Just got a Yggdrasil!

[manisandher]

52 minutes ago, earnmyturns said:

Measurement truthers out in force again... Very curious...

 

What's really curious is that my experience with the Yggy, listening to it over a few weeks, comparing it to other DACs I have here, seems to be totally overlooked by some. And inferences that I might have an ulterior motive, or be colluding JA are laughable.

 

I listened to the Yggy for a few weeks first. Only after being uncomfortable with its sound did I look into its measurements. If that makes me a 'measurement truther', so be it. (I'd better not look into the measurements of the SET amps I have and love the sound of  .)

 

Mani.

[manisandher]

27 minutes ago, JoeWhip said:

I now have the Yggy and have played master files of tracks I was there during the recording and mixing process and couldn't disagree any more strongly with Mani.

 

Happy to agree to disagree with our respective subjective evaluations of the Yggy.

 

Mani.

[Jud]

33 minutes ago, JoeWhip said:

I now have the Yggy and have played master files of tracks I was there during the recording and mixing process and couldn't disagree any more strongly with Mani. This DAC is superb. Let's not relitigate this topic again. Pointless.

 

People gonna talk.  As long as folks understand we're discussing preferences, we should be OK.

[gmgraves]

2 hours ago, manisandher said:

 

Auralic seem to have made better ones

 

Mani.

 

I currently have an Auralic Aries in house for evaluation, and I don't think it's on-board DAC sounds all that good. Like most low-end DACs it sounds OK, but for my money, the Yggy blows it out of the water. Let me share this anecdote with you: Back in the early 1960's I bought an LP of Ormandy/Philadelphia playing some short Scandinavian pieces: Grieg, Hugo Alfen, Sibelius, etc. On it was the best performance of Finlandia that I had ever heard. It remains the only recording of this work (that I know of) that includes a choir (Mormon Tabernacle) along with the orchestra. I love the effect with the singers, but with the record, I was never able to make out most of the lyrics. When digital came along, I waited patiently for these performances to come out on CD. Well it took decades, but finally about 2 years ago, Sony released these performances on CD and I bought it. Imagine my chagrin when I found out that I still couldn't make out the chorus' lyrics with any DAC I tried! Well, after the Yggy settled-in for a week, I tried this Finlandia rendition again. For the first time, I can parse the lyrics from just listening to the CD. To me that's impressive and speaks volumes about the performance of the Schiit Yggdrasil! 

[manisandher]

4 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

 

Let me share this anecdote with you...

 

 

Thanks for sharing. I'm genuinely pleased for you. I hope you accept that I'm being totally sincere here.

 

I had the Yggy on home loan because I was thinking of buying one for my office system. You see, I wanted to go the Roon/microRendu route in my office, but the DAC I had there was incompatible with the microRendu, hence my interest in the Yggy. (I did buy a microRendu, and an LPS-1 too, but have recently sold both because I've found a substantially better-sounding Roon solution for my office.) I didn't like the sonic signature of the Yggy and it seems a few people got upset when I started speculating why, going on to accuse me of all sorts of absurd things. Some crazy people in this hobby of ours! (But you don't seem to come across as one.)

 

Mani.

[Speed Racer]

Put a certain user on ignore.....what a waste of bits.

[Jud]

Have noticed a tendency for users to rate down each other's posts if they're arguing, as "tit for tat."  Reminded me of this:

 

 

[Speed Racer]

I saw this guy's post about Yggy before I ever thought I would spend $2300 on a DAC and well before I joined here. I thought his conclusions were ridiculous then as much as I do now. Especially that "filter" he had his buddy do that "Proved" the glitch could be heard.

[manisandher]

4 minutes ago, Jud said:

Have noticed a tendency for users to rate down each other's posts if they're arguing, as "tit for tat."...

 

 

I've given your post a 'like' .

 

Mani.

[manisandher]

2 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

Especially that "filter" he had his buddy do that "Proved" the glitch could be heard.

 

 

The filter didn't prove anything.

 

Mani.

[Speed Racer]

That person even gave this post a negative:

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/29662-discussion-of-ac-mains-isolation-transformers-started-wposts-moved-from-quotlps-1-troubleshootingquot-thread/?do=findComment&comment=645988

 

Too funny but not surprising.....

[Jud]

47 minutes ago, manisandher said:

 

I've given your post a 'like' .

 

Mani.

 

Was hoping SR would too, but maybe he doesn't like the Simpsons.

