[ArmchairPhilosopher]

The rest of us will be watching to see who blinks first.

This might come as a shocker to many of you, but I don't have a problem with sharing my impressions.

…but this time, I want to make sure first that I'm not just imagining things, because what I'm hearing is the absolute opposite of what I expected to hear.

So, if you would just humor me, you guys? Pretty please!?

 

[Paladin79]

Thank you @MisterMudd

It has been a great surprise, and real source of pleasure, that this ‘obsolete’ format, aka vinyl, sounds so good!

I have a pretty revealing system and, I believe, a pretty good digital set up with an original Yggy at its heart.

Good recordings sound fantastic on this system, especially using a CD transport.

I was fully prepared to be disappointed with my irrational foray back into the mad world of vinyl, despite buying a nice turntable - Technics SL 1200G- and a decent cartridge - Ortofon 2M Black.
(I know that there is even ‘better’ vinyl playback gear available)

It really is quite remarkable that vinyl sounds so good (to my ears) despite its many technical shortcomings, like dynamic range and noise, compared with digital.

I have a fairly large CD collection of about 1200 albums and a far more modest vinyl collection of around 200, most of which were bought in the ‘70s.

I think that my vinyl collection will now grow rapidly….

In the past 6 months, I have bought a dozen albums on vinyl, which is more than I bought between 1979 and last year!

Of my recent purchases, six have been half-speed masters.

You have now tempted me with the half-speed master of Bowie’s ‘Ziggy’ album.

The half speed masters I have bought so far are:

Thick as a Brick- Jethro Tull
Best of Roxy Music
Exile on Main St- Stones
Sticky Fingers- Stones
Fire and Water- Free
Solid Air- John Martyn

I also have the Steven Wilson Yes remix box set, comprising:
The Yes Album
Fragile
Close to the Edge
Tales from Topographic Oceans
Relayer

That Technics is certainly a well respected turntable. I am hooking up a Hitachi PS-58 direct drive but I want to buy a good record washing system before I get back into vinyl. Then I hope to assemble or refurb another turntable, I like choices.

 

[Les Strat]

That Technics is certainly a well respected turntable. I am hooking up a Hitachi PS-58 direct drive but I want to buy a good record washing system before I get back into vinyl. Then I hope to assemble or refurb another turntable, I like choices.

Thanks @Paladin79
I like well-engineered products and the Technics SL1200G is beautifully made.
It will probably outlast me!
It also sounds great, to my ears.

I am pleased with my Project Record Cleaning Machine.
(VC S2 ALU)
It was expensive for what it is, but it does make a big difference with old vinyl.

 

[adydula]

I appreciate the comment.

…

Nah, I don't, actually. How dare you not tell me what your impressions are?! That was literally the ENTIRE point of my original question! Are you TRYING to kill me here?!

Who blinks first!! Ha!
Well I dont have my Bifrost 2 here anymore. So I can tell you how the NOS mode of the new 2/64 works or sounds.
All I can say is when I went from a DS dac to a MB dac I was amazed.
Now since I have been trying dacs that have a no filter NOS mode, the sound here for me, is very, very pleasing to my ears.
I hate to use the over used adjectives and try to sound like an expert when I am not, just been doing this listening stuff for years..

So with that said, here is my "blink":

I like music to sound open and realistic...hard to do with headphones than with a good 2 ch speaker setup, so when I think the headphone sound starts to come
close to a 2 ch stereo speaker setup I am a happy camper...and yes the music played does impact this. Alot.

I find the NOS setup is akin to this for me. Things just sound more natural and open. More of a less clinical expereince.
With a NOS dac and even a low dollar Schiit Vali 2 + and my ADX 5000 (hd 800 similar sound) its really magical...for weeks now
I still have that dang its like new still ...feeling. When a new toy comes in house, the new toy syndrome is in full bloom, then after a week or so
it becomes the new normal.

With the NOS dac I am using, its always like, wow this is really very good...

So I dont know if your really looking for a solid objective piece of data here..but I have no interest in a new dac since I have switched to my NOS dacs.

I am very interested in trying the 2/64 to see how this dac works out in the NOS mode.

I also will state that most of the time the various filters dont really do a whole lot here to my ears.
But: There are some songs that do play back "differently" with some filters when applied, but its not like a really BIG difference..

YMMV.

Blink over!
Alex
:>)

 

[earnmyturns]

So, if you would just humor me, you guys? Pretty please!?

NOS DACs in my DAC history: (1) Holo Spring 1 level 3 (sold); (2) Metrum Onyx (sold); (3) Sonnet Morpheus (sold); (4) Holo Spring 2 KTE; (5) Holo May KTE. (1-3) were interesting in their own ways, but eventually lost to the OG Yggdrasil I still own. They've been gone too long for detailed comparative impressions, but their NOS-ness, especially tonal density, very natural bass and mids, and blackground, were hampered by different weaknesses for different ones (unnatural staging, edge-smearing in Redbook material, rounded transients overall). Spring 2 and especially May overcame those weaknesses for the most part, but when they became absolute keepers was when I "broke" with their NOS-ness and started using HQPlayer to upsample+modulate to DSD256 with a suitable filter+modulator set. Especially with the May, everything comes totally together, tonal density, blackground, detail, dynamics, staging. TBH, I think that Holo would have a better (and cheaper) winner by dropping everything but their DSD ladders and output stages, and let users choose the right outside preprocessing. But I know, features out of the box sell... Anyway, I don't see any new DACs in my future, at least not for the two systems with the Holo DACs.

