[landroni]

  Valhalla 2/Lyr 2 + HD800.
I'm using spotify as a source. I understand that's not the best but this is how I "eat"' music

 
Did you select in Spotify "High quality streaming"? By default Spotify does 160kbit/s, but with Spotify Premium you can select 320kbit/s.

Either way, some will argue that high-bit MP3 are audibly indistinguishable from redbook FLAC, but possibly this could mask some of the performance differential. For info, both Tidal and Qobuz provide FLAC streaming...

 

[theveterans]

  Valhalla 2/Lyr 2 + HD800.
I'm using spotify as a source. I understand that's not the best but this is how I "eat"' music

 
It's true. I remember seeing one of Moffat's or the Schiit guy that in terms of making a difference in sound, his rankings from most massive to least massive are Headphones > Amplifier > DAC > linear USB power supply (Wyrd) > cables. DAC is only 3rd in terms of what defines the overall sound. You will get a much more sound difference by switching amplifier if you keep the Headphone the same.

 

[Argo Duck]

Jason did say something along these lines, emphasizing transducers (headphones, speakers) as the biggest difference. The Amp & DAC are closer though, and hence "which makes the more difference" varies by listener. For me, it tends to be DAC.

It's true. I remember seeing one of Moffat's or the Schiit guy that in terms of making a difference in sound, his rankings from most massive to least massive are Headphones > Amplifier > DAC > linear USB power supply (Wyrd) > cables. DAC is only 3rd in terms of what defines the overall sound. You will get a much more sound difference by switching amplifier if you keep the Headphone the same.

 

[jimdandy]

I'm waiting for my tax refund. Done it last week then I can order.

Until then I'm listening to my Modi 2 U. I hope my Magni 2 U sounds good on it. The 400i should sound better with the Bitforst.

I have been checking everyday and they received it but not into the second stage yet. I did it on the 3rd.

 

[wahsmoh]

Jason did say something along these lines, emphasizing transducers (headphones, speakers) as the biggest difference. The Amp & DAC are closer though, and hence "which makes the more difference" varies by listener. For me, it tends to be DAC.

Same with me. The exception is the HD600 which I think sounds significantly better out of the BH Crack than the Asgard 2. I think DACs are more important in general though if you have some good amp-headphone matching. Also, a blind listening test is necessary to see if amps really make that much of a difference or if people have an expectation bias. Output level must be measured too in order to get accurate test results.

 

[theveterans]

 Same with me. The exception is the HD600 which I think sounds significantly better out of the BH Crack than the Asgard 2. I think DACs are more important in general though if you have some good amp-headphone matching. Also, a blind listening test is necessary to see if amps really make that much of a difference or if people have an expectation bias. Output level must be measured too in order to get accurate test results.

 
Of course the HD 600 will sound better with the BH Crack, it's an OTL amp which is a perfect match for high impedance headphones while Asgard 2 is for low impedance high current headphones like AKGs and planars.

 

[Tuneslover]

For anyone interested in reading my comparative impressions of the Bifrost MB and 4490, you can find it on the Schiit Bifrost 4490 Impressions thread.

 

[billerb1]

  For anyone interested in reading my comparative impressions of the Bifrost MB and 4490, you can find it on the Schiit Bifrost 4490 Impressions thread.

 
Excellent review Tuneslover.  I know many have been looking for a direct comparison of the two.
You highlighted the qualities of the Multibit that have hit home the most with me.  Having not heard the 4490 myself, it
sounds like it delivers quite a nice bang for the buck.

 

[earnmyturns]

My living room is being totally rewired for a new AV setup, everything is disassembled, so I'm using my MB Bifrost > Asgard 2 > Alpha Primes to listen to recordings that I had only listened to before on my speaker system (Bel Canto C7R > KEF Reference 1s). In this particular case, "For One To Love" by Cécile McLorin Salvant (as 96/24 FLAC from HDtracks), which just won a Grammy for jazz vocal album. Much that I love my speaker setup, this experience is amazing. The singer's voice feels *right here*, surrounded by the piano on listener's left, bass in back, and drums on listener right with the kind of spacing and depth that I have experienced on the first row of many jazz gigs. McLorin Salvant's voice is really *real*, with the breathiness, vibrato, sustain of an outstanding jazz singer. Added: Her cover of  Barbara's "Le Mal de Vivre," listening now, gives me the shivers. And now on to "Somethin's Coming" (especially interesting to hear it sung by a female singer), with her amazing low notes creating an especially gritty, edgy experience.

