[zerodeefex]

My computer + monitor draws 30 watts in sleep state. My wireless printer uses 25 watts just sitting there.

 

[blitzxgene]

My Yggy draws around 30 watts. That's like 1 Yggy.

Overall not a big deal especially considering what you get in terms of performance.

 

[money4me247]

I was hoping for impressions or feedback from owners of the yggdrasil who have directly directly compared 320kbps mp3 against lossless sources on the new dac or are exclusively using 320kbps mp3 or another lossy format. especially curious on the second point if the dac will be too revealing of flaws even with high bitrate lossy compression files.

 

[wahsmoh]

  I was hoping for impressions or feedback from owners of the yggdrasil who have directly directly compared 320kbps mp3 against lossless sources on the new dac or are exclusively using 320kbps mp3 or another lossy format. especially curious on the second point if the dac will be too revealing of flaws even with high bitrate lossy compression files.

On most tracks I honestly can't tell the difference between 320kbps mp3 CBR and FLAC. BTW I don't own a Yggy. When I listen to electronic music or DnB the difference becomes more noticeable. There becomes noticeably more distortion through the range and a less cohesive sound. How can I explain this?? I don't know maybe the bass and treble are the first things to sound awry with lossy compression

 

[money4me247]

  On most tracks I honestly can't tell the difference between 320kbps mp3 CBR and FLAC. BTW I don't own a Yggy. When I listen to electronic music or DnB the difference becomes more noticeable. There becomes noticeably more distortion through the range and a less cohesive sound. How can I explain this?? I don't know maybe the bass and treble are the first things to sound awry with lossy compression

yea, I normally have difficulty telling the difference. just curious if it's easier for people w/ the yggy have different experiences.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  yea, I normally have difficulty telling the difference. just curious if it's easier for people w/ the yggy have different experiences.

 
I try to keep things simple. I just use lossless (since I have practically unlimited space) unless the original files are lossy. No point worrying about it, really. If anything, I would want flaws in a recording to be revealed when investing in such high-end gear. Not sure why anyone would intentionally use lossy files on a serious desktop system (when lossless ones are available, that is) when the only point of lossy files is to save hard drive space, which is dirt cheap.
 
Perhaps you were just curious about the resolving capability of the DAC, like if it could let you hear differences between 320 kbps MP3 and lossless when you otherwise couldn't on lesser gear and whatnot.

 

[wahsmoh]

   
I try to keep things simple. I just use lossless (since I have practically unlimited space) unless the original files are lossy. No point worrying about it, really. If anything, I would want flaws in a recording to be revealed when investing in such high-end gear. Not sure why anyone would intentionally use lossy files on a serious desktop system (when lossless ones are available, that is) when the only point of lossy files is to save hard drive space, which is dirt cheap.

It makes sense to archive all music in lossless because we live in 2015, not 2002. (storage space issues) Also, I just listened to Pixies - Surfer Rosa & Come on Pilgrim.. took the same songs from CD remaster and converted them to FLAC and 320kbps .mp3 CBR. The first vocal section.. you can tell the voices are at a distance from the microphone and you can hear the natural reverb of the room better on the FLAC track. On the .mp3 the voices sound more present and you can't really tell the placement effect of the microphone. Where is my mind? - Pixies.. same thing on Doolittle as I have both on CD I could test them. It really depends on how well the track was recorded.. if it sounds bland and robotic like most overly mastered music (MGMT - Oracular Spectacular) I had difficulty telling any difference at all.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  It makes sense to archive all music in lossless because we live in 2015, not 2002. (storage space issues) Also, I just listened to Pixies - Surfer Rosa & Come on Pilgrim.. took the same songs from CD remaster and converted them to FLAC and 320kbps .mp3 CBR. The first vocal section.. you can tell the voices are at a distance from the microphone and you can hear the natural reverb of the room better on the FLAC track. On the .mp3 the voices sound more present and you can't really tell the placement effect of the microphone.

 
Now try with 256 kbps AAC.

 

[7ryder]

   
Now try with 256 kbps AAC.

and also try it without knowing which file is which.

 

[money4me247]

lol discussion is gettin a bit off-topic. thank you guys for your feedback, but I am rly only lookin from actual impressions on lossy files vs lossless from YGGY OWNERS. (or at least yggy owners willing to indulge me with some side-by-side preferrably blinded comparisions).

edit: feel free to pm me privately

 

[wahsmoh]

  and also try it without knowing which file is which.

