[Les Strat]

First Hi-Fi systems that capture our imagination are like first girl friends; clouded by time, nostalgic yearnings, the inability to accurately repeat the experience, or divine what could / would have been.

I remember early on in my audiophile career going through a long period of being told by experienced audio folks (both retailers and hobbyists); "this is much more transparent", "has much better bass", "sweeter, more extended highs", "imaging", "dynamics", and on and on and added those comments into my knowledge base believing they were absolutes and would definitely improve my listening experiences. But I hadn't quantified for myself what it was about the sound quality of my first rig that was so alluring and so I contracted "upgrade-itis" believing there was always something better to acquire that would give me that "first" experience again. A constant Grail quest. But things are never that simple.I was completely out of hi-end audio from 2004 to 2016. When I returned, and over the past 2 years and 9 months my "better" has become "different" in many cases. And my audio life became easier and more enjoyable as I found I could enjoy a lot of different approaches and varieties of sound. I have my preferences and different degrees of acceptance but there is no one and only for me when it comes to reproduced sound and so I tend not to be dogmatic or feel the need to defend my equipment choices or denigrate the choices others make.

FLTWS. Thank you! You have summed up, far more eloquently than I could ever have done, exactly the way I feel about Hi-Fi

 

[FLTWS]

FLTWS. Thank you! You have summed up, far more eloquently than I could ever have done, exactly the way I feel about Hi-Fi

Your welcome.

 

[hornytoad]

I received my Yggy back with new board and USB module .
Didn’t really listen much as I have things to do but I can tell you the noise floor has dropped . Very good .

 

[hornytoad]

Overall my impressions of the Yggy 2 upgrade are very favorable. The unit improves over the Yggy 1 in resolution and a lower noise floor. I also added the USB upgrade and that is significantly improved
over Yggy 1's USB.
I was skeptical of doing the upgrade but I'm glad i did.

 

[billerb1]

Yggy Analog 2 burn-in update:
Two weeks and a day into the burn-in. Just switched my best tubes back into my amp as I didn't want to put all those burn-in hours on them.
Here's the deal from my humble perspective. You need to do this upgrade. No-brainer. And I'm not sure I'm even totally there yet. From all I've read it seems that 3 weeks is the magic number as to full burn-in...but I'd be more than happy if this was as good as it gets. Marked overall improvement to my ears over the original yggy...which I absolutely loved.
The Analog 2 is able to expose the essence of each instrument to, in my case, a much higher and easily discernable degree (and I'm just strictly listening on headphones...I'm sure this is enhanced on a great speaker system). Subtle harmonics, degree of resonance, overall timbre and sense of "size" are all markedly better. You can feel the music breathe. Sound is 'rounder' and more full-bodied...MUCH more dimensional than before. In a nutshell, more real. Each note carries more information than before, sometimes to an amazing degree. I'm not talking about the old "hearing things I never heard before" (although there is that) but more "hearing things LIKE I never heard before". Where it really shines is in busier, complex passages. It manages to maintain the autonomy of each instrument even in very tight quarters instead of smearing or losing focus.
I read this and it completely summarizes what I'm hearing...and it's put better than I could write it:

"One of the qualities that makes the Yggy special is its ability to reveal, with startling clarity, individual musical lines within complex arrangements. Every instrument, voice, and sound is spatially and timbrally distinct. This had the effect of revealing each musical line with great precision, and with that precision comes a fuller, richer, and more complex presentation of the composition and arrangement, as well as the intent of each musician. The Yggy is the antithesis of congealed, homogenized, flat, confused, or thick. Many years ago I described the soundstage of a Theta DAC as “sculpted.” That description applies to the Yggy as well, but in the Yggy the three-dimensionality and vividness that allow resolution of each musical line are rendered with greater naturalness and ease. The Theta processors could sound a bit artificial and overly “Technicolored” in this regard, but the Yggy presents this tremendous clarity and dimensionality in a completely organic and musically natural way."

I know I'm not telling any of you who've already done the upgrade anything you don't already know. But for you who may still be hesitating, pull the friggin' trigger. You will never look back.

 

[hornytoad]

Yggy Analog 2 burn-in update:
Two weeks and a day into the burn-in. Just switched my best tubes back into my amp as I didn't want to put all those burn-in hours on them.
Here's the deal from my humble perspective. You need to do this upgrade. No-brainer. And I'm not sure I'm even totally there yet. From all I've read it seems that 3 weeks is the magic number as to full burn-in...but I'd be more than happy if this was as good as it gets. Marked overall improvement to my ears over the original yggy...which I absolutely loved.
The Analog 2 is able to expose the essence of each instrument to, in my case, a much higher and easily discernable degree (and I'm just strictly listening on headphones...I'm sure this is enhanced on a great speaker system). Subtle harmonics, degree of resonance, overall timbre and sense of "size" are all markedly better. You can feel the music breathe. Sound is 'rounder' and more full-bodied...MUCH more dimensional than before. In a nutshell, more real. Each note carries more information than before, sometimes to an amazing degree. I'm not talking about the old "hearing things I never heard before" (although there is that) but more "hearing things LIKE I never heard before". Where it really shines is in busier, complex passages. It manages to maintain the autonomy of each instrument even in very tight quarters instead of smearing or losing focus.
I read this and it completely summarizes what I'm hearing...and it's put better than I could write it:

