Computer Audiopile Review's of Schiit's Yggdrasil DAC...

cmalak

cmalak

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http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/670-schiit-audio-yggdrasil-multibit-dac-review/

From his concluding remarks:

Based on my experience with countless DACs and after spending a couple months with the Yggdrasil, I can say without a doubt that this DAC is very special. It's one of my favorite DACs available today. In fact, I will happily mention the Yggdrasil in the same sentence as some of my other favorites, the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC RS ($16,000) and the EMM Labs DAC2X ($15,500), when talking to fellow audio enthusiasts. The Yggdrasil is one of those products that subtly grabs hold of the listener, yet the listener is the one who can't let go. I couldn't stop listening through the Yggdrasil enough to write this review on time. The Yggdrasil is a musically addictive drug without the expense and potential repercussions. When something is this enjoyable and the consequences of continuing its use aren't dire, the result is a foregone conclusion. More listening.
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Sounds promising. Some pics:

21965d1446583991-yggy-main-1920.jpg


21963d1446583991-yggy-beauty-1920.jpg


21967d1446583991-yggy-rear-1920.jpg


21966d1446583991-yggy-pcb-1920.jpg
 
cmalak said:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/670-schiit-audio-yggdrasil-multibit-dac-review/

From his concluding remarks:



Sounds promising. Some pics:
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Thanks for that. Sounds promising indeed, but I'd need a digital volume control. Otherwise I'd have to spend couple grands on a buffered passive pre-amp (my regular passive pre-amp is overloaded by the subwoofer load going via line input). My switch from a 20-year old Wadia 12 DAC to my current Berkeley Alpha DAC 2 was motivated precisely by the need for a digital volume control (an NAD M51 and a Hegel DAC25 didn't cut it, but the Berkeley turned out so much better than the Wadia was).
 
No DSD, unsurprising given that it's a ladder DAC. Of course, some say you should have separate DAC's for DSD and PCM, and this unit might be a "poster boy" for that idea.
 
A dealer friend, asked me if I might know anyone interested in a Yggdrasil, he took in trade for an Aqua La Scala. By the time I got back to him, to say I'd ask around; he said not to bother...it was gone already, lol.
 
rbbert said:
No DSD, unsurprising given that it's a ladder DAC. Of course, some say you should have separate DAC's for DSD and PCM, and this unit might be a "poster boy" for that idea.
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Or separate engines for the 2 formats.
 
CDLehner said:
Right; like I believe my Ayre QB-9 DSD does?
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I thought the QB-9 is a Sabre Dac...

Edit...it is so no separate engines:


I asked Charlie Hansen to provide some details on the changes that went into the QB-9 DSD:

  1. Changing the DAC chip from the Burr-Brown DSD1796 to the ES9016S.
  2. Replacing the audio master clocks with low-phase-noise modules running at twice the frequency of the previous ones, which allow the ESS DAC chip to perform at a higher level.
  3. Changes to the analog audio circuitry and its power supply that improve the audio performance.
  4. Addition of an AC line powered supply for the USB circuitry. This provides for uniformly superior performance, regardless of the quality of the USB Vbus power supplied by the computer.
  5. The ability of the USB Audio input to accept and decode native DSD files from computer sources.
Read more at http://www.audiostream.com/content/ayre-qb-9-dsd-dac#UIc4y8d3GwfCC32E.99
 
^^ Ah. So...while we're on the subject; let's say I wanted to try the La Doce S2.

I can't do a DSD-only DAC, as a 2nd source; because my N100H only has 1 audio out...yes?
 
Greetings,

I recently purchased a Schiit Yggdrasil and I'm really torn by it. It easily sounds better than the DAC in my Rowland Continuum S2. Tons more detail, less digital glare, and more realistic rendition of music in general (although the Rowland's built in DAC is far from horrible). On sound quality alone, this thing is the bees knees.

However...

The Yggdrasil uses a relay to switch something inside of it when the format of the track changes, say from 16/44 to 24/96. Each time that happens, there is an audible click, followed by a delay of about a second, then the music starts. I can't tell you how annoying that is when you play from a playlist that his music of different formats. The DAC lops off the first second or so of each track when the format changes. It's absolutely maddening to me. I love the sound of this thing, but I'm not sure if I can handle this quirk in operation. I'm sure the inclusion of the relay has very sound engineering behind it, and maybe this is something that other DACs do, but it really hinders my enjoyment of the music. So much so that I might be sending the unit back to Schiit within the 15 day home trial period. It's making me crazy!

I'm new the the DAC game, so I'm not sure if this is a common issue with other DAC's out there. Can someone enlighten me on this?

Thanks,

Jeff
 
Have you asked the folks at Schiit about this and whether there is a way to set up the songs in the playlist with maybe a few seconds delay so that the first second or two of the music isn't lopped off (prolly a better question for the folks at Aurender). You will still get the relay click but not the music cutoff.

The obvious easy solution is to put together playlists with music of the same format so you don't get the relay switch but of course that may annoy you as well.

Good luck.
 
Cyril,

Thanks for your reply. No, I haven't reached out to Aurender yet, but that's a good suggestion and I'll look into it. I'm curious to hear from others on the forum whether this type of relay switch is common to other DACs. I've never owned a DAC that had one, but perhaps I'm behind the times.

By the way, my post is not a knock on the Yggdrasil. It really sounds fantastic and in my opinion is a genuine bargain when you consider the sound quality and build quality. They are great people to do business with as well.

Jeff
 
It always pays to read the owner's manual. As it turns out, the Aurender has a time delay option built in to solve the very problem I'm experiencing with the Yggdrasil. I stand corrected.
 
Jeffp13 said:
It always pays to read the owner's manual. As it turns out, the Aurender has a time delay option built in to solve the very problem I'm experiencing with the Yggdrasil. I stand corrected.
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good to hear...so will you stick with the Yggy or are you still considering an alternative? Just curious....
 
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