Unison USB
Quoting myself here... but I felt like I owed an update on the Yggy+ GS2. The last 48 hours I've noticed a substantial improvement in sound. Just under a full week since I've had GS2 powered on. Since then, rather than just leaving it on, I've made sure to have music playing non-stop: Roon library on shuffle -> constantly cycling through bit/sample rates.
The treble, while still very present isn't annoying like it was a few days ago. I'm also not feeling the fatigue after several hours of straight listening, even with my leanest sounding gear. It kind of reminds me of a memory foam mattress that is slowly opening up. While still very incisive and engaging, there is now a sense of smoothness and sweetness that is very pleasant. It feels like those micro-detail packets have more space to expand, landing gracefully against the sonic canvas rendering beautiful imagery... whereas a few days ago it felt like they were piercing straight through the canvas, shredding it like a barrage of bullets from a machine gun. The bass presence has started to show up a bit more as well, and is very enjoyable now. The synergy with the Verite Closed + DSHA-3FN has started to return. A few days ago I couldn't bear to keep the headphones on my head. I'm confident it's not just brain burn in or confirmation bias (I was skeptical it would change this much). With my OTL amp, the tonality and spaciousness sounds even more awesome. I've never had more fun listening to live recordings, as well as genres I don't typically spend a lot of time with (jazz/classical).
As it's opened up I do feel like there's a bit more thickness/weight in the mids/lows than I was noticing a few days ago... to the point where I'm really enjoying it. It's still nowhere near BF2/64 levels. I'm starting to think maybe that's not such a bad thing? The “slam” is also starting to show up - but rather than being hit in the ears with a blunt, heavy object (BF2), it feels more nuanced and "mature". The bass in the GS2 is also showing up more. Again, still not BF2/64 levels where it's omnipresent and the first thing you notice. The difference between the BF2/64 is that the GS2 doesn't force it. It shows up only when the recording calls for it. Listening to a lot of different genres (hip hop/electronic/instrumental rock/etc) and it's all got the right amount of bass to be thoroughly enjoyable. I think there is some ”brain burn in” where what I’m starting to appreciate with the GS2 is different than the BF2/64, which had that guilty pleasure thundering bass-overdose - especially with the Atrium Closed and stock lambskin pads.
All this to say, maybe I am a fan of more "neutral" (colder???) DAC???? I've always thought I've preferred a warm/thick chain but man this sounds really good! Despite still being leaner with treble-focused dynamics, it's a very musical and enjoyable sound. I appreciate everyone who replied and told me to give it some more time. I am a burn-in believer (owning several new ZMF headphones made me one), but I had no idea a DAC could change so much over an extended period of time as well. Really looking forward to giving it the full 4+ weeks to see how things continue to change! I do feel like a little more of that density would be welcome to my tastes. From what I'm reading, the it sounds like the MIB may be worth following. Regardless, I am starting to feel like the GS2 is really something special and can see why so many people enjoy the A1 sound.
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