Yggdrasil vs Luxman DA-06 DAC

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Mechnutt

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Tonight I had some friends over and they brought over a Yggdrasil DAC with the Gen 5 usb and an
Atma-Sphere UV-1 preamp that was modified with Teflon Caps and some other upgrades recently by Ralph of Atma-Sphere.

We compared the Yggy to my DA-06 and I was happy to hear that the Yggy did not blow the Luxman out of the water. The Yggy had a bit more detail, was crisper and had a faster pace. It was also slightly more forward. The Luxman was more rounded, smoother and slower with a bit more warmth although the Yggy was not bright at all. Sound stage was about the same. Both had similar musicality. I think that I would give a slight edge to the Yggy. How ever, I could see some people preferring the Yggy by a long shot depending upon tastes. I don't know if it is enough to make me go out and buy it though. I would like to hear it compared to the PSA Direct Stream and the T+A DAC8, 2 DAC's that I really like.

The Atma-Sphere UV-1 was very interesting. It looks like it was made in the 1920's. It does not come with a remote. It sounded very good in my system with a lot more warmth and tube sound compared to my BAT preamp which sounds almost SS in comparison. One guy pointed out that it made digital sound more like vinyl. However, it lacked the detail, resolution and clarity of the BAT. It's sound stage was good but much smaller than the BAT which sounds almost holographic in comparison. However, the UV-1 did put out deeper and punchier although not as tight sounding bass.
 
Mechnutt said:
Tonight I had some friends over and they brought over a Yggdrasil DAC with the Gen 5 usb and an
Atma-Sphere UV-1 preamp that was modified with Teflon Caps and some other upgrades recently by Ralph of Atma-Sphere.

We compared the Yggy to my DA-06 and I was happy to hear that the Yggy did not blow the Luxman out of the water. The Yggy had a bit more detail, was crisper and had a faster pace. It was also slightly more forward. The Luxman was more rounded, smoother and slower with a bit more warmth although the Yggy was not bright at all. Sound stage was