Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[dstrimbu]

So… if I order a current generation Yggy+ OG, how much of that is the same as a Yggy A2 (with a silent OG)? Are they the same machine? I’m trying to get unconfused - and I’m the owner of a LIM.

Pretty sure that a brand new Yggdrasil+ OG is "The Yggdrasil you’ve loved for years, same as it ever was. The original Yggdrasil with four AD5791 20-bit D/A converters remains in the line, because it provides an exceptionally engaging performance".

That's straight off the Schiit website on the Yggy page. And since all new Yggys have the A2 audio upgrade and Unison USB... the only new things in the Yggdrasil+ "OG" are NOS mode, the remote, the muting circuit and the new, fancier "4-screw" case.

Clear as mud, eh?

 

[sopranomi]

Are you looking for a preamp, or something that can do both?

If you are looking for a preamp, the Freya S or +would be a good option. If you want someone to do both, the Lyr+ has that capability, but doesn't have as much gain as you would find with the dedicated preamp.

I have the Freya S and really like it, 4x gain, Nexus stage to convert SE to balanced.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Gotto have headphone capability - by order of the missus.

The Lyr is spec'd at as high as 15db gain. But I gather from email correspondence with Schiit that not all of that gain is available at the pre -outs... ?

 

[dstrimbu]

Everything matters. How much is up to you.

Oh, I agree. I am NOT a cable denier. All of my source components and both Tyrs use Analysis Plus Pro Power Ovals, and the RELs use Pangea AC 14SE Mk IIs.

I just feel that, when the the power cable looks heavy enough to tip over a 25 lb. Yggy, it might be overkill... <g>

To say nothing of the strain it puts on the IEC socket.

 

[33na3rd]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Gotto have headphone capability - by order of the missus.

The Lyr is spec'd at as high as 15db gain. But I gather from email correspondence with Schiit that not all of that gain is available at the pre -outs... ?

I have Freya S, that feeds a Vidar for speakers using one of Freya's preamp outputs, and run Asgard 3 off one of Freya's other preamp outputs.

If I'm listening to headphones, I power Vidar down and plug the phones into Asgard, using Freya with it's remote volume control feeding Asgard. It's a little convoluted, but it works. There's currently no Schiit "preamp" with fixed line out jacks.

You could even use Ragnarok as a preamp/headphone amp if you wanted to pay that much.

 

[filthy mechanical]

Pretty sure that a brand new Yggdrasil+ OG is "The Yggdrasil you’ve loved for years, same as it ever was. The original Yggdrasil with four AD5791 20-bit D/A converters remains in the line, because it provides an exceptionally engaging performance".

That's straight off the Schiit website on the Yggy page. And since all new Yggys have the A2 audio upgrade and Unison USB... the only new things in the Yggdrasil+ "OG" are NOS mode, the remote, the muting circuit and the new, fancier "4-screw" case.

Clear as mud, eh?

Or as I view it, no reason to send mine in yet.

 

[dstrimbu]

Kind of trying to bite my tongue here, but oh well: I would say it does, if in a somewhat indirect way. Geometry matters (solid vs stranded, round vs rectangular, etc). It has measurable effects (the skin effect, impedance, capacitance, inductance). The size of two different geometries will not be a 1:1 in terms of these effects.

We could argue that those effects don't translate to hearable differences, but then we're back into subjectivity land. Never a fun place to be when trying to convince others of something online

I totally agree that conductor size and geometry makes a difference. As all of my line-level connections (save for TT to phono pre, and phono pre to Loki Max) are balanced, I don't have any audible interaction between my AC cables and my signal cables. But I have chased noise gremlins in the past, and they were almost always due to an unshielded (or a SE 'shielded') interconnect running too close to / parallel to a power cable.

A buddy who is an EE told me to think of power cables as radiating antennas. Signal cables should never run parallel; should always cross at 90 degrees, et al. I'm sure that he was simplifying, but it's stuck with me for good. And when people ask "How can a 3 foot power cable make a difference when there's a hundred feet of wire in the wall?", I refer them to the inverse square law.

