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

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Dude. You are in Texas now.

Yes.

You are a Texan now.

No such thing for a mere transplant such as myself.

Get to Shipley. You know, for your food-coma fix.

Quit Forking around and go get some Shipley's, already.

See, here’s the problem with that:
They close at noon and I never remember that they exist before, like, 4pm.

 

[Syan25]

Let's just call it "The Harrison Ford"

 

[Ripper2860]

Happy Saturday!

 

[StimpyWan]

Cool Whip and Cheez Whiz.
Two of the 10 best inventions ever.

Just not on the same food at the same time...!

 

[bcowen]

The simple storage box I am building for my daughter. The top is not finished yet but the general shape is there.

Dang. At first glance I thought that was a flight board for tall people.

 

[GreyOldMan]

Apart from the Modi Multibit, I have none of the items you list in your signature. But I do have a Bifrost 2/64 and I have thoughts on the difference between that and the MM2. I like both DACs but I think the MM2 is very “soft” and does not render music with a great deal of detail; certainly not compared to the Bifrost 2/64. I find the Bifrost 2/64 almost indistinguishable from the Yggdrasil OG (which makes sense as they have the same DAC chips and (I assume) a similar analog output stage.

I have enjoyed the MM2 with orchestral music like Beethoven’s 9th and felt, while it might have taken away detail and nuance from the performance, it gave it a warm, maybe a bit nostalgic character. It’s a DAC that I like paired with a tube headphone amp if I’m looking for a sound that takes the hard edges off of things. The Bifrost is much more clear and crisp and I feel competes well with a lot of other high end DACs.

A partial YMMV post as you are comparing the Yggdrasil OG with the Bifrost 2/64, whereas I am not able to.

Apologies for the scattergun approach but there are a number of topics touched by this posting. Some are even on the sine-wave!


1 Background.

My original system was Mac Mini->Bifrost 2/64->Lyr+ (no tube)->Gjallhorn->transducer as per signature.

I was happy, as in very happy with this equipment, but due to life being a pile of the other sort of Schiit, i was away from home for at least 3, usually 4 and sometimes 5 nights each week.

When I was home then my own music or music radio channel was my solace and entertainment.

Being away from home for much of the week I turned my Schiit kit’s power off. I’ve just had solar panels installed and I wanted to maximise the amount that I could make out of the power company during the summer by selling energy to them, so the fridge was pretty much the only power draw while I was away.

Anyway, the Bifrost developed a problem whereby when I turned it back on it would go into protection after a couple of minutes. I’d turn it back on but it would then repeatedly fail at longer and longer intervals until after about an hour, usually slightly more, the Bifrost stabilised and the musical goodness continued un-interrupted until it was time to leave for the next spell away from home. The problem sounds to be thermal-related but I’ll leave that to the experts.

As the Bifrost was in warranty I contacted Schiit UK (Electromod) and as with previous contacts, Mark, head honcho at Electromod/Schiit.co.uk, was immediately attentive and helpful in looking for solutions. I have only good experiences with Schiit UK. The Bifrost was returned, extensively bench tested, a secondary problem I’d reported was reproduced and it was decided to return my Bifrost to the mothership for the sort of in-depth surgery that only advanced Schiit boffindom can accomplish.

Although I was content to wait for my Bifrost to be completely fettled back in its homeland, and was resigned to listening to my music running directly from the headphone socket on the Mac Mini, i.e. the Apple on-board Dac until the Bifrost was returned, I’d reckoned without Mark’s legendary customer-service ethos.


2 Schiit Customer Service is ……. Legendary.


“I can loan you a Yggdrasil”.

“What???????????????”

“I can loan you a Yggdrasil”.

In the background my pension fund began shake it’s head, rock gently with it’s arms wrapped around itself in the foetal position and whimper quietly.

<loud>
“What???? No."
</loud>

<quiet>
"what colour is it?"
</quiet>

“It’s black”

<scream>
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
</scream>

My Bifrost is Black.

My Lyr is Black

My Gjallahorn is Black



Because Black is Best.



I really wouldn’t have taken the Yggdrasil if it had been in silver because …. well, because I want black Schiit.


It works for me, so let’s leave that there.


Please.


But yes, if the Yggdrasil had been silver, I’d still be waiting for my Bifrost.

But I’m not.



3 So how does it sound.

I’ve now been listening to a Yggdrasil through the warm up, burn in period (yes, that’s really a thing) and my pension fund and I am no longer on speaking terms.

So, I’ve now got a Yggdrasil MIL. Yeah, MIL, I know, but compared with my Bifrost the difference is

O
M
F
G
That is
UN
BE
<expletive deleted>ing
LIEVEABLE.



