[Odin412]

After reading the posts in this thread I get the impression that quite a few of you have upgraded from Gungnir to Yggdrasil, and I’d like to solicit your advice. I have ordered a Cavalli Liquid Carbon amp and I’m looking for a balanced DAC to feed it. I don’t have any experience with balanced headphone gear and I’m looking to try it out. Gungnir would seeem to fit the DAC bill nicely, but here’s the question: Should I just go straight to the Yggdrasil instead? (Or should I just forget about balanced gear – maybe the difference is too small to notice?) Of course, the Yggdrasil is almost 2.5x the price of the Gungnir, but if I’m going to end up buying the Yggdrasil anyway down the line then maybe I should just bite the bullet (or my wallet, in this case) and buy the Yggdrasil now.
 
For reference, my most-used headphones are Sennheiser HD650 and HD700, Beyerdynamic T1 and Audeze LCD-2.2F driven by a Bifrost Uber and Valhalla/Asgard 2. I already have balanced cables for the HD650 and LCD-2s. My taste in music is varied with an emphasis on classic rock and electronic. I prefer musical to overly analytic sound and I’m very sensitive to bright sounding gear and sibilance.
 
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and advice!

 

[hifimckinney]

I can confidently attest that balanced is way better than unbalanced. I too am waiting for my Yggdrasil after selling my Gungnir. The performance of Gungnir itself built the confidence in me to go for Yggdrasil.

 

[thegunner100]

  After reading the posts in this thread I get the impression that quite a few of you have upgraded from Gungnir to Yggdrasil, and I’d like to solicit your advice. I have ordered a Cavalli Liquid Carbon amp and I’m looking for a balanced DAC to feed it. I don’t have any experience with balanced headphone gear and I’m looking to try it out. Gungnir would seeem to fit the DAC bill nicely, but here’s the question: Should I just go straight to the Yggdrasil instead? (Or should I just forget about balanced gear – maybe the difference is too small to notice?) Of course, the Yggdrasil is almost 2.5x the price of the Gungnir, but if I’m going to end up buying the Yggdrasil anyway down the line then maybe I should just bite the bullet (or my wallet, in this case) and buy the Yggdrasil now.
 
For reference, my most-used headphones are Sennheiser HD650 and HD700, Beyerdynamic T1 and Audeze LCD-2.2F driven by a Bifrost Uber and Valhalla/Asgard 2. I already have balanced cables for the HD650 and LCD-2s. My taste in music is varied with an emphasis on classic rock and electronic. I prefer musical to overly analytic sound and I’m very sensitive to bright sounding gear and sibilance.
 
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and advice!

If you can spare the money and if you're even remotely thinking of upgrading to the yggy from the gungnir in the future, just save your time and money and go for the Yggy. 

 

[eddypoon]

..

 

[evillamer]

   
Whatever people say on this thread - the difference in DACs are relatively small, compared with -  say upgrades in speakers. So... YMMV.   

 
I disagree with this. Differences between DAC can be dramatic.(Especially if you compare your Realtek laptop dac vs a full fledged USB desktop dac)  If you have decent enough speakers/headphones(think HD650 class or Audio Engine 5+/Swan M200 class), you next goal should be looking at improving your DAC and amplification.
 
As for Gungnir vs Yggdrasil... I leave it to those who have both dacs to give their comments(they can be found in the Yggdrasil impression threads)

 

[reddog]

The Yggdrasil excels in areas that I think is independent on topology - its SE and XLR outputs are both great, according to many sources and my own experience. The Yggdrasil's main features are that the digital to analog conversion process is much more accurate - true to the original record. 

Since you are asking, I am guessing the increased 3x cost could be also a factor you are trying to balance - the Gungnir and Bifrost are all upgradable, according to Mike. That means you may leverage your existing inventory / consider the used market if the budget is a stretch, at the cost of more time to wait for upgrades to come out.

Whatever people say on this thread - the difference in DACs are relatively small, compared with -  say upgrades in speakers. So... YMMV.   

I have a Yggdrasil to go with my Ragnarock and the combo sounds great. However I have pre-ordered a Cavalli liquid Gold too and would like to find a cheaper, more portable, balanced dac. I have read that the audio folk at Schiit Audio have a upgrade ready for the Gungnir, that will have yggy teck built into it. And they plan to use this yggy upgrade for the bifrost too. The gungnir upgrade board is done, and they are working on the bifrost upgrade. So I will wait and see what pans out.

 

[preproman]

I have a Yggdrasil to go with my Ragnarock and the combo sounds great. However I have pre-ordered a Cavalli liquid Gold too and would like to find a cheaper, more portable, balanced dac. I have read that the audio folk at Schiit Audio have a upgrade ready for the Gungnir, that will have yggy teck built into it. And they plan to use this yggy upgrade for the bifrost too. The gungnir upgrade board is done, and they are working on the bifrost upgrade. So I will wait and see what pans out.

 
So why are you ordering the LAu if the Rag sounds great?

 

[jimmypowder]

I have joined the Schiit cult by buying a Yggy . I have immersed myself in Norse mythology and plan to
visit the Norse region this summer to complete my indoctrination .

All hail Schiit .

 

[reddog]

So why are you ordering the LAu if the Rag sounds great?

Because I want a second listing station, so I can watch my mother, who is sick with dementia and seeing visions.

 

[preproman]

Because I want a second listing station, so I can watch my mother, who is sick with dementia and seeing visions.

 

[skeptic]

I have a Yggdrasil to go with my Ragnarock and the combo sounds great. However I have pre-ordered a Cavalli liquid Gold too and would like to find a cheaper, more portable, balanced dac. I have read that the audio folk at Schiit Audio have a upgrade ready for the Gungnir, that will have yggy teck built into it. And they plan to use this yggy upgrade for the bifrost too. The gungnir upgrade board is done, and they are working on the bifrost upgrade. So I will wait and see what pans out.

 
Did you mean gold or carbon?  I'm guessing based on your reference to a preorder and a portable balanced dac, maybe the latter?

 

[reddog]

Did you mean gold or carbon?  I'm guessing based on your reference to a preorder and a portable balanced dac, maybe the latter?

the liquid carbon. If I indicated gold, I am deeply sorry. I am getting the carbon because its far more transportable than my rag.

 

[skeptic]

the liquid carbon. If I indicated gold, I am deeply sorry. I am getting the carbon because its far more transportable than my rag.

 
No need to apologize!  I was just momentarily perplexed by the reference to a portable dac to be paired with a LAu.  Makes perfect sense in the context of a carbon though, and hats off for providing that sort of care to your mom.  Can't be easy - much respect.

 

[Maxx134]

Got my Yggy today and I'm happy to report that there are no USB issues with the 5K iMac, waking from sleep or otherwise.



... It's been a very good sounding day!

Wow that is a sweet setup!
I think this is a great way to go,
Partnering the Yggy with a good tube amp,
to fully realize the soundstaging & realism that the yggy provides.
Yet the Cavali is yet another great choice.

 

[reddog]

Wow that is a sweet setup!
I think this is a great way to go,
Partnering the Yggy with a good tube amp,
to fully realize the soundstaging & realism that the yggy provides.
Yet the Cavali is yet another great choice.

great pictures.