Any interest in Schiit Audio.

jdandy

jdandy

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After quite a bit of research I find myself interested in the Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC ($2299). I want to replace my Wyred 4 Sound DAC2 that I re-purposed to my Aurender N100H in the living room system. The DAC2 had been doing duty with my Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amp and HD800 headphone in my office. I need to return it to that purpose, so hence my search for a new DAC to support the Aurender N100H in the living room system. What has captured my attention besides the astonishingly low price of the Yggdrasil is its design. It is a R2R multibit ladder DAC rather than the more widely used Delta Sigma DAC's. There is a lot to like about the Yggdrasil DAC. It has received glowing reviews from reviewers at TAS, 6moons, HiFiPlus, and Stereophile.

Are there any Yggdrasil DAC owners here? Would love to hear comments.

http://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil




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My brother bought a Saga preamp from them and absolutely loves it.

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Joe.......I am not surprised your brother likes the SAGA preamp. Schiit Audio has made quite a name for themselves designing and manufacturing audio components in the USA that punch way above their price points. Mike Moffat and Jason Stoddard are the owners of Schiit Audio. Both have long histories in the audio manufacturing business. Mike's credentials go back to California Audio Labs and Theta Digital. Jason's history goes back to his work with Sumo. The digital designer is Mike, and the amplifier designer is Jason. These two gentlemen are heavyweights. Their combined talents and knowledge serve as a solid foundation for the work at Schiit Audio. Their mission is to bring high-end audio to a whole new audience by developing audio components that deliver outstanding performance at prices that leave their competition looking overpriced. It is interesting to note the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC is their most expensive component. Also interesting is the modular design that allows any section of the DAC to be upgraded as future developments are implemented. Their not shy about standing behind what they manufacture, either. The Yggdrasil DAC has a five year warranty.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/schiit-audio-yggdrasil-dac/



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I was already to buy one, the Yggdrasil, to try it but then Red Cloud for my PSA Directstream came out and I really like the sound, so I thought I'd wait.
 
Joe.......I agree with you. The PS Audio Directstream DAC has enjoyed great reviews and appears to be well received by owners. Its software upgradeable field programmable gate array DAC has received continuous development and support that includes its latest Red Cloud upgrade. For me, it would be far more tempting from a perspective buyer's point of view if the $5999.00 price of the Directstream DAC were more inline with the $2299.00 price of the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, particularly since by all accounts the Yggdrasil's performance and sound consistently gets compared to DACs costing five times or more its price. That's hard to ignore.
 
jdandy said:
Joe.......I agree with you. The PS Audio Directstream DAC has enjoyed great reviews and appears to be well received by owners. Its software upgradeable field programmable gate array DAC has received continuous development and support that includes its latest Red Cloud upgrade. For me, it would be far more tempting from a perspective buyer's point of view if the $5999.00 price of the Directstream DAC were more inline with the $2299.00 price of the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, particularly since by all accounts the Yggdrasil's performance and sound consistently gets compared to DACs costing five times or more its price. That's hard to ignore.
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Well, there's always the DS Jr.
 
I have one of the first batch of Yggdasils; ordered it the day they were released. Haven't done the Gen 5 USB upgrade yet since I'm not using USB. It's my only Schitt product so far.

It replaced a Meitner MA-1. Right away I heard tiny details I hadn't noticed before in otherwise familiar songs. Before the Meitner, I was using a W4S Dac 1.
 
Mrppv said:
I have one of the first batch of Yggdasils; ordered it the day they were released. Haven't done the Gen 5 USB upgrade yet since I'm not using USB. It's my only Schitt product so far.

It replaced a Meitner MA-1. Right away I heard tiny details I hadn't noticed before in otherwise familiar songs. Before the Meitner, I was using a W4S Dac 1.
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Mrppv.......Thanks for your comments. That is quite a testimony for the Yggdrasil's price to performance ratio. At one-third the cost of the Meitner MA-1, the Yggdrasil outperforms it. That seems to be the general consensus among owners and reviewers alike.
 
I only have the SYS which I use as a simple A/B switch, but I appreciate the build quality of their gear (including the $50 SYS) and the fact they're an American company. They seem to offer quality products are a varying arrange of price points.
 