Fresh out of the box, the Yggdrasil was still chilled from the journey and close-to-zero temperatures in the carrier’s take-it-or-leave-it approach to customer care. (I do get it, I was a big fish in the UK parcels industry IT pool back in the day), so it had a few hours plugged in and unconnected while it warmed up to room temperature.

On first connection it was as good as the Bifrost overall, but with nuances that hinted at strife to come with my pension fund.

Two days in, it had pulled ahead.

A week in and …. back in the years starting 2004 I was in a glorious period of my life. I was living and working in Edinburgh, and as another member (earnmyturns) knows as they were there at the same time, Edinburgh was awash with musicians of immense talent. As I contractor I routinely stipulated that when I leased a flat for a contract, the agent had to take out the TV as I would be out at music most nights. That period in Edinburgh was truly the high point of my life and a number of those musicians are still friends due to my unwavering support for them and invariable attendance at whatever gig they were playing. I’ve mentioned them before in posts and they’re listed below.

Once the Yggdrasil had hit it’s stride, I can close my eyes and I’m back in the cramped, packed, uncomfortable cellars underneath Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town watching my friends performing to rapt, attentive audiences.

Thanks to the Yggdrasil, I can relieve the happiest period of my life as music is now a 3 dimensional entity with my friends embodied there in front of to me.

Three weeks in, with an internet radio station or music feeding it 24/7, though with the Lyr+ muted when I’m not present or sleeping, the Yggdrasil is still blooming as the soundstage widens, deepens, and just delivers more reality and separation of each component within the music.

For memories of that period, and life experiences since then, good and bad, the Yggdrasil has fully unleashed the power of music to trigger memory, stir emotions, move, soothe, calm, disrupt, reflect, disturb, bring peace, and take you by the hand and lead you through pain and grief to closure.

The Bifrost would have done that, eventually, but the Yggdrasil, by making the music so alive, opens wounds to the air that had been hiding in the dark. In the light, and wrapped in music, that leads you to healing.

The Bifrost would have put music in front of me, but I would have had the choice of how much I thought myself into the memory of the performances of the music. The Yggdrasil throws the whole live performance at you whether you want it or not, and I am back in the performance, and the memory.


4 Has Christmas Come Early?

Yes.

Mark has offered me a trade-in on the Bifrost that I really cannot refuse; once that is sorted, my signature will change to show that I have a Yggdrasil; something that I really thought I would spend my life pining for but baulking at the price. My pension scheme is now a snarling, glowering pile of malevolence in the corner, but it’s been told to shut up and swallow it.


Thank you Mike.


Thank you Jason.


Thank you Mark.




Thank goodness it was black.




5 A selection of tracks you may want to listen to.

The selection of tracks below are by friends of mine. I first posted them in post 132,482 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-17859370 on December 9th last year when I’d just received my Bifrost and was raving about it.


Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose



Paul Gilbody, Magnets Have Souls:


Kat Healy, No Heroes


Kim Edgar & Horse McDonald, Save Myself (Run Away)


Andi Neate’s live album “Lion Taming for Astronauts” is on Spotify

 

[sixergixer]

I'll have you know that Cheez Whiz ranks as one of the top 3 American inventions and I'm pretty sure I also read that it is now one of the 7 Wonders of the World, supplanting the Taj Mahal.

If squirted onto the ground and left for the ages, I'm pretty sure it'd last longer than the Taj Mahal.

 

[Ripper2860]

And still be tasty.

 

[Ripper2860]

A partial YMMV post as you are comparing the Yggdrasil OG with the Bifrost 2/64, whereas I am not able to.

Apologies for the scattergun approach but there are a number of topics touched by this posting. Some are even on the sine-wave!


1 Background.

My original system was Mac Mini->Bifrost 2/64->Lyr+ (no tube)->Gjallhorn->transducer as per signature.

I was happy, as in very happy with this equipment, but due to life being a pile of the other sort of Schiit, i was away from home for at least 3, usually 4 and sometimes 5 nights each week.

When I was home then my own music or music radio channel was my solace and entertainment.

Being away from home for much of the week I turned my Schiit kit’s power off. I’ve just had solar panels installed and I wanted to maximise the amount that I could make out of the power company during the summer by selling energy to them, so the fridge was pretty much the only power draw while I was away.

Anyway, the Bifrost developed a problem whereby when I turned it back on it would go into protection after a couple of minutes. I’d turn it back on but it would then repeatedly fail at longer and longer intervals until after about an hour, usually slightly more, the Bifrost stabilised and the musical goodness continued un-interrupted until it was time to leave for the next spell away from home. The problem sounds to be thermal-related but I’ll leave that to the experts.

