[Baldr]

  RE sampling rate change noise/weirdness in Bimby:  It has just exceeded 1% of user base mentioning this to us as at least an occasional problem.  This means I am now investigating this situation.  Personally, I have six or seven different sources.  Schiit has at least double that, and Dave has two I can think of.  I will now look into this to see if I can cause this to happen in any listening stations I have access to.  If the user problems rise over 1%, in my view the situation becomes worthy of investigation.  I need some time as I have just been sprung from the hospital a few days ago and am a bit slow moving, but well on the road to a good recovery.

I really wish I had something more definitive.  What I know is the following:  This phenomenon definitely exists, but only for the first 50-100 hours of the Bifrost's life.  The best guess is that it may have something to do with the various commands issued by our control microprocessor to the analog relays as well as the digital control inputs on the days and DSP.  Count on 100% of Bimby's to display this aberration for the first few hours of life after burn.  Count on 100% of Bimbys to self heal in early life.  After that point, they are all fine.  Leaving the units out in the cold (it was in the twenties here the other evening) will not bring the bad behavior back.  After that point, troubleshooting fails as it is impossible to fix something that is not broken.  Don't think I have given up on this, it is just that I have become less concerned as the problem cures itself.  

 

[jfoxvol]

Yeah mine played at double rate once or twice then had some trouble switching rates. But only for a couple tracks on day one. I have had it for weeks now and never had a recurrence. It's working like a charm every day all day.

 

[BeatsWork]

 
I really wish I had something more definitive.  What I know is the following:  This phenomenon definitely exists, but only for the first 50-100 hours of the Bifrost's life.  The best guess is that it may have something to do with the various commands issued by our control microprocessor to the analog relays as well as the digital control inputs on the days and DSP.  Count on 100% of Bimby's to display this aberration for the first few hours of life after burn.  Count on 100% of Bimbys to self heal in early life.  After that point, they are all fine.  Leaving the units out in the cold (it was in the twenties here the other evening) will not bring the bad behavior back.  After that point, troubleshooting fails as it is impossible to fix something that is not broken.  Don't think I have given up on this, it is just that I have become less concerned as the problem cures itself.  

1st validated case of burn in improving sound ever?

​ Alert the Sound Science forum immediately!

 

[kstuart]

 

 
I really wish I had something more definitive.  What I know is the following:  This phenomenon definitely exists, but only for the first 50-100 hours of the Bifrost's life.  The best guess is that it may have something to do with the various commands issued by our control microprocessor to the analog relays as well as the digital control inputs on the days and DSP.  Count on 100% of Bimby's to display this aberration for the first few hours of life after burn.  Count on 100% of Bimbys to self heal in early life.  After that point, they are all fine.  Leaving the units out in the cold (it was in the twenties here the other evening) will not bring the bad behavior back.  After that point, troubleshooting fails as it is impossible to fix something that is not broken.  Don't think I have given up on this, it is just that I have become less concerned as the problem cures itself.  

1st validated case of burn in improving sound ever?

​ Alert the Sound Science forum immediately!

Yes, I see the smiley.... but FYI I thought I would pass along the following anecdote:
 
I was given a pair of brand new headphones as a present - significant price, but not ones that were amongst ones that I had "always wanted".  So, I thought I would give them a try, and then sell them so I could buy what I wanted.
 
Out of the box, the treble was harsh and the bass was weak.  The soundstage and imaging were pretty good.
 
So, I said "bleh, I'll sell these".   Then I thought "I should at least review them".
 
My practice when reviewing is to always burn-in to be totally fair to the product.  So, I put them in a closet connected to a CD player for several days.
 
When I took them out of the closet - the treble harshness and weak bass were gone.
 
NOTE:
 
* No possibility of " your brain adjusted to their sound " - because they were in the closet - I did NOT listen to them in between.
 
* No possibility of " expectation bias " - because I wanted them to continue to be bad, so I could sell them and get what I wanted.
 
Yes, only one data point, so anecdotal.... but... this has always made of skeptical of the " you hear things because of your bias " arguments.

 

[cishida]

I really wish I had something more definitive.  What I know is the following:  This phenomenon definitely exists, but only for the first 50-100 hours of the Bifrost's life.  The best guess is that it may have something to do with the various commands issued by our control microprocessor to the analog relays as well as the digital control inputs on the days and DSP.  Count on 100% of Bimby's to display this aberration for the first few hours of life after burn.  Count on 100% of Bimbys to self heal in early life.  After that point, they are all fine.  Leaving the units out in the cold (it was in the twenties here the other evening) will not bring the bad behavior back.  After that point, troubleshooting fails as it is impossible to fix something that is not broken.  Don't think I have given up on this, it is just that I have become less concerned as the problem cures itself.  

It happened to me a few times when I first installed my bimby in my main speaker setup. It then pretty much disappeared (very occasional occupancies)

But last week it reappeared consistently when I moved my MB into my headphone system (different Mac) for a few days. Each time I played a track with a different sample rate the output would be garbled until I cycled through the inputs. It wasn't so bad since the input button is close and easy to access with my headphone system.

Since I moved the mb back to my main system the sample rate noise has returned to being very sporadic. But sometimes when it does occur the input cycling trick does not work (input gets stuck on optical and I cannot get back to usb) and I have to cycle power.

I'm sure there is a root cause but there are just too many variables for me to guess what is going on. It is irritating but I think I can live with it.

