What a long, strange trip it's been -- (Robert Hunter)
Jul 8, 2020 at 10:53 AM Post #12,646 of 14,563
lamented and wondered elsewhere if there were any more things to upgrade on Schiit Dacs. This is since USB were the majority upgrades in the first eight years or so of Schiit until USB was finally fixed with the Unison built from scratch USB. Yet we have readily upgradable Bifrost 2s and Yggys. Now I have built several sideways-grade boards which do sound different, some to my distinct preference. What say you?

A sidegrade that lets me tune the sound to my preferences? Absolutely!
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 11:30 AM Post #12,647 of 14,563
TECH STUFF.....................................TECH STUFF........................................TECH STUFF..........................................TECH STUFF.............................................
I lamented and wondered elsewhere if there were any more things to upgrade on Schiit Dacs. This is since USB were the majority upgrades in the first eight years or so of Schiit until USB was finally fixed with the Unison built from scratch USB. Yet we have readily upgradable Bifrost 2s and Yggys. Now I have built several sideways-grade boards which do sound different, some to my distinct preference. What say you?

I recently received my Bifrost 2 and I'm really loving the increase in resolution and tonal density it has over the Modi MB, but I have noticed a persistent 'silvery' coloration in the upper mids and treble that, depending on the intensity of those frequencies in the recording, can become a bit distracting.

I would love to see a future update (either with a new board or a new FW) that would address this in some way. Maybe an optional board &/or FW that would give the owner the ability to choose between the standard version's sound and something that offers a sligthly smoother presentation in the higher frequencies.

But I'd like to thank you for all the amazing work you and your team have done over the years. You've definitely raised the bar. :beerchug:
 
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Jul 8, 2020 at 11:46 AM Post #12,648 of 14,563
I recently received my Bifrost 2 and I'm really loving the increase in resolution and tonal density it has over the Modi MB, but I have noticed a persistent 'silvery' coloration in the upper mids and treble that, depending on the intensity of those frequencies in the recording, can become a bit distracting.

Do you hear this on just one input or all of them?

JC
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 11:50 AM Post #12,649 of 14,563
Do you hear this on just one input or all of them?

JC
I hear it with both the coax and optical inputs. I'm currently not using the USB input.
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 11:57 AM Post #12,650 of 14,563
The easiest way to appreciate The Ring is to ignore the complex intergod/interman interman/interman incest and enjoy the music, all 15 or so hours of it. The central romantic theme is that Wotan screws anything that moves. There are no aesthetic comparisons to Wagner. It is at once sublime, complex, absurd, and violent. Two things Germans do that few others can is construct 800 page books which deal with philosophy and write music, from Rammstein to Wagner, which is admittedly an acquired taste.

Now that I am in a Wagnerian frame of mind, transitioning from listening to Salome making good on her promise to kiss John the Baptist's mouth after demanding that her stepfather bring her his head on a silver platter. After all, she just performed a striptease for her stepfather, Herod, who was in a position to order the decapitation. Yet another erxample of cheerful German opera, this time from Richard Strauss. This time, however, we owe much of the degeneracy to a Brit, Oscar Wilde, whose play was adapted as the basis of the libretto for Strauss' opera. I apologize for the digression.

Returning to The Ring, I recall buying my first. an early 1950's recording by Furtwangler that was eighteen or so records. This was back in the 1960s. At that time, there was no complete studio recording of all four operas of The Ring. This was about to end with the Solti/Culshaw recordings which were finished by 1965 or so. The recording quality here was what we expect from Solti(and Culshaw) arguably the best yet today. Fast forward to current day and now have ten or so Rings. Even though Solti is hardly a lyrical conductor, his style frequently meshes with the music involved. I have loved that recording for its fidelity, energy, and violence.

Lately, however, I have found the last three operas annoying for Birgit Nilsson's singing. Granted, she was, in her prime, a perfectly pitched very big voiced world class soprano. I suppose it doesn't help that she resembles physically a longshoreman with makeup. Someone you want on your team for the rugby scrum. In the 1960s the type that would have her cigarette pack twisted up in her t-shirt sleeve. Sorry folks - I hope no one is in high dudgeon. These are the mental pictures I get when I hear her sing Brunnhilde. Nothing heroic at all.

TECH STUFF.....................................TECH STUFF........................................TECH STUFF..........................................TECH STUFF.............................................
I lamented and wondered elsewhere if there were any more things to upgrade on Schiit Dacs. This is since USB were the majority upgrades in the first eight years or so of Schiit until USB was finally fixed with the Unison built from scratch USB. Yet we have readily upgradable Bifrost 2s and Yggys. Now I have built several sideways-grade boards which do sound different, some to my distinct preference. What say you?

Back to Salome, if you love it as I do - the Chandos disc with Inga Nielsen is my dramatic fave. She nails Salome as the childlike sociopath using her charms to get what she wants now!

since you asked ... I say:

Build and release the sideways-grades, give them different names, let us pick which we buy and let sales pick which ones stick around.
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 12:02 PM Post #12,651 of 14,563
since you asked ... I say:

Build and release the sideways-grades, give them different names, let us pick which we buy and let sales pick which ones stick around.
Yes!! :L3000:

Just like you guys did with the different Saga/Freya's.
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 12:13 PM Post #12,652 of 14,563
I recently received my Bifrost 2 and I'm really loving the increase in resolution and tonal density it has over the Modi MB, but I have noticed a persistent 'silvery' coloration in the upper mids and treble that, depending on the intensity of those frequencies in the recording, can become a bit distracting.

IME Bifrost 2 is on the warmer side of neutral, though I use USB exclusively so it might be different using another input.

Paired with Jotunheim it produces a sound that is practically tailor-made to my personal taste (though I'd very much like to tinker with different output cards—tinkering is part of this hobby's fun, after all.)
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 5:54 PM Post #12,654 of 14,563
More information on these sidegrade-boards would be needed to answer the question. Assume we're talking about variations of the analog boards?
 
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Jul 8, 2020 at 6:00 PM Post #12,655 of 14,563
Mike talks like Unison is the end. Like there will be no more. Like there will be no Unison 2.

Like I said elsewhere, I think the choice of DAC inputs is the best. What if somone wants 4 AES imputs instead of one of each of USB, coax, toslink, and AES. Anyway to make this modular? I have two computers at my desk - work and personal. Would be nice to not have to use an Etir on one of them or just use another DAC, like a Fulla or something on my work computer (which is what I have to resort to).

Sidegrade boards might get into more questions, "what's best for my system" type questions.
 
Jul 8, 2020 at 6:36 PM Post #12,657 of 14,563
TECH STUFF.....................................TECH STUFF........................................TECH STUFF..........................................TECH STUFF.............................................
I lamented and wondered elsewhere if there were any more things to upgrade on Schiit Dacs. This is since USB were the majority upgrades in the first eight years or so of Schiit until USB was finally fixed with the Unison built from scratch USB. Yet we have readily upgradable Bifrost 2s and Yggys. Now I have built several sideways-grade boards which do sound different, some to my distinct preference. What say you?

I can’t wait to see what names you selected for these sidegrade boards.

An awesome idea to stir up some Schiit in an otherwise very unexciting DAC market. I mean, most of the DACs released in the last year measure great and allegedly sound exactly the same. Yawn.
 
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Jul 8, 2020 at 6:44 PM Post #12,658 of 14,563
All this Ring talk here through the years has made me Ring curious. I am not an opera fan, but dammit, I have to hear what the fuss is all about.

So what would be a good version for me to try? I can spin CDs and vinyl.

Thanks! :beerchug:
 

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