As the Bifrost was in warranty I contacted Schiit UK (Electromod) and as with previous contacts, Mark, head honcho at Electromod/Schiit.co.uk, was immediately attentive and helpful in looking for solutions. I have only good experiences with Schiit UK. The Bifrost was returned, extensively bench tested, a secondary problem I’d reported was reproduced and it was decided to return my Bifrost to the mothership for the sort of in-depth surgery that only advanced Schiit boffindom can accomplish.

Although I was content to wait for my Bifrost to be completely fettled back in its homeland, and was resigned to listening to my music running directly from the headphone socket on the Mac Mini, i.e. the Apple on-board Dac until the Bifrost was returned, I’d reckoned without Mark’s legendary customer-service ethos.


2 Schiit Customer Service is ……. Legendary.


“I can loan you a Yggdrasil”.

“What???????????????”

“I can loan you a Yggdrasil”.

In the background my pension fund began shake it’s head, rock gently with it’s arms wrapped around itself in the foetal position and whimper quietly.

<loud>
“What???? No."
</loud>

<quiet>
"what colour is it?"
</quiet>

“It’s black”

<scream>
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
</scream>

My Bifrost is Black.

My Lyr is Black

My Gjallahorn is Black



Because Black is Best.



I really wouldn’t have taken the Yggdrasil if it had been in silver because …. well, because I want black Schiit.


It works for me, so let’s leave that there.


Please.


But yes, if the Yggdrasil had been silver, I’d still be waiting for my Bifrost.

But I’m not.



3 So how does it sound.

I’ve now been listening to a Yggdrasil through the warm up, burn in period (yes, that’s really a thing) and my pension fund and I am no longer on speaking terms.

So, I’ve now got a Yggdrasil MIL. Yeah, MIL, I know, but compared with my Bifrost the difference is

O
M
F
G
That is
UN
BE
<expletive deleted>ing
LIEVEABLE.



Fresh out of the box, the Yggdrasil was still chilled from the journey and close-to-zero temperatures in the carrier’s take-it-or-leave-it approach to customer care. (I do get it, I was a big fish in the UK parcels industry IT pool back in the day), so it had a few hours plugged in and unconnected while it warmed up to room temperature.

On first connection it was as good as the Bifrost overall, but with nuances that hinted at strife to come with my pension fund.

Two days in, it had pulled ahead.

A week in and …. back in the years starting 2004 I was in a glorious period of my life. I was living and working in Edinburgh, and as another member (earnmyturns) knows as they were there at the same time, Edinburgh was awash with musicians of immense talent. As I contractor I routinely stipulated that when I leased a flat for a contract, the agent had to take out the TV as I would be out at music most nights. That period in Edinburgh was truly the high point of my life and a number of those musicians are still friends due to my unwavering support for them and invariable attendance at whatever gig they were playing. I’ve mentioned them before in posts and they’re listed below.

Once the Yggdrasil had hit it’s stride, I can close my eyes and I’m back in the cramped, packed, uncomfortable cellars underneath Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town watching my friends performing to rapt, attentive audiences.

Thanks to the Yggdrasil, I can relieve the happiest period of my life as music is now a 3 dimensional entity with my friends embodied there in front of to me.

Three weeks in, with an internet radio station or music feeding it 24/7, though with the Lyr+ muted when I’m not present or sleeping, the Yggdrasil is still blooming as the soundstage widens, deepens, and just delivers more reality and separation of each component within the music.

For memories of that period, and life experiences since then, good and bad, the Yggdrasil has fully unleashed the power of music to trigger memory, stir emotions, move, soothe, calm, disrupt, reflect, disturb, bring peace, and take you by the hand and lead you through pain and grief to closure.

The Bifrost would have done that, eventually, but the Yggdrasil, by making the music so alive, opens wounds to the air that had been hiding in the dark. In the light, and wrapped in music, that leads you to healing.

The Bifrost would have put music in front of me, but I would have had the choice of how much I thought myself into the memory of the performances of the music. The Yggdrasil throws the whole live performance at you whether you want it or not, and I am back in the performance, and the memory.


4 Has Christmas Come Early?

Yes.

Mark has offered me a trade-in on the Bifrost that I really cannot refuse; once that is sorted, my signature will change to show that I have a Yggdrasil; something that I really thought I would spend my life pining for but baulking at the price. My pension scheme is now a snarling, glowering pile of malevolence in the corner, but it’s been told to shut up and swallow it.