 

[Orange5o]

This might come as a shocker to many of you, but I don't have a problem with sharing my impressions.

…but this time, I want to make sure first that I'm not just imagining things, because what I'm hearing is the absolute opposite of what I expected to hear.

So, if you would just humor me, you guys? Pretty please!?

Pretty sure there is a user in the Bifrost 2 thread who is using NOS without the 2/64 board, I would ask there.

Edit: or peruse back a handful of pages where it is discussed

 

[corndog71]

This might come as a shocker to many of you, but I don't have a problem with sharing my impressions.

…but this time, I want to make sure first that I'm not just imagining things, because what I'm hearing is the absolute opposite of what I expected to hear.

So, if you would just humor me, you guys? Pretty please!?

Probably just placebo effect.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Thanks for the responses. I also skimmed the Bifrost 2 thread.

So, here's my impression on a well burned-in and well warmed-up Bifrost 2 (non-/64) in MCB mode and in NOS mode:

I can't hear even the slightest bit of a difference.

Like, literally none.

Switching between the two modes seems to work, at least going by the LED. It's toggling as expected between steadily lit (MCB mode) and breathing (NOS mode) when the source button is pressed and held for a few seconds and then released. But there's no audible change of any kind, none whatsoever.

Based on the impressions I've read here and elsewhere, I should be able to hear somewhat of a difference in Bifrost's presentation, even if people can't quite agree on what those are. …but what else is new, right?!

I couldn't find a video or audio recording of someone switching between the modes, so I don't even know if there's a little gap in the audio playback when the microcontroller switches between the two modes. With my unit, I can't hear any gap whatsoever, not even for a millisecond or two. Which, again, could be perfectly normal for all I know.

My hearing is comparably good, and anyone who has read my reviews in the past knows that I'm not JUST talking out of my a$$. But that I can't hear a difference in presentation feels really odd to me.

Not least of all because I sincerely doubt that Mike would go through all that effort to develop his MCB filter if you can't even hear the slightest bit of difference in the end after all.

So, either I'm hearing things by NOT hearing any difference, or my particular unit doesn't actually switch between the modes for some reason. That's why I asked specifically if someone has some MCB/NOS mode switching experience and impressions with the Bifrost 2 (non-/64).

 

[adydula]

Thanks for the responses. I also skimmed the Bifrost 2 thread.

So, here's my impression on a well burned-in and well warmed-up Bifrost 2 (non-/64) in MCB mode and in NOS mode:

I can't hear even the slightest bit of a difference.

Like, literally none.

Switching between the two modes seems to work, at least going by the LED. It's toggling as expected between steadily lit (MCB mode) and breathing (NOS mode) when the source button is pressed and held for a few seconds and then released. But there's no audible change of any kind, none whatsoever.

Based on the impressions I've read here and elsewhere, I should be able to hear somewhat of a difference in Bifrost's presentation, even if people can't quite agree on what those are. …but what else is new, right?!

I couldn't find a video or audio recording of someone switching between the modes, so I don't even know if there's a little gap in the audio playback when the microcontroller switches between the two modes. With my unit, I can't hear any gap whatsoever, not even for a millisecond or two. Which, again, could be perfectly normal for all I know.

My hearing is comparably good, and anyone who has read my reviews in the past knows that I'm not JUST talking out of my a$$. But that I can't hear a difference in presentation feels really odd to me.

Not least of all because I sincerely doubt that Mike would go through all that effort to develop his MCB filter if you can't even hear the slightest bit of difference in the end after all.

So, either I'm hearing things by NOT hearing any difference, or my particular unit doesn't actually switch between the modes for some reason. That's why I asked specifically if someone has some MCB/NOS mode switching experience and impressions with the Bifrost 2 (non-/64).

Oh My!
No differences at all, could this be true?
Yes it could.
So why even go thru the expense and time and effort for the filters if nothing is happening that we humans can perceive.

This is a crazy hobby.
Just love it.

And..thanks for your "honesty!"..

Alex

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

For a little change of pace, here’s something that I’m sure a ton of you will appreciate.

 

[EricDH]

Thanks for the responses. I also skimmed the Bifrost 2 thread.

So, here's my impression on a well burned-in and well warmed-up Bifrost 2 (non-/64) in MCB mode and in NOS mode:

I can't hear even the slightest bit of a difference.

Like, literally none.

Switching between the two modes seems to work, at least going by the LED. It's toggling as expected between steadily lit (MCB mode) and breathing (NOS mode) when the source button is pressed and held for a few seconds and then released. But there's no audible change of any kind, none whatsoever.

