[b14cx0ut]

it is an absolute nightmare getting the USB driver loaded. I have two different computers both Win 7 Pro 32-Bit. I have tried both with a total of 5 different USB ports and always the same. The auto loaded driver says " the device will not start". Also if i remove all USB devices and try to load the Schiit driver (both the current and last one" the driver will not finish loading and i get a windows error. Very frustrating. I don't intend on using PC as main source, but I'd like to know it works.

The latest drivers don't work for me either. On the download page there is a link to the older drivers that should work.

 

[Dalgas]

it is an absolute nightmare getting the USB driver loaded. I have two different computers both Win 7 Pro 32-Bit. I have tried both with a total of 5 different USB ports and always the same. The auto loaded driver says " the device will not start". Also if i remove all USB devices and try to load the Schiit driver (both the current and last one" the driver will not finish loading and i get a windows error. Very frustrating. I don't intend on using PC as main source, but I'd like to know it works.

 
If you are not planing on using the USB-input - don´t waste time on getting it working! The USB-card is not bad - but it is far inferior to using a good USB-SPDIF converter like f.ex. the Stello U3.
 
I am saving up for a Stello U3 - or maybe an future upgrade of the Gungnir USB-card???. I the meantime I am using an older USB-SPDIF converter (Music Fidelity V-link 24/96) - this is however not significantly better than the Gumbys own USB-interface.
 
But I understand that you are curious....

 

[Brubacca]

I have moved a Squeezebox Touch over to that system, it does work on USB with the EDO App. I want to test this out because this is a possible configuration going forward. This would enable me to move the Qute to my TV system.

I'll do some extended listening.

I have mixed feelings about the Gungnir. It is the best digital that I have had in my system. It sounds great paired with my Tube Amp and Speakers. I think that I may really want Yggy, but realistically I can not afford it. The extra $1k might as well be $5k. I also don't think that I can go back to my Dac before. This sounds so much like real music.

 

[DWbirdseye]

Can anyone tell me who owns an Ibasso DX100 weather or not the Gungnir MB is vastly superior to Ibasso's implementation of the ES Sabre 9018 chip; and if so, why? Thanks

 

[earnmyturns]

  Can anyone tell me who owns an Ibasso DX100 weather or not the Gungnir MB is vastly superior to Ibasso's implementation of the ES Sabre 9018 chip; and if so, why? Thanks

I own a DX90 (dual Sabre ES9018K2Ms) and a Bifrost MB. The Bifrost MB is better is every respect: deeper bass, cleaner upper range, bigger soundstage. I especially love the more precise onset, decay and soundstage placement of percussion and piano with the Bifrost MB. I've not heard the Gungnir MB, but all reports suggest it is at least as good at the Bifrost MB single-ended, and a good step up balanced. But the DX90 is still a very worthy companion for travel. 

 

[DWbirdseye]

I own a DX90 (dual Sabre ES9018K2Ms) and a Bifrost MB. The Bifrost MB is better is every respect: deeper bass, cleaner upper range, bigger soundstage. I especially love the more precise onset, decay and soundstage placement of percussion and piano with the Bifrost MB. I've not heard the Gungnir MB, but all reports suggest it is at least as good at the Bifrost MB single-ended, and a good step up balanced. But the DX90 is still a very worthy companion for travel. 

Thanks!! I too own a dx90 and it is a great dap.

 

[grokit]

So I have an old DSG and I feel like a neglected stepchild around here! It bugs me that it's only $250 more to just buy the MBG than to get mine upgraded, and well less than $200 once I pay shipping both ways. I'm about to re-up my electrostatic game and I was wondering why Schiit even still sells the DSG, at the same price even, alongside the MBG.
 
