Thoughts on a bunch of DACs (and why delta-sigma kinda sucks, just to get you to think about stuff)

[estreeter]

  I have heard a lot of indifferent to unimpressed impressions from canjam in regards to the yggy. This is quiet surprising.
 
everyone seemed to love the HUGO TT though - well, for the most part.  
 
 
 
I will be reviewing the TT soon - it would be great to have the yggy there for AB comparisions 

 
There are a few Yggy impressions in the thread - either wildly enthusiastic or totally underwhelmed - but with the level of expectation that Yggy has generated, surely some of that was to be expected ? I would also argue that not everyone loved the TT, although as Hugo owner and huge fan of Rob Watts' design skill, I'm happy for Chord if they can sell the desktop version for roughly double the price of the original. I haven't heard either Yggy or the TT, but based on the wildly variable reports on the HE-1000 and repeated complaints about the absurd volume levels many attendees used for their listening, I'm not prepared to draw too many conclusions.
 
If I had to pick two setups I would love to have heard based purely on the enthusiasm levels in that thread, one would be Frank Cooter's SR-009 rig and the other the ALO Continental 2  but rave reviews are no guarantee that I would have had the same reaction - its just interesting to see the emphasis various people have given to both  products in their impressions. Look forward to your review of the TT, even if you seem to have tipped your hat somewhat. 

 

[Clemmaster]

The Hugo TT is a joke at its price point.

 

[reddog]

I'm willing to potentially buy a week long 'warm-up' period for Yggy (I've not heard it yet),  but I'm doubtful this is actually 'warm-up' in the sense of getting to a stable warm temperature.  It has to be something else, more along the lines of warming up + electrical field chemical diffusion effects.  Along the lines of boiling gasses out of water, where you need to actually boil the water long enough to let the gasses get out  -- the time scale is otherwise non-plausible.  It would be nice to know what's actually happening, ideally so this could be addressed by design.

+1 Well said sir. I am still shocked, I need to leave the Yggdrasil on all the time. I have really trained myself to turn off every thing, when I step out of my pad, for few hours. I shall have to learn to leave it on all the time.

 

[estreeter]

  The Hugo TT is a joke at its price point.

 
I havent heard it so I'll take your word for it. 

 

[magiccabbage]

   
There are a few Yggy impressions in the thread - either wildly enthusiastic or totally underwhelmed - but with the level of expectation that Yggy has generated, surely some of that was to be expected ? I would also argue that not everyone loved the TT, although as Hugo owner and huge fan of Rob Watts' design skill, I'm happy for Chord if they can sell the desktop version for roughly double the price of the original. I haven't heard either Yggy or the TT, but based on the wildly variable reports on the HE-1000 and repeated complaints about the absurd volume levels many attendees used for their listening, I'm not prepared to draw too many conclusions.
 
If I had to pick two setups I would love to have heard based purely on the enthusiasm levels in that thread, one would be Frank Cooter's SR-009 rig and the other the ALO Continental 2  but rave reviews are no guarantee that I would have had the same reaction - its just interesting to see the emphasis various people have given to both  products in their impressions. Look forward to your review of the TT, even if you seem to have tipped your hat somewhat

No hat tipping here - I will buy the best DAC, that's my plan. I'm gonna try to hear both at the same time. If that is not possible then I'l hear them separately and decide. 
 
I was 90% sure that the Yggy was going to be the DAC for me. Those impressions just worried me a bit thats all - but then again that's Audio for ya. I hope to god the yggy sounds better than the Hugo TT - I would rather spend less and get more quality but if the TT trumps it then that's where ill go - at least that's my thinking at the moment. God knows what ill actually end up buying, 
 
I was playing around with the idea of building a dedicated audio PC with the help of a friend and holding off on a DAC upgrade till the end of the summer. This seems like a wiser option for me right now. ¬
 
I heard a Dedicated audio pc at a private meet recently - it was connected to a cuinis DAC and the thing blew me away. It was incredible. The build cost about 1100 euro including a separate power supply. Adding a Yggy or Hugo to the PC at the end of the summer might be the way I go but ill keep you informed along the way. I could end up with a completely different DAC altogether. 
 
