Just popping in to say that I've had my Gungnir since last Thursday and have NOT been able to pull myself away from my system. I've been neglecting all my daily chores -- my house is a mess, dishes piling up in the sink, trash can is overflowing, my plants are all withering, and I forgot to eat dinner on Sunday night. True story.
The bass does jump out on first impression. It's big, bad and feels almost deviant. Not sure I'd describe the low-frequencies as boosted, though. It's just very clean, defined and dynamic. It's a lack of congestion in the way the Gungnir renders music that lets bass lines stand out without being buried by the rest of the spectrum. It conveys a great sense of PRaT and musicality, so it's almost no wonder that the bass is what leaps out at me as I groove along. This helps lend a great sense of body and weight to the music as well.
Another quality I love is the way it renders detail without that digital hardness (Bifrost did this well too, from what I remember). There is nothing clinical about the way the Gungnir sounds. It passes my "does a muted trumpet with the HD800 induce pain" test. Cymbals decay naturally without overstaying their welcome. Everything seems natural and effortless.
And lastly, spatiality is great. It feels open and uncluttered -- each element in the music is well-defined and has space to breathe. I have yet to get the feeling that an instrument is stacked on top of another (even on my Grados).
So far so good. I'll reserve any criticisms for when I get more accustomed to its qualities. I wish I had more experience with high-end DACs to compare to for you all, but not sure if that'll help anyway because so far this DAC has not been conducive to critical listening (and that's a
good thing). I haven't gushed on about a new purchase of mine in a while, but feel compelled to share how much I'm enjoying my Gungnir.
TL
R, in conclusion,
Jason killed my plants.