I can tell the difference on my Sansa Clip+ and $20 Sony MDR-EX100IP earbuds... mp3 CBR and lossless. seems like the worse your earbuds are the more help lossless lends to the SQ

 

[dglow]

lol discussion is gettin a bit off-topic. thank you guys for your feedback, but I am rly only lookin from actual impressions on lossy files vs lossless from YGGY OWNERS. (or at least yggy owners willing to indulge me with some side-by-side preferrably blinded comparisions).

edit: feel free to pm me privately

 
What are you looking for from the Yggy perspective? I think it's a person-by-person thing. Some folks can care about and/or can detect the difference, others no.
 
I can reliably distinguish (proper blind A-B test) between lossless and perceptually compressed (both 320mp3 and 256AAC) redbook audio, and that's been true for a while – long before this lovely new DAC arrived. So what can I possibly tell you? I only wish to be honest and genuinely helpful.

 

[money4me247]

  What are you looking for from the Yggy perspective? I think it's a person-by-person thing. Some folks can care about and/or can detect the difference, others no.
 
I can reliably distinguish (proper ABX) between lossless and perceptually compressed (both 320mp3 and 256AAC) redbook audio, and that's been true for a while – long before this lovely new DAC arrived. So what can I possibly tell you? I only wish to be honest and genuinely helpful.

no worries, thanks for the feedback. okay, so you are saying that you could tell the difference previously with a mid-tier or entry-level dac as well?***
 
I am wondering (as someone who has trouble telling the difference in a proper ABx test of sources files on mid-tier dacs) if I would be able to tell the difference more between file formats with the Yggy, so curious if there is anyone else here with a similar background as me who has recently purchased a Ygyy and noticed any changes.
 
I am really just trying to get a sense if a $2k+ dac would be worth it when I have a lot of lossy source files or will I need to upgrade all my source files prior to such an investment. really only want impressions from the yggy perspective as I have already tested myself and my source files on mid-tier and entry-tier dacs and I already know my personal answer for that. I have heard TOTL dacs, but never had a chance to really do comparison between lossy vs lossless on those gear, so curious about TOTL dac user impressions. specifically interested in yggy user impressions as this would be the TOTL dac I would purchase if I ever went that high-end.
 
***feel free to PM me if you have relevant experiences to share that would be helpful for me. (did not mean to slightly derail the thread off-yggy impressions to general source file discussion, not looking for general source file discussion)

 

[dglow]

  no worries, thanks for the feedback. okay, so you are saying that you could tell the difference previously with a mid-tier or entry-level dac as well?

 
Yes. Good cans or IEMs are more important for distinguishing than the DAC itself, IMHO.
 

I am wondering (as someone who has trouble telling the difference in a proper ABx test on mid-tier dacs) if I would be able to tell the difference more between file formats with the Yggy and if there is anyone else with a similar background here who has recently purchased a Ygyy.

 
I am listening to a Yggy now. As for telling the difference, hard to know. Like I said, it's a personal thing.
 

I am really just trying to get a sense if a $2k+ dac would be worth it when I have a lot of lossy source files or will I need to upgrade all my source files prior to such an investment. really only want impressions from the yggy perspective as I have already tested myself and my source files on mid-tier and entry-tier dacs and I already know my personal answer for that. I have heard TOTL dacs, but never had a chance to really do comparison between lossy vs lossless on those gear, so curious about TOTL dac user impressions. specifically interested in yggy user impressions as this would be the TOTL dac I would purchase if I ever went that high-end.

 
Ah, I see what you're getting at. I don't think you'll need new source files to appreciate the Yggy, at all. I was just playing an album in 320mp3 and it sounds fantastic.. Do I generally prefer lossless? Yes, but that's me. And honestly, there are a handful of recordings (super-'hot' ones with very little dynamic range coming out of the studio) which, for whatever reason, actually sound better to me encoded in a perceptually lossy format. Go figure.
 
Ultimately, YMMV. Paired with a good amp the Yggdrasil should stand out regardless of what you feed it. 

 

[kstuart]

My experience with 320k MP3 is that it is "subtractive".  I don't automatically notice anything "wrong" (unless the track is one of my equipment-comparison-test-tracks).
 
Better DACs generally make MP3 and AAC sound better, not worse.