[emorrison33]

even though I am having my gall bladder remove nextweek!

I hope it all goes well for you, and a speedy recovery

 

[audio philestine]

I (re)read Jason’s entire, excellent, chapter. I now propose a conspiracy theory, in the form of a thought experiment. What if a company discovered a new measurement that really influences the listener’s sonic enjoyment? A measurement that has never been publicly discussed? Would they publish this fact, or carefully hide that knowledge? I think they would build equipment that maximizes the new measurement while carefully camouflaging their discovery behind a wall of subjective claims!

I think Schiit has already discovered this. It is Baldr's sounds-like-ass scale.

 

[SchwizzelKick66]

Yeah Hel+ is amazing. The new unit sounds the same as the magni heretic / modi+ stack now. I still don't understand how Schiit is able to produce this thing for $199 lol. Has all of the options, power and connectivity you'd ever need to be the center of your desktop audio space.

Very impressed with this thing.

 

[Pondoro]

Alright guys, go easy on me. Doing some a/b/c comparisons on the stock Vali 2+, Magni Piety, and the Magni 3+ through a Modi Multibit.

So far my thoughts still stand before attaching my wild cable job and the switch... Vali 2+ just creates a thickness to the sound, that can somewhat be replicated on the Piety, but falls short on the highs where they begin to distort at higher listening levels, though I wouldn't recommend listening at those levels for a long time anyway.

Magni has the measurements surely... but this is where I am nearly in awe. The music, and right now I'm just listening to some live jazz... the Magni 3 didn't feel as "real" as the two other amps. There is something about the realism of the sound coming from the Vali2+ and the Piety. I don't want to say stale, because it sounds phenomenal, but once you get a taste of the other fruit, you keep coming back to it.

Ultimately I need a preamp for my desk speakers, and the Schiit stack that I bought as a bundle was such a great deal, I'd lose money selling the Magni just to buy a Sys. Also, I don't want to keep the Vali2+ on all the time, and when I don't want to have to wait as long for it to warm up, if I keep another amp around and on all the time, that is probably the way to go.

I have yet to do a blind test, which I'll need someone else to manage for me. Ultimately I'll need to decide on the Magni Piety or the Magni 3+.

I love the wild look of that stack!

 

[45longcolt]

...and speaking of MIB:

Looks like I got #5, @45longcolt :



Going to feed it some Qobuz via USB -> balanced out to OG Jot -> HD600s, and let it cook for a couple of days.
It'll be right next to my desk, so there will be many opportunities to sample the evolution...

Meanwhile, Yggy is singing downstairs and doesn't care what his younger brother is doing.

Hi Don! Makes sense, given that when you posted the screenshot of your order confirmation, I noticed yours was the next order # after mine. Seems the SchiitStaff are very organized.
So far, I'd characterize the MIB as sounding smoother than my 2015 vintage Ygg, but too soon to say definitively.
Back when Ygg was new, some insisted it had to be left continuously powered up for at least 1,000 hours to be properly broken in. That doesn't seem to be a "thing" anymore. Fine with me.

 

[RickWilson]

I've been running this Modi2/Magni 2 Schiit stack for about 6 years now and it still impresses me what it does for the money

 

[fendermke]

I’ve been waiting to post this breif review of my recently acquired YGGY OG. I’ve now had in in my possession and powered on and listing for about a week.

I’ve just started listening to it more critically and here are my observations in comparison to my Bifrost 2/64.

In a nutshell the overall sound signature and tonality is very similar to the Bifrost and in casual listening ie background, it would be difficult to tell which is which. Where I did notice a difference is when I was focused on the music.

• The first item that I noticed was the depth of the soundstage. It’s almost like there was slight reverb on everything giving a greater sense of space and depth. I didn’t notice any significant differences in soundstage width only depth. But that is probably more a function of my room and speaker config.
• Texture is the other one that I noticed. There is just more of it. Particularly when listing to vocalists and instruments more in isolation. When listing to more complex/dense mixes the texture is still evident but more difficult to pick out. The bass region seems a bit tighter and more dynamic.
• I listened to and compared both single ended and balanced when I was switching back and forth with the Bifrost. I heard the same differences and that didn’t change my impression of either DAC based on single ended or balanced. Single ended sounded great as did balanced.