I don't care about the USB upgrade so much, even though my Gen 1 status in that department also gives me an inferiority complex. I would probably still go to Gen 2 for the extra $100, and it bugs me that we can't get a Gen 3 upgrade for the DSG. But really, if the gumby is that superior, why would anybody still choose the DSG? Why isn't that one on close out?
 
edit: I just realized that they're not the same price. I wasn't running scripts when I checked before. Sorry, my bad

 

 

[sheldaze]

@grokit, I saw your original post and your edit. I'm glad you made the edit 

 
But I'm still only partially feeling you. Understood, the shipping cost to upgrade your DAC is expensive. But you knew, at initial purchase, the DAC would be upgradeable. It's part of the appeal of owning a Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil. And I feel that the Multibit is a significant upgrade, worth the effort in my opinion. This is where I got in on the Gungnir lineup. Perhaps you wait until USB 3 is released (and there is a chance that will be never) - it is also possible that you could just order and self-install any future USB upgrades yourself. So I'm not buying that either.
 
Here's where I agree with you - Modi 2 Uber was released. While the streams never crossed (it still uses the AKM4396 - the Bifrost Uber used the AKM4399) it brought the feature sets between the Modi and Bifrost lineup really close. And it made people question the value of the Bifrost Uber w/ Gen 2 USB, which I owned at the time. But the Bifrost was soon upgraded to AKM4490. I decided to upgrade mine to Multibit, yet I was always curious what the 4490 version of the Bifrost would sound like. While I've not heard it, I've heard the CEntrance and Grace Design implementations of the 4490, and they're really good. I trust Mike Moffatt and assume his design is quite excellent too!
 
So it is in this last paragraph where I feel your pain. The 4490 in the Bifrost is user-replaceable, solving your shipping costs if it were implemented at the Gungnir level. And it's not an option in the Gungnir. Thus the streams have crossed, in that the Bifrost 4490 now has a newer chip than the base Gungnir, which still uses the same AKM4399 chip as the older Bifrost Uber. C'est la vie! There must be a reason. Perhaps the upgrade could not have been user-replaceable? And if so, anyone who was willing to pay shipping fees would be much more likely to buy the Multibit versus the 4490. Perhaps the sonic upgrade was insignificant? Perhaps the upgrade, though costing Mike Moffat time and energy to implement in the Bifrost, was a cost savings in the long term per the price of the new chip. And that cost savings did not translate to sales at the price point of the Gungnir.
 
I think there are always considerations, and many other thought processes in the house of Schiit, that we consumers will never be aware of. I still have faith that Jason and Mike will implement things as best they can given their full list of cost and performance goals.

 

[bigro]

Sheldaze, I agree with your comparison of the Modi 2 U and the Bifrost Uber. The gap became a lot smaller between the two.As Far as the Non MB Gungnir and the 4490 Bifrost, The Ability to do Balanced outputs with Gungnir is probably one of the big differences and I am sure there is a lot more that can be done before and after the DAC chip that could give the Gungnir a performance edge. I am curious if any one has compared the 4490 Bifrost and the DS Gungnir. Some have said the MB Bifrsot and the Gungnir  MB used with the SE out sounds similar. But when using the Balanced outpust the Gungnir MB quickly jumps ahead. I wonder if the same holds true for the Non MB versions.

 

[grokit]

Thanks for the detailed explaination @sheldaze, I haven't been following along as well as I should have been over the years and I feel caught up now

Agreed after the edit my issues weren't as intractable! It sounds like my best bet is to get the upgrades done; I can take some kind of sick comfort that it would cost me ~$600 (not ~$200) more to just buy the Gumby outright. I trust that you guys aren't all deluded and there is a genuine leap in transparency (so there's no need to A/B), so the upgrade makes the most sense. With my new (to me) amp coming, this will need to happen sooner than later.
 
And yes I knew this going in, it's fantastic that I can upgrade my DSG to a Gumby; I wouldn't have it any other way. But ~$675 is almost like buying a whole new DAC! So please forgive the rant. I do have a couple more questions. You alluded to maybe never on USB3 for Gungnir, but with my luck the moment I get it back it will become available. And because I'm planning on A/B'ing a couple of good Spdif converters (and have always used one in my DSG), the USB is mostly unused anyways. So it may make sense to wait for the USB3 and do it myself if it ever happens.
 
