[Solude]

5 metres, 16 feet

 

[333jeffery]

One thing the Gungnir does really well is vocals. They sound a good bit better than on the Bifrost. Also, drums sound a good bit more forward on it, too.

 

[Argo Duck]

Hi 333jeffery - could you explain? Vocals sound better because... (e.g. more cohesive? better microdynamics? tone/texture? etc)
 
TIA

 

[earwaxxer]

Hi 333jeffery - could you explain? Vocals sound better because... (e.g. more cohesive? better microdynamics? tone/texture? etc)

TIA

I could probably chime in on that one... If I could put my finger on it, I would say that vocals are 'better' in the sense that they are more 'accurate'.

I feel the sound is more accurate in two ways. 1. Accurate transient peaks and troughs, in terms of natural gain and decline. That was one of the first things I noticed with the Gungnir. I would venture to guess that vinyl does this very well, in that the signal is not quantized, but infinite in volume changes. 2. Good frequency separation ie. 'definition'. Less sloppiness in terms of accurate retrieval/reproduction of frequency data.

Exactly in line with what one would expect from significant and meaningful advancement in DAC technology and techniques. I believe the Gungnir and other budget DACs like it are the wave of the future. Very good digital techniques for the masses! Forget EMM etc. and their $30K DAC'.

 

[grokit]

Grokit,

Can you remind me whether you got the USB option? And were you able to compare toslink and coax direct vs via v192?

Yes I have the USB option. I liked the optical (Bravo) and coax (V192/Bravo) connections better but have been re-visiting the USB to see if it can catch up with some burning in. I will re-visit the V192 coax again soon, as the Bravo is being re-located to iPad land. Between the Bravo and the V192 they sound very similar via coax but the AES/EBU output of the V192 sounds superior to me, and of course it has 192k capability.

 

[Roscoeiii]

Quote:

Yes I have the USB option. I liked the optical (Bravo) and coax (V192/Bravo) connections better but have been re-visiting the USB to see if it can catch up with some burning in. I will re-visit the V192 coax again soon, as the Bravo is being re-located to iPad land. Between the Bravo and the V192 they sound very similar via coax but the AES/EBU output of the V192 sounds superior to me, and of course it has 192k capability.

Were you able to use some sort of adaptor for AES/EBU into the Gungnir, or was this into a different DAC?
 
And in general are the 24/96 vs 24/192 capabilities of toslink usually source or DAC related?

 

[333jeffery]

AiDee, it's hard to put into words, but I'll try. Vocals on the Gungnir have a richer, more full-bodied sound than they do on the Bifrost. I don't know the technical terms for this, just the differences I've heard with the two DACs so far.

 

[grokit]

Yes I have the USB option. I liked the optical (Bravo) and coax (V192/Bravo) connections better but have been re-visiting the USB to see if it can catch up with some burning in. I will re-visit the V192 coax again soon, as the Bravo is being re-located to iPad land. Between the Bravo and the V192 they sound very similar via coax but the AES/EBU output of the V192 sounds superior to me, and of course it has 192k capability.

Were you able to use some sort of adaptor for AES/EBU into the Gungnir, or was this into a different DAC?

And in general are the 24/96 vs 24/192 capabilities of toslink usually source or DAC related?

It was with my Matrix Mini-i. Like the Gungnir it's a superb value but not quite in the same class. At some point I will have to re-visit it in this system for comparison.

I've been looking at some 110 to 75 ohm, AES/EBU to BNC adapters, but I'll probably just stick with coax. I sure wish I could trade the 2nd set of SE outputs for an AES-EBU input!

 

[Roscoeiii]

Oh, I am fine with the 2 SE and a pair of XLR outputs. That takes care of my main stereo, my Little Dot VI & HE5LE balanced bedroom rig and a SE headphone amp in the living room. Awesome.

 

[RedBull]

AiDee, it's hard to put into words, but I'll try. Vocals on the Gungnir have a richer, more full-bodied sound than they do on the Bifrost. I don't know the technical terms for this, just the differences I've heard with the two DACs so far.

You mean more forward, intimate and more weight to the vocal?

 

[SourceGuy]

I love this dac and almost prefer it to my turntable setup.

 

[rdsu]

This seems to be a fantastic upgradable DAC for a great price! It will be a huge upgrade to my current Leema Pulse III DAC (a bit better than first DACMagic)...
 
My target DAC was Leema Elements DAC, but for now I'm wait to see how Schiit Statement DAC will be, and then decide between these three...
 
And maybe at that time the USB glitch will be fixed...

 

[rdsu]

Gungnir is a Non-Oversampling (NOS) DAC?

 

[earwaxxer]

My target DAC was Leema Elements DAC, but for now I'm wait to see how Schiit Statement DAC will be, and then decide between these three...

And maybe at that time the USB glitch will be fixed...

Interesting stuff! Yet another company this gringo has not seen before. Not sure if I could even purchase one of those in the US?

 

[MoonUnit]

Quote:

Gungnir is a Non-Oversampling (NOS) DAC?

 
No. It's an 8x oversampling DAC (with reference to the digital filter); the SD modulator runs at 128x oversampling.
 
That said, the AKM DACs I've heard are the closest SD DACs to NOS, but they definitely don't have a stereotypically NOS sound. I haven't heard the Gungnir though. Would love to. I'll probably pick one up if I can't decide on an Audio-GD PCM1704 DAC.