Basically I’m really impressed and have my end game DAC. Based on the differences that I heard between the OG and Bifrost I’m not sure that I could hear any differences in the YGGY variations. The OG has been on my want list for years so I’m glad that I was finally able to raise the funds for one.

The biggest surprise for me was how great of a performer the Bifrost 2/64 is. I’m supper excited to be moving that to my office setup. It is truly an outstanding value. The YGGY is giving me the last couple of percent. As with everything the last couple of percent costs more the greater gains obtained with mid-priced gear. I was almost contemplating have 2 Bifrosts as I wanted/needed two coax which I basically get with the BNC and coax with the added bonus of AES. I also now have the USB Unison open for connecting other devices.

I’m super happy and my system is complete.
Cheers!

 

[MindBreak]

I’ve been waiting to post this breif review of my recently acquired YGGY OG. I’ve now had in in my possession and powered on and listing for about a week.

I’ve just started listening to it more critically and here are my observations in comparison to my Bifrost 2/64.

In a nutshell the overall sound signature and tonality is very similar to the Bifrost and in casual listening ie background, it would be difficult to tell which is which. Where I did notice a difference is when I was focused on the music.

• The first item that I noticed was the depth of the soundstage. It’s almost like there was slight reverb on everything giving a greater sense of space and depth. I didn’t notice any significant differences in soundstage width only depth. But that is probably more a function of my room and speaker config.
• Texture is the other one that I noticed. There is just more of it. Particularly when listing to vocalists and instruments more in isolation. When listing to more complex/dense mixes the texture is still evident but more difficult to pick out. The bass region seems a bit tighter and more dynamic.
• I listened to and compared both single ended and balanced when I was switching back and forth with the Bifrost. I heard the same differences and that didn’t change my impression of either DAC based on single ended or balanced. Single ended sounded great as did balanced.

Basically I’m really impressed and have my end game DAC. Based on the differences that I heard between the OG and Bifrost I’m not sure that I could hear any differences in the YGGY variations. The OG has been on my want list for years so I’m glad that I was finally able to raise the funds for one.

The biggest surprise for me was how great of a performer the Bifrost 2/64 is. I’m supper excited to be moving that to my office setup. It is truly an outstanding value. The YGGY is giving me the last couple of percent. As with everything the last couple of percent costs more the greater gains obtained with mid-priced gear. I was almost contemplating have 2 Bifrosts as I wanted/needed two coax which I basically get with the BNC and coax with the added bonus of AES. I also now have the USB Unison open for connecting other devices.

I’m super happy and my system is complete.
Cheers!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am a Bifrost 2/64 owner and I am contemplating upgrading to a Yggdrasil in the future to pair with the Mjolnir 3 I have on order. Given the fact that there is a smaller yet noticable difference between the two models l might wait a little longer on that front upgrade. Congrats on your new setup, and happy listening.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

I (re)read Jason’s entire, excellent, chapter. I now propose a conspiracy theory, in the form of a thought experiment. What if a company discovered a new measurement that really influences the listener’s sonic enjoyment? A measurement that has never been publicly discussed? Would they publish this fact, or carefully hide that knowledge? I think they would build equipment that maximizes the new measurement while carefully camouflaging their discovery behind a wall of subjective claims!

You betcha butt that they'd publish that. Just imagine the marketing boost that'd give them. I don't see the benefit of keeping such a metric secret. If you did, all you could do with it is make your gear sound "better," but you wouldn't be able to brag to the market about why you think it sounds better.
Nah, if such a metric existed, you'd know it by now.