 

[watchnerd]

  My living room is being totally rewired for a new AV setup, everything is disassembled, so I'm using my MB Bifrost > Asgard 2 > Alpha Primes to listen to recordings that I had only listened to before on my speaker system (Bel Canto C7R > KEF Reference 1s). In this particular case, "For One To Love" by Cécile McLorin Salvant (as 96/24 FLAC from HDtracks), which just won a Grammy for jazz vocal album. Much that I love my speaker setup, this experience is amazing. The singer's voice feels *right here*, surrounded by the piano on listener's left, bass in back, and drums on listener right with the kind of spacing and depth that I have experienced on the first row of many jazz gigs. McLorin Salvant's voice is really *real*, with the breathiness, vibrato, sustain of an outstanding jazz singer. Added: Her cover of  Barbara's "Le Mal de Vivre," listening now, gives me the shivers. And now on to "Somethin's Coming" (especially interesting to hear it sung by a female singer), with her amazing low notes creating an especially gritty, edgy experience.

 
That's an awesome album.
 
"Growlin' Dan" and "Fog" are amongst my reference test tracks.

 

[lewdogg]

  My living room is being totally rewired for a new AV setup, everything is disassembled, so I'm using my MB Bifrost > Asgard 2 > Alpha Primes to listen to recordings that I had only listened to before on my speaker system (Bel Canto C7R > KEF Reference 1s). In this particular case, "For One To Love" by Cécile McLorin Salvant (as 96/24 FLAC from HDtracks), which just won a Grammy for jazz vocal album. Much that I love my speaker setup, this experience is amazing. The singer's voice feels *right here*, surrounded by the piano on listener's left, bass in back, and drums on listener right with the kind of spacing and depth that I have experienced on the first row of many jazz gigs. McLorin Salvant's voice is really *real*, with the breathiness, vibrato, sustain of an outstanding jazz singer. Added: Her cover of  Barbara's "Le Mal de Vivre," listening now, gives me the shivers. And now on to "Somethin's Coming" (especially interesting to hear it sung by a female singer), with her amazing low notes creating an especially gritty, edgy experience.

Wowsa, Reference 1s...if you say the headphone experience was above the ref. 1, I gotta try some instead of my 2-channel setups. Was never really a headphone guy...just hate not being able to hear anything around me. I feel like someone's gonna sneak up on me LOL!

 

[earnmyturns]

 
Wowsa, Reference 1s...if you say the headphone experience was above the ref. 1, I gotta try some instead of my 2-channel setups. Was never really a headphone guy...just hate not being able to hear anything around me. I feel like someone's gonna sneak up on me LOL!

I'm not saying that my headphone experience is always better than my speaker experience. In fact, I find that my speaker system does a significantly better job than the headphone system on louder modern classical and jazz piano passages (think Bela Bartók, McCoy Tyner, Vijay Iyer, Craig Taborn, ...), for instance. But I while I knew already how well the headphone system did on voices, I was still blown away by how great it did on McLorin Salvant's recording.

 

[freitz]

Does thew Bitfrost currently listed on the website have the 4490 chip it in? The one for 399$?

 

[bixby]

  Does thew Bitfrost currently listed on the website have the 4490 chip it in? The one for 399$?

yes, that is correct!

 

[CFGamescape]

  My living room is being totally rewired for a new AV setup, everything is disassembled, so I'm using my MB Bifrost > Asgard 2 > Alpha Primes to listen to recordings that I had only listened to before on my speaker system (Bel Canto C7R > KEF Reference 1s). In this particular case, "For One To Love" by Cécile McLorin Salvant (as 96/24 FLAC from HDtracks), which just won a Grammy for jazz vocal album. Much that I love my speaker setup, this experience is amazing. The singer's voice feels *right here*, surrounded by the piano on listener's left, bass in back, and drums on listener right with the kind of spacing and depth that I have experienced on the first row of many jazz gigs. McLorin Salvant's voice is really *real*, with the breathiness, vibrato, sustain of an outstanding jazz singer. Added: Her cover of  Barbara's "Le Mal de Vivre," listening now, gives me the shivers. And now on to "Somethin's Coming" (especially interesting to hear it sung by a female singer), with her amazing low notes creating an especially gritty, edgy experience.

Thanks for the track / artist recommendations. I have a very similar setup sans the Asgard 2; I have a Lyr 2 instead with some '74 Reflektor silver shield tubes. I'm not generally a jazz fan, but this may be a good gateway into it.