[zstokes]

I actually ordered the Lyr 3 when I got home. I really liked the way it sounded with the Empyreans. Although, I should have ordered last week when black/no DACs were shipping in 1-3 days. Now everything is 6-8 weeks.

Also, I reached out to Schiit customer service about my Jot 2 order I placed 11 weeks ago. They mentioned there’s still no date when it’ll ship and not to expect it for at least a few more weeks.

I ordered my Lyr 3 with the DAC on July 18th. I'm watching this thread so I'll let you know when mine ships.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Yup. Technically they're half siblings from the same breeder. Nala is the daytime-in-your-business cat, while Alexei gets his me time at bedtime. I usually don't have enough room in the bed with both of them sitting on top of me.

Hah! I knew it!
Great choice, if I may say so myself.
Mine is a pure-bread Siberian, too. Absolutely loooooooooove those "little" schiiters!

 

[hearditontheX]

Nala and Alexei (looking at the camera) send their greetings from as close as they can get to my work desk.

Beautiful cats!

 

[Roy G. Biv]

EDIT: The Marantz has what I believe to be true XLR balanced outputs which I will feed into the Aegirs. But I I don't yet know if there is a digital output from the Marantz, which is what I think you were referring to.

I apologize if I mis-stated my opinion/question. The issue is not whether the Marantz has/doesn't have digital outputs.

The issue, IMO, is what the Marantz does with the analog input(s) internally.

If the digital signal from your CD player or streamer goes through your Gungnir to be converted to analog and then passed through the Marantz as an analog signal then you've maintained the benefit of the Gungnir as there has been only one digital to analog conversion.

However, if the Marantz takes the analog input from an the Gungnir and then digitizes the signal (many AVRs/pre-amps do this) before reconverting the signal back to analog to be sent to the amp then you've lost the benefit of the external DAC as the signal has has gone through an additional ADC/DAC conversion. In this case you'd be hearing the DAC in the Marantz and not the Gungnir. My opinion.

It may make more sense to ask the question "would you want the analog signal from your record player to be digitized then re-converted back to analog before playback?"

 

[zstokes]

I apologize if I mis-stated my opinion/question. The issue is not whether the Marantz has/doesn't have digital outputs.

The issue, IMO, is what the Marantz does with the analog input(s) internally.

If the digital signal from your CD player or streamer goes through your Gungnir to be converted to analog and then passed through the Marantz as an analog signal then you've maintained the benefit of the Gungnir as there has been only one digital to analog conversion.

However, if the Marantz takes the analog input from an the Gungnir and then digitizes the signal (many AVRs/pre-amps do this) before reconverting the signal back to analog to be sent to the amp then you've lost the benefit of the external DAC as the signal has has gone through an additional ADC/DAC conversion. In this case you'd be hearing the DAC in the Marantz and not the Gungnir. My opinion.

It may make more sense to ask the question "would you want the analog signal from your record player to be digitized then re-converted back to analog before playback?"

I catch your drift now.

The Matanz has built-in Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, so I was planning on using that and seeing how it goes, so that signal would get converted right there on the unit.
If I decided to buy a separate streamer, that would come a little later.

Thanks for the input though, much obliged.z

EDIT: I thought I would expand on why or how I would add a Freya and a Gungnir: IF I added separate streamer, or a turntable, I would want a separate chain for that with a simple Goldpoint XLR switcher would handle. The Marantz will handle TV perfectly. I don't have confidence it will handle 2 channel, balanced outputs or not. I'm 47 years old and I played deep house sets in Hollywood for years a decade ago - and I say that to say that I'm not sure where my ear rolloff is in the treble, but I know it's there. 18k? God I hope not....

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

I actually suspect that it's the Bifrost 2, which replaced the Modius that was driving that system until yesterday. As much as I appreciated the Bifrost 2's "softness" when driving my Mjolnir 2, I think it might lack the sparkle and the bottom end that the Q950s are so capable of providing. The Modius was at least capable of delivering the highs, even when it's somewhat lackluster in the lows. Right now, though, what comes out of the KEFs sounds a lot like someone draped a duvet over them. I'll have to play around a bit with Lokius, and I will probably also give Gumby a spin driving that setup. I have a sneaky suspicion that this might be able to fix this "…meh…"-problem that I'm facing.
I'll report back as soon as I'm able to remove myself from my headphones for long enough to try it out. If you don't hear back from me in a few days, though, call help; an intervention might be needed…

I'm afraid I have some bad news for my bank account…
Currently sitting in my living room with the Gumby plugged into the system instead of the Bifrost 2, listening to John Rutter's Requiem for chorus and orchestra (Timothy Seelig conducting The Turtle Creek Chorale and The Women's Chorus of Dallas, Reference Recordings, July 1993), one of my most trusty and least forgiving reference recordings.

Bifrost 2: Chappel with sound deadening.
Gumby: Cathedral.

Night. And. Day.

