[MOFOfunk]

I've been waiting or the last few months in the front of the queue for the multibit upgrade and they just keep teasing me with the backordered estimate date moving back each time :confused_face: . I had thought I'd kill time reading through this thread, but it has only fed the desire! The current Gungnir DS was already a sublime treat for me when I upgraded from a Fiio E17 several years back. I can only hope that the wait will not be much longer!

You are waiting for something good and perhaps they are even preparing a special treat for you...

You know, everything I have ever done has "problems".  Since I am the release authority on my products it behooves me to make sure any of those are so minor as to be inconsequential.  If I fail in that regard, it will cost me time, trouble, and money.  So minor, in fact, they must be reduced to the level of imperfections as a design imperative.  If called out on those "imperfections", my first response will probably be like it was 30 years at Theta, where I would tell them to go buy a phuckin' anybody else's DAC.  All these years later, I am still doing the best I can for the most people.  No matter what I do, I can't build an every person's DAC or digital audio thingy.  It is inevitable that somebody out there is going to tell me I'm full of Schiit and believe it as well.  Way back then, Theta was the first company to go upgradable.  Everything Bifrost and up continues so today at Schiit.  Every now and then someone will tell me how much he spent on Bifrost upgrades.  You want a better sound earlier than others, that's why you go upgradable.  You don't like it, buy some phuckin' DAC where you have to throw the whole thing away.  Then watch the Accu-Jack model I resale crater when the Accu-Jack model 2 comes out.  That is not as hostile as it sounds, I just have to pick a path and stick with it - which I have been doing so for decades now.

So here comes another benefit of upgradable gear which has nothing to do with earlier rumors on this thread:  from time to time we make trivial and minor improvements to our gear.  That's why an Yggy flushes down all of the old Theta gear.  In 30 years you learn stuff.  Problem is most of those upgrades do not justify a trip back until we have something of major consequence to upgrade.  $75 worth of shipping for a $2 part?  Nah.  All good things come to those who wait.  You will be able to upgrade.  You can bet most other makers of DACs do as well.  With no upgrade path, however, you will be looking at the resale of the Accu-Jack 1 unless you are psychic.

One of the reasons I designed Mimby was that it will result in upgrades all of the way above it up the line.  This is true even if the Mimby itself is NOT upgradable.

So that is one design path I follow; it is the best I know how to do, even yet today over thirty years later.  I am very grateful to have so many happy clients today.  I have them all to thank, which I do not do often enough.

 

[gwitzel]

Originally Posted by Baldr /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
As an aside, I have observed many singers auditioning for regional musicals.  Believe it or not, there are those who would audition who are tone deaf.  Thankfully, the majority are not.  The point here is that there is a similar range of listening ability here as well.  Some may require approval or qualification of their opinions from experts or opinion leaders, others not.  I say here that listeners' abilities vary widely, and I have had much to learn from them over the last 40 years or so.  For example, I have seen evidence that tone perception is teachable.
 

 
I think this holds true especially also outside electronic music reproduction. In college, my room mate started to be interested in classical music. So I started sharing some of my music with him. I showed him one day the second piano concerto by Prokofiev (played by Y. Kissin). I love the archaic 3. movement and started to describe to him how the melodic material is picked up by different instrument groups in the orchestra and how interesting it is. He interrupted me and said that for him it was only a wall of sound, he could not even really pick out the instrument groups, and as a result also not really follow what happened musically. Listening to complex music is something you must learn, you don't simply possess. Peter and the Wolf might be a good starting point

 

[byttle]

  I've been waiting or the last few months in the front of the queue for the multibit upgrade and they just keep teasing me with the backordered estimate date moving back each time

. I had thought I'd kill time reading through this thread, but it has only fed the desire! The current Gungnir DS was already a sublime treat for me when I upgraded from a Fiio E17 several years back. I can only hope that the wait will not be much longer!

My Gumby just shipped. Hope yours ships soon as well~!

 

[joebobbilly]

Got the email yesterday. Just dropped it off at the post office. The excitement is intense.

 

[wiz2596]

How do you guys compare the sound quality of modi multibit va gungnir multibit using rca connections? Do you think it will worth the purchase?

Enviado desde mi GT-I9300 mediante Tapatalk

 

[RCBinTN]

   
I think this holds true especially also outside electronic music reproduction. In college, my room mate started to be interested in classical music. So I started sharing some of my music with him. I showed him one day the second piano concerto by Prokofiev (played by Y. Kissin). I love the archaic 3. movement and started to describe to him how the melodic material is picked up by different instrument groups in the orchestra and how interesting it is. He interrupted me and said that for him it was only a wall of sound, he could not even really pick out the instrument groups, and as a result also not really follow what happened musically. Listening to complex music is something you must learn, you don't simply possess. Peter and the Wolf might be a good starting point

 
I had a similar experience.  My wife and I started listening to HP's together, early in our relationship 20-years ago.  I had two pair of the old Sony MDR-V6 and a really crappy rig w/ scratchy vinyl and a nail for a stylus.  But, Annette wanted to learn about the instruments.  We started w/ country music - soon she had learned the difference between an acoustic guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, cowbell, washboard, ya know.  Learned how the musicians talk back and forth with their instruments.  It was a fun experience for both of us.
 
To be fair, it's more challenging with orchestral music.  We continue listening together to this day, but now it's much easier to pick out the instruments because the Gumby is so resolving.  Thanks, Mike!
 
Cheers All,
RCB

 

[ToddRaymond]

How do you guys compare the sound quality of modi multibit va gungnir multibit using rca connections? Do you think it will worth the purchase?

