[Hinagea]

I'm just looking into getting my first head-fi setup, I have a budget of around $2k and have been looking at Schiit. I was initially looking at the magnius/modius stack so I can use a balanced setup and have enough juice to power pretty much anything out there. Then I came across the bifrost 2, which has the bonus of being multibit and upgradable. Since I'm new to the game, has Schiit been pretty good about keeping their products competitive or making different sounds available like it appears they currently have with the yggdrasil? In other words, is the upgradability worth the extra cost?

Are there any upgradable amps?

 

[pbui44]

If you have speakers, then upgrading to a Yggdrasil will definitely be a upgrade, as speakers will use that extra power provided by that DAC.

In regards to fully balanced pre-amps with upgradable op-amp sockets, this one is rather popular for that:

https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/gustard-p26-fully-balanced-preamp-lm49860-hifi-pre-amplifier

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Upgradable gear is a gimmick. Just design and build it right the first time. I haven't seen any serious manufacturer play upgrade games. If you want better, you buy the next model and sometimes get a trade-in option.

 

[pbui44]

Upgradable gear is a gimmick. Just design and build it right the first time. I haven't seen any serious manufacturer play upgrade games. If you want better, you buy the next model and sometimes get a trade-in option.

With that said, the Audio GD R28 has a great R2R DAC and plenty of power for your headphones or as a pre-amp, and even has a slew of DAC inputs and an XLR input, which can be bought from a US seller for $1.5k:

https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/audio-gd

 

[Neweymatt]

I'm just looking into getting my first head-fi setup, I have a budget of around $2k and have been looking at Schiit. I was initially looking at the magnius/modius stack so I can use a balanced setup and have enough juice to power pretty much anything out there. Then I came across the bifrost 2, which has the bonus of being multibit and upgradable. Since I'm new to the game, has Schiit been pretty good about keeping their products competitive or making different sounds available like it appears they currently have with the yggdrasil? In other words, is the upgradability worth the extra cost?

Are there any upgradable amps?

Upgradability of the Schiit products was one of many reasons I started and continue to purchase their stuff. They are very reasonably priced at various different tiers of head-fi, and you can start small and grow into a much larger system.

Asgard3 was the first piece of kit I bought to use on my desktop, sourced from the SR25 DAP I had at the time, and sometimes the simple Apple dongle. A couple months later I got the BF2, as I wanted a 'serious' DAC to pair with the A3.

Later, as my headphone/IEM collection started to grow I wanted to go balanced with some of them, so I got the Jotunheim2 to pair up with the BF2.
At the same time, I also bought the ESS DAC card for the Asgard3, it wasn't too difficult to install it myself. So now I've got a second listening spot around the house, and it's pretty easy to just pack it up and take it with me if I want to use it elsewhere.

I've had my BF2 nearly 2 years now, and there have been no upgrades released for it, but I like the fact that if/when there are, I will have that option. I have no idea what these future upgrades might be, but if you look at the history of the original Bifrost, there were quite a few that were fairly significant improvements.

I don't mind tinkering with gear like this, so I don't find Schiit upgrades to be a gimmick in any way at all.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

With that said, the Audio GD R28 has a great R2R DAC and plenty of power for your headphones or as a pre-amp, and even has a slew of DAC inputs and an XLR input, which can be bought from a US seller for $1.5k:

https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/audio-gd

Now we're talking!

If the OP can swing the R27 it will be worth the extra cost. Kingwa really knows how to do power supplies.

 

[Hinagea]

Upgradable gear is a gimmick. Just design and build it right the first time. I haven't seen any serious manufacturer play upgrade games. If you want better, you buy the next model and sometimes get a trade-in option.

Thanks, I was kinda getting that vibe. The magnius/modius has way more power than I would need anyways, so I've got my eyes on a used JDS setup.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Thanks, I was kinda getting that vibe. The magnius/modius has way more power than I would need anyways, so I've got my eyes on a used JDS setup.

I am no fan of schiity gear, but the idea of having more power than you need is not something that's possible.

Mo' clean power (not that the mag/modius fall into that category at all) is always a good idea to accomodate future cans etc. So if you're not really sure about what you want or like, ok to start with entry level gear. But to get a great setup is going to require a lot of time and money and often, amps that are more powerful than would seem necessary on paper. There are plenty of good brands to choose from.