Having the Oppo's ESS 9018 Sabre DAC in both my HA-1 Headphone/DAC and my Oppo BDP-105, I use to read about the infamous Sabre Glare. I claimed I could not hear it. Nope... running my Mac mini through my Yggy, there is simply zero comparison!!!
There is the Sabre Glare for sure...Both my Headphone and Speaker listening have made a considerable leap in SQ. I have never heard Piano like the Yggy can do...it's not even close. I still use the Amp portion of my HA-1...just not with that DAC.
I think it due to two different technologies. The Delta Sigma DACs of which the Sabres are made, just cannot get past that glare that R2R DAC's like the Yggy do not have. Their new chip the 9038, two steps past the 9018, sounds smoother from what I have read via their Sonica DAC, but still has that DS Glare...
So you are now using the Yggdrasil DAC in your speakers setup with the Oppo BDP-105 acting purely as a transport?
Having recently purchased a Gungnir MB/MJ2 for my home office headphone setup I'm thinking the DAC in my Oppo BDP-105 might be the bottleneck in my speakers system (Oppo BDP-105 --> Emotiva XSP-1 --> Parasound JC1 Monoblocks --> Paradigm Signature). I was planning to try the Gungnir MB in my speakers setup with view a view to purchasing an Yggdrasil if I like what I hear .. the Gungnir MB is also phenomenal with piano as well as female vocals.
The Oppo UDP-205 will be released soon and it seems plausible it will have the Sabre 9038 like the Sonica so I may wait to test its DAC against the Gungnir MB.
When Harley was with Stereofool, he always seemed to give the Theta processors positive reviews also. He must appreciate the "Moffat" sound. But what a discrepancy in prices between the Yggy and the competition. It's pretty obvious what the best buy DAC is.
At least Robert Harley has the class to admit how good the Yggy is...as opposed to John Atkinson who seems to have it out with Schiit.
And I'll bet that the difference between the other two is tiny small....proving again the JA is an ass!
Kayhiski,
So you are now using the Yggdrasil DAC in your speakers setup with the Oppo BDP-105 acting purely as a transport?
Having recently purchased a Gungnir MB/MJ2 for my home office headphone setup I'm thinking the DAC in my Oppo BDP-105 might be the bottleneck in my speakers system (Oppo BDP-105 --> Emotiva XSP-1 --> Parasound JC1 Monoblocks --> Paradigm Signature). I was planning to try the Gungnir MB in my speakers setup view a view to purchasing an Yggdrasil if I like what I hear .. the Gungnir MB is also phenomenal with piano as well as female vocals.
The Oppo UDP-205 will be released soon and it seems plausible it will have the Sabre 9038 like the Sonica so I may wait to test its DAC against the Gungnir MB.
Well I wish I could by pass the ESS 9018 Sabre DAC in my 105 but not sure how to digital out of Oppo. ....Their new 9038 I'm told is way better but still exhibits the Sabre Glare...
I use the opportunity HA-1 as just an Amp and run it straight to my Yggy in balanced connection to get the best power for my HD800S.
I use SE out of the Yggy to go through my Pre/Pro for speaker listening. I am on my 3rd Software for Music Listening...Roon that blows everyone else away...Tried Pure Music, Amarra and they are not even close to the benefits/feature you get from Roon!
I use SE out of the Yggy to go through my Pre/Pro for speaker listening. I am on my 3rd Software for Music Listening...Roon that blows everyone else away...Tried Pure Music, Amarra and they are not even close to the benefits/feature you get from Roon!
My current plan is to to use my Yggdrasil in a 2 channel system that would include Freya and two Vidar amps in mono block mode. I would use balanced interconnects from Yggdrasil to Freya to the two Vidar amps.
I am thinking about getting a microRendu and using Room as the controller. That eliminates the noisy MqcBook Pro from the audio path and replaces it with a quiet purpose built device. It also solves the location problem I will have when I put the 2 channel system in a different room. The music tracks will be on a hard drive in the home office while the audio system will be in the living room. The microRendu on Ethernet solves that problem.
My current plan is to to use my Yggdrasil in a 2 channel system that would include Freya and two Vidar amps in mono block mode. I would use balanced interconnects from Yggdrasil to Freya to the two Vidar amps.
I am thinking about getting a microRendu and using Room as the controller. That eliminates the noisy MqcBook Pro from the audio path and replaces it with a quiet purpose built device. It also solves the location problem I will have when I put the 2 channel system in a different room. The music tracks will be on a hard drive in the home office while the audio system will be in the living room. The microRendu on Ethernet solves that problem.
I use a 2012 MAC mini Quad core 2.7 GHz 16 Gig RAM and a 1TB SSD with 1 TB HDD for backup. I have a MAC that has been modified to use a 12 volts input and it has Zero Noise on Headphones... The less I can use Ethernet the better..in my book....just don't like all the digital stuff around my system...but with the MAC mini, it really works nice
I have order an AudioByte Hydra Z for a USB interface to further improve the signal feed to the Yggy. I will be powering the Hydra Z with a HD Plex Power supply that will also power my Mac mini and my Mini DSP DDRC88A Room Correction unit.