Do you guys see another upgrade path coming sooner than later for the Gungnir? For example do you think they might be inclined to combine the multibit technology with the 4490 chipset, or is that not technically feasible? The other thing I was wondering is if the warranty gets any kind of re-set by Schiit after they are done doing the upgrade, since I've had my DSG since the first year of release it's getting close to expiring.

 

[RCBinTN]

  Thanks for the detailed explaination @sheldaze, I haven't been following along as well as I should have been over the years and I feel caught up now

Agreed after the edit my issues weren't as intractable! It sounds like my best bet is to get the upgrades done; I can take some kind of sick comfort that it would cost me ~$600 (not ~$200) more to just buy the Gumby outright. I trust that you guys aren't all deluded and there is a genuine leap in transparency (so there's no need to A/B), so the upgrade makes the most sense. With my new (to me) amp coming, this will need to happen sooner than later.
 
And yes I knew this going in, it's fantastic that I can upgrade my DSG to a Gumby; I wouldn't have it any other way. But ~$675 is almost like buying a whole new DAC! So please forgive the rant. I do have a couple more questions. You alluded to maybe never on USB3 for Gungnir, but with my luck the moment I get it back it will become available. And because I'm planning on A/B'ing a couple of good Spdif converters (and have always used one in my DSG), the USB is mostly unused anyways. So it may make sense to wait for the USB3 and do it myself if it ever happens.
 
Do you guys see another upgrade path coming sooner than later for the Gungnir? For example do you think they might be inclined to combine the multibit technology with the 4490 chipset, or is that not technically feasible? The other thing I was wondering is if the warranty gets any kind of re-set by Schiit after they are done doing the upgrade, since I've had my DSG since the first year of release it's getting close to expiring.

 
Hi grokit,
 
My experience has been UberBi - DSG - GMB.  I can verify that Sheldaze is correct, the upgrade from DSG to GMB is an amazing improvement.  To me, it was well-worth the time and expense, I would do it again in a heart beat.  My music really opened up and, in particular, my combination of GMB - BHA-1 - HD800 turned out to be a real winner.  Incredible instrument clarity / soundstage / bass quality - it's now all good. With the DSG, the BHA-1 amp sounded dark and closed with the HD800.  The multibit upgrade opened up the sound.
 
BTW, I do not use the USB connection.  I only use optical from the computer into the GMB.
 
Hope this helps,
RCBinTN

 

[hrq12345]

Do you guys think there's a big difference between gumby and bimby when only using the SE output? Some people said there's very little difference.

 

[XenHeadFi]

What temperatures do your Gungnirs stabilize at? My Multibit runs +12C or +21F above ambient. At 20C (68F), the top of my Gumby by the "holes" is 32.2C (90F). Definitely warm, but no were close to hot. Not worrying, just wondering.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I'm curious to hear even more opinions on Multifrost vs. delta-sigma Gungnir. I got the uberfrost in June, and am weighing the $250 + shipping upgrade versus the $1250 + shipping gumby, but continue to be fascinated by the question of just how significantly the standard Gungnir outperforms the multifrost—both in single ended and in balanced—even though I don't see myself going for a gungnir without the MB upgrade.
 
Are there more insights? 

 

[tjl5709]

  I'm curious to hear even more opinions on Multifrost vs. delta-sigma Gungnir. I got the uberfrost in June, and am weighing the $250 + shipping upgrade versus the $1250 + shipping gumby, but continue to be fascinated by the question of just how significantly the standard Gungnir outperforms the multifrost—both in single ended and in balanced—even though I don't see myself going for a gungnir without the MB upgrade.
 
Are there more insights? 

I moved from uber bifrost to gumby. (and lyr2 to mojo2)
 
No looking back. SQ, detail, sound stage........
 
Seeing such a dramatic effect, I am now searching out moving to yggy.
 
My music collection has moved closer to live. Very musical. Listen for hours.