[Plautus001]

I wonder what Mike and Dave's takes would be on CD/SACD hybrids in Urd, whether they feel like the SACD layer might negatively influence the read quality of the Red Book layer.
My utterly naive guess would be that any potential reflective/refractive interference or any focus issues from the SACD layer shouldn't be anything a good drive's error correction wouldn't be able to handle. But if I wanted some random opinion from some half-wit on the interwebs such as myself, I could just google it. So I'd rather hear it from the horses' mouths.


Well, since you can't really mix DSD, I'd assume (for my credentials on the matter; see above) that everything that wasn't recorded directly to DSD will have taken that PCM detour.
I know that Octave Records has been working on a way to mix DSD for a little while, but I don't know how far they've come with it. Since we all know how particular Paul is about DSD, it's pretty safe to assume that anything Octave Records has been putting out in DSD has in fact been recorded directly to DSD.
But most stuff you can buy has probably been piped through the standard mixing and mastering process at some point, which would mean it's been converted to PCM and back at least once during that process.

The Berlin Philharmonics sell SACD recordings through their own label, and they very much pride themselves for their attention to detail during recording and mastering. But even with these guys, and even with me being a hopeless Berlin Phil fanboy, I sincerely doubt that their recordings are DSD all the way from microphone to master.

For stuff like rock or pop that pretty much must be mixed before it can be mastered?

Well…



Or to put it differently: SACD/DSD seems to be a nifty thing in theory, but in the real world that's dominated by PCM (and PCM-based studio and production pipelines), Urd + Yggy should probably get you some pretty decent results.

Mike and Jason can sometimes appear a bit abrasive with their refreshingly direct yet a bit reductionist "because it's not worth the effort"-style answers to questions like "why don't you guys support DSD?!"
But then you start looking into things in a bit more detail and you eventually figure out for yourself that it is, in fact, not worth the effort. Turns out: They do know their Schiit. Who knew?!

I have a DVD/SACD player and discs... the multichannel mixes are interesting, but in my experience, aside from demo discs, good CDs are probably the most reliable choice for 2 channel playback.

 

[FLTWS]

2 ears / 2 channels.

 

[corndog71]

There are two types of people in the world.

1. Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

There are 10 types of people:

Those who understand binary and those who don't.

JC

 

[bevanc]

My 'new' MGB GT V8 will have a choke.

I am hoping it will be pretty fast

When it starts!

 

[chronoso]

Thanks, but this really wasn't my first rodeo. Had a 4.something just a few days right after my move over from Germany. Now THAT'S what I call a welcome to California! ;p


No worries, I didn't take it as such. Every earthquake is different, and it really depends on where you are and what the geological variables are around you.

And let's all remember that one integer up in magnitude means a tenfold increase in "size," meaning a 4.0 is a 10x "bigger" quake than a 3.0. A 4.0 also releases more than 30x the energy of a 3.0.
So what felt to me like a 3.8 here today was just under 20x as big at the epicenter, with almost 90x the energy released.
Which makes the 7.6 in Mexico City over 300x as big, with more than 5,500x the energy released, when compared to the 5.1 today. So, skittish they are very much allowed to be! Personally, I wouldn't just be skittish, I would also still be scrubbing my pants.

(figured via this handy little calculator)

Every day, I'm that little bit happier that I live in New England..

We kind of all do. *sad gold standard noises*

'cause gold doesn't also have imaginary value?

Are any folks here IEM fiends? I've found myself increasingly into them while I'm on the go / working in mobile spaces. I got a fairly basic mobile rig, which is not currently Schitty. Roon ARC on iPhone / Fiio Q3 / Moondrop Kato or 7Hz Timeless. Makes me quite happy when not on my home rig. I'm just scratching the surface of what can be achieved obviously, but most of my listening is Gumby / Mjolnir 2 / HD6xx so I'm trying to get something better while on the go. Interested to hear if others who have home listening tastes like mine have chased this particular path as well.

I'd say that the Moondrop Blessing 2 has a great HD6xx tone to it. I drive my pair simply from the Apple branded $9 headphone adapter from my phone playing Qobuz. Sounds delightful. Unfortunately, my present working arrangement requires ANC, so I'm living in bluetooth audio land. The new Airpod Pro 2 set is pretty respectable for non-critical, during-work-hours listening.

