[negura]

 
So if its not sounding right you may need to adjust or try something different.  I swapped everything out of my setup just to test the changes.  Found a couple of good ones.

 
You make a good point here. If someone comes from a richer/fuller bodied setup, to something as neutral as the Yggdrasil, it should not be surprising some changes may benefit the synergy. I didn't need to do this, but I do prefer a neutral sound and it worked for me as is.

 

[JuanseAmador]

That's one beautiful piece of Schiit.

 

[reddog]

Moffat Bass^TM isn't really a matter of volume of heft, although that does have something to do with it. It's matter of how the bass sort of punches and propagates toward you (especially with speakers) and how it stops on a dime, and how textures and pitch differentiation can be heard. It appears the staging aspects have quite a bit to do with this. Moffat Bass is in opposition to PCM1704 or to a lesser extent UltraAnalog bass, which tends to be syrupy and ill-defined; or Sabre bass which is thin, limp-[redacted], and lacking pitch differentiation.




My OR5 was not fully upgraded, but I used it with the Wyrd (I did not like the full turboclock effect and the Wyrd provided a partial turboclock effect for dirt cheap), and a external Sigma11 power supply. USB sounded blacker and less grey than from either the SPDIF or AES from the OR5. YMMV. USB tends to vary quite a bit from PC to PC.

The best sounding transport by far I have was the Theta Data III, a 50+ lbs monstrosity based on a LaserDisc player. I used AES via a short 6" cable. The Data III easily has the best blackground, imaging accuracy, focus, resolution, and overall refinement. I have reverted back to spinners instead of computer audio because of this. Also, spinners are easier for my wife to handle. The user interface for CDs is superior, and you use up more calories trying to find that fricking CD you want.


It's my understanding there are no caps in the signal path.

I will look for a Theta Data III, to use as a transport, thanks for the heads up sir.

 

[DACLadder]

   
You make a good point here. If someone comes from a richer/fuller bodied setup, to something as neutral as the Yggdrasil, it should not be surprising some changes may benefit the synergy. I didn't need to do this, but I do prefer a neutral sound and it worked for me as is.

 
Yes, that was my case for sure.   Previously my whole system was tuned around the Master 7 which is billed as a neutral DAC but not really.

 

[evillamer]

 

   
You make a good point here. If someone comes from a richer/fuller bodied setup, to something as neutral as the Yggdrasil, it should not be surprising some changes may benefit the synergy. I didn't need to do this, but I do prefer a neutral sound and it worked for me as is.

 
Yes, that was my case for sure.   Previously my whole system was tuned around the Master 7 which is billed as a neutral DAC but not really.

 
Can you explain how the Master 7 isn't neutral?

 

[DACLadder]

   
Can you explain how the Master 7 isn't neutral?

In my system the Master 7 favors the lower mid-range down to the bass.   The M7 colors this spectrum well though and puts its own "bloom" on the sound in this area.  And compared to the Yggy the M7 doesn't have as much upper mid-range where the vocals seem to emerge so vocals tend to be farther back in the mix.  So just replacing the M7 with the Yggy sounded very mid-rangy with little bass - the opposite of where I wanted to go.  It is radical and took a lot of re-adjustment.  To my ears the M7 is very warm sounding with its own unique color palette and house sound.  The Yggy is definitely a lot more neutral than the M7.  Each system is different and this is just my experience.
 
And I'm not knocking the M7.  I have thousands of hours of listening pleasure with that DAC.  It is just not as neutral as advertised and over the years with system upgrades tended to prefer what supported the Master 7 sound. 

 

[evillamer]

There's certainly some kind of subtle to noticable mid-bass bloom with the Master 7. But it can sound nice as it adds a certain kind of weight with certain kinds of music/listening taste. Maybe Kingwa has tuned his dac towards large speaker playback which you need more bass emphasis to move the larger voice coils. I think how this mid-bass bloom is detectable or not is depending on your system and room size etc.
 
On my bass "light" HD800, it aint so noticable at all.

 

[lukeap69]

There's certainly some kind of subtle to noticable mid-bass bloom with the Master 7. But it can sound nice as it adds a certain kind of weight with certain kinds of music/listening taste. Maybe Kingwa has tuned his dac towards large speaker playback which you need more bass emphasis to move the larger voice coils. I think how this mid-bass bloom is detectable or not is depending on your system and room size etc.

