Feanor

Quoting Feanor: "All storage media devices eventually fail". My primary backup uses Windows 10 'Storage Spaces'. I have two external USB3 5TB drives to which 'Storage Space' is configured to write identical data. If one drive fails, the other will still be viable; this like RAID 1 except no special controller nor identical drives is necessary. But also I keep at least two additional copies of all my data on computers other than my main machine, or on external drives. All backups are synchronized at least weekly.

That's good to know.

Anyway what is reasonably certain is that Schiit's "closed form" filter will treat incoming data, at whatever resolution, as input and pass it on to the DAC, rather than interpolation points that it, itself, might generate.

I'll look forward to hearing whatever response you get from them. I don't know but it seems to me the issue (or reality?) of "intersample overs" is a matter of how the oversampling process interpolates the input data points. As I understand there are different methods of doing this that yield somewhat different results. I'm no expert, but I gather that the simplest method is to (figuratively) draw a straight line between the input data points and take the oversample points from along this line. A much more complex method would be "quadratic spline" interpolation which can simulate something very close to real hi-rez input ... see . However this sophisticated interpolation method requires a lot of computing power and it's doubtful that any existing DSP chips can do it. Maybe software such as Bughead Emperor can do it running on a Core i7 computer with adequate RAM.

NO. he "closed form" filter advantage is only relevant where files are oversampled by the Multibit itself, however there is no advantage to down-converting then having the Multibit up-convert to get back (imperfectly) to the original rate. Always retain the original rate to get the best result from the Schiit Multibits. The vast majority of my own collection is 16/44.1. With the Bifrost Multibit I have notice that the greatest improvement over the Uber is with Redbook 16/44.1 resolution. That is, 24/88.2 and up sound great on the Multibit, best I've personally heard, but the improvement is greatest in case of Redbook.

That being the case Schiit Audio's copy would be a bit deceptive ... The Schiit websites says about Bifrost Multibit ... "How the heck can you do Bifrost Multibit so affordable? Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil cost a lot more! Because it’s a much simpler DAC than either of them, using less parts, a more basic power supply, a single dual-channel DAC, and a 4X digital filter, rather than an 8X digital filter. However, it still offers amazing value, from its advanced bitperfect clock management system to USB Gen 2 input to upgradable, modular design." And about Gungnir Multibit ... "Gungnir Multibit: Above and Beyond Choose Gungnir Multibit, and you get the same proprietary closed-form DSP-based digital filter as Yggdrasil, coupled to four precision Analog Devices AD5781BRUZ digital to analog converters for true hardware balancing and 19 effective bits of resolution. ..." and ... "So what’s the real answer? How is Gungnir Multibit half the price of Yggdrasil? Easy. It’s a simpler DAC. The power supply has no choke-input, shunt-regulated stage like in Yggdrasil, the chassis and construction more streamlined, we’re using more surface-mount parts in the analog section, and (most importantly), we’re using 18-bit AD5781BRUZ D/A converters, rather than the mind-blowingly expensive AD5791s we use in Yggdrasil. However, the completely insane, closed-form, DSP-based, 18,000-tap filter remains in Gungnir Uber." So maybe this is deceptive copy?

Yes, in fact not only "not needed", but not as good in the final outcome as the Bifrost MB's own oversampling and filtering.

I haven't heard the W4S DAC-1 LE, but I can attest to the fact that the Bifrost Multibit is a huge upgrade over the Uber. A couple of days ago I ordered Schiit's Gungnir Multibit. I considered the W4S DAC-1 LE myself but decided to go with Gungnir MB given I wasn't very interested in DSD. The Gungnir MB is only about $100 or so more than the W4S with the Femto clock, so perhaps you should give it some consideration.

Not a stupid question at all. I might not have it entirely right but I believe 176.4 and 192 are the limits for oversampling on the Bifrost Multibit; (I think it's 352.8 and 384 on the Gungnir MB and Yggdrasil). Thus 44.1 is oversampled to 176.4. All the Schiit Multibits employ oversampling to the mentioned limits and use a "close form" filter. As I understand, "closed form" ensures that original data points -- not interpolated points -- are sent on to the DAC after filtering high frequencies. Thus I think it might be a BAD IDEA to upsample before sending to these Multibit models becauses they would have no way know which were the original, 44.1 data points.

Well that's good to know. My i5 is a quad core 4690K at 3.5 GHz. However this isn't my usual music player machine.

For sure: Schiit Audio Bifrost from Uber to Multibit. Hugh improvement there for the $250 investment. That said, I seriously contemplating flipping the Bifrost Multibit for the model-up Gungnir Multibit.

Ah, but unfortunately this is well above my i5; I've only got 8 GB of RAM and built-in graphics.

Thanks, yes, it's interesting that the UD-503 does PCM up-conversion to DSD using a FPGA chip which is the same concept as PS Audio's DirectStream DAC The UD-501 does look like a good value at Cdn$850.

Good to know that that HQP will run on a Core i5; how much RAM are you using? I haven't had much luck with Fidelizer, the couple of times I've tried it I've had system freezes or blue screens.

Thanks. The Mytek looks well worth considering. To exploit HQP's full capabilities, I would, of course need USB. I would prefer balanced analog outputs, however a headphone amp is totally unnecessary. Also, as I see it, no DAC is better than its analog output stage. So far I've been considering these DACS PS Audio NuWave DSD Audio-GD NFB-1DAC, looks like a bit of a bargain; see ... ºÍ§Ó*µ响 Gustard DAC-X20 ... GUSTARD DAC-X20 Super Ultimate 2 x ES9018 XMOS HiFi DAC 384KHz DSD DOP Decoder - Professional Audio Store - Shenzhenaudio.com ... and I'll add Mytek Stereo192-DSD