[FLTWS]

The Mercury Living Presence (and RCA Living Stereo Series) are some of the best recordings ever made and among them are more than a  few classic performances. Simple miking techniques and a minimum of manipulation are the reason why, in my estimation.
 
One Mercury disc I never left home without when going to audition gear was Respighi's "Ancient Airs and Dances" with Antal Dorati and the Philharmonia Hungarica. For me the concluding Passacaglia for string orchestra of Suite #3 was always a test of any 2 channel speaker systems ability to fill the stage from left to right without gaps as well as from front to back.
 
I owned the original LP and later the first CD issued by Phonogram International (416 496-2). There's no information on the CD, packaging, or liner notes as to when it was issued but I suspect the early to mid 80's. I also have the 92' remastered CD (434 304-2) reissue that would eventually find it's way into the complete remastered 3 box set on Philips Classics Productions.
 
Highly recommended.
 
I've toyed with the idea of getting the complete Mercury sets (the RCA's too) but already had so many of the remastered CD's as they were released, to replace my LP's, I still can't decide.

 

[murphythecat]

  With the usual risk of having people end up beating up each other over it, I'm going to share an interesting experience I had that i didn't write up in my review of the Utopias. 
 
Up to now, I've owned a bunch of interconnects and would sometimes switch them around between the Yggy and Studio Six. There was almost nothing in the difference so I didn't pay any attention to which pair I used. Until I was listening with the Utopia. Then, sadly, it was very apparent which capable of bringing through more resolution than the others. But more importantly, I could finally hear how much (more) resolution that the Yggy was capable of than I had realized. At least now I now what threshold I should care about these things, at least for my own satisfaction.

very interesting
Ive decided to explore the world of high end cables, interconnects for now:
 
I bought:
 
audioquest Water
Cardas neutral ref
cardas quadlink
Kimber hero
Analysis plus oval one
 
I have to say that The Utopia + Yggdrasil combo make it VERY easy to hear quite significant differences between cables. not sure how can anyone deny subtle yet very real differences between cable. its not a night and day difference, but it definitely helps to fine tune the sound I want from the Utopia + Yggy.

 

[music1st]

  Ordered 2nd Yggy.
Don't wanna let the line in front of me get too long once TAS review hits the mail boxes.
Also don't wanna risk a price bump.
Funny I was ready to sell after an inadequate break in period a week ago.
I stand corrected.

Bob Harley said the Yggy sounded pretty rough out of the box so he left it cooking for a month (powered up with occasional playing) before seriously listening.  Reading between the lines, the Yggy appears more incisive than some of the other top dacs, so it won't be everyone's cup of tea (but then what is?)
 
In any case, make sure it has lots of hours on it before you make a final decision.

 

[earnmyturns]

  Reading between the lines, the Yggy appears more incisive than some of the other top dacs, so it won't be everyone's cup of tea (but then what is?)

Maybe this is sacrilege in summit-fi audiophile circles, but I want my music at home to be no less incisive than what I typically hear in good live venues. Actual music has rough edges, even the best musicians with great instruments in a great venue. Physics and variability in human performance do that. I don't need some idealized version with all edges smoothed from studio to speakers. The Yggy does that for me, unlike some other expensive DACs, which sound too well-behaved.

 

[LarryMagoo]

What I think is incredible about the Yggy....is simply how REAL the instruments sound...SAX, Piano, Acoustic guitar....and the best are Vocals....they are, as even Robert Harley said, in a word...Startling!...especially on Headphones.....continues to give me goose bumps!!! 

 

[music1st]

  Maybe this is sacrilege in summit-fi audiophile circles, but I want my music at home to be no less incisive than what I typically hear in good live venues. Actual music has rough edges, even the best musicians with great instruments in a great venue. Physics and variability in human performance do that. I don't need some idealized version with all edges smoothed from studio to speakers. The Yggy does that for me, unlike some other expensive DACs, which sound too well-behaved.

