Schiit Yggdrasil

[postjack]

Alright lets talk about this. Digital audio revolution or just another DAC with a fancy pants implementation?

 

http://schiit.com/products/yggdrasil

 

The FAQ, as usual, is worth your time.

[tkam]

I appreciate the Dr. Who mention in the FAQ

[roadtonowhere08]

Shit, $400 in DAC chips alone.  They're not messing around.

[nopants]

The choice of DAC chips is unique, but somebody was pooh-poohing its dynamic range performance. I wouldn't call it a revolution, but I do like that they're choosing not to spend money towards implementing DSD in their flagship product.

 

I'm interested in the filter, which is the main reason I purchased one. Going to be using it with a separate USB-SPDIF solution though.

[Laowei]

I got mine yesterday. Too soon to tell its potential when fully warmed up, but straight out of the box it sounds really really good with my KGST and SR-009.

[Tachikoma]

I'm just happy to see an R2R dac using a genuine state of the art chip that doesn't cost $5K or more. I'll get one eventually.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Tachikoma

[nopants]

They could have done something similar using the PCM56 chip but I suppose someone decided that 16-bit would have been a harder sell

[Tachikoma]

I'd imagine that Schiit might eventually release a lower priced multibit DAC. This is supposed to be the best possible DAC they could make, why skimp on the chip?

[dreamwhisper]

I'll get one in about 5 years, when they release the updated boards.

That's the whole point of having socketed boards. There should be some update in 3-5 years, might as well save on the shipping.

 

Am I desperate to upgrade?

If I had speakers yeah, the only R2R DAC I heard sounded amazing on speakers.

 

Right now I just need to get some vinyl before the records I need cost more than I can pay. (one is at $150 already... fml)

Edited April 29, 2015 by dreamwhisper

[nopants]

There's not much to update on the DAC side- the only chip that comes to mind is the ARTA dac, which is vaporware

 

I'm not really sure what they would update on the output stage either but who knows- might just be reacting to EOL changes like what people deal with for DIY Stax boards

 

Maybe the filter, or the digital input section could receive upgrades?

[kevin gilmore]

another reason why many of the boards are on sockets is rework.

 

If everything was on one board, and there was a problem, fixes could

be tough. this way, one mini board does not work and cannot be fixed,

it gets tossed.

[justin]

makes pcb layout a lot less stressful as well

[Craig Sawyers]

Mezzanine boards are sometimes a smart idea.  One amp I did had one board full of voltage regulators.  The amp board plugged in a bit like an old 7000 series Tektronix scope, so each regulator had a direct feed to each stage of the amp. It meant that each element could be optimised without compromising the other.

[nopants]

I just got mine, this dac might be the truth

[postjack]

I just got mine, this dac might be the truth

Sweet. I'm pretty full up DAC wise but am interested in any impressions you care to provide.

[nopants]

I wrote a thorough review of the packaging over at the other site, but I'll try to gather some constructive thoughts here. I don't typically review stuff, and I would even say I don't do much critical listening anymore. Take that how you will.

 

The main thing I noticed right away is the way it casts the soundstage forward and back, something that I've found most modern DACs don't do very well. I A/ B'ed against the Ayre QB9  for a bit to determine this. I'll probably need to do some comparisons against the other R2R dac I have on hand (AR-T segue). Based on my fuzzy aural memory I would honestly say skip looking for the Spectral SDR2k and go for the Yggdrasil. 

 

One of the more prominent effects using it with the 007 (off Marc's BHSE) is that there's less "boom" to the bass. Low frequencies develop a lot more texture and the effect isn't subtle. It's really easy to pick out instruments in space, or at least my perception of it. Whether it's artificial or not will probably take me longer to evaluate. For reference, I consider the HD800's soundstage as "artificially" wide. I've also noticed a really nice "decay" when listening to stringed instruments, which has me fishing around for some small ensemble pieces. It's probably safe for me to generalize this as some magic in the transient response.

 

Other than that I haven't really stumbled upon anything revelatory, harsh recordings sound harsh and EDM sounds like it was "recorded" in a bathroom. I typically have benchmark tracks that I use to evalute DACs within a shorter timeframe, but my experience with the Yggdrasil just makes me want to queue up all those tracks that have been gathering digital dust.

 

This is all with an audiophilleo 2, I haven't bothered with any of their inputs yet. I've also only used it for maybe 2 hours. I have no plans to keep it on 24/7, everyone citing burn-in effects on head-fi is some serious hivemind bullshit. I'm going to hook up my Legato II once I get the damn thing working. 

[Laowei]

Try leaving it on at least one time for a full week and give it a listen along the way.

My Yggy has been on for 8 days now, and it sounds substantially better than when it's cold. And the process is not linear, the Yggy's sonics come and go but really bloom after a long power up time.

[nopants]

Maybe I'll do that at the office so I don't have to worry about the power bill 

[Laowei]

Listening to Frank Zappa's Sheik Yerbouti ATM with the Yggy.. Must have played it thousands of times over the past 35+ years since it was first released. No shit, it sounds like a live and remastered version with so much natural detail, tonality, transparency, sound stage, yada yada yada that I have not heard before. I am impressed.

[spritzer]

Running dac's and other low power equipment 24/7 is a good idea.  Nothing to do with phantom BS such as ghosts, burnin or elves, more that it takes a while to heat up the circuit and to get it to normal running temp.  My MSB hasn't been turned off since I got it save for the few power cuts or me breaking down the system to clean. 

[Laowei]

^ True that.

I always have left my DACs on to get the best sonics out of them. The Yggy just takes an unusually long time to really shine.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Laowei

[Audiojunkie]

^ True that.

I always have left my DACs on to get the best sonics out of them. The Yggy just takes an unusually long time to really shine.

 

Talking an unusually long time to shine? What would change? 

[postjack]

Talking an unusually long time to shine? What would change? 

 

From the Yggdrasil manual:

 

We recommend leaving Yggdrasil on continuously for best performance. Seriously. No kidding. Yes, we know, this sounds like hoo-ha about “burn-in” and magick discs/stones/markers/etc. But in Yggy’s case, this is a real thing, and a serious recommendation. Why? Because the mil-spec D/A converters in Yggy really do operate best once they’re up to temperature. As with a lot of other components inside the box. So, the logical solution (at a power cost of $50-100 per year, depending on where you live) is simply to turn it on, and leave it on. This is facilitated by inconveniently placing the power switch in the rear. So what will you hear as Yggy warms up? Hell, we’re not going to speculate on what you hear...but we’re sure you’ll hear impressions from plenty of reviewers, and you can listen for yourself, and make your own decisions. Sooooo...turn it on, leave it on, and see if you can’t hear a difference after it’s been on for a few days. And yes, this applies to first turn-on, too.

 

I know nothing of electronics, but generally I believe the Schiit guys are not full of shit, so in this instance I take them at their word.

[Laowei]

Talking an unusually long time to shine? What would change?

Why? Beats me. Edited May 6, 2015 by Laowei

[calaf]

Talking an unusually long time to shine? What would change? 

if you read the specs of the DAC

http://www.analog.com/library/analogDialogue/archives/44-04/ad5791.html

it shows the temperature drift of the DAC is 0.11ppm/C. From cold to warm circuit I'd say you have at least a 20C temperature change, corresponding to 2ppm drift, and that is just for the DAC. For comparison Schiit claims the Yggy has 21 bits precision which translates to 0.5ppm. BTW the 21 bit claim is an interesting one, since AD says their DAC has 20 bit precision.