Now, the balanced vs single-ended discussion w/r/t interconnects... that's a different argument. But again, up to a limit, spending more on a better quality cable will always make a difference if the system is sufficiently resolving. And if your system sports Magico 9 loudspeakers and a half million dollars in electronics, then you have different needs than me.

Right?

 

[bcowen]

Size.
Does.
Not.
Matter.
…is what they say.
…about cables.

My favorite pair of interconnects, dated though they are, would agree -- the positive conductor is a single 38 gauge (0.004") wire. Claimed to be pure gold, but as I'm not about to open it up to verify it could be made of Texas frog hair for all I know.

 

[US Blues]

Oh, I agree. I am NOT a cable denier. All of my source components and both Tyrs use Analysis Plus Pro Power Ovals, and the RELs use Pangea AC 14SE Mk IIs.

I just feel that, when the the power cable looks heavy enough to tip over a 25 lb. Yggy, it might be overkill... <g>

To say nothing of the strain it puts on the IEC socket.

A cable that threatens to physically damage a component will always be viewed with suspicion.

 

[US Blues]

My favorite pair of interconnects, dated though they are, would agree -- the positive conductor is a single 38 gauge (0.004") wire. Claimed to be pure gold, but as I'm not about to open it up to verify it could be made of Texas frog hair for all I know.

You got those from @Ripper2860, didn't you?

 

[theeclone]

I totally agree that conductor size and geometry makes a difference. As all of my line-level connections (save for TT to phono pre, and phono pre to Loki Max) are balanced, I don't have any audible interaction between my AC cables and my signal cables. But I have chased noise gremlins in the past, and they were almost always due to an unshielded (or a SE 'shielded') interconnect running too close to / parallel to a power cable.

A buddy who is an EE told me to think of power cables as radiating antennas. Signal cables should never run parallel; should always cross at 90 degrees, et al. I'm sure that he was simplifying, but it's stuck with me for good. And when people ask "How can a 3 foot power cable make a difference when there's a hundred feet of wire in the wall?", I refer them to the inverse square law.

Now, the balanced vs single-ended discussion w/r/t interconnects... that's a different argument. But again, up to a limit, spending more on a better quality cable will always make a difference if the system is sufficiently resolving. And if your system sports Magico 9 loudspeakers and a half million dollars in electronics, then you have different needs than me.

Right?

Totally. Plus with AC, the power cable is both an on ramp and an off ramp. Would anybody say that the size of on ramps and off ramps won't affect traffic flow on either side of them?

Then you get into how the power cable interacts with the transformer and filter caps, how that could affect ripple, etc. The biggest difference between an Yggy LIM and a Bifrost 2/64, if they're both using Unison USB, is the power supply. Anecdotal reports are that the LIM sounds noticeably better. The power supply is adjacent to the power inlet/power cable, so it makes sense that the power cable size/geometry could interact meaningfully.

 

[Paladin79]

The analog 2 upgrade to Yggy took the original unit to another level of sonic performance. I have not heard the variants, but A2 well supersedes the OG.

I will most likely go with the Less is More version if I include a + version. One of my group might have upgraded, so that should simplify getting one when needed. It would be nice to see how a newer one fares.

We should be bringing back a couple that finished toward the top last time, just for nostalgia sake.

 

[bcowen]

You got those from @Ripper2860, didn't you?

LOL! Naw, last I heard he was still using $0.99 Radio Shack patch cables between all his components.

 

[theeclone]

Speaking of power cables, I always like to refer back to this one:

 

[Brubacca]

Speaking of power cables, I always like to refer back to this one:

I absolutely don't believe or understand that power cables can make a difference. Well until I heard it with my own ears. I don't understand how or why, but Damn in a direct ab test when I absolutely didn't want to hear a difference I heard more of a difference than swapping interconnects. YMMV.

 

[theeclone]

I absolutely don't believe or understand that power cables can make a difference. Well until I heard it with my own ears. I don't understand how or why, but Damn in a direct ab test when I absolutely didn't want to hear a difference I heard more of a difference than swapping interconnects. YMMV.

Yeah, same! More of a difference than interconnects in certain scenarios.