 
Paddy

 

[purrin]

On the warm up issue, there are two possibilities:
 

• zerodeefex, badr (Mike Moffat), and my observations (and a few others') on the warm up effect are real.
• Our ears got accustomed to the sound / we were subject to mysterious effects of the mind.

 
For those who believe in possibility #2 or are concerned about leaving the Yggy on all the time (keeping in mind that some DACs actually still stay on when turned off or some people leave their DACs on all the time), then I would advise them to not buy the Yggy. Yes. Do not buy it. I am being genuine here.

 

[mikek200]

  On the warm up issue, there are two possibilities:
 

• zerodeefex, badr (Mike Moffat), and my observations (and a few others') on the warm up effect are real.
• Our ears got accustomed to the sound / we were subject to mysterious effects of the mind.

 
For those who believe in possibility #2 or are concerned about leaving the Yggy on all the time (keeping in mind that some DACs actually still stay on when turned off or some people leave their DACs on all the time), then I would advise them to not buy the Yggy. Yes. Do not buy it. I am being genuine here.

So,for all of us,who choose option # 2,what do you sugest?
As per an e-mail reply I got a few hours ago,he states:
 
 
 

Jason Stoddard	1:46 PM (3 hours ago) ​	​

[td=rowspan:2]

​

[/td] [td=colspan:3]

to me

[/td]

 
 
 
 
"It’s really simple: turn it on. Leave it on. Done.  
Beyond that, best to refer to Mike’s posts on head-fi."   All the best,
 
Jason Stoddard
 
Co-Founder"
 
Is this some sort of joke??-Jesus
Mike
 
 

 

[haywood]

I was 90% sure that the Yggy was going to be the DAC for me. Those impressions just worried me a bit thats all - but then again that's Audio for ya. I hope to god the yggy sounds better than the Hugo TT - I would rather spend less and get more quality but if the TT trumps it then that's where ill go - at least that's my thinking at the moment. God knows what ill actually end up buying,

Keep in mind the list at the start of the thread, if the rankings fall in line with your own listening then odds are the Yggy will be the DAC for you. If you have tastes different than purrin and his friends then it might not be. The warm up stipulation (and it should be noted purrin said it was a week for best possible results, he also said it finally started sounding good at CanJam on Sunday which is much less than a week) is definitely a handicap but there are lots of things in your house that drain current even when "off". A standby mode that provided enough current to keep the magic happening but wasn't full power might be worth exploring but 30w isn't outrageous.

Did anyone who wasn't impressed Saturday come back and listen Sunday? That'd be the most interesting comparison.

 

[magiccabbage]

  On the warm up issue, there are two possibilities:
 

• zerodeefex, badr (Mike Moffat), and my observations (and a few others') on the warm up effect are real.
• Our ears got accustomed to the sound / we were subject to mysterious effects of the mind.

 
For those who believe in possibility #2 or are concerned about leaving the Yggy on all the time (keeping in mind that some DACs actually still stay on when turned off or some people leave their DACs on all the time), then I would advise them to not buy the Yggy. Yes. Do not buy it. I am being genuine here.

So you are saying that it will need to be left on for prolonged periods all the time and not just during the first few weeks of burn in??
 
If so then balls!! Major big balls. 
 
I was hoping that this would just be a burn in issue at the start. Unfortunately there would be no possible way I could leave it on for hours on end except for maybe once at the weekend. 
Surely this is fixable? They hardly expect us to leave the thing on indefinitely?  

 

[magiccabbage]

Did anyone who wasn't impressed Saturday come back and listen Sunday? That'd be the most interesting comparison.

But why didn't they make sure that the thing was running for a week before hand - its almost like they didn't want anyone to like it. 
If it wasn't gonna sound good without being on for a week and there was no way to fulfill that week run then why bring it at all? - doesn't make sense to me. 