On my bass "light" HD800, it aint so noticable at all.

In your opinion, will the M7 match the HD800 better than the Yggy?

 

[ciphercomplete]

  There's certainly some kind of subtle to noticable mid-bass bloom with the Master 7. But it can sound nice as it adds a certain kind of weight with certain kinds of music/listening taste. Maybe Kingwa has tuned his dac towards large speaker playback which you need more bass emphasis to move the larger voice coils. I think how this mid-bass bloom is detectable or not is depending on your system and room size etc.
 
On my bass "light" HD800, it aint so noticable at all.

Maybe he has but IMO the Yggy does it better.  My speakers have two 12 inch subs per channel.  The Yggy's bass is propels out into the room (kick drums are insane).  The Master 7 on first listen seems to have more bass, and it might actually, but it is rounder, less defined and thicker. The Yggy's absolute control over the lower frequencies makes it the easy choice me.
 
All this said the M7 is still easily the best dac I have heard aside from the Yggdrasil.  This is all relative.
 

In your opinion, will the M7 match the HD800 better than the Yggy?

 
I know you didn't ask me but if you are willing to give up the Yggy's performance in all the other frequencies in order to get some bass synergy between the HD 800 and M7 then yeah I guess.  I have only heard the HD800 a couple of times so TIFWIW. 

 

[ciphercomplete]

 
In my system the Master 7 favors the lower mid-range down to the bass.   The M7 colors this spectrum well though and puts its own "bloom" on the sound in this area.  And compared to the Yggy the M7 doesn't have as much upper mid-range where the vocals seem to emerge so vocals tend to be farther back in the mix.  So just replacing the M7 with the Yggy sounded very mid-rangy with little bass - the opposite of where I wanted to go.  It is radical and took a lot of re-adjustment.  To my ears the M7 is very warm sounding with its own unique color palette and house sound.  The Yggy is definitely a lot more neutral than the M7.  Each system is different and this is just my experience.
 
And I'm not knocking the M7.  I have thousands of hours of listening pleasure with that DAC.  It is just not as neutral as advertised and over the years with system upgrades tended to prefer what supported the Master 7 sound. 

 
My experience mirrors yours yet again.  I never would have even labeled the M7 as being anything but neutral before I heard the Yggdrasil.

 

[evillamer]

So my most important question for you guys before I hit the checkout button.
 
How much improvement are we talk about when you compare Master 7(via I2s) vs Ygg:
 
1) Ygg is far superior by a margin.
2) It's slightly better, but not by much.
3) Just different kind of sound signature.

 

[DACLadder]

  So my most important question for you guys before I hit the checkout button.
 
How much improvement are we talk about when you compare Master 7(via I2s) vs Ygg:
 
1) Ygg is far superior by a margin.
2) It's slightly better, but not by much.
3) Just different kind of sound signature.

This may make it easier for you to hit the checkout button in favor of the Yggy.  It took the $3,000 Off Ramp 5 via HDMI I2S to get the best sound out of the Master 7.  The M7 is very sensitive to source jitter.  As jitter is lowered you get more bass and smoother trebles.  But even the OR5 only takes the Master 7 to a certain point.
 
So apples to apples... If you compare the Master 7 with its internal USB32 I think the Yggy runs rings around it in many ways.  I am very happy with the Yggy USB interface.  And the Yggy is still improving on sound at 250+ hrs.  But get as many opinions as you can.

 

[evillamer]

You mean the Yggdrasil is very immune to jitter? Does ygg usb differ from it's other input?
 
M7 USB isn't good enough to compare to feeding the M7 with IBasso DX90 via SPDIF Coax.

 

[jimmypowder]

I want my my Yggersnitzle!

 

[ciphercomplete]

  You mean the Yggdrasil is very immune to jitter? Does ygg usb differ from it's other input?
 
M7 USB isn't good enough to compare to feeding the M7 with IBasso DX90 via SPDIF Coax.

 
No, the DSP in the Master 7 is just more susceptible to jitter than average.  This has been true of every TOTL Audio GD DAC.  The M7's USB solution is ok but it just won't get it to its max potential. The internal usb compares favorably to any usb/spdif solution that would use the M7's BNC input like the Audiophillieo but is inferior to solutions that use the I2S input.