 

[crazychile]

 

 

 
I really wish I had something more definitive.  What I know is the following:  This phenomenon definitely exists, but only for the first 50-100 hours of the Bifrost's life.  The best guess is that it may have something to do with the various commands issued by our control microprocessor to the analog relays as well as the digital control inputs on the days and DSP.  Count on 100% of Bimby's to display this aberration for the first few hours of life after burn.  Count on 100% of Bimbys to self heal in early life.  After that point, they are all fine.  Leaving the units out in the cold (it was in the twenties here the other evening) will not bring the bad behavior back.  After that point, troubleshooting fails as it is impossible to fix something that is not broken.  Don't think I have given up on this, it is just that I have become less concerned as the problem cures itself.  

1st validated case of burn in improving sound ever?

​ Alert the Sound Science forum immediately!

Yes, I see the smiley.... but FYI I thought I would pass along the following anecdote:
 
I was given a pair of brand new headphones as a present - significant price, but not ones that were amongst ones that I had "always wanted".  So, I thought I would give them a try, and then sell them so I could buy what I wanted.
 
Out of the box, the treble was harsh and the bass was weak.  The soundstage and imaging were pretty good.
 
So, I said "bleh, I'll sell these".   Then I thought "I should at least review them".
 
My practice when reviewing is to always burn-in to be totally fair to the product.  So, I put them in a closet connected to a CD player for several days.
 
When I took them out of the closet - the treble harshness and weak bass were gone.
 
NOTE:
 
* No possibility of " your brain adjusted to their sound " - because they were in the closet - I did NOT listen to them in between.
 
* No possibility of " expectation bias " - because I wanted them to continue to be bad, so I could sell them and get what I wanted.
 
Yes, only one data point, so anecdotal.... but... this has always made of skeptical of the " you hear things because of your bias " arguments.

This is pretty much how I break/burn in every new piece of gear I get. Since my listening time is pretty limited (usually to a few hours on weekends), I un-box and connect the new gear, give it a 5 minute listen, and then start the music library at the beginning and let it roll...usually for 3-5 days. Then I come back to it when I have some time and give it a serious listen. I don't have the time to see how stuff breaks in incrementally over multiple sessions of listening. That would be a nice experiment for those that have the time, but I've pretty much moved past that. I just want to enjoy the music when I actually have a few hours to listen.

 

[kstuart]

I don't have the time to see how stuff breaks in incrementally over multiple sessions of listening. That would be a nice experiment for those that have the time,

For that experiment, see:
 
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/schiit-bifrost-dac-my-break-in-diary.285693/

 

[crazychile]

 

I don't have the time to see how stuff breaks in incrementally over multiple sessions of listening. That would be a nice experiment for those that have the time,

For that experiment, see:
 
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/schiit-bifrost-dac-my-break-in-diary.285693/

Yep, I've read that thread before. I do enjoy reading about that stuff. The burn-in / warm-up accounts when the Yggy came out were very interesting....

 

[wahsmoh]

Has anyone tried using the Bifrost MB with a preamp? I feel like the 2V output is not enough to satisfy my ears like the 4Vs coming out of my Theta. It gives my Asgard 2 more voltage swing to push my Alpha Dogs enough to where I don't get any sibilance at decent volume.
 
I get a slightly weaker sound out of the Bifrost MB and maybe it is neutral to the point it is not as satisfying as the Theta. I think it has to do with the 2V output, not the DAC itself.
 
BTW both image like DACs that should cost upwards of $2000. Bifrost MB is slightly more diffuse than the Theta though in soundstage size. I just want more dynamics and power!!!

 

[Deftone]

Bimby + Vali +650?  
 
Bimby + Valhalla 2 + 650?

 

[Deftone]

  Has anyone tried using the Bifrost MB with a preamp? I feel like the 2V output is not enough to satisfy my ears like the 4Vs coming out of my Theta. It gives my Asgard 2 more voltage swing to push my Alpha Dogs enough to where I don't get any sibilance at decent volume.
 
I get a slightly weaker sound out of the Bifrost MB and maybe it is neutral to the point it is not as satisfying as the Theta. I think it has to do with the 2V output, not the DAC itself.
 
BTW both image like DACs that should cost upwards of $2000. Bifrost MB is slightly more diffuse than the Theta though in soundstage size. I just want more dynamics and power

would a line level tube buffer do they trick? i know they add a couple dbs and a bit of energetic grunt.

 

[wahsmoh]

  Bimby + Vali +650?  
 
Bimby + Valhalla 2 + 650?

Bimby + Crack + HD650

 
In my case it is EAD CD-1000 -> BH Crack -> HD600. That right there is end-game for any sane human being

 


 
This is from the San Diego Head-fi meet.. two different BH Cracks, one is bone stock and the other is fully pimped out with speedball and Tung Sol 5998 tubes

 

[Deftone]

thank you,
 
yeah i was looking at the bottlehead but then i found out that its diy so its out of question for me.

 

[Billheiser]

  Bimby + Vali +650?  
 
Bimby + Valhalla 2 + 650?

Yes.

 

[Billheiser]

  Has anyone tried using the Bifrost MB with a preamp? I feel like the 2V output is not enough to satisfy my ears like the 4Vs coming out of my Theta. It gives my Asgard 2 more voltage swing to push my Alpha Dogs enough to where I don't get any sibilance at decent volume.
 
I get a slightly weaker sound out of the Bifrost MB and maybe it is neutral to the point it is not as satisfying as the Theta. I think it has to do with the 2V output, not the DAC itself.
 
BTW both image like DACs that should cost upwards of $2000. Bifrost MB is slightly more diffuse than the Theta though in soundstage size. I just want more dynamics and power!!!

I use the Bifrost MB w/ a preamp, in my main stereo system.  It's super and more than strong enough.  It also feeds my Valhalla 2, just looping back up from the preamp.  Lots of juice.
 
2V output is pretty much standard for devices and has been for a long time.  Amps and etc are built with that standard in mind.