Thank you Mike.


Thank you Jason.


Thank you Mark.




Thank goodness it was black.




5 A selection of tracks you may want to listen to.

The selection of tracks below are by friends of mine. I first posted them in post 132,482 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-17859370 on December 9th last year when I’d just received my Bifrost and was raving about it.


Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose



Paul Gilbody, Magnets Have Souls:


Kat Healy, No Heroes


Kim Edgar & Horse McDonald, Save Myself (Run Away)


Andi Neate’s live album “Lion Taming for Astronauts” is on Spotify

You have succinctly expressed my experience in moving from Bifrost 2 to Yggy+ GS2.

 

[adydula]

@ArmchairPhilosopher
So with a standalone Gungnir 2 with a normal headphone listening setup..source to G2 to headphone amp what will I be able to do with the dac with an Apple iOs setup ?

Alex

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

@ArmchairPhilosopher
So with a standalone Gungnir 2 with a normal headphone listening setup..source to G2 to headphone amp what will I be able to do with the dac with an Apple iOs setup ?

Alex

Remote control.

Oh, and you can see the current sample rate with Forkbeard, which you can’t see without.

There may or may not be more than that in the future, we’ll have to wait and see.

 

[StevePNW]

It's been a while but rest assured, I've been checking in on you all. I just had to stop the everyday thing... All is good. The almost 3-year old grand-daughter. My just turned 90 mother (still driving the 2005 Toyota Highlander during the day). The holidays with the family and friends is special, as you all are. While I've been enjoying all of my Schiit, a couple updates. I recently upgraded my iMac Pro to Sequioa 15.1.1 (I know not the latest but I'll let you all test the .2 release...) I've got a new Mac Mini Pro coming as well as the Studio Display (Black Friday deal) coming. I've had this system for 7 years this month. Amazing performance. Time to trade (Lightroom Classic needs some help...). Funny thing upon upgrading to 15.1.1. I lost my Bluesound Node 2I connection, as well as my Canon printer. Never happened before in recent history. Good news is that it was just a toggle switch in Mac OS to get the Node back in the security settings and the first time in a while to download a new printer driver and set it up on Wifi. Still can't get the USB cable option to work. Oh well, have a new Mac Mini Pro to arrive in the next week or so to take over the duties. Added a German Balolo desk shelf for my birthday to hold all the computer stuff and my two Schiit headphone systems. Life is good. I obtained some 16 year Lagavulin from Costco for my birthday and enjoying the new layout. Listening to Marcus Miller now. Here is my desk and headphone setup. Cheers

 

[sixergixer]

A partial YMMV post as you are comparing the Yggdrasil OG with the Bifrost 2/64, whereas I am not able to.

Apologies for the scattergun approach but there are a number of topics touched by this posting. Some are even on the sine-wave!


1 Background.

My original system was Mac Mini->Bifrost 2/64->Lyr+ (no tube)->Gjallhorn->transducer as per signature.

I was happy, as in very happy with this equipment, but due to life being a pile of the other sort of Schiit, i was away from home for at least 3, usually 4 and sometimes 5 nights each week.

When I was home then my own music or music radio channel was my solace and entertainment.

Being away from home for much of the week I turned my Schiit kit’s power off. I’ve just had solar panels installed and I wanted to maximise the amount that I could make out of the power company during the summer by selling energy to them, so the fridge was pretty much the only power draw while I was away.

Anyway, the Bifrost developed a problem whereby when I turned it back on it would go into protection after a couple of minutes. I’d turn it back on but it would then repeatedly fail at longer and longer intervals until after about an hour, usually slightly more, the Bifrost stabilised and the musical goodness continued un-interrupted until it was time to leave for the next spell away from home. The problem sounds to be thermal-related but I’ll leave that to the experts.

As the Bifrost was in warranty I contacted Schiit UK (Electromod) and as with previous contacts, Mark, head honcho at Electromod/Schiit.co.uk, was immediately attentive and helpful in looking for solutions. I have only good experiences with Schiit UK. The Bifrost was returned, extensively bench tested, a secondary problem I’d reported was reproduced and it was decided to return my Bifrost to the mothership for the sort of in-depth surgery that only advanced Schiit boffindom can accomplish.

Although I was content to wait for my Bifrost to be completely fettled back in its homeland, and was resigned to listening to my music running directly from the headphone socket on the Mac Mini, i.e. the Apple on-board Dac until the Bifrost was returned, I’d reckoned without Mark’s legendary customer-service ethos.


2 Schiit Customer Service is ……. Legendary.


“I can loan you a Yggdrasil”.