There are days when I—as an independent contractor—am sincerely baffled by the fact that certain areas of government and public works function at all.

Institutional inertia cuts both ways. Sometimes to our benefit. Things keep working because they can't not versus due to anyone's overt intentions.

I was heading out to dinner so no time for firing up the amps lol. Later I will have the sound down on the NFL game and sort through some disks in search of this years eerie Halloween music. Wagner for sure, and maybe Bach.

Maybe Tubular Bells.

Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse macabre, of course. And if that fails, there's always this classic. And now, for the remaster!

…must not start a rant about John Williams having lifted the majority of his most iconic themes from other composers…

Obviously Holt's Planets was playing on the local radio station when Williams was driving into the office for his first day of work.

Also, he surely loves to steal from himself. The local IMAX theater will have a series of John Williams songs playing during the "go find your seats" part of the movie. It can be a very What's New *****cat sort of confusion during that long sequence.

For me the 9th (and close after that the 2nd, 3rd and 7th).

No 4th? No 5th? Surely the minor fall and the major lift, though.

My 'new' MGB GT V8 will have a choke.

I am hoping it will be pretty fast

Prepare your tuning stethoscope.........

Over the years, I have spent many hours balancing twin SU carburettors, on various old British 'sports' cars, with a stethoscope

You can have too much of a good thing......

On my new MGB GT V8, I am going for simplicity- just one, big, Edelbrock (Weber) carb

No stethoscope required.

Tuning the dual Webers on my Caterham involves the use of a paper towel tube. Cardboard has so many uses!

 

[Alcophone]

'cause gold doesn't also have imaginary value?

If you mean it has real value and also imaginary value, yes.
If you mean the value of gold is also purely imaginary, NASA would like a word and you might want to have a closer look at your cables' connectors.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

This obscure Taylor Swift lady appears to be having quite the day!
Good for her. Maybe I should give her stuff a shot some day?

But first, I guess I should check out these "Beatles" fellas you guys got so excited about recently…

 

[StimpyWan]

Alright...maybe I will invest in some cheap used player with a remote until I can get my hands on an URD....

Cheap support for SACD will probably require used. New CD/SACD players are expensive, at the URD level. Cheap, would be a Blu-Ray player, with built-in SACD support. But new video players only output via HDCD now, due to copy protection issues. So, Blu-Ray with analog outs, for SACD support requires used. Used Sony's or Oppo's would be easiest to find. An older Oppo DVD player would work too, as they played SACD and DVD-A. Denon, Marantz, Pioneer and Yamaha had several DVD/SACD/DVD-A/CD combo models as well.

Good luck.

 

[tincanear]

Alright...maybe I will invest in some cheap used player with a remote until I can get my hands on an URD....

consider a cheap universal UBP like the sony UBP-X series that has coaxial digital out (for CD playback thru external DAC). the X800M2 often goes on sale for $50-80 off around this time; has no front panel display though. I tried the X800M2 about 2 yrs ago, but my 15+ yo Sony NS500V out-performed it (via coaxial s/pdif into BFM1. perhaps non-optimized firmware on the X800M2 at the time. note that Sony has been releasing periodic revisions for this unit.

 

[Timster]

This obscure Taylor Swift lady appears to be having quite the day!
Good for her. Maybe I should give her stuff a shot some day?

But first, I guess I should check out these "Beatles" fellas you guys got so excited about recently…

Check out Folklore from the aforementioned obscure artist.
Exile, track 4, is excellent. It's all well recorded too.

I'm not a fanboi of hers but am impressed with her recent middle finger to the record company(ies) that kept selling her rights/music and cutting her out of decisions. Long story short she is re-recording her catalogue as Taylor's version (using the original contributors). The new recordings are definitely better than the earlier ones too.

 

[dstrimbu]

@dstrimbu I look forward to reading your review of the 'Urd' .......when you eventually get one!

I promise to keep it just short of "@ArmchairPhilosopher length", Les. <g>

As I have posted here previously, I had intended to buy an 'Urd' and even went to the trouble of buying and installing a Unison USB input board in my Yggy, so that I was all set for audio nirvana...

That was several years ago. However, impatience got the better of me, so I bought a Jay's Audio CDT2- Mk3 CD Transport instead.

I use its AES/EBU output to my original Yggy A2 and it sounds fantastic. (S/PDIF over BNC is also superb but I think that AES just shades it).