 

[EraserXIV]

Maybe "warm-up" isn't the best term. It implies that it is all due to temperature (which to a certain degree it probably is), but there are probably other factors at play too. Maybe "ramp-up" would be a better term and make it more acceptable to people.
 
That way we might get a little less: "But I used my infrared temperature sensor that has a error-factor of only 0.001% from my air-chair engineering sofa and it was at maximal temperature in 20 minutes!! This defies all the Newtonian, Einsteinian, Heisenbergian laws of physics that I simultaneously wrote my imaginary doctoral thesis on!!! This is impossibruuuuuu!".

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Guys, I'm sure Mike will chime in here, but a couple of comments from my side:
 
1. I think the warm-up thing is overblown. Really. That said, why didn't we run it for a million years? Because we just got boards from the PCB assembly house on Thursday. It is the first 1.0-level product (actually manufactured, rather than hand-assembled.)
 
2. That said, it does sound best when left on. If this doesn't work for you, I totally understand.
 
3. If you think that anything could be told from a 1-10 minute listen in the howling 90dB ambient, 85 degree temperature room we were in at the show (most rooms were much more relaxed, quieter, and cooler), especially since most listeners did not bring their own music, and were relying on an unfamiliar system, I think you need to sit back and reflect on that.
 
4. Similarly, I encourage you to try the DACs you're considering for yourself, rather than making snap decisions based on hearsay. Is Yggy for everyone? Of course not. Neither is anything else. We have done our best to make a state-of-the-art, completely upgradable product that you can enjoy for many, many years and not worry about changes in the future. No matter what you end up with, I hope you find the perfect product for your needs.

 

[magiccabbage]

  Guys, I'm sure Mike will chime in here, but a couple of comments from my side:
 
 
3. If you think that anything could be told from a 1-10 minute listen in the howling 90dB ambient, 85 degree temperature room we were in at the show (most rooms were much more relaxed, quieter, and cooler), especially since most listeners did not bring their own music, and were relying on an unfamiliar system, I think you need to sit back and reflect on that.
 

that's a fair point. 
 
If i cant get my hands on one in the next few weeks while im reviewing the Hugo TT then i will try and find someone in London who has one and call to them for a listen. I would be willing to fly over to hear one before or coming up to June. 

 

[mikek200]

  Guys, I'm sure Mike will chime in here, but a couple of comments from my side:
 
1. I think the warm-up thing is overblown. Really. That said, why didn't we run it for a million years? Because we just got boards from the PCB assembly house on Thursday. It is the first 1.0-level product (actually manufactured, rather than hand-assembled.)
 
2. That said, it does sound best when left on. If this doesn't work for you, I totally understand.
 
3. If you think that anything could be told from a 1-10 minute listen in the howling 90dB ambient, 85 degree temperature room we were in at the show (most rooms were much more relaxed, quieter, and cooler), especially since most listeners did not bring their own music, and were relying on an unfamiliar system, I think you need to sit back and reflect on that.
 
4. Similarly, I encourage you to try the DACs you're considering for yourself, rather than making snap decisions based on hearsay. Is Yggy for everyone? Of course not. Neither is anything else. We have done our best to make a state-of-the-art, completely upgradable product that you can enjoy for many, many years and not worry about changes in the future. No matter what you end up with, I hope you find the perfect product for your needs.

OK,your post should have been posted FIRST.
 
Many of us,myself included,and you told us about the Yiggy,alot of us were very excited,and have been waiting,for some sort info,the results via camjam,left me ,with the impression,that many people were not exactly tripping over themselves,to buy the Yiggy.
If you tell us to wait..,most of us,myself included will wait-that's all.,but to read this BS about" do not buy the Yiggy"..is a total joke.
Good luck with the rest of your production on the Yiggy..hope everything works out for you.,driver issues,warm-up times,and what other things might crop up
 
MikeS.

 

[reddog]

I have no problem with keeping this unit on all the time. It seemed odd to me, but lots of electronics are left on all the time. If I leave it on all the time, it will be one less thing to fiddle with.