Watching the Yggdrasil being assembled I can't help but marvel at the modular design concept of the different sections of the DAC, both digital and analog. The modular circuit boards afford owners an easy and efficient way to upgrade should Mike or Jason develop improvements. Those with the Gen 3 USB input can easily install the Gen 5 USB input using the build video as a guide. It is unique that the only internal cable on the Yggdrasil is the ribbon cable from the main board to the front panel board. All other circuit path interconnects are achieved via pins and sockets. This not only makes for foolproof and quick assembly, it also provides ultimate simplicity for upgrades. It is just one more example of the ingenious manner in which Schiit Audio is able to deliver high quality components at reasonable prices.
 
jdandy said:
Joe.......I agree with you. The PS Audio Directstream DAC has enjoyed great reviews and appears to be well received by owners. Its software upgradeable field programmable gate array DAC has received continuous development and support that includes its latest Red Cloud upgrade. For me, it would be far more tempting from a perspective buyer's point of view if the $5999.00 price of the Directstream DAC were more inline with the $2299.00 price of the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, particularly since by all accounts the Yggdrasil's performance and sound consistently gets compared to DACs costing five times or more its price. That's hard to ignore.
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I agree with GSOphile. I have the DS junior and that thing is awesome! I tried it at home in May when it was not perfect but sounding so realistically and analogue that I kept it. A few Months ago Huron came which definitely made it super high-end audiophile or whatever you want to call it, next to the still available analogue type of sound. Now since RedCloud it is nearly perfect.
It is a bit more expensive than the Shiit but includes the bridge which is a streamer. And all the 2018 features zou want are there: Roon, MQA, DSD, I2S connection.
Obviously I love my PS Audio DS Junior!
 
Mrppv said:
I have one of the first batch of Yggdasils; ordered it the day they were released. Haven't done the Gen 5 USB upgrade yet since I'm not using USB. It's my only Schitt product so far.

It replaced a Meitner MA-1. Right away I heard tiny details I hadn't noticed before in otherwise familiar songs. Before the Meitner, I was using a W4S Dac 1.
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Yes, the Yggdrasil has a wonderfully natural tone, and extreme resolution. Separation of instruments or instrument groups in large orchestra are unbelievable, with each layer revealed in it own separate, deeply saturated harmonic color. And that keeps on going no matter how loud and complex the music gets. Zero congestion. Extremely un-digital that way. For rock music, beautiful punch of mid-bass, and incredible rhythm -- one of the best front-ends I have ever heard in terms of rhythmic performance, regardless if analog or digital. I have heard all this in an uber high-end system that allowed for these features to be revealed in their full glory; all from plain Redbook CD format. The Yggy is a giant beater. Ridiculous price/performance ratio. Robert Harley does not exaggerate when he write in his TAS review: "The Yggy is not just a tremendous value in today’s DACs, it’s one of the greatest bargains in the history of high-end audio."

In my own more modest system it also performs wonderfully. The natural tone and rhythmic strength are a delight.
 
I have to say at 5 hours into the Freya preamp & for the price of this component I have thought more than once why is this unit under 1000 bills making my 10's of thousands of dollars amp sound so good. 1 of my i'c's are worth 5 times this pre..... May I be smote to the top of my head with Thors' hammer!!!
 
Can't say I'm impressed with the part of the manufacturing facility that we can see. Obviously CI and 6S lessons haven't been applied here. Hardware laying in french fry containers, nothing is labeled, etc.
 
mep said:
Can't say I'm impressed with the part of the manufacturing facility that we can see. Obviously CI and 6S lessons haven't been applied here. Hardware laying in french fry containers, nothing is labeled, etc.
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5S, lean, just in time, yellow belt, Ishikawa, A3, RCM etc are just tools for bored management and seldom work in reality.
 
Planning to upgrade my headphone system from lowly Pangea to The following:

Gumby multibit
Molinar 2 tube

I believe these may perform better than the Sennheiser HDVD 800 I am considering at about the same price point.

I was was going to go with the Senn,but it seems to be a highly polarizing piece of kit getting criticized for its DAC.

What say all of you?
 
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