 

[corndog71]

In regards to the Valhalla 2, and maybe other tube amps as well, I know its best practice to get matched input and output tubes but really how much of a difference does it really make? Also, can unmatched tubes cause actual damage to the amp, I don't think so myself but I'm not an electrical engineer so I figured id ask anyway.

The late Roger Modjeski spoke about the need for power tube matching. While I found the whole presentation fascinating (admittedly some of it went over my head) he talks about matching power tubes at 57:37.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am a Bifrost 2/64 owner and I am contemplating upgrading to a Yggdrasil in the future to pair with the Mjolnir 3 I have on order. Given the fact that there is a smaller yet noticable difference between the two models l might wait a little longer on that front upgrade. Congrats on your new setup, and happy listening.

Well, far be it from me to wholeheartedly disagree with @fendermke, but I wholeheartedly disagree with @fendermke. ;p

At least to my ears and in my two main chains, the difference between Bifrost 2 and Yggy OG is absolutely massive. Whenever I swap the Bifrost 2 back into my living room chain, the stage collapses to between the speakers, instead of being room-filling in all three dimensions beyond the walls as it is with the Yggy OG, and all the detail gets hidden behind a somewhat blurry veil.
And it doesn't matter whether I use the 2/64 card in that Bifrost 2, or its original AnalogDevices card.

The difference is less pronounced in my headphone rig on my desk, but it's still enough to almost never use it there, either.

I fully appreciate that a ton of people adore their Bifrosts. And that's how it should be, as it's a huge step up from a Modi (MB or otherwise) and Modius, sonically speaking. But mine has spent most of its life in my closet, because its overall performance simply just pales in comparison to my Gungnir MB and Yggy OG.

To paraphrase Jason: Always upgrade your transducers first, Schiit comes later.

 

[MindBreak]

Well, far be it from me to wholeheartedly disagree with @fendermke, but I wholeheartedly disagree with @fendermke. ;p

At least to my ears and in my two main chains, the difference between Bifrost 2 and Yggy OG is absolutely massive. Whenever I swap the Bifrost 2 back into my living room chain, the stage collapses to between the speakers, instead of being room-filling in all three dimensions beyond the walls as it is with the Yggy OG, and all the detail gets hidden behind a somewhat blurry veil.
And it doesn't matter whether I use the 2/64 card in that Bifrost 2, or its original AnalogDevices card.

The difference is less pronounced in my headphone rig on my desk, but it's still enough to almost never use it there, either.

I fully appreciate that a ton of people adore their Bifrosts. And that's how it should be, as it's a huge step up from a Modi (MB or otherwise) and Modius, sonically speaking. But mine has spent most of its life in my closet, because its overall performance simply just pales in comparison to my Gungnir MB and Yggy OG.

Everyone perceives sound differently, and with that being said if Schiit Audio releases a Gungnir MB limited run I would most likely get it. My current top headphone is the Arya Stealth, and I wouldn't upgrade my DAC until after I purchase a pair of Tungsten DS headphones. Thanks for the info.

 

[misterpumpy]

Yeah Hel+ is amazing. The new unit sounds the same as the magni heretic / modi+ stack now. I still don't understand how Schiit is able to produce this thing for $199 lol. Has all of the options, power and connectivity you'd ever need to be the center of your desktop audio space.

Very impressed with this thing.

Yeah, this is my basic impression of Hel+ as well. Just fantastic performance and features for the price. So glad I chose it for my desktop setup instead of a stack, it just looks so good on the desk, and not having the big wall warts is nice.

 

[Derrick Swart]

I’ve been waiting to post this breif review of my recently acquired YGGY OG. I’ve now had in in my possession and powered on and listing for about a week.

I’ve just started listening to it more critically and here are my observations in comparison to my Bifrost 2/64.

In a nutshell the overall sound signature and tonality is very similar to the Bifrost and in casual listening ie background, it would be difficult to tell which is which. Where I did notice a difference is when I was focused on the music.

