[tafens]

If you are happy with the HD6XX as is, just stick with them. To get more out of them you just need to spend money on tube amps and DACs. You might want to consider an Elex, but I'm not really sure about that metallic driver. Might give you a little more clarity in the mids. Sounds like more of a sidegrade maybe a tiny upgrade.

Other headphones might be sidegrades to you, but you're just going to have to try stuff out and see what you like. Frankly having the HD650, I have no desire for any other headphone. But I am a biased HD650 fanboi . Just the right amount of smoothness and darkness in the treble, not rolled off. Bass sucks but I don't care much about it with headphones, music lives in the midrange.

Yeah, I think I’ll stick with my HD6XX for a while.
I agree there isn’t tons of bass, but I think it is adequate.

Aside: Sennheiser fanboi, me too
Started out with HD590 as my first higher end headphone (that one is almost a swearword to some, as I understand, but I found them rather nice.. a lot better than the Technics I had before - perhaps a bit hot in the treble), then HD600, and now HD6XX.
Still have all of ‘em
Hardly use any other than the HD6XX though.

The HD660S and LCD2 are on my list to try when I can. I also tried the HE-4XX to get a taste of planars, but thought they were kind of meh.. perhaps the higher tier planars could be something, but then the price goes up a lot.

 

[wout31]

Bifrost 2 has better single ended outputs than Gungnir/Yggdrasil (until a next upgrade, at least)

????

 

[vladpetric]

I have to say that I admire Schiit / Jason for doing AB testing. Many manufacturers don't do that, given that it can encourage people to buy the cheaper products.

I have a question for @Jason Stoddard : is there anyone so far who could reliably tell A from B in such a test?

 

[Clemmaster]

????

?

 

[A Jedi]

After about a week and a half of using the Saga +, all I can say is, it's a glorious component.

I bought it specifically for desktop/headphone use. I use it as a volume control for my two HP amps - a Bottlehead Crack and a Liquid Spark (powering HD600). I've bypassed the volume pot on the Crack and will do the same on the Liquid Spark (currently running volume full open with all attenuation being done by Saga).

I won't go into any audiophile magic wording. Just buy one.

I'd really like to compare it to my Freya S but the Freya is just too big for the desk. Who knows, I may work something out in the future......

 

[Wes S]

Bifrost 2 has better single ended outputs than Gungnir/Yggdrasil (until a next upgrade, at least), so I would stick with it.

Where did you get this info from?

 

[438555]

Where did you get this info from?

Probably just that it uses Nexus whereas the latter 2 use summers for SE output.

 

[438555]

Not to sound all that stupid but can't you bi-amp both channels?
So 4 Ægirs?

Hard to biamp magnepans without taking them apart.

 

[tincanear]

Probably just that it uses Nexus whereas the latter 2 use summers for SE output.

I believe that Bifrost 2 uses a differential balanced amp for the DAC buffer, but it is not Nexus (matched discrete parts) but a high performance IC. Jason can verify this.

Bifrost 2 if run head to head against Gungnir or Yggdrasil may have an advantage if using USB since it has Unison and the other units may be running older USB gen 1, gen 2, or gen 3 modules.

 

[ev666il]

Almost certain Bifrost 2 has an op-amp based output stage and isn’t Nexus-based, or its product page would most certainly highlight that.

I reckon what was meant by Bifrost 2 having better SE than Gungnir/Yggdrasil is that the latter are said to have significantly better performance from their XLR outs compared to SE, whereas the Bifrost 2 is said to be more consistent across the two. Such, at least, is my understanding.

 

[tincanear]

Has anyone with Gungnir or Yggdrasil and a Freya S or Freya + (using active buffer mode) compared the SE vs Balanced DAC connections?

 

[Clemmaster]

Almost certain Bifrost 2 has an op-amp based output stage and isn’t Nexus-based, or its product page would most certainly highlight that.

I reckon what was meant by Bifrost 2 having better SE than Gungnir/Yggdrasil is that the latter are said to have significantly better performance from their XLR outs compared to SE, whereas the Bifrost 2 is said to be more consistent across the two. Such, at least, is my understanding.

That, and also Bifrost 2 has better SE performance than both Gungnir/Yggdrasil.

I got that info from owning all of the above and comparing Bifrost 2 to Yggrdasil directly.

Bifrost 2 is a single ended design. The balanced output is generated from the SE, using Schiit's proprietary Cheap-ass balanced™ technology. It's the opposite approach from the bigger brothers inherently balanced design, that employ summing to generate the SE output and result in a less transparent sound.

 

[wout31]

?

Removed, the answer was already given.

 

[438555]

I believe that Bifrost 2 uses a differential balanced amp for the DAC buffer, but it is not Nexus (matched discrete parts) but a high performance IC. Jason can verify this.

Bifrost 2 if run head to head against Gungnir or Yggdrasil may have an advantage if using USB since it has Unison and the other units may be running older USB gen 1, gen 2, or gen 3 modules.

My bad, I was confusing Bifrost 2 for the Rag 2

 

[tincanear]

Audio. Its Complicated. A three-terminal gain device (be it transistor or tube) has three ways to apply it.