Schiit DAC recomendations

[mshifi]

Hi All, Looking for user reviews and recomendation on Bifrost Multibit and Gungnir DAC. Currently using the Modimultibit and happy with it. Will the Bifrost be a substantial upgrade over this or should i look at the Gungnir. Thanks & regards

 

[sound_cycle]

Are you planning to go balanced, Gungnir. Curious why gungnir ds vs bifrost mb ?

Also you are asking dangerous-to-your-wallet-questions. For instance I found that my int amp sucked. I found that DAC direct into amp was not that great. And so on.

ciao
gr

 

[mshifi]

sound_cycle@ Just looking at an upgrade to modimultibit, which would be better. If Bifrost is a good upgrade to modi that would do. Not specifically looking at Gungnir as it is expensive. But do not want to buy some thing and repent that should have gone for a higher model. happy with the SQ schiit dac and would like to stick to this brand. Assuming that the bifrost would be better than the modi, but by how much. Since you have been using schiit bifrost, you could share your views/opinion

 

[sound_cycle]

sound_cycle@ Just looking at an upgrade to modimultibit, which would be better. If Bifrost is a good upgrade to modi that would do. Not specifically looking at Gungnir as it is expensive. But do not want to buy some thing and repent that should have gone for a higher model. happy with the SQ schiit dac and would like to stick to this brand. Assuming that the bifrost would be better than the modi, but by how much. Since you have been using schiit bifrost, you could share your views/opinion

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/marveys-dac-chart-of-awesomeness.63/

Gumby is w-a-y above.

Have i done a direct compare of the Mimby vs Bimby. No. Have I heard Gumby no, Gungnir yes.

I can give you the easy answer. If you ever want to go balanced jump straight to the Gumby. And it will get you USB5 (if you are using USB it is of value). If not you can get close-ish with Bimby.

You will (like i said not my direct evaluation in my rig, disclaimer) get more SQ from the Bimby over the Mimby. The gain ofc is in all the subtle stuff.

You will most likely get rid of your int- and get a pre- power when you do. you have been warned ;P

ciao
gr

 

[mshifi]

Thanks Sound_cycle. Not looking at balanced now. Will the diff in SQ between Gungnir (not multibit) be better than bifrost multibit. If yes, will look at that option as well.
i am aslo considering the pre-power options to get down to one simple but a good setup.

 

[drgb]

I found the Gungnir DS to be very transparent and provide a good stereo image. The BIMBy on the other hand is a bit more musical and analogue sounding.

This brings me to an interesting point. Having owned a R2R dac (theta ds pro) for a long time, i always suffered from spells of upgraditis. In pursuit of finding a decent r2r dac to replace the theta, I tried to audition quite a few dacs. The ones that caught my attention the most were the multibit dacs from schiit. They were quite affordable and therefore seemed most lucrative.

However when i auditioned the schiit r2r line i came home unimpressed. Even for its age, the theta sounded much much more open and "true" than the schiit GUMBy. The Yggdrasil came close but was still only equal at best (not a bad thing though).

Time and again you will hear people say this and i would reiterate "its all about the implementation". In my opinion going for cheaper r2rs that use digital filters and smaller ladders, spend on a well implememted delta sigma.

So is the gungnir ds an upgrade over your bifrost mb? Depends on what you are looking for. If you're searching for better connectivity, moderately larger soundstage and more dimensionality in your music, go for the gungnir. If these dont seem like upgrade worthy attributes, save up. Save enough for a good r2r dac that uses more accurate ladders and better filters.

 

[mshifi]

Thanks drgb. Will have to audition different dacs to get an idea of how different each sound. Schiit modi multibit has been the first dac. Just got it based on review and recommendation from fm's.