Based on the impressions I've read here and elsewhere, I should be able to hear somewhat of a difference in Bifrost's presentation, even if people can't quite agree on what those are. …but what else is new, right?!

I couldn't find a video or audio recording of someone switching between the modes, so I don't even know if there's a little gap in the audio playback when the microcontroller switches between the two modes. With my unit, I can't hear any gap whatsoever, not even for a millisecond or two. Which, again, could be perfectly normal for all I know.

My hearing is comparably good, and anyone who has read my reviews in the past knows that I'm not JUST talking out of my a$$. But that I can't hear a difference in presentation feels really odd to me.

Not least of all because I sincerely doubt that Mike would go through all that effort to develop his MCB filter if you can't even hear the slightest bit of difference in the end after all.

So, either I'm hearing things by NOT hearing any difference, or my particular unit doesn't actually switch between the modes for some reason. That's why I asked specifically if someone has some MCB/NOS mode switching experience and impressions with the Bifrost 2 (non-/64).

I am surprised, as I expect that you should hear a clear difference in precise location of instruments in a space, and overall presentation of the recording space.

 

[JamminVMI]

Question:
Has anyone installed the 2/64 firmware on a Bifrost 2 with an AD card and tried NOS mode?

I finally had time to do so last weekend, left the thing sit to warm up for five, six days, and eventually did some "critical" listening yesterday, A/B'ing between NOS and filtered mode — and what I ended up hearing seriously surprised me. *
So I'd like to get a second, third, and fourth opinion on this, because I'm really not sure if I'm just imagining things, or…

* I hate how this sentence sounds like a clickbait headline, but I mean it.

ok. Let me know what amp and headphones and tracks you used, I’d be happy to give it a go.

 

[OldRoadToad]

Thanks for the responses. I also skimmed the Bifrost 2 thread.

So, here's my impression on a well burned-in and well warmed-up Bifrost 2 (non-/64) in MCB mode and in NOS mode:

I can't hear even the slightest bit of a difference.

Like, literally none.

Switching between the two modes seems to work, at least going by the LED. It's toggling as expected between steadily lit (MCB mode) and breathing (NOS mode) when the source button is pressed and held for a few seconds and then released. But there's no audible change of any kind, none whatsoever.

Based on the impressions I've read here and elsewhere, I should be able to hear somewhat of a difference in Bifrost's presentation, even if people can't quite agree on what those are. …but what else is new, right?!

I couldn't find a video or audio recording of someone switching between the modes, so I don't even know if there's a little gap in the audio playback when the microcontroller switches between the two modes. With my unit, I can't hear any gap whatsoever, not even for a millisecond or two. Which, again, could be perfectly normal for all I know.

My hearing is comparably good, and anyone who has read my reviews in the past knows that I'm not JUST talking out of my a$$. But that I can't hear a difference in presentation feels really odd to me.

Not least of all because I sincerely doubt that Mike would go through all that effort to develop his MCB filter if you can't even hear the slightest bit of difference in the end after all.

So, either I'm hearing things by NOT hearing any difference, or my particular unit doesn't actually switch between the modes for some reason. That's why I asked specifically if someone has some MCB/NOS mode switching experience and impressions with the Bifrost 2 (non-/64).

Do not strain at a Bit and swallow a lie. In this case...The DAC is doing its job just fine. A beautiful, well designed DAC delights the eyes which are said to be the windows to the soul. No MQA gives us the purity of music without the putrid pretence which then reels in the ego and feeds the rational mind. And finally, acceptance that what we hear is often what we desire is, if not the icing on the cake then at least the fruit filling in a Hostess Pie.

Better to except that more often than not we buy that which we desire even if we already have what we need. Who among us has not felt the guilt of indulging our senses in a wholly senseless manner only to feel guilty over that which is not against laws of men, Nature or even God.

Is it still desert if we eat it first? Yup!

The treat for you is not if you're hearing a "difference" but rather are you hearing your music? I'd say if you are straining at those bits, you may be "listening" but you definitely are not hearing.

ORT

 

[mattlach]

Also, if you already have a Bifrost 2, you may be thinking, “upgrades so early?” and groaning about the $300 cost. But here’s the thing: Bifrost 2 was introduced nearly 3 years ago. Yes. Three years. Time flies when you’re having COVID. This is the first and only upgrade we’ve done to Bifrost 2.

Not going to lie. I just bought my Bifrost 2 in January 2021.

My first thought when I saw that THe Bifrost had already changed was "jesus christ, how short are their product lifecycles anyway"

I would have thought something like this would be on the market mostly unchanged for 10+ years.

Three years? That's nothing.

I saw someone on YouTube refer to the Massdrop HD6xx headphones as "old" having been around for "a really long time", and I had to roll my eyes. I was a part of the initial drop, serial number in the 600's (I just missed that low serial number special edition) so I bought them when they first came out, and it still feels like I "just got them".

I get it, perception of time can be really funny, but to me, anything less than 10 years ago might as well have been 10 days ago. It feels super recent.

 

[Barnstormer13]

miss posted