[rovopio]

One quick question to all Schiit DAC owners, will I notice any difference between plugging my Modi my motherboard with USB Cable (that I've been doing so far) and plugging my modi to my motherboard with s/pdif cable?
 
Thanks in advance...

 

[manpowre]

  One quick question to all Schiit DAC owners, will I notice any difference between plugging my Modi my motherboard with USB Cable (that I've been doing so far) and plugging my modi to my motherboard with s/pdif cable?
 
Thanks in advance...

The main difference between spdif and usb is that on spdif your motherboard does the packet micro timing. With USB the dac does the timing. In my experience with the 5 dac's ive tested usb has better soundquality with the spdif outputs I have available.

 

[Stax-i-nox]

This is very interesting...after reading all the reviews on the Gungnir from The Google search, there was this only one review that mentioned he got better sound from his Gungnir delta by connecting a pair of xlr to rca's to his pre-amp as opposed to rca's to rca's! http://www.polyphonymagazine.com/music-film/2016/2/8/going-discrete-lynx-studio-technology-lynxtwo-vs-schiit-audio-gungnir-balanced-dac Granted this was 2 years ago, and it is the delta version, but it peaked my interest never the less.

Rather than spend over $100 on a Cardas set,, Amazon had a Kirlin set for $7.99. Installed them today...oh my, what difference...Gungnir feeding a stock Woo WA5 with Jena Lab ic's, 75 ohm and rca's from a Sony xa7es CD player.

First impressions are that the soundstage is wider, clarity is improved to a great degree, more micro-details such as a bow across a violin/ cello/ bass, way better bass, more defined. At this point, if I were to nitpick, the soundstage may not be as deep, but If that is the case, the improvements in all the other areas is worth it. It's like I stepped up to another level of incredible sound. It is as if a veil has been lifted form the overall sound.

Also, switching form the xlr/rca's to the rca's, easy to do on the woo, it was louder, and, no more clicks when switching tracks on the Sony.

This is so good, I may splurge for the Cardas! Interesting to hear others impressions. Wonder what benefits the Yggdrasil would have!?

 

[hodgjy]

  The main difference between spdif and usb is that on spdif your motherboard does the packet micro timing. With USB the dac does the timing. In my experience with the 5 dac's ive tested usb has better soundquality with the spdif outputs I have available.

 
All DACs reclock the incoming data, which is why the whole asynchronous USB was such a huge thing--the ability to better reclock it. 
 
I've tested many DACs, and it's damn near impossible to tell the difference between USB, optical, and coax these days since USB has greatly improved.
 
People will say optical has excessive jitter, which may or may not be true when compared to coax, but any differences are reclocked by the DAC and are inaudible by the human ear. Just because a machine can measure jitter doesn't mean an ear can hear it.
 
Optical has the advantage of breaking electrical connections between components, which prevents ground loops and other types of noise being passed through the chain.
 
Saying all of this, I use optical when the option is available. I've never had any problems. In fact, I have fewer issues than when using USB.

 

[WardrumMastodon]

Get my Modi U2 and Magni U2 in the mail today. I am excited to try it out. Unfortunately I am not so sure my X2s will notice the difference. Bummer looks like I will need to buy more headphones...

 

[Jiexi]

How does gungnir mjolnir compare to the lyr bifrost?

 

[Bonobo Loco]

So I got my Schiit stack, had it about a week. Lyr2/Bifrost Multibit. Very cool. Spending a lot more time with my HD650 than I was. Still finding time for my GH1's but they have more of a dedicated niche now... acoustics, classical, maybe jazz. Not anything that needs bass or volume.
 
Quote:

How does gungnir mjolnir compare to the lyr bifrost?

Bigger, Better.


...jk. Sometimes I just have to play the role of 'Captain Obvious'

 

[Jiexi]

  Bigger, Better.


...jk. Sometimes I just have to play the role of 'Captain Obvious'

They're god damn huge. I actually can't fit them on my desk without pushing all my monitors forward... Guess it's Lyr 2 + Bifrost for now.

 

[Bonobo Loco]

  They're god damn huge. I actually can't fit them on my desk without pushing all my monitors forward... Guess it's Lyr 2 + Bifrost for now.

If you want the honest truth. You pay double, you don't get double the sound, you get maybe a 10% benefit. I'm using the Bifrost/Lyr2 now. If I went up a tier I'm paying double and not expecting double the performance. It's the same with cars or whatever. You can get a really nice Mustang for $40k. Are you going to get twice as good of a car at $80k? Probably not. It makes the upgrades somewhat of a bummer when you know you won't get what you want out of them.

