[EricDH]

"We recommend leaving Yggdrasil on continuously for best performance. Seriously. No kidding. Yes, we know, this sounds like hoo-ha about “burn-in” and magick discs/stones/markers/etc. But in Yggy’s case, this is a real thing, and a serious recommendation. Why? Because the mil-spec D/A converters in Yggy really do operate best once they’re up to temperature. As with a lot of other components inside the box. So, the logical solution (at a power cost of $50-100 per year, depending on where you live) is simply to turn it on, and leave it on. This is facilitated by inconveniently placing the power switch in the rear. So what will you hear as Yggy warms up? Hell, we’re not going to speculate on what you hear...but we’re sure you’ll hear impressions from plenty of reviewers, and you can listen for yourself, and make your own decisions. Sooooo...turn it on, leave it on, and see if you can’t hear a difference after it’s been on for a few days. And yes, this applies to first turn-on, too."

- the Yggdrasil manual.

Nice way to describe it. But I fully believe it is real. I used to have a Wadia CD-player, and I had to leave it switched on too. It took more than a week from cold to sound at its best. For that reason I stopped to take it to shoot-outs with fellow audiofiles.

 

[HumanFly]

I think they should put a sticker on the Gungnir that warns innocent upgraders.
I was a nut for music, have been all my life but now I`m an audioslave and I have to sit here and listen to album after album wondering why it sounds so good.
Right now Depeche Mode`s - Ultra is doing things I simply never heard before.
Yeah I know. It ain`t no Brahms.

 

[KoshNaranek]

Thanks for the hifiberry digi+ pro w. bnc option tip. That should go well with the Gungnir. Know any resellers in EU with that package?

I have not noticed a difference between spdif RCAvsBNC on Yggy. I think that Squeezebox Transporter to Yggy via AES sounds best.

I think an HiFiBerry Digi with AES would be the next logical upgrade.

PS I really hate the phone interface of the new new website. It is terrifically slow.

 

[Scott Kramer]

EDIT: There's a beautiful AES/EBU and BNC option (search for pi2media 502DAC)... I use it for i2s and BNC. Theres a good thread about it's dev., out on the web.

The hifiberry digi+ pro is nice but limited onboard regulation and ground isolation. Also the BNC is not to spec... the voltage is RCA, they just parallel it, and no AES/EBU ( Even tho BNC is best ;D )

Kinda cool seeing it's development and changes if you are interested.

 

[MOFOfunk]

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10550
And here you can find several
http://nl.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Keyword=bnc+connector+pcb

Wow yeah as in hundreds of BNC connectors.

I think they should put a sticker on the Gungnir that warns innocent upgraders.
I was a nut for music, have been all my life but now I`m an audioslave and I have to sit here and listen to album after album wondering why it sounds so good.
Right now Depeche Mode`s - Ultra is doing things I simply never heard before.
Yeah I know. It ain`t no Brahms.

Uh that sounds dangerously nice.
Just ordered my Gumby. Will I be able to have a life outside our livin room??

 

[Karlthehusky721]

The hifiberry digi+ pro is nice but limited onboard regulation and ground isolation. Also the BNC is not to spec... the voltage is RCA, they just parallel it, and no AES/EBU ( Even tho BNC is best ;D )

Kinda cool seeing it's development and changes if you are interested.

That pi2media is exactly what I need for a project I've been planning. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Sarvasaha]

I really hope it's the latter (done form of phase correction) rather than any adjustment of pitch. I detest autotune, and in classical performances especially, the fine adjustment of tuning by tempering chords is a very important quality for me. A filter that is able to dial out recording artefacts (delays, phase distortion) is most intriguing.

I did mis-use the word favourite. When I said favourite idea I meant my most likely guess, not the one I want most. Correcting for the group delay introduced by all of the filters that the music has been exposed to (Mixing desk eq, ADC filtering for a start) would seem to be moving towards the "putting you inside the music" as it would make imaging much better. Would be hard though I think to discriminate between what is smearing and what is ambiance.

 

[HumanFly]

The hifiberry digi+ pro is nice but limited onboard regulation and ground isolation. Also the BNC is not to spec... the voltage is RCA, they just parallel it, and no AES/EBU ( Even tho BNC is best ;D )

Kinda cool seeing it's development and changes if you are interested.

What would be your favorite pi-setup for sound? (bar the one with the tricked-out i2s modi)
I want to get the best out of the pi because I really like the softwareside of it. But the hardware leaves enough room for improvement.
I used to have the dacs on the pi but now I use the Gungnir I need to figure out the best way to deliver the music straight to the DAC.(or through the Wyrd as I have that sitting there as well)

 

[MOFOfunk]

I have not noticed a difference between spdif RCAvsBNC on Yggy.

Wondering if Yggdrasil and Gungnir have the same SPDIF RCA and BNC setup?

The hifiberry digi+ pro is nice but limited onboard regulation and ground isolation. Also the BNC is not to spec... the voltage is RCA, they just parallel it, and no AES/EBU ( Even tho BNC is best ;D )

Kinda cool seeing it's development and changes if you are interested.

