The biggest improvements are headphones, followed by amps then dacs. That was the main concept and seems the commonly accepted idea a few years back. Does that still apply now? I means it has been a few years and amps and dacs should improve drastically by now.
In my opinion, the traditional thinking that you prioritize headphones first, then amp then DAC does not apply when you're considering the Yggy.
Headphones are still generally first priority. You need a headphone with enough resolution and all-around prowess to demonstrate what advantages the Yggy offers over other DAC's. You also need an amp with enough resolution and all-around prowess to demonstrate what advantages the Yggy offers over other DAC's.
If you don't already own HP's and amps capable of showcasing the Yggy (I'm confident your current gear will audibly scale as much as it can), they can be purchased for much less then the price of this DAC. I use a modded HE-560 (available for 700 USD when on sale) and either my Cambridge Azur 351r via speaker taps (Less than 700 CAD new) or my Liquid Carbon (599 USD). This setup was improved enough by the Yggy to easily justify it's 2300 USD price for me. (FYI I prefer the Azur to LC YMMV)
So the cost me Yggy $2300 USD and the rest of my current HP setup can be had for 1300 USD combined. I don't believe for a minute that spending less on a DAC and more on an amp would result in better sound for the money.
Although this setup currently provides audio ecstasy I could call end-game and live happily ever after with.... I firmly believe the Yggy is demonstrating only a fraction of its potential for me. This is based on what I hear with my own ears and the countless opinions I've read from users with ton's of experience with higher end gear.
99% of Yggy users will testify to the best of their knowledge, you cannot buy a better DAC for less than the Yggy's price.
BOTTOM LINE: If you can afford the Yggy, BUY IT. It is a great investment to build your setup on. You can then feel free to upgrade the rest of components as you wish to try and reveal all that the Yggy can offer.
I estimate I'll spend 10 years and 10-20k on the rest of my system (speakers and headphones) before I would even consider looking to upgrade from this DAC. The Yggy will not be the bottleneck in my system for many years if ever.
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According to this thread, ygg has a burn in period. Im really curious about how it changes in sound.
Read back through the thread and other forums. You'll find over a hundred relatively consistent descriptions of this experience.