[StanD]

 
As a person who collects old unobtainable DACs, I think this will be a fun experiment for me to compare it to other R2R offerings. Seeing where you're coming from, the Uber has sort of a boxed in soundstage compared to better offerings. It's like you're sitting a few rows too close and the instruments are sitting in your L/R channels versus being spread out in an imaginary circle around your head. I got a chance to listen to the Uber one last time and it was a good sendoff because I realized my 1994 Theta just trounces it in every conceivable way. As Mike said in the posts a few back, the Sharc DSP is what gives you this pinpoint imaging and spatial cues. It's the same filter that is in the Theta, just updated for 2015.
 
edit: Oh yeah, so what I'm getting at is that you should upgrade your Uber and you might find your HD800s sound even better than they did before.

Does the Bifrost Uber have any defficiencies in FR or channel separation that would compromise the soundstage?

 

[wahsmoh]

Does the Bifrost Uber have any defficiencies in FR or channel separation that would compromise the soundstage?

Hmm I'm not sure about the technicalities. I did notice in the new Bifrost the output section looks beefier and ofc there is the Sharc DSP sitting there on the board. What I do trust is my ears and the soundstage difference isn't subtle or barely noticeable. It's like when I listened to Carlos Santana "Samba Pa Ti" the instruments weren't separated as wide as the Theta and the volume play didn't result in increased dynamics or slam of percussion when being turned up.

The Theta has a boosted output so whatever preamp it hooks up to it adds volume. But even that being said, when I volume matched them manually and to my ears I had the Bifrost Uber and A2 at 11-12 o-clock and the Theta and A2 at around 9-10 o'clock. There is a much better sense of impact and slam from instruments and simply a wider soundstage. The Uber has all the details but it is the way they are presented that defeats what sounds real to my ears.

 

[madwolfa]

  Still prefer Gumby form factor 

 
There's no way it would fit anywhere on my desk, though. So, Bimbo for me. 

 

[riverlethe]

I'm also curious about the 4399 vs. 4490.  Is it just that the old 4399 was getting hard to source?  Also, it says that the 4490 has a selection of five filters.  Which one did you use?  Wouldn't it be possible to use Schiit's own filter with this DAC?

 

[kyungrok325]

Hey I am sort of new to the audiophile community.
I have the asgard 2 right now and Im planning on getting the bifrost very soon.
I mainly use my akg k712 and asgard 2 to play games on my computer such as CSGO
and I also listen to some light music (such as OST's/rock/ballad/ etc....) when Im studying or just messing around.
 
I have 2 questions
 
1) What is the best way (quality) to listen to headphones?
    USB, coaxial, or spdif?
 
2) What is the multibit upgrade? Is it worth ($600) it over just the regular bifrost ($400)?
    and should I get it? Please explain so a plebeian like me can understand.
 
Thank you

 

[riverlethe]

  Hey I am sort of new to the audiophile community.
I have the asgard 2 right now and Im planning on getting the bifrost very soon.
I mainly use my akg k712 and asgard 2 to play games on my computer such as CSGO
and I also listen to some light music (such as OST's/rock/ballad/ etc....) when Im studying or just messing around.
 
I have 2 questions
 
1) What is the best way (quality) to listen to headphones?
    USB, coaxial, or spdif?
 
2) What is the multibit upgrade? Is it worth ($600) it over just the regular bifrost ($400)?
    and should I get it? Please explain so a plebeian like me can understand.
 
Thank you

 
Optical is the best way to get sound out of a PC without background noise/interference/ground loop issues.

 

[earnmyturns]

The Theta has a boosted output so whatever preamp it hooks up to it adds volume. But even that being said, when I volume matched them manually and to my ears I had the Bifrost Uber and A2 at 11-12 o-clock and the Theta and A2 at around 9-10 o'clock. There is a much better sense of impact and slam from instruments and simply a wider soundstage. The Uber has all the details but it is the way they are presented that defeats what sounds real to my ears.