• The first item that I noticed was the depth of the soundstage. It’s almost like there was slight reverb on everything giving a greater sense of space and depth. I didn’t notice any significant differences in soundstage width only depth. But that is probably more a function of my room and speaker config.
• Texture is the other one that I noticed. There is just more of it. Particularly when listing to vocalists and instruments more in isolation. When listing to more complex/dense mixes the texture is still evident but more difficult to pick out. The bass region seems a bit tighter and more dynamic.
• I listened to and compared both single ended and balanced when I was switching back and forth with the Bifrost. I heard the same differences and that didn’t change my impression of either DAC based on single ended or balanced. Single ended sounded great as did balanced.

Basically I’m really impressed and have my end game DAC. Based on the differences that I heard between the OG and Bifrost I’m not sure that I could hear any differences in the YGGY variations. The OG has been on my want list for years so I’m glad that I was finally able to raise the funds for one.

The biggest surprise for me was how great of a performer the Bifrost 2/64 is. I’m supper excited to be moving that to my office setup. It is truly an outstanding value. The YGGY is giving me the last couple of percent. As with everything the last couple of percent costs more the greater gains obtained with mid-priced gear. I was almost contemplating have 2 Bifrosts as I wanted/needed two coax which I basically get with the BNC and coax with the added bonus of AES. I also now have the USB Unison open for connecting other devices.

I’m super happy and my system is complete.
Cheers!

"In a nutshell the overall sound signature and tonality is very similar to the Bifrost and in casual listening ie background, it would be difficult to tell which is which. Where I did notice a difference is when I was focused on the music" = very valuable information

 

[NoBodyNoWhere]

I’ve been waiting to post this breif review of my recently acquired YGGY OG. I’ve now had in in my possession and powered on and listing for about a week.

I’ve just started listening to it more critically and here are my observations in comparison to my Bifrost 2/64.

In a nutshell the overall sound signature and tonality is very similar to the Bifrost and in casual listening ie background, it would be difficult to tell which is which. Where I did notice a difference is when I was focused on the music.

• The first item that I noticed was the depth of the soundstage. It’s almost like there was slight reverb on everything giving a greater sense of space and depth. I didn’t notice any significant differences in soundstage width only depth. But that is probably more a function of my room and speaker config.
• Texture is the other one that I noticed. There is just more of it. Particularly when listing to vocalists and instruments more in isolation. When listing to more complex/dense mixes the texture is still evident but more difficult to pick out. The bass region seems a bit tighter and more dynamic.
• I listened to and compared both single ended and balanced when I was switching back and forth with the Bifrost. I heard the same differences and that didn’t change my impression of either DAC based on single ended or balanced. Single ended sounded great as did balanced.

Basically I’m really impressed and have my end game DAC. Based on the differences that I heard between the OG and Bifrost I’m not sure that I could hear any differences in the YGGY variations. The OG has been on my want list for years so I’m glad that I was finally able to raise the funds for one.

The biggest surprise for me was how great of a performer the Bifrost 2/64 is. I’m supper excited to be moving that to my office setup. It is truly an outstanding value. The YGGY is giving me the last couple of percent. As with everything the last couple of percent costs more the greater gains obtained with mid-priced gear. I was almost contemplating have 2 Bifrosts as I wanted/needed two coax which I basically get with the BNC and coax with the added bonus of AES. I also now have the USB Unison open for connecting other devices.

I’m super happy and my system is complete.
Cheers!

My experience is remarkably similar to yours.

I’ve upgraded to the latest Yggy OG from a Bifrost 2/64. The differences in my system are subtle, but I agree, there is a deeper sound stage. Probably the thing I notice most is there is just a bit more clarity and detail that allows me to hear subtle elements within the music. I can hear someone talking quietly under the music or I can hear more of the details of a note from a piano from its initial attack to the slow quiet decay. The Bifrost is an awfully good DAC and I think you need a pretty good system, particularly speakers, to get the most out of the Yggy. That’s where I’m going to go next. Anyway, I’m very happy with this upgrade.