That's indeed a sweet little board. Any plans for a version without DAC and it's outputs?
Do you mind explaing the sonic /technical advantages of BNC over spdif (and aes/ebu )
That would help me understand why it would be better suited to feed my incoming Gungnir than the Hifiberry.

Is that a Modi MB with BNC connection on that picture? Did you make other hacks than changing the connector?

 

[Whazzzup]

What?

 

[sam6550a]

The hifiberry digi+ pro is nice but limited onboard regulation and ground isolation. Also the BNC is not to spec... the voltage is RCA, they just parallel it, and no AES/EBU ( Even tho BNC is best ;D )

Kinda cool seeing it's development and changes if you are interested.

The signal is SPDIF on a BNC connector, so no difference should be expected. AES/BEU on a BNC is a different story. Sometimes, things are not as they appear until you read the small print----Yggdrasil, for example, has RCA and BNC SPDIF inputs, which means that the only difference is the connector. Unless you are working with large physical distances or are using the bits in the AES/BEU stream reserved for some specialized studio applications, the difference between SPDIF and AES is minimal. Want transformer isolation? Mouser sells a great transformer to do that for the exorbitant fee of $2.

 

[MOFOfunk]

The signal is SPDIF on a BNC connector, so no difference should be expected. AES/BEU on a BNC is a different story. Sometimes, things are not as they appear until you read the small print----Yggdrasil, for example, has RCA and BNC SPDIF inputs, which means that the only difference is the connector. Unless you are working with large physical distances or are using the bits in the AES/BEU stream reserved for some specialized studio applications, the difference between SPDIF and AES is minimal. Want transformer isolation? Mouser sells a great transformer to do that for the exorbitant fee of $2.

Thanks for the educating post. If what you're saying is true. (Not saying you're wrong) It's good info for the ones fretting about the quality of the various types of digital input/output connections. But why is it then that so many people makes consistent reports of AES/EBU having better sound than BNC better than SPDIF?
Also couldn't such a transformer isolation be built in the BNC and SPDIF DAC inputs?

Hopefully we wont have to worry about connections when Eitr is released...??

 

[sam6550a]

Thanks for the educating post. If what you're saying is true. (Not saying you're wrong) It's good info for the ones fretting about the quality of the various types of digital input/output connections. But why is it then that so many people makes consistent reports of AES/EBU having better sound than BNC better than SPDIF?
Also couldn't such a transformer isolation be built in the BNC and SPDIF DAC inputs?

Hopefully we wont have to worry about connections when Eitr is released...??

The fact that it sounds better is a personal judgement by the listener. It depends upon the equipment configuration, the equipment, and most importantly, the listener. If an input or output is SPDIF, the only difference is the connector used. Of course, SPDIF should be passed only on a properly terminated 75 ohm characteristic impedance coaxial cable, and be properly terminated on the load end. Some equipment does employ transformer coupling at the SPDIF output, and some equipment have transformers at the SPDIF input. Whether or not this is incorporated is determined by the designer, i. e., do I need this to break a ground loop, do I need this at all, what does it do to the sound? After all, the less stuff that you put in the signal path, the better off you are. Can you build it in? Certainly. If you think that you need it to solve a configuration specific problem [like a nasty ground loop], SPDIF transformers are available for you to try, or you can buy a naked $2 transformer, a couple of jacks, and put it all in a small box. The key is what sounds best to you.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

New imacs support optical out!!! But no aesebu.

 

[Baldr]

OK, I have been distracted again but will do a quick catchup post. Here I go with a few comments from memory. My time in Spain was mostly in Valencia. My time in former Portuguese colonies was in Mozambique and Angola but by far mostly in Brazil (several months spent there over 5 years in South America) Manaus (I worked in Iquitos, Peru and Manaus was a boatride), Rio, and one time each in Brasilia and Sao Paulo. When I was in Brasil, I could carefully listen to Portugues and get at least 80-90% of what was said. That was back in the 1970/s when Manuas was a real backwater town with a great personality.

I did make a homebrew transport so I could add all of my old Theta transport electronic Schiit to play my Silver discs. Build a Schiit product? On one hand, it would be an ahead of its time trendsetter. I am sure as Schiit that silver discs are going to return with a vengeance just as vinyl already has. The masochistic ritual involved in playing discs combined with the realization of just how much we have taken it in the shorts for convenience in streaming is bound to result in a market demand for transports.

Allow me to digress – the convenience of streaming is amazing, allowing access to libraries unthinkable a few years ago. It is possible to fix much, if not all, USB connected venereal warts on playback. The problem is that we now have a new variable: the streaming (transmitting) quality and interface over and above the usual mastering and quality of the source.

Anyway, to quote the Beatles, “It’s getting better all the time”.

There was a cry of shame on me for making the MP a separate box. True, that is the original plan is to make it a separate box. That said, there is no point in disallowing the inclusion of it in the Yggy as an accessory. It is a power supply impossibility in Gungnirs or Bifrosts, but could go in an Yggy, at least in theory, given that it is a music processor, All of must bear in mind that all audio components we buy are either analog or digital signal processors. Since the MP is a music processor, it makes sense to physically segregate it from the rest of the reproduction chain if for no other reason than UI.