[Alexnova]

That arrived faster than expected! Too bad I have to leave for work right now

Dude please post some impressions when you get around to it. I wish I did next-day delivery on the Bifrost 2 but oh well...

 

[DACattack]

The other sad thing about the preamp Thunderdome results: I now know why people get caught up in this insane high-end thing--you know, car-priced DACs, MacBook-priced phono preamps, etc...because as soon as it was clear that a $900 preamp was cleaning the clocks of stuff $300-600, I thought, "Schiit, maybe I should do an even crazier preamp, maybe Yggy-sized, maybe near $2000." And then I realized there was very little I could do to improve Freya+, other than making it bigger and fancier. it already had tubes and relay attenuation and differential buffers and microprocessor oversight and two transformers and and and...and I remembered that interview where someone asked me, "What makes a preamp expensive?" and I had to answer, "No friggin idea."

I hope you don't feel too bummed about this trend, Jason, if you can call it such. Honestly, I did try the Saga + and liked it a lot and returned it *only* because I had to go mono with the Aegirs in order to drive my speakers properly. So I had to jump to Freya instead in order to run the Aegirs balanced. If I could have stayed with a stereo setup I would've been completely content with the Saga. I do hope in the end you retain one of them to keep something less expensive and in the smaller form factor. Not sure if Thunderdome means there is only one survivor...?

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the OG Saga blowout contributed to the lower sales of Saga S and +. That was an insanely good deal and it is easy to understand why they were snatched up.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

I have always been content to use Yggdrasil or Bifrost or Gungnir in the first reference, and later in the article, I might refer to it as a Yggy or Bimby. I don't mind Bifrost 2, which seems like the Lincoln Continental Mark series.
The casual reference to weird abbreviations saves the reader or writer no time if it fails to communicate the name of the device. I like the Norse mythological references for naming, and I like Classic Silver metal, and I like the Schiit Sound.

So @Jason Stoddard, if you call it 'Bifrost 2', that is the name I choose to use.

I wonder if cute nicknames like “runs like a doozy (reference to a car?)”.... “T-Bird”..... “we’ll Skidoo (brandname) to the cabin in the woods”.... would still be appropriate if used now. Search algorithms are stupid, as compared to human memory. Hmmmm.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

So what you are saying is the Bifrost 2 is unbuyable?

?!
....I’ll be curious how Schiit redefines its product lines. Might work. Might not. Hmmmm...

 

[ashirin]

Dude please post some impressions when you get around to it. I wish I did next-day delivery on the Bifrost 2 but oh well...

It will take me an evening to set up Bifrost 2 because I’m planning on changing out a couple components in my setup along with it. But I will definitely post impressions soon.

I received the Bifrost 2 at my door just under 48 hours after I hit the order button. I selected the cheapest shipping option (Fedex Home Delivery). Alas, I live less than an hours drive to the mothership.

 

[Ableza]

In my arrogant opinion, "cute" nicknames indicate a lazy mind. Or at least they do to me.

 

[knivek]

Not at any sane price level or size--it would only fit in a Mjolnir-sized amp, and Mjolnir is really too big. And we have tons of Asgard-sized headamps. And the Alps RK27 series pots are really good.



Mike: "Use the USB."



Pocock.



To do what? Increase prices? Honestly asking--I don't know what they could do for us in Canada. Is there some advantage that I don't know about?

Would be nice to order and not have something torn apart at customs or have insane shipping charges added as single unit shipments.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Maybe but I never found fatigue as simple as darker or not, though darker does often help. Never really used Sabre dacs much. Usually had burr-browns.

I’m relieved I jumped on the multibit wagon (as my first DAC).... I don’t have to second-guess myself. Strange technology indeed. @Ableza ... if one wanted to educate oneself on multibit-DAC-topologies, which authors should I e-research?

 

[ScubaMan2017]

In my arrogant opinion, "cute" nicknames indicate a lazy mind. Or at least they do to me.

+1...
Submarines are somethings regarded as “boats” or “ships”(?)... or “subs”..or “death-from-below” (kidding). If word-choice affects how one perceives a technology, I wonder how Gumby or Yggy cheapen these devices to potential customers? Yeah, I know. I’m overthinking it.

 

[Ableza]

+1...
Submarines are somethings regarded as “boats” or “ships”(?)... or “subs”..or “death-from-below” (kidding). If word-choice affects how one perceives a technology, I wonder how Gumby or Yggy cheapen these devices to potential customers? Yeah, I know. I’m overthinking it.

A submarine is a boat, and everything else is a target.

 

[Alcophone]

While we're at it, let's talk balanced passives. We keep getting asked for this. I have figured out how to do one, but it will have to have some tradeoffs--like, it won't have a 4-gang RK27 pot, it will have to have something from Alpha or even a 4-gang RK09. It also is gonna be about $100. That's JUST A PASSIVE, 2-input preamp. Nothing more. No relay attenuation. No remote control. Just a big Sys. Interesting or not?

Interesting, especially if the volume knob is defeatable/harmless at 100% (switcher use only) and if it's still reversible (output switcher) since your DACs have at most one balanced out making it trickier to use them for both speakers and headphones while remaining fully balanced.

 

[reedoo]

Preamp Thunderdome: yeah, time for an update. You probably noticed that we're in backorder on Freya+, so there's the clear winner. I mean, it's not even close. Freya S is also doing, well, pretty fine. Both Saga+ and Saga S are, ahem, the weak links. This may be due to the extended blowout of original Sagas. So we'll see how it goes for a bit longer, and then decide what to do from there. Bottom line: I'm totally blown away that the top-selling preamp is by far the most expensive. I would have never called that.

I just purchased my first Schiit - a Vidar and Saga+. Let me say I love them both and that the tube buffer is always on so it’s a big yes on Saga+ from me. I’d also add that the 9” wide form factor was a huge draw for me. I don’t want to buy big stuff to get great sound. I’m using a Modi now so I have a DAC upgrade available in that 9” size. It’s great industrial design that says good things come in small packages.

 

[Balthazar B]

Interesting, especially if the volume knob is defeatable/harmless at 100% (switcher use only) and if it's still reversible (output switcher) since your DACs have at most one balanced out making it trickier to use them for both speakers and headphones while remaining fully balanced.

Excellent point and use case!

 

[valiant66]

There's an entire thread on the topic: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/small-cd-transport.593498/

Thanks!
.

 

[ZoNtO]

While we're at it, let's talk balanced passives. We keep getting asked for this. I have figured out how to do one, but it will have to have some tradeoffs--like, it won't have a 4-gang RK27 pot, it will have to have something from Alpha or even a 4-gang RK09. It also is gonna be about $100. That's JUST A PASSIVE, 2-input preamp. Nothing more. No relay attenuation. No remote control. Just a big Sys. Interesting or not?

I don't see the point given the JBL Nano Patch+. Over on the other site, the discussion for this product hinged around people wanting something that was reference quality to connect their Yggdrasil/Gungnir (and now Bifrost 2 with XLR out I guess) into Schiit monoblocks and/or the future high-powered Continuity (stereo?) amp. Something to compete with Goldpoint SA2X: http://www.goldpt.com/sa2x.html, which is $600+.

Think that relay attenuation and remote control are important features that would differentiate it from the cheaper passive options like the JBL and are important for living room speaker systems. To cut down on costs, could even reuse the Freya S enclosure, but just rejigger it a bit to lose the SE ins and add another set of XLR out. Then it would match the aesthetics of the higher end DACs as well. Would also give you room to isolate the circuitry for the remote from the input/outputs. Could call it Freya P. Thought the target was $200 range?