Thanks for the detailed observations. I have Bifrost Uber > A2 > Alpha Primes. I listen often to digital tracks (live and studio) of jazz musicians who I also hear live fairly frequently (SFJAZZ in SF is amazing). Your observations fit pretty well what I feel is the weakest aspect of my current headphone listening setup. Even my speaker setup (Bel Canto C7R > KEF LS50s) gives a better soundstage. I can't wait to get my upgrade, sitting at #10 in the queue.

 

[Zojokkeli]

Wow, I was expecting more expensive upgrade, and at a later date. Pretty much a no-brainer for me.

 

[JEspina456]

Just placed my order for Multibit upgrade!  I'm number 20 out of 20!  I wonder if they're just doing 20 at a time?  If so, I just made it under the gun!  Can't wait to hear it.

 

[MrPanda]

  Just placed my order for Multibit upgrade!  I'm number 20 out of 20!  I wonder if they're just doing 20 at a time?  If so, I just made it under the gun!  Can't wait to hear it.

Jeepers, I'm #21

 

[hifi808]

  Only 10 orders > 11h after the announcement? What are you waiting for, Bifrosters?

 
A Bimby dressed in black.

 

[wahsmoh]

  Thanks for the detailed observations. I have Bifrost Uber > A2 > Alpha Primes. I listen often to digital tracks (live and studio) of jazz musicians who I also hear live fairly frequently (SFJAZZ in SF is amazing). Your observations fit pretty well what I feel is the weakest aspect of my current headphone listening setup. Even my speaker setup (Bel Canto C7R > KEF LS50s) gives a better soundstage. I can't wait to get my upgrade, sitting at #10 in the queue.

I predict the difference of Bifrost Uber - > Bifrost MB will be like the difference of Gungnir - > Gungnir MB. It is this sense of space and imaging that really defines how we perceive the music. I notice in all the impressions of the Gumby people keep getting wowed by this ambience. Back when Theta was the king of the DAC hill they were competing against Krell and Wadia with their "DAC computers" that both had DSP controlled filter algorithms. This was the advent of the custom filter versus the brickwall filter of the early 90s. I believe their influence is why today the TOTL DACs all implement their own filter designs and opt out of the kind you find built into the DAC.

 

[RCBinTN]

  Hey I am sort of new to the audiophile community.
I have the asgard 2 right now and Im planning on getting the bifrost very soon.
I mainly use my akg k712 and asgard 2 to play games on my computer such as CSGO
and I also listen to some light music (such as OST's/rock/ballad/ etc....) when Im studying or just messing around.
 
I have 2 questions
 
1) What is the best way (quality) to listen to headphones?
    USB, coaxial, or spdif?
 
2) What is the multibit upgrade? Is it worth ($600) it over just the regular bifrost ($400)?
    and should I get it? Please explain so a plebeian like me can understand.
 
Thank you

 
Good questions.  IMO -
1) Optical is my choice.  USB is not reliable and noisy.  No experience with coax due to my sources.
2) Yes, it is worth $200.  I just upgraded my Gungnir to Gumby for $500 and will never look back - the SQ is Much better.
However, all this depends on some base factors.  The source quality (MP3 vs. 16/44 vs. 24/96).  The type of music you listen to.  And, the volume you listen at.
 
Cheers -
RCB

 

[RCBinTN]

 
Jeepers, I'm #21

 
I think Schiit will move them out really fast.  Just a few days...

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Some fun facts about the AD5547CRUZ DAC used in Bifrost Multibit (for super techies only):
 
1. It features an integral nonlinearity (INL) plot that's better than +/-0.5LSB. This is a spec they never provide for audio DACs, because (a) it would be terrifying in the case of audio multibit DACs and (b) it is not possible to measure delta-sigma DACs in this way, since the output depends on the preceding and following samples.
 
2. The THD performance is actually scary good--far better than 16 bits. 16 bit level THD, from a theoretically perfect 16-bit DAC, is -96dB. Most 16 bit DACs from the Jurassic Age of Digital didn't hit this number. The AD5547 is -104dB, much better than 16 bit--and its noise level is down at the 22 bit level. And this is without the deglitching tricks applied to Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil.
 
3. It is a parallel input DAC. As in, the entire 16-bit word has to be written in at once, on 16 separate pins. This is very bizarre, since most DACs are serial in. Just one way that these are NOT easy to use for audio.