“What???????????????”

“I can loan you a Yggdrasil”.

In the background my pension fund began shake it’s head, rock gently with it’s arms wrapped around itself in the foetal position and whimper quietly.

<loud>
“What???? No."
</loud>

<quiet>
"what colour is it?"
</quiet>

“It’s black”

<scream>
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
</scream>

My Bifrost is Black.

My Lyr is Black

My Gjallahorn is Black



Because Black is Best.



I really wouldn’t have taken the Yggdrasil if it had been in silver because …. well, because I want black Schiit.


It works for me, so let’s leave that there.


Please.


But yes, if the Yggdrasil had been silver, I’d still be waiting for my Bifrost.

But I’m not.



3 So how does it sound.

I’ve now been listening to a Yggdrasil through the warm up, burn in period (yes, that’s really a thing) and my pension fund and I am no longer on speaking terms.

So, I’ve now got a Yggdrasil MIL. Yeah, MIL, I know, but compared with my Bifrost the difference is

O
M
F
G
That is
UN
BE
<expletive deleted>ing
LIEVEABLE.



Fresh out of the box, the Yggdrasil was still chilled from the journey and close-to-zero temperatures in the carrier’s take-it-or-leave-it approach to customer care. (I do get it, I was a big fish in the UK parcels industry IT pool back in the day), so it had a few hours plugged in and unconnected while it warmed up to room temperature.

On first connection it was as good as the Bifrost overall, but with nuances that hinted at strife to come with my pension fund.

Two days in, it had pulled ahead.

A week in and …. back in the years starting 2004 I was in a glorious period of my life. I was living and working in Edinburgh, and as another member (earnmyturns) knows as they were there at the same time, Edinburgh was awash with musicians of immense talent. As I contractor I routinely stipulated that when I leased a flat for a contract, the agent had to take out the TV as I would be out at music most nights. That period in Edinburgh was truly the high point of my life and a number of those musicians are still friends due to my unwavering support for them and invariable attendance at whatever gig they were playing. I’ve mentioned them before in posts and they’re listed below.

Once the Yggdrasil had hit it’s stride, I can close my eyes and I’m back in the cramped, packed, uncomfortable cellars underneath Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town watching my friends performing to rapt, attentive audiences.

Thanks to the Yggdrasil, I can relieve the happiest period of my life as music is now a 3 dimensional entity with my friends embodied there in front of to me.

Three weeks in, with an internet radio station or music feeding it 24/7, though with the Lyr+ muted when I’m not present or sleeping, the Yggdrasil is still blooming as the soundstage widens, deepens, and just delivers more reality and separation of each component within the music.

For memories of that period, and life experiences since then, good and bad, the Yggdrasil has fully unleashed the power of music to trigger memory, stir emotions, move, soothe, calm, disrupt, reflect, disturb, bring peace, and take you by the hand and lead you through pain and grief to closure.

The Bifrost would have done that, eventually, but the Yggdrasil, by making the music so alive, opens wounds to the air that had been hiding in the dark. In the light, and wrapped in music, that leads you to healing.

The Bifrost would have put music in front of me, but I would have had the choice of how much I thought myself into the memory of the performances of the music. The Yggdrasil throws the whole live performance at you whether you want it or not, and I am back in the performance, and the memory.


4 Has Christmas Come Early?

Yes.

Mark has offered me a trade-in on the Bifrost that I really cannot refuse; once that is sorted, my signature will change to show that I have a Yggdrasil; something that I really thought I would spend my life pining for but baulking at the price. My pension scheme is now a snarling, glowering pile of malevolence in the corner, but it’s been told to shut up and swallow it.


Thank you Mike.


Thank you Jason.


Thank you Mark.




Thank goodness it was black.




5 A selection of tracks you may want to listen to.

The selection of tracks below are by friends of mine. I first posted them in post 132,482 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-17859370 on December 9th last year when I’d just received my Bifrost and was raving about it.


Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose



Paul Gilbody, Magnets Have Souls:


Kat Healy, No Heroes


Kim Edgar & Horse McDonald, Save Myself (Run Away)


Andi Neate’s live album “Lion Taming for Astronauts” is on Spotify

Brilliant tale, mate.

 

[Adam Balm]

*** and that's their shelf-life also .

Two more...

Jiffy Pop
Shake 'n Bake

 

[Ripper2860]

Marcus Miller now. Here is my desk and headphone setup. Cheers

I use Marcus Miller any time I want to check bass and subwoofer level. 'Cousin John' always does the trick.

** I do enjoy his music, as well. He is not just a bass-level adjustment to me.