The Auralic gear is all well designed.

Agreed, and Xuanqian and his team have been very helpful; I originally upgraded from an Aries Mini to the G1 and he gave me 100% of the MSRP of the Mini against the new (at the time) G1. The software... well, it's gotten better, and is quite stable now on iOS16. For a while there, it was the weak link in the AURALiC experience, at least for me.

I bought an ex-demo Aries G2 a couple of years ago.

It sounded very good, but to my ears, it wasn't any 'better' than my ancient Logitech Transporter (which I use with Yggy via BNC output) so I sent it back and received a full refund.
The Aries G2 now retails at £4,799 in the UK! Even my ex-demo model cost £3k, and I simply couldn't justify the cost.

I totally get that.

Others' experience may well be very different. Aries gear is certainly well-designed and well-built

When using the Aries G2 with my Yggy, the outputs, in order of preference were:

AES/EBU
S/PDIF over Coax
USB

I had already installed the Unison USB board in my Yggy, but of course, the Aries does not have a matching Unison USB output.
Nevertheless, I was surprised that USB fared so poorly (to my ears), and it is one of the reasons I decided not to hang on for the Urd.

I believe that @earnmyturns had a similar experience with Unison USB vs AES- preferring AES.

OK, Les - you've convinced me to try again... I will procure a decent 75 ohm AES/EBU cable and re-try the AES output. But when Urd is here, I plan to use USB and discover what Unison is all about. With Urd acting as a Unison hub, the Urd-to-Yggy USB connection should be the best way to go... can't wait to try it!

/ds

 

[StimpyWan]

consider a cheap universal UBP like the sony UBP-X series that has coaxial digital out (for CD playback thru external DAC). the X800M2 often goes on sale for $50-80 off around this time; has no front panel display though. I tried the X800M2 about 2 yrs ago, but my 15+ yo Sony NS500V out-performed it (via coaxial s/pdif into BFM1. perhaps non-optimized firmware on the X800M2 at the time. note that Sony has been releasing periodic revisions for this unit.

You'd have to step up to a Sony UBP-X1000ES or an UBP-X1100ES, to gain analog outputs for SACD playback. They have built in DAC's, where the various X800 models are straight transports.

​

 

[dstrimbu]

Are DACs with chokes, like yggy, faster than dacs without chokes, like gumby & bifrost?

Listening to a familiar bluegrass album, and I can swear the banjo playing seems "slower"/more articulate.... like it was previously too fast to hear with 100 percent clarity, but now I can pick up each strum/string picking better then before.

From what I've read, any circuit with a choke-input power supply will benefit from better filtering - less AC ripple, so less hum in the output. I believe that Yggy's choke pairs with one of the power supply transformers to drive the analog section of the DAC, +/-24v. There's a dozen different locally regulated supplies for the digital circuitry inside of Yggy, too. But, like Tyr's PS, the real benefit of a choke-input PS will be realized in an analog circuit. My OG Yggy A2 sports a basically dead silent background on both the RCA and XLR outputs, so the choke-input power supply is (apparently) doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Yggy's magic just starts with the power supply, IMHO - the digital filter in Yggdrasil is very unique, and the clock management is superb. Little things (including little deviations from perfect) add up very quickly in digital to analog conversion, and I believe that Yggy just does everything right - clean power supply, bit-perfect digital filtering w/bit-perfect clock management, and an amazing analog output stage.

I find that every well-recorded piece of music that I have heard on Yggy "slows down" - we're back to that crazy British "PRAT" thing - pace, rhythm, and timing. By the way, Paul talks about it in a video: https://www.psaudio.com/askpaulvideo/what-is-prat/ (in this video, Paul is actually lost for words for a short period of time - amazing).

Paul states that the less constriction or restraint that the entire system encounters, the higher the chance that you'll be tapping your toes when you listen to music on it. He is talking about amps in the video, but... the same applies to a super-high-quality DAC like Yggdrasil. Yggy doesn't ever struggle to lock on to a source, filter that source, reconstruct the analog waveform and drive the output stages. Because it doesn't struggle, your ears won't, either.

But I'm not an EE (I'm a ME) so YMMV.

 

[Paladin79]

Alright...maybe I will invest in some cheap used player with a remote until I can get my hands on an URD....

I am busy tonight but I may have a possible solution for you once I do some research tomorrow.