As far as my desk top system, I want to get a Bimby and a Jontunheim so I can have a Multibit DAC/ Amp combo that should be oK for the casual listening I do in my office...
I am thinking about getting a microRendu and using Room as the controller. That eliminates the noisy MqcBook Pro from the audio path and replaces it with a quiet purpose built device. It also solves the location problem I will have when I put the 2 channel system in a different room. The music tracks will be on a hard drive in the home office while the audio system will be in the living room. The microRendu on Ethernet solves that problem.
I'm pretty happy with such a setup: microRendu+UpTone LPS-1>Yggy>Hegel H360>KEF Reference 1+REL T7i, driven by Roon over wired Ethernet from a remote Intel NUC with Ubuntu+Synology NAS for music storage. The only question mark I have about this digital data path is the possibility of residual electric noise from the microRendu's digital switching internals carried by the (very short & shielded) USB cable from the microRendu to the Yggy that could pollute the Yggy's analog side. I've seen an evaluation by a reputable source that using a Mutec 3+ USB to convert the microRendu's USB output to AES improves audibly over a direct USB connection, but the Mutec is just too big (and expensive because it does way more than is needed for this) to place with my microRendu and Yggy. So, I wait for the mysterious Eitr to be unveiled.
Seeing Mr Moffat at the CANJAM this weekend...he says the Eitr is 90 days away...;-(
Of course he would not divulge any details....not even if it has AES out? It's got to... as he thinks this is the best port of entry for the best performance of the Yggy!
I wish I would have asked is it's selling price is 3 figures or 4...My guess is it simply cannot be 4 figures and follow their popular pricing paradigm ....
I'm pretty happy with such a setup: microRendu+UpTone LPS-1>Yggy>Hegel H360>KEF Reference 1+REL T7i, driven by Roon over wired Ethernet from a remote Intel NUC with Ubuntu+Synology NAS for music storage. The only question mark I have about this digital data path is the possibility of residual electric noise from the microRendu's digital switching internals carried by the (very short & shielded) USB cable from the microRendu to the Yggy that could pollute the Yggy's analog side. I've seen an evaluation by a reputable source that using a Mutec 3+ USB to convert the microRendu's USB output to AES improves audibly over a direct USB connection, but the Mutec is just too big (and expensive because it does way more than is needed for this) to place with my microRendu and Yggy. So, I wait for the mysterious Eitr to be unveiled.
I already have a Singxer F-1 which isolates the Yggdrasil from any potential "dirtiness" from the microRendu. My chain would look like this:
microRendu > Singxer F-1 > Yggdrasil
Or:
microRendu > ISO Regen > Singxer F-1 > Yggdrasil
I would use my LPS-1 to power the microRendu in the first chain and to power the microRendu and ISO Regen in the second chain. The Schiit Audio Eitr is a wild card.
I already have all my audio components plugged into a quality power strip plugged into a Topaz Ultra-Isolator noise line suppression transformer. That would continue with the 2 channel system.
At least Robert Harley has the class to admit how good the Yggy is...as opposed to John Atkinson who seems to have it out with Schiit.
And I'll bet that the difference between the other two is tiny small....proving again the JA is an ass!
Kayhiski,
So you are now using the Yggdrasil DAC in your speakers setup with the Oppo BDP-105 acting purely as a transport?
Having recently purchased a Gungnir MB/MJ2 for my home office headphone setup I'm thinking the DAC in my Oppo BDP-105 might be the bottleneck in my speakers system (Oppo BDP-105 --> Emotiva XSP-1 --> Parasound JC1 Monoblocks --> Paradigm Signature). I was planning to try the Gungnir MB in my speakers setup view a view to purchasing an Yggdrasil if I like what I hear .. the Gungnir MB is also phenomenal with piano as well as female vocals.
The Oppo UDP-205 will be released soon and it seems plausible it will have the Sabre 9038 like the Sonica so I may wait to test its DAC against the Gungnir MB.
Well I wish I could by pass the ESS 9018 Sabre DAC in my 105 but not sure how to digital out of Oppo. ....Their new 9038 I'm told is way better but still exhibits the Sabre Glare...
I use the opportunity HA-1 as just an Amp and run it straight to my Yggy in balanced connection to get the best power for my HD800S.
I use SE out of the Yggy to go through my Pre/Pro for speaker listening. I am on my 3rd Software for Music Listening...Roon that blows everyone else away...Tried Pure Music, Amarra and they are not even close to the benefits/feature you get from Roon!
Larry- I run a coax out from an Opportunity BDP-93 to my Yggy, sounds very fine. Also it is a clean operation, no glitches. The Oppo will also play DVD-A's, and if you are into Hi Res recordings you can burn those onto a disc and play them in the Oppo, Yggy will decode 24/192 from a disc.
This is a really good question. My setup will need to feed Freya and Mjolnir 2. Instead of feeding one with SE outputs, I am going to use quality XLR "Y" splitters is I can feed both units via XLR. From what I understand, splitting the XLR out, if done with quality hardware, will have no effect on signal quality.
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