[jexby]

  +1,,Stillhart
 
And of,course Currawong{ the gentleman that he is.} told me,if I didn't hear any difference in sq,to return it after 7 days.....,when I plugged the cable in-it took me all of 30 minutes to be convinced

 
+1
testing, and hearing in a familiar chain is important.
one cable can have varying (some, none) effects depending on other elements.
 
recently had my own headphone cable jaw-dropping awakening.  didn't believe it was possible.
 
Fast forward to today's jaw dropping with the Gungnir arriving, plugged in and wow! nice.

 

[hodgjy]

  You should list prices on page 1
 
I'm looking for something as an upgrade to my HRT microStreamer. The DAC in the microStreamer is PCM1793 if you were wondering. Any suggestions as an upgrade?
 
Anything under $400?
 
Has to have:
 
- its own power supply (the obvious upgrade)
- USB async
- stereo RCA would be good
 
Thanks

While slightly over your budget, you can't do much better with the Schiit Bifrost for the money.

 

[jexby]

And used BiFrost Ubers can be found in the For Sale forums around $400 frequently.

 

[mikek200]

   
+1
testing, and hearing in a familiar chain is important.
one cable can have varying (some, none) effects depending on other elements.
 
recently had my own headphone cable jaw-dropping awakening.  didn't believe it was possible.
 
Fast forward to today's jaw dropping with the Gungnir arriving, plugged in and wow! nice.

Jex,
Did you get the new upgraded Gen2 USB Gungnir
Not sure if you saw this,but:,here it is anyway:
 
 
6 Schiit Gungnir Gen2 USB Board (USB)
Highly dynamic. Great tonal balance with bite when the recording calls for it. Like the Lavry DA11, it doesn't do much wrong. Sweet sweet tone. Excellent tonal response with some balls in the bass. Compact but well defined stage with great localization of instruments. Very good sounding treble, one of the best we've heard with a sigma-delta chip. Vocals are only second to the AGD M7 or Metrum. Resolution is not the best, but it can still hang in there. With the Gen 2 USB upgrade, the Gungnir has now found its way into my regular rotation. Now I can feel comfortable lending out one of my better DACs to friends because I have a DAC good enough as a substitute. Some have found the Gungnir Gen 1 to be overly dynamic - having a tendency to be too loud. Think rock arena. That drummer that hits really hard. This is the top one or two hardest hitting DACs out there. This does create a sense of tension which can either be good for bad depending upon you sensitivities. I've never fallen asleep to music listening to this DAC.
 
The Gen 2 USB brings to the table some finesse through the restoration of low level sounds which were previously compressed or lost in the Gen 1 USB version. Gen 1 USB also sounds less lively (microdynamics) and less clear. The Gen 2 USB upgrade is significant. It's interesting to note how Schiit has removed all the bad things they said about USB on their website with the release of the Gen 2 USB."
 
Good Luck with it-Enjoy,
 
Mike
 

 

[jexby]

Yup, Gungnir came with USB v2 board already installed.
Have a Wyrd in front of Gung already, so it's sort of like a USB v3 receiver now.

 

[olegausany]

You should list prices on page 1
 
I'm looking for something as an upgrade to my HRT microStreamer. The DAC in the microStreamer is PCM1793 if you were wondering. Any suggestions as an upgrade?
 
Anything under $400?
 
Has to have:
 
- its own power supply (the obvious upgrade)
- USB async
- stereo RCA would be good
 
Thanks

Get used Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus

 

[snip3r77]

To be fair, I heard a $500 USB cable at Canjam and ab'ed against a regular cable. The difference was obvious and more than just 1-2%. And this was from a friend, not someone selling a cable.

No idea how or why it makes a difference and I didn't believe it until I heard it for myself. I wouldn't expect others to believe it, but I urge you to try it yourself if you ever get the opportunity.

If you read reddit a lot for them also mention USB cable are BS as it's 1010101. One has to try it and experience it

 

[ciphercomplete]

Folks can't assume that people who think that pricey USB cables are BS are people who haven't tried them.  I'd wager that there are just as many people have tried them and heard no difference (there are plenty of us) as there are people who have heard a difference.    

 

[Stillhart]

  You should list prices on page 1
 
I'm looking for something as an upgrade to my HRT microStreamer. The DAC in the microStreamer is PCM1793 if you were wondering. Any suggestions as an upgrade?
 
Anything under $400?
 
Has to have:
 
- its own power supply (the obvious upgrade)
- USB async
- stereo RCA would be good
 
Thanks

Looks like you've got mostly IEM's.  Have you thought about the GO100?  
 
Otherwise, I don't see any amps listed on your profile.  Maybe an all-in-one like the Audio-GD NFB-15 or 11.

 

[jarrett]

  Looks like you've got mostly IEM's.  Have you thought about the GO100?  
 
Otherwise, I don't see any amps listed on your profile.  Maybe an all-in-one like the Audio-GD NFB-15 or 11.

 
It's there, but I have a Bryston B60. I've only been using the microStreamer's line-out to the amp. I don't need it for headphones

 

[Stillhart]

   
It's there, but I have a Bryston B60. I've only been using the microStreamer's line-out to the amp. I don't need it for headphones

 
The Bifrost is probably going to be the best bet in the $400 price range, as others have mentioned.  There's not really much that I'm aware of between the Bifrost and then used ones in the $600 range like the X-Sabre, Gungnir, etc.  The Corda DACcord maybe?  Not sure if it's any good or not.  There's the ifi stuff too, but I've heard mixed reviews.

 

[hodgjy]

   
The Bifrost is probably going to be the best bet in the $400 price range, as others have mentioned.  There's not really much that I'm aware of between the Bifrost and then used ones in the $600 range like the X-Sabre, Gungnir, etc.  The Corda DACcord maybe?  Not sure if it's any good or not.  There's the ifi stuff too, but I've heard mixed reviews.

Completely agree. If you don't need a balanced connection, then the Gungnir won't drastically change your sound (while being unbalanced). You'll probably have to go above $1000 to get large improvements over the Bifrost.

 

[olegausany]

  
The Bifrost is probably going to be the best bet in the $400 price range, as others have mentioned.  There's not really much that I'm aware of between the Bifrost and then used ones in the $600 range like the X-Sabre, Gungnir, etc.  The Corda DACcord maybe?  Not sure if it's any good or not.  There's the ifi stuff too, but I've heard mixed reviews.

Completely agree. If you don't need a balanced connection, then the Gungnir won't drastically change your sound (while being unbalanced). You'll probably have to go above $1000 to get large improvements over the Bifrost.

No you don't need to go over $1000, get irDac for $700

 

[Stillhart]

  Completely agree. If you don't need a balanced connection, then the Gungnir won't drastically change your sound (while being unbalanced). You'll probably have to go above $1000 to get large improvements over the Bifrost.

 
I haven't heard the Bifrost really, so I can't speak to whether it's an upgrade, but my $800 (new) NFB-28 has a really nice smooth DAC.  The NFB-1S should be very similar at $525 before shipping.

 

[hodgjy]

   
I haven't heard the Bifrost really, so I can't speak to whether it's an upgrade, but my $800 (new) NFB-28 has a really nice smooth DAC.  The NFB-1S should be very similar at $525 before shipping.

I'm sure the NFB-28 is a fine DAC, but it's not exactly comparable to the Bifrost. The added costs must reflect DSD, the XLR outputs, and the head amp. What makes the Bifrost able to punch above its price is it only focuses on line-level unbalanced PCM.