[knowhatimean]

For some time now I've had a preference for listening to the carefully ripped & burned copy of my Cds. I always detect some amount of improvement in the sound (some quite a bit more than you would guess). A simple explanation would be that burned discs have less jitter as the "pits" are more distinct thus your players' error correction comes into play less often.
 
I decided to cut the CDs out of the equation as I have a Cambridge Audio Network Music Player, that I had gotten to play internet radio from. One of it's features is that it has USB inputs that you can connect thumb or hard drives & it becomes a player for these. The internal dac is'nt horrible(it uses a lesser Wolfson chip) but it can be improved upon by hooking up a DAC of your choice. via optical or coaxial cable. I'm an "audio guy" so I chose to use which one ?.... You took too long... a coaxial (Cardas) cable to an Arcam rDAC (the Bifrost had a very long waiting list when I was putting this "alternate playback system" together. Listening to CDs ripped to a drive (using dbPoweramp CD ripper) is not like listening to them being played back on an optical drive(CD player). The presence of the music is more immediate sounding & fuller sounding, but I still thought the sound had some slight "ruff edges" that I could'nt put my finger on. I then remebered that the Arcam DAC also uses a Wolfson dac chip (a better one than what's inside the Cambridge,  but a Wolfson bit nevertheless).
 
So, (Here's where I get to the Bifrost part, took me long enough, huh ?) I decided to give the Bifrost a try! I've been listening to the 22gigs of CDs I've ripped to a 500 g Western Digital HD (hooked up w/ an Audioquest Forest USB cable) to the Cambridge for a few hours now, color me very impressed. So now I'll listen to my SACDs on my Oppo 95(which I've tweeked a bit, so it's still "Top Dog" on my music playback list) & my CD listening really won't be listening to the physical CDs after they've been ripped. I've been listening to some Debussy piano music for a little while & I remember saying to myself " Boy, that sure does'nt sound like a modern Steinway ! ) That would be because it was an 1897 Bechstein (You know what ? I think a Hamburg Steinway would have been my choice). Given the price of the Bifrost it is a slamdunk bargain. I will definitely be keeping my eye open for any plug in upgrades should they become available

 

[Maxvla]

Paragraphs please.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Paragraphs please.

+1
 
One of the reasons I avoided the lure of tutoring cash at Uni was that I didn't want to get dragged into marking first year papers. Imagine the post above, but with completely illegible handwriting - the horror, the horror.   

 

 

[grokit]

+ 2 on adding a few carriage returns. I have a tendency to tune out and skip these kind of posts regardless of their content, it's an attention span thing. I'm sure it's my loss in some cases.
 
The only thing worse is ALL CAPS

 

[Shubar]

But what about all the cute girls???
Quote:

+1
 
One of the reasons I avoided the lure of tutoring cash at Uni was that I didn't want to get dragged into marking first year papers. Imagine the post above, but with completely illegible handwriting - the horror, the horror.   

 

 

 

[Argo Duck]

That post is a model of clarity compared to marking an entire class's exam scripts - 2nd and even 3rd year. Up to 200 per course.
 
You get very, very good at isolating the key points fast! 

 
And I never let my tutors anywhere near the essay marking - too inconsistent.

 

[knowhatimean]

 
 


Quote:

That post is a model of clarity compared to marking an entire class's exam scripts - 2nd and even 3rd year. Up to 200 per course.
 
You get very, very good at isolating the key points fast! 

 
And I never let my tutors anywhere near the essay marking - too inconsistent.

Thank you !!! I was getting ready for a tar & feathering ! So I guess any content of my posting was "blown out the window" due to the poor structuring of the message , huh ? Anyone (who  was eager enough to join the "stoning") is welcome to re-read my posting for the message this time. Just put on the 3D glasses you did'nt drop in the box at the movie theatre before attempting the 2nd read. In all fairness though, it was only about a paragraph &  a half of content.
 
I keep forgetting that many you appear to have Attention Deficit Syndrome. That would explain a lot of the ramblings I see over here.(Hey, look I used the return key. I think I'll do it again)
 
Have a "structurally correct , content devoid" day. That should be pretty easy to accomplish for many of you.
 
That was'nt the real ending of my posting. This is !
 
Or Not! (I could do this all day)
 
As a sidenote I went back & editied the post a bit (Yeah, it was a bit of "lump", hopefully less so now)

 

[ninjikiran]

Think he meant units not chips but anyway for the 99% there isn't much difference in dacs once you get to a certain price range.  That price range is dependent on the device of course, it can be $150-$1000.
 
If you listen to the NFB-2 and Bifrost most people will say they sound the same.  But if you listen to both long enough you'll hear the differences.  More than detail/microdetail which can be placebo/rolling off the NFB-2 obviously rolls off the highs more so than the Bifrost. So there are differences, you just have to be aware of them but for sub conscious listening you wont notice.
 
Most people will be happy with the dac in their iphone(which imo beats a ton of motherboard integrated audio solutions). Then theres a large group upwards that are perfectly ok with the dac in their sexy high end receiver.  Which depending on make can sound really really good.  I might upgrade to the statement dac but  I am perfectly happy with the bifrost.  Now amps are where its at.  The lyr was a significant change over the concerto.  A nice sideways step.

 

[Kremer930]

When was the last update on either the statement or the intermediate?

 

[Maxvla]

Hoping for something this month. They've been pretty quiet while getting Bifrost's backlog up to date. This was finished a couple weeks ago, so should have something soon.

 

[MrScary]

God what is the freaking hold up I haven't posted on this in 6 months we were suppose to see the second DAC by end of year and then the top of the line sometime in January it was...

Well I am still waiting on the top end DAC not patiently though.. ohh well :0

 

[christophrowley]

Jason has explained why the dates were pushed back. We've known the mid range is supposed to be Q1 and the statement Q2 for months. If it's any consolation, waiting a little longer will only make you appreciate it more.

 

[pyramid6]

They also said they weren't going to announce until they were about ready to ship.  At least I think they said it.

 

[Kremer930]

I remember that Jason was not going to provide pre-order since they got caught with issues that were beyond their control. I wasn't being impatient. I was just checking for updates.

 

[Anathallo]

Q1 also ends in less than 2 weeks.  I'm sure you can forgive him for getting antsy since a Q1 release is pretty optimistic now.
Quote:

Jason has explained why the dates were pushed back. We've known the mid range is supposed to be Q1 and the statement Q2 for months. If it's any consolation, waiting a little longer will only make you appreciate it more.