"One of the qualities that makes the Yggy special is its ability to reveal, with startling clarity, individual musical lines within complex arrangements. Every instrument, voice, and sound is spatially and timbrally distinct. This had the effect of revealing each musical line with great precision, and with that precision comes a fuller, richer, and more complex presentation of the composition and arrangement, as well as the intent of each musician. The Yggy is the antithesis of congealed, homogenized, flat, confused, or thick. Many years ago I described the soundstage of a Theta DAC as “sculpted.” That description applies to the Yggy as well, but in the Yggy the three-dimensionality and vividness that allow resolution of each musical line are rendered with greater naturalness and ease. The Theta processors could sound a bit artificial and overly “Technicolored” in this regard, but the Yggy presents this tremendous clarity and dimensionality in a completely organic and musically natural way."

I know I'm not telling any of you who've already done the upgrade anything you don't already know. But for you who may still be hesitating, pull the friggin' trigger. You will never look back.

I would agree with this assessment. It's hard to believe it's better than Yggy1 but it is.

 

[Drewligarchy]

Have Yggy2 running now for 72 hours and my main concern it’s a bit dry and dull. This is an upgraded A1. No complaints on anything other than tone.

Obviously could be my other components, but concerned this is the new Yggy sound - which doesn’t pair well with my equipment.

Can anyone speak as to whether this continues to improve or if I can expect improvements in other areas and the tone is the tone?

At this point, I can see areas it exceeds the A1, but as tone is the most important thing to me - it’s not there - at least yet.

I knew this could happen, and had planned on upgrading to another DAC if this was the case - but want to make sure I am not jumping the gun.

 

[earnmyturns]

Have Yggy2 running now for 72 hours and my main concern it’s a bit dry and dull. This is an upgraded A1. No complaints on anything other than tone

72h is short for a new/upgraded Yggy 2 to reach peak operating quality. It's also short for other multibit DACs, such as the Holo Spring or the Metrum Onyx I'm comparing right now. The Yggy 2 on my speaker system is anything but dry and dull. But it's been on for months, and it's on a different system (see my sig).

 

[billerb1]

Give it 3 weeks. Your fears will vanish.

Edit: (That is with leaving the yggy "on" 24/7 as noted below)

 

[johnjen]

Have Yggy2 running now for 72 hours and my main concern it’s a bit dry and dull. This is an upgraded A1. No complaints on anything other than tone.

Obviously could be my other components, but concerned this is the new Yggy sound - which doesn’t pair well with my equipment.

Can anyone speak as to whether this continues to improve or if I can expect improvements in other areas and the tone is the tone?

At this point, I can see areas it exceeds the A1, but as tone is the most important thing to me - it’s not there - at least yet.

I knew this could happen, and had planned on upgrading to another DAC if this was the case - but want to make sure I am not jumping the gun.

This is a known condition with these dacs.
Give it 2 weeks on continual ON time, then evaluate.

JJ

 

[gefski]

True timbre, texture, touch (the biggest reason I own it) is way farther down the "road of impatience", with both my YggyA and YggyB. After your 2 week evaluation, give it 2 more, then really start smiling.

 

[hornytoad]

True timbre, texture, touch (the biggest reason I own it) is way farther down the "road of impatience", with both my YggyA and YggyB. After your 2 week evaluation, give it 2 more, then really start smiling.

My Ygg1 took over a month to achieve nirvana . I wasn’t playing it a lot though when I first got it .

 

[the finisher]

I'd just like to say I never had anything but the new Yggy, but I love this DAC more everyday I own it.

Instead of dry, I would describe it as liquid and non fatiguing, analog, awesome.
The detail/plankton and how the spatial cues are so accurate. The totally natural decay of acoustic instruments. And the human voice just sounds real.

I keep upgrading the components around it and find new detail revealed.
I think it would be easy to put Yggy in mediocre system and not experience all it has to offer.

This could be the only expensive DAC I ever buy, because we can upgrade it most likely for sometime, I can't see needing another.

Long live MM and Schiit Audio!

 

[johnjen]

True timbre, texture, touch (the biggest reason I own it) is way farther down the "road of impatience", with both my YggyA and YggyB. After your 2 week evaluation, give it 2 more, then really start smiling.

And if you're REAL hard core, keep evaluating well into the following month as well.

JJ

 

[mbusby]

I'd just like to say I never had anything but the new Yggy, but I love this DAC more everyday I own it.

Instead of dry, I would describe it as liquid and non fatiguing, analog, awesome.
The detail/plankton and how the spatial cues are so accurate. The totally natural decay of acoustic instruments. And the human voice just sounds real.

I keep upgrading the components around it and find new detail revealed.
I think it would be easy to put Yggy in mediocre system and not experience all it has to offer.

This could be the only expensive DAC I ever buy, because we can upgrade it most likely for sometime, I can't see needing another.

Long live MM and Schiit Audio!

Is the plankton some kind of special sauce?