 

[JanMc]

Darn it. Here I thought I could just pop for a Bifrost 2 and now you are telling me I need to spend twice that and get a Gumby?! Darn it!

Of course, I am going to need some corroboration...

 

[Draygonn]

Darn it. Here I thought I could just pop for a Bifrost 2 and now you are telling me I need to spend twice that and get a Gumby?! Darn it!

Welcome to Head-Fi. Sorry about your wallet.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Darn it. Here I thought I could just pop for a Bifrost 2 and now you are telling me I need to spend twice that and get a Gumby?! Darn it!

Of course, I am going to need some corroboration...

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I think that Bifrost 2 can sound amazing with most rock and pop recordings. I'm a sucker for classical music, so I really need crystal clear highs (still wanna be able to hear that triangle and piccolo flute while the rest of the orchestra blows and bows its heart out) AND crystal clear lows (wanna be able to hear the bows bouncing against the strings of those 5-string double basses the Berlin Phil are using). And I'm not really happy until I get my holographic sound stage, obviously.
What can I say, I'm a princess.

For what I listen to, Gumby delivers on all fronts, Modius does to a very decent degree (especially considering the price), but Bifrost 2 less so.

But I've also noticed a somewhat considerable downside to Gumby: This thing is brutally unforgiving. I was listening to The Pretty Reckless' Death By Rock And Roll earlier, and I don't know what their producer was smoking on the day they rendered the final tracks, but they sound like MP3s that were compressed twice over. On Bifrost 2 you can hear the compression artifacts a little bit, but with Gumby the album becomes utterly unlistenable. I'm serious, don't underestimate this when choosing a Gumby for yourself.

Bifrost might not be perfect, but it is a whole lot more forgiving, it seems. So, unless your collection is made up exclusively of top-notch recordings that still shine even on the most unforgiving rigs, be aware that going for a Gumby might seriously reduce the amount of stuff you can listen to without getting annoyed by crappy recordings.

 

[Les Strat]

I'm afraid I have some bad news for my bank account…
Currently sitting in my living room with the Gumby plugged into the system instead of the Bifrost 2, listening to John Rutter's Requiem for chorus and orchestra (Timothy Seelig conducting The Turtle Creek Chorale and The Women's Chorus of Dallas, Reference Recordings, July 1993), one of my most trusty and least forgiving reference recordings.

Bifrost 2: Chappel with sound deadening.
Gumby: Cathedral.

Night. And. Day.

Great to hear that you are enjoying your Gumby so much @ArmchairPhilosopher
I have not heard a Gumby, but from what I've read it is a fantastic DAC and possibly offers the most bang for buck in the Schiit MB DAC range
I dived in at the deep end with an Yggy, several years ago, which I subsequently had upgraded to A2.
I absolutely love it!

 

[Timster]

Just one example:
In the Finale of Bruckner's 4th, there's a passage where the bass tuba, horns, trumpets, and trombones play four ascending notes in unison (at around 1:45 in this recording). They are somewhat forceful (I mean, it's Bruckner, right?! ), and so it's kinda "expected," I would say, that the different instruments melt together into one to a certain degree. With all the DACs I had before, those notes sound like they are made up of four consecutive chords played by one single instrument. With Gumby, I hear them as distinct notes created by distinct instruments coming from distinct locations in space.
When I heard this passage for the first time earlier today, it borderline shocked me.

Ummmmm .. sorry I have never listened to Bruckner and classics are not a thing for me, unless its Sad Wings of Destiny (Judas Priest), Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden) etc. I have precisely two CDs with classical - both are Telarc recordings. 1812 and The Four Seasons. There endeth my classical music experience. I do however completely appreciate what you are describing because it applies equally to what I listen to now - mostly metal, but some other stuff thrown in for good measure.

 

[Les Strat]

I can trump you on classical CDs @Timster .

I have four

 

[US Blues]

I can trump you on classical CDs @Timster .

I have four

Watch your language.

 

[EricDH]

I'm afraid I have some bad news for my bank account…
Currently sitting in my living room with the Gumby plugged into the system instead of the Bifrost 2, listening to John Rutter's Requiem for chorus and orchestra (Timothy Seelig conducting The Turtle Creek Chorale and The Women's Chorus of Dallas, Reference Recordings, July 1993), one of my most trusty and least forgiving reference recordings.

Bifrost 2: Chappel with sound deadening.
Gumby: Cathedral.

Night. And. Day.

This recording (and many other RR albums) gives you that holographic soundstage in spades of course......

 

[Odin412]

Peachtree Audio just introduced a power amp based on GaN (Gallium Nitride) semiconductors (here). I remember Jason briefly mentioning GaN as an interesting technology, so it's good to see other products coming to market . I used to own a Peachtree Decco amp, but I didn't really like the sound - the treble sounded a bit artificial to me. Hopefully the GaN amp will sound better. NAD also has a new amp module called Eigentakt, but I don't think that uses GaN components.