+1!
 
I agree wholeheartedly.  Live music (and then only some well engineered or totally unmiked live performances) should be the only sonic absolute, but there are many who (erroneously IMO) pursue SOTA analog like playback as the grail. As a digital and live music fan, cutting edge digital comes closer to getting it right.   Based on the details of Harley's review, its the right road (for me.)

 

[Thenazgul]

  very interesting
Ive decided to explore the world of high end cables, interconnects for now:
 
I bought:
 
audioquest Water
Cardas neutral ref
cardas quadlink
Kimber hero
Analysis plus oval one
 
I have to say that The Utopia + Yggdrasil combo make it VERY easy to hear quite significant differences between cables. not sure how can anyone deny subtle yet very real differences between cable. its not a night and day difference, but it definitely helps to fine tune the sound I want from the Utopia + Yggy.

Which XLR cable you did prefer?

 

[murphythecat]

  Which XLR cable you did prefer?

Water so far
 
but need much more time. 
I will however be able to do very easy A/B testing with the yggdrassil 2 unbalanced output and my ifi pro ican. 

 

[Mr Rick]

I'm predicting that Yggy will win TAS DAC of the Year and has a REALLY good shot at Product of the Year based on Robert Harley's review which I just finished reading.

Last 2 sentences:

"It's a spectacular performer on an absolute level, and an out of the world bargain. The Yggy is not just a tremendous value in today's DACs, it's one of the greatest bargains in the history of high end audio."

I'm always jaded when I read TAS reviews, but EVERYTHING he talks about is exactly what I've found with my own Yggy. There's not one negative thing in the review unlike Stereophile's.

Well done, Sir Michael. Well done indeed!!!

i can't seem to find this review. Is it on their website??

 

[LarryMagoo]

The Absolute Sound has not been mailed out yet...I have not got mine....but because of lack of patience, I coughed the $5 bucks to get the digital copy...
 
I f you send me your E-Mail addy, I can send you the Yggy Review...for free!

 

 

[Mr Rick]

  The Absolute Sound has not been mailed out yet...I have not got mine....but because of lack of patience, I coughed the $5 bucks to get the digital copy...
 
I f you send me your E-Mail addy, I can send you the Yggy Review...for free!

 

 
Very interesting review. I'd say he liked it.

 

[BagelJoe]

  The Absolute Sound has not been mailed out yet...I have not got mine....but because of lack of patience, I coughed the $5 bucks to get the digital copy...
 
I f you send me your E-Mail addy, I can send you the Yggy Review...for free!

 

I got my copy the other day and read the review straight off. I didn't want to pay the $5 to read it day or 2 early. I enjoyed what he said about the USB implementation being among the best he's heard.

 

[hifimckinney]

For those who have plugged in their Yggy directly to wall, please try an isolation transformer in between, you should hear improvement in definition (or rather background becomes more calm); music is more liberated from speakers/headphones.

 

[earnmyturns]

 
I got my copy the other day and read the review straight off. I didn't want to pay the $5 to read it day or 2 early. I enjoyed what he said about the USB implementation being among the best he's heard.

Listening to the Yggy via USB right now, I have some difficulty in imagining what could be better. But then the USB I'm using is not your garden variety general-purpose PC or Mac with cheap power supplies and constant major computing activity generating waves of switching noise.

 

[BagelJoe]

  Listening to the Yggy via USB right now, I have some difficulty in imagining what could be better. But then the USB I'm using is not your garden variety general-purpose PC or Mac with cheap power supplies and constant major computing activity generating waves of switching noise.

I'm in full agreement. I think you're using a intel NUC while I'm grooving with a SonicTransporter. The SQ change from my iMac to the ST was dramatic. I've held off on the USB==>AES box just cause for the time being. Harley stated in the review that the Yggy was least improved by the Berkeley Alpha USB converter of any DAC he's AB'd with and without the converter. He thinks the UsB implementation is "extremely well designed".