[tesarpa]

I've heard some people say USB, even Unison, sounds flatter and less dynamic than spidf.

Any thoughts on that?

Not my experience. Unison is improvement.

 

[tafens]

Toslink, as I understand it, suffers from consuming too much coffee. Da*$#it! I hate it when these new phones take autocorrect to new levels! What I mean to say is that Toslink has issues with jitter...

...autocoffee?

 

[earnmyturns]

I've heard some people say USB, even Unison, sounds flatter and less dynamic than spidf.

It depends on the S/PDIF (or AES) source. Unison beat everything I used before, including some > $1K AES sources, but the wonderful Pi2AES gives a small but noticeable improvement in dynamics/incisiveness over Unison on my systems.

 

[wout31]

I've heard some people say USB, even Unison, sounds flatter and less dynamic than spidf.
Any thoughts on that?

Lots of things are said and written about any DAC. Lots of things said and written are hearsay, assumptions, facts only based on measurements and pure lack of knowledge or good ears (also equipment and room acoustics).
I've listened to Yggdrasil for several years now. I have one of the first that was delivered with A2 board. My opinion on this matter is that I totally agree with @Baldr, forget S/PDIF whether over XLR or coax. To my ears Unison USB outperforms S/PDIF. Toslink I've always disliked, never use it anymore. Since the Unison USB is in the Yggdrasil I've switched back twice to S/PDIF to check the facts. I still agree with Mike that Unison USB is an improvement in sound.

 

[jkpenrose]

Not my experience. Unison is improvement.

Thx. I know it is said that Mike actually likes it better too

Just got my BF2, but still waiting on Allo Usbridge to arrive.

 

[jkpenrose]

It depends on the S/PDIF (or AES) source. Unison beat everything I used before, including some > $1K AES sources, but the wonderful Pi2AES gives a small but noticeable improvement in dynamics/incisiveness over Unison on my systems.

I went with allo USBridge - so figure that paired with Unison should give similar results to pi2AES.

 

[earnmyturns]

I went with allo USBridge - so figure that paired with Unison should give similar results to pi2AES.

I had the old USBridge with an Sbooster LPS into Unison. I was a Unison alpha tester and that was definitely better than for instance Auralic Aries AES. But as I said, I slightly prefer Pi2AES AES over everything else I've tried. It could well be that the current USBridge into Unison erases the gap. In any case, these are very small differences, it's just that I had the Pi2AES anyway for other reasons and did the comparison, including a blind test where my wife was the listener and did not know which was which.

 

[JoeWhip]

For me, the Unison USB is the best sounding input on the Yggy. Detail, dynamics, space, it is all there.

 

[jkpenrose]

I had the old USBridge with an Sbooster LPS into Unison. I was a Unison alpha tester and that was definitely better than for instance Auralic Aries AES. But as I said, I slightly prefer Pi2AES AES over everything else I've tried. It could well be that the current USBridge into Unison erases the gap. In any case, these are very small differences, it's just that I had the Pi2AES anyway for other reasons and did the comparison, including a blind test where my wife was the listener and did not know which was which.

Thanks for the feedback. After I get everything setup and dialed in, that might be an interesting comparison... With either Pi2aes or adding a card to the USBridge

From what I've read, I'm thinking clean USB into Unison should sound pretty darn good!

I'll be running USBridge - > BF 2 - > ZMF Pendant - > ZMF VO

 

[Ableza]

A person cannot live by coffee alone...

 

[KoshNaranek]

A person cannot live by coffee alone...

Beer is liquid bread.

Man does not live by bread alone....or something....

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

A person cannot live by coffee alone...

Are you going to drink both of those?



JC

 

[Ableza]

Are you going to drink both of those?



JC

Yea but I have more if you're coming over.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

They were one of the earlier coffee shops to begin serving individual pourovers (which takes time), but it isn't unusual now at specialty coffee shops. BTW, Bluebottle is now owned by Nestlé.

Individual pour-overs are a well practiced way of coffee presenting for over 50 years at restaurants etc.
Just after WW2 this was the common way because it was also the easiest way for a fresh brew.

 

[rkw]

Individual pour-overs are a well practiced way of coffee presenting for over 50 years at restaurants etc.
Just after WW2 this was the common way because it was also the easiest way for a fresh brew.

Yes, even long ago here in the US, at some finer restaurants if you ordered coffee they would set a small filter brewer on your table.

However, I was talking about coffee shops. Of course espresso drinks need to be pulled individually, but for drip filtered coffee I didn't see individual pourovers offered until the 3rd wave coffee movement, at least here in the US.