[ericr]

And the analog technology is mature.

That's what I love about the upgradeable Schiit DACs -- you keep your investment in the mature analog tech for life, while allowing the always betterfastercheaper digital side to be swapped out.

Unless of course, you have a Bimby with it's all new analog section.

More on the analog output stage choices made in Yggy/Gumby vs Bimby from Jason (quote taken from another forum):

To expand on the comment about discrete stages:

1. The discrete stage in the Yggdrasil and GMB are both just buffers. The DACs used there have voltage output. So, they are very simple stages, just four active devices per channel. However, as measurements clearly show, this simplicity does not compromise distortion performance (this is usually the penalty paid...simple discrete amps typically have high THD.) That's why when you see some "2-PPM wonder amp" it usually has about 80 active devices per channel. We can argue till the cows come home which sounds better.

2. The discrete stage in the standard Bifrost and Gungnir is actually a small amp stage—not exactly a discrete op-amp, due to its very specific gain structure and open-loop bandwidth beyond the audio band--but it also takes a voltage output of the DAC, amplifies it a bit, and passes it on. No I/V necessary.

3. Bifrost Multibit is totally different. Its DAC has current output, so it doesn't just need a buffer--it needs an actual I/V stage, or current-to-voltage converter stage. There are many ways to do this, from op-amps to discrete. If you're going discrete, it's best not to use a typical voltage-in amp topology, but to design specifically for current input (into, say, the emitters, with overall feedback to bring the input impedance down--you want very LOW input impedance in an I/V stage, unlike a voltage amp.) However, Bifrost Multibit doesn't have a lot of real estate on the analog board, so we had to choose: discrete I/V OR burrito filter. Both wouldn't fit. I believe Mike and Dave made the best choice, which was to retain the burrito and lose the discrete I/V.

Consider this: the discrete I/V I did for Theta's Gen V had 250-ish through-hole parts...on a 4 x 6" teflon board...per balanced channel. The complete Bifrost analog output stage--which includes digital filter, DAC, glue logic, local power supplies, voltage references, and the I/V stage is 4 x 5". Surface mount gets us only so far.

 

[watchnerd]

Unless of course, you have a Bimby with it's all new analog section.

 
Interesting.
 
For the Gungnir, I assume those differences manifest on the daughter card. I can't imagine wanting 2 motherboards.

 

[Kcharng]

Can't Imagine having to upgrade Bimby Dac anytime soon, the way it sounds now is just great!
Having an up gradable board is a nice touch. IF (big if) multibit becomes mainstream, we might
have newer dac chips miniturized to fit into bimby chassis.
 

 

[buffalomatt]

Time to start saving my pennies!

 

[Tiko]

  Time to start saving my pennies!

It's a few pennies, but worth every single one.  

 

[MikeMALL]

Still stoked on my fulla 2

 

[bronzboy]

  Can't Imagine having to upgrade Bimby Dac anytime soon, the way it sounds now is just great!
Having an up gradable board is a nice touch. IF (big if) multibit becomes mainstream, we might
have newer dac chips miniturized to fit into bimby chassis.
 

 
I'll second that.  I've had a Bimby since they were first released and I still smile every time I listen to my system.  I've just moved from an Asgard 2 to a Liquid Carbon.  I see a Focal Elear in my future, but I'm not in any hurry to swap out the Bimby.  Any comments you can share about the pairing of the Bimby and the Elear?  Thanks.

 

[Odin412]

   
I'll second that.  I've had a Bimby since they were first released and I still smile every time I listen to my system.  I've just moved from an Asgard 2 to a Liquid Carbon.  I see a Focal Elear in my future, but I'm not in any hurry to swap out the Bimby.  Any comments you can share about the pairing of the Bimby and the Elear?  Thanks.

​Congratulations! The Bifrost Multibit/Liquid Carbon is one of my favorite combos with several headphones. Like you, I'm pondering about an Elear - we'll see after CanJam SoCal...

 

[bronzboy]

 
​Congratulations! The Bifrost Multibit/Liquid Carbon is one of my favorite combos with several headphones. Like you, I'm pondering about an Elear - we'll see after CanJam SoCal...

It is a special combo, that's for sure.  I'd be interested in what you hear.  There are lots of contradictory comments about the Elear on the web in regard to what people hear or don't hear to the point that it doesn't seem they're talking about the same phones.  At the same time, I've read a number of professional reviews by people I generally respect who love them.

 

[MarkF786]

I know I'm just echoing previous comments, but I'd love to see a balanced Bimby.
 
I have a Jotunheim on order and have been debating what DAC to get.  I've ordered it with the DAC module to get me started, and I have a Mojo to use and compare, but I'd like to get a Schiit Multibit DAC.  I'm not too interested in the Mimby due to the different form factor and the wall wart, but the Bimby seems to be only a marginal upgrade in sound for $350 more!  But If a Bimby 2 was released with balanced outs, then it would help justify the large jump in price.  And of course the Jotunheim is feeling lonely, not having a balanced DAC in it's form factor to pair with.
 
With the Mimby sounding so good for $250, the Bimby now seems like the one outlier in Schiit's product line where the value-to-price ratio isn't too good (at least compared to it's own products).

 

[watchnerd]

 
With the Mimby sounding so good for $250, the Bimby now seems like the one outlier in Schiit's product line where the value-to-price ratio isn't too good (at least compared to it's own products).

 
I dunno about that....Bimby is upgradeable.
 
Mimby is not.  
 
Over the long term, that's worth the extra premium.  Plus it has better power supplies, as you point out.

 

[vintinfinity]

Is there any real world advantage to using optical compared to USB with the Bifrost MB? I was thinking of getting an Asus Xonar DGX for the optical output if it makes a change for the better.

 

[watchnerd]

Is there any real world advantage to using optical compared to USB with the Bifrost MB? I was thinking of getting an Asus Xonar DGX for the optical output if it makes a change for the better.

 
Sure.
 
You don't need galvanic isolation with optical.

 

[sludgeogre]

Is there any real world advantage to using optical compared to USB with the Bifrost MB? I was thinking of getting an Asus Xonar DGX for the optical output if it makes a change for the better.

I still think that a good optical or coax transport sounds better than USB on windows computers. Some of my computers sound less crappy than others, but all of them are crappy to some degree. Mike Moffat only uses Macs with specific upgrades that he's done to make USB sound decent. I use my iBasso DX80 as a transport whenever I can. Clearer sound, no noise, blacker background, better overall headphone performance.

 

[DecentLevi]

After trying optical on my Modi multi bit, I've never gone back to USB. Even better yet is AES, then finally I2S on systems that support it