 

[manpowre]

  If you want the honest truth. You pay double, you don't get double the sound, you get maybe a 10% benefit. I'm using the Bifrost/Lyr2 now. If I went up a tier I'm paying double and not expecting double the performance. It's the same with cars or whatever. You can get a really nice Mustang for $40k. Are you going to get twice as good of a car at $80k? Probably not. It makes the upgrades somewhat of a bummer when you know you won't get what you want out of them.

It depends on rest of the equipment really. If you have high resolution headphones/speakers and an amp that supports higher details and accuracy you get more than the 10%. I would say from my LCD3 with Oppo and stock cables, to my current setup its 50% improvements in different areas.

 

[Paladin79]

  It depends on rest of the equipment really. If you have high resolution headphones/speakers and an amp that supports higher details and accuracy you get more than the 10%. I would say from my LCD3 with Oppo and stock cables, to my current setup its 50% improvements in different areas.

For roughly $3k in headphones and an amp (if the HA-1) I would expect the sound to be quite good and I highly doubt that Audeze would scrimp on the headphone cable.The OPPO is also a balanced amp and dac so you have a fairly complete set up and a good one. Right now I lean more towards a Valhalla 2, Oppo portable amp, and separate dac, Fostex mods with pure silver cable and Martin Logan powered electrostatic speakers. Price tag just under $1,000 but I am an experienced shopper who can build his own cables. (balanced, unbalanced or a combination of the two.) You can go to extremes to try to gain just a little bit. Silver solder on connectors but why would one use solder at all when crimping the connectors directly to the wire eliminates solder? Lots of little things are talked about and done but the amp and the headphones generally have the most impact, it does not take long to learn that. Personally I like the tube sound but I run a solid state amp as well. Choices are fun.

 

[Letmebefrank]

For roughly $3k in headphones and an amp (if the HA-1) I would expect the sound to be quite good and I highly doubt that Audeze would scrimp on the headphone cable.The OPPO is also a balanced amp and dac so you have a fairly complete set up and a good one. Right now I lean more towards a Valhalla 2, Oppo portable amp, and separate dac, Fostex mods with pure silver cable and Martin Logan powered electrostatic speakers. Price tag just under $1,000 but I am an experienced shopper who can build his own cables. (balanced, unbalanced or a combination of the two.) You can go to extremes to try to gain just a little bit. Silver solder on connectors but why would one use solder at all when crimping the connectors directly to the wire eliminates solder? Lots of little things are talked about and done but the amp and the headphones generally have the most impact, it does not take long to learn that. Personally I like the tube sound but I run a solid state amp as well. Choices are fun.

And the cables be makes are top notch.

 

[Paladin79]

 
You are too kind Let. I imagine those red cables I made you are pretty close to the PYST cables. I have not tried any but they are American made cable with decent connectors from what I can tell.
One day soon I hope to build you three different cables for the 650's. You can try them and keep the one you like best for doing the testing.I will probably put fabric mesh on all three, seal them, and just color code them so it is a somewhat unbiased test. I do envy your young ears but then it has been said that youth is wasted on the young. I am also reminded that Mark Twain said "A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn no other way." I am reminded of that as I lift a 20 lb cat out of my computer chair in order to enjoy some music. I believe my instruction book for the Valhalla 2 clearly states that the amp does not make a good cat bed.

 

[Letmebefrank]

You are too kind Let. I imagine those red cables I made you are pretty close to the PYST cables. I have not tried any but they are American made cable with decent connectors from what I can tell.
One day soon I hope to build you three different cables for the 650's. You can try them and keep the one you like best for doing the testing.I will probably put fabric mesh on all three, seal them, and just color code them so it is a somewhat unbiased test. I do envy your young ears but then it has been said that youth is wasted on the young. I am also reminded that Mark Twain said "A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn no other way." I am reminded of that as I lift a 20 lb cat out of my computer chair in order to enjoy some music.

I would honestly say they are better than the pyst. More flexible, better connections. I look forward to testing those cables!

 

[Paladin79]

Some things do not change much like coaxial cables. I saw an early patent on them from around 1900 by Nikola Tesla. I heard something not long ago about who could have conceived of the advances in television and smart phones. Tesla did in the early 1900's about the time Marconi was experimenting with radio waves.