[Jud]

47 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

That person even gave this post a negative:

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/29662-discussion-of-ac-mains-isolation-transformers-started-wposts-moved-from-quotlps-1-troubleshootingquot-thread/?do=findComment&comment=645988

 

Too funny but not surprising.....

 

Was that before or after you "disliked" a bunch (or is it all?) his posts in this thread?

[Samuel T Cogley]

7 hours ago, Jud said:

 

As always, this depends on individual implementations.  USB can obtain lower jitter numbers, SPDIF doesn't have to deal with data packets, power conductor in the cable, etc.  Specific implementations deal with these disadvantages more or less successfully.

 

+1

 

Besides, we need USB for DSD.

[Jud]

1 minute ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

+1

 

Besides, we need USB for DSD.

 

There is actually SDIF (not SPDIF) for DSD, but it's not common.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Just now, Jud said:

 

There is actually SDIF (not SPDIF) for DSD, but it's not common.

 

More than that, I believe it's proprietary (?)

[Jud]

2 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

More than that, I believe it's proprietary (?)

 

Whenever the search function for the forum is up to it, you can see posts from people who had SDIF-3 inputs built for them in order to play DSD files.

[Ralf11]

What does the improvement in SQ sound like for a Yggy vs. some DAC that is a lot cheaper?

[Samuel T Cogley]

1 minute ago, Jud said:

 

Whenever the search function for the forum is up to it, you can see posts from people who had SDIF-3 inputs built for them in order to play DSD files.

 

So "SDIF" is S/PDIF - Philips?

[Samuel T Cogley]

Just now, Ralf11 said:

What does the improvement in SQ sound like for a Yggy vs. some DAC that is a lot cheaper?

 

Like what?

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, Jud said:

 

Whenever the search function for the forum is up to it, you can see posts from people who had SDIF-3 inputs built for them in order to play DSD files.

 

Here are some search results:

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/search/?&q=sdif3&sortby=relevancy

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/search/?&q=sdif-3

[Jud]

7 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Here are some search results:

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/search/?&q=sdif3&sortby=relevancy

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/search/?&q=sdif-3

 

Thank you (and apologies for not checking out the search function more thoroughly myself before posting).

[GUTB]

I found this I2S bridge a while back that has SDIF outputs. I bought one.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122209728498?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

You can pick XMOS or Amanero version.

 

The Tascam DA-3000 ($800) can native decode (direct skipping SRC) DSD over SDIF. Kind of moot now with all these good, cheap I2S DACs available...

[Ralf11]

17 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said:

 

Like what?

 

 

Like something costing $500 or $1,000 - or a Dacmagic

[Samuel T Cogley]

28 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

 

 

Like something costing $500 or $1,000 - or a Dacmagic

 

I'm rather fond of the iFi iDSD Micro.  I have the now-discontinued silver one (the current model is black).  That one's around $550.  With PCM, the Yggy is much more detailed and lush.  Keep in mind that the Yggy is PCM only.  And every DSD->PCM conversion I've tried with the Yggy sounds underwhelming (even with HQPlayer).

 

Dacmagic Plus?  Buy an iDSD Micro.  The Dacmagic Plus was all that a few years back, but it's not at the same level as the current drop of DACs at that price.

 

To be fair, I've had an opportunity to listen to an Ayre Codex ($1800-ish) for an extended period.  This is basically "trickle UP" tech from the Pono, believe it or not.  It will play both PCM and DSD and it sounds really nice.  Some consider DSD a "unicorn" format, but I tend to use HQPlayer in some environments and boy does the Codex shine with HQPlayer.  Better than the Yggy?  Maybe just as good in a different way.  YMMV, of course.

 

I also have a Gumby that had upgraded from a Gungnir.  I don't want to say it sounds "almost" as good as the Yggy, but it sounds quite good with Redbook.

 

Now here's where I might lose some people: I think all the Schiit multibit DACs perform best with Redbook (as opposed to 24 bit at higher sample rates).  If someone had a lot of high sample rate files, I might steer them away from a Yggy.

 

Depending on where exactly in the $500-$1000 range you want to be, you might consider the Gustard X20.  There's no shortage of people who just love this DAC.  I heard one with HQPlayer (have not heard straight PCM) and it was just amazing for a sub-$1000 DAC.

 

I have mixed feelings about how much I spent on the Yggy.  While I sincerely feel I got more than my money's worth (it sounds really, really good with Redbook), it also raised the bar of what a "reasonable" price for HiFi gear is, to the detriment of my wallet.  I've since bought other non-DAC gear that I wouldn't have considered (too expensive) since I bought the Yggy.

 

Hope this helps.