital Output if using optical), then set the Sound Effects to Internal Speakers on the pull-down menu below the alert sound choices (Sound Effects = system sounds).
 

 

 

[wberghofer]

This is actually incorrect. […]

 
No, it is correct. On my iMac 27" running Mac OS X version 10.7.3 the option to use the internal speakers for alert sounds is not available from the corresponding pop-up select list as long as digital output is the only output device available. However, as soon as an USB output device is plugged in and selected, it is possible to route alert sounds to the built-in speakers and to use another device for audio playback:
 

 

 
Werner.

 

[BlueAlien]

The bifrost+lyr+AKG 702's is sounding amazing! As my first dedicated Dac and amp, I couldn't be happier.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

This is actually incorrect. […]

 
No, it is correct. On my iMac 27" running Mac OS X version 10.7.3

I think we're both correct, as I am running 10.6.8 and it seems that this has been changed in Lion. For the worse evidently!
 
edit: Or it could be a Mac Pro vs. iMac thing, there are some differences in the digital audio implementation...

 

[TheGrumpyOldMan]

Just tested it as well: On a MBP running OSX 10.7.3:
- Using line / headphone out: Only default option (Headphone Out) available
- Using optical out (same physical port): Only default option (Digital Out) available
- Using USB to DAC: Choice between Internal Speakers or USB DAC for system sounds

 

[grokit]

The Mac Pro is the only Mac to have separate full-size toslink in/outs rather than a mini-toslink out which is shared by the headphone port.

 

[1957GoldTop]

First, I'm not trying to start anything here... just looking for some input.
 
I have a Schiit Lyr for my AKG K702s.  The Lyr is connected to my Marantz SR6005.  Due to some configuration limitations with my setup in order to use the Lyr with digital and analog sources I'd need to have a DAC in between the Lyr and the Marantz.  You can see the detail on that issue here (around post 13 and 14):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/598818/headphone-amp-to-receiver
 
Anyway, since I have the Lyr I thought the BiFrost would be a good option.  I would be able to get digital and analog use of the lyr and I could use the BiFrost as the DAC rather than using the Marantz DAC (something I thought would be an upgrade).
 
But, on a completely separate topic, I've been corresponding back and for with the Founder/CTO of Audyssey.  The subject eventually came around to DACs.  To which he said:
"What I'm trying to say is that the purported quality difference in DACs is almost nonexistent these days. If it's there it can only be found through laboratory testing and will not be audible under normal listening conditions.  But considering the product you have (Marantz SR6005) ... I would be surprised if there were audible differences due to an external more expensive DAC."
 
Comments?
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 
But, on a completely separate topic, I've been corresponding back and for with the Founder/CTO of Audyssey.  The subject eventually came around to DACs.  To which he said:
"What I'm trying to say is that the purported quality difference in DACs is almost nonexistent these days. If it's there it can only be found through laboratory testing and will not be audible under normal listening conditions.  But considering the product you have (Marantz SR6005) ... I would be surprised if there were audible differences due to an external more expensive DAC."
 
Comments?

Yes, he's talking about DAC chips, not how they're implemented in a source also called a DAC.  Go get a seriously transparent amp and headphone and hook them up to a Fiio E10 and a Perfect Wave DAC and see if you don't hear a difference.  If you don't then pocket the change and be happy.
 

 

[45longcolt]

Howdy 1957GoldTop- You've raised an interesting point, which has different facets. The DAC chip is just part of the picture - after all, there's one in your mp3 player, but it's cheap at best The rest of the DAC component may be even more important than the chip. One can put the most powerful engine in a car, but if the chassis, brakes, etc. aren't good the result won't be a satisfactory vehicle. And all that doesn't even touch on the subject of voicing - the designer tuning the component (amp, DAC, speaker etc.) to his own vision/taste/standards or whatever you'd call it. As someone recently said to me on exactly this subject, if you give two people the same ingedients and have them bake cakes, what are the odds the cakes will tast identical?
 
And due to equipment failure, I believe I've found the practical limits of the Bifrost. I'd been feeding it from a Marantz SA8004, a well-reviewed $1,000 unit which also plays SACDs. The Bifrost improved the sound. Then the 8004 quit reading SACDs, which is what I bought it for. So I took it back to the dealer, gave him another $1,000 and got the new Marantz SA15s2 Limited.
 
Right out of the box, bags more bass than the Bifrost. While I disagree with those who say the Schiit is bass-shy, I admit I've been luxuriating in the Marantz's bass like a cat in a basket of right-out-of-the-dryer laundry. Also there's a little more soundstage, especially in the front-to-back dimension. The new player is still breaking in, so I've not done serious A-B listening.But for now, I would say that the Bifrost will help with any player costing less than two grand. And of course it's the proverbial no-brainer for computer use.
 
Presuming you like the way it's voiced...