For me, it's a worthwhile jump in sonic bliss. Depends of course on your ears/perception, the quality of stuffs in the rest of yer chain, and of course, whether or not it's financially feasible at this point. I'd definitely get the Gumby it if you can swing it. It's fantastic.

 

[gwitzel]

   
I had a similar experience.  My wife and I started listening to HP's together, early in our relationship 20-years ago.  I had two pair of the old Sony MDR-V6 and a really crappy rig w/ scratchy vinyl and a nail for a stylus.  But, Annette wanted to learn about the instruments.  We started w/ country music - soon she had learned the difference between an acoustic guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, cowbell, washboard, ya know.  Learned how the musicians talk back and forth with their instruments.  It was a fun experience for both of us.
 
To be fair, it's more challenging with orchestral music.  We continue listening together to this day, but now it's much easier to pick out the instruments because the Gumby is so resolving.  Thanks, Mike!
 
Cheers All,
RCB

 
I agree, and this extends to learning about the timbre and facets of sound that a good musician uses. Once you get used to listening to those differences in the coloration of the sound the sound system can get very distracting. I think the brain does quite some extrapolation, much is happening in the imagination. But if the sound has anything artificial the illusion is gone.  My Gumby does exactly the opposite: displaying the music in the most natural way.

 

[RCBinTN]

   
I agree, and this extends to learning about the timbre and facets of sound that a good musician uses. Once you get used to listening to those differences in the coloration of the sound the sound system can get very distracting. I think the brain does quite some extrapolation, much is happening in the imagination. But if the sound has anything artificial the illusion is gone.  My Gumby does exactly the opposite: displaying the music in the most natural way.

 
Well stated!  Agree with the timbre resolution.  I can now hear when Joe Bonamassa changes to a different guitar, that's a nice place to be!

 

[Rodat]

Received the Gungnir Multibit yesterday, this DAC exceeded my expectations, I was thinking that maybe I would not hear the difference upgrading from the Denon 300USB but it really is in another league.
I received a week earlier the Mjolnir fitted with 2 RCA tubes 6BQ7A.  I am using it in balanced mode with Sennheiser 800S headphones.
They are really engineered to work with each other. I am very satisfied with the result.
 

 

[AverageGuyNC]

I think this holds true especially also outside electronic music reproduction. In college, my room mate started to be interested in classical music. So I started sharing some of my music with him. I showed him one day the second piano concerto by Prokofiev (played by Y. Kissin). I love the archaic 3. movement and started to describe to him how the melodic material is picked up by different instrument groups in the orchestra and how interesting it is. He interrupted me and said that for him it was only a wall of sound, he could not even really pick out the instrument groups, and as a result also not really follow what happened musically. Listening to complex music is something you must learn, you don't simply possess. Peter and the Wolf might be a good starting point

Not much of a classical person myself, but I thought that was most of the appeal, hearing the different instruments being played, a small one in the back for just a second, then fading away, etc. Well, that or just calming music that you barely pay attention to in the background lol

 

[AverageGuyNC]

How do you guys compare the sound quality of modi multibit va gungnir multibit using rca connections? Do you think it will worth the purchase?

Enviado desde mi GT-I9300 mediante Tapatalk

IMO, the reason you pay for the gungnir is because it's balanced, and want to hook it to a balanced amp. Would go bifrost or maybe even modi if using SE. There is an interview on YouTube with both guys from Schiit and he basically said that himself. I might link it.

 

[winders]

IMO, the reason you pay for the gungnir is because it's balanced, and want to hook it to a balanced amp. Would go bifrost or maybe even modi if using SE. There is an interview on YouTube with both guys from Schiit and he basically said that himself. I might link it.

Gungnir Multibit is on a whole different level than the Bifrost Multibit or Modi Multibit...single ended or balanced. There is a large chasm between Yggy/Gumby (21 bit/19 bit) and Bimby/Mimby (16 bit).

 

[AverageGuyNC]

I'm saying that the price difference  ($650) is probably not worth it if going SE. It is def better in SE or balanced but you are paying a lot for features that you wont be using. Now, if you were planning on buying a balanced amp later, its a different story IMO.  If planning on staying SE, I would go Bifrost or even a DAC from a different company. There are probably some DACs out there that are designed to go SE that sound very close to the Gungnir that are say, $900 or 1,000. Maybe a used Chord Hugo or something in that league idk.. Just trying to help him make an educated decision.
 
Anyways, the interview I referenced earlier where he actually talks about the Gungnir vs Bifrost. Go to 4:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Eu1LyPZ090

 

[winders]

  I'm saying that the price difference  ($650) is probably not worth it if going SE. It is def better in SE or balanced but you are paying a lot for features that you wont be using. Now, if you were planning on buying a balanced amp later, its a different story IMO.  If planning on staying SE, I would go Bifrost or even a DAC from a different company. There are probably some DACs out there that are designed to go SE that sound very close to the Gungnir that are say, $900 or 1,000. Maybe a used Chord Hugo or something in that league idk.. Just trying to help him make an educated decision.
 
Anyways, the interview I referenced earlier where he actually talks about the Gungnir vs Bifrost. Go to 4:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Eu1LyPZ090

I think you are overstating the balanced feature. If you have equipment that uses balanced, great. If you don't, that's fine too. Balanced or SE does not change what the DACs do or how they sound. It's kind of like saying you shouldn't get the Yggdrasil if you aren't going to use the AES input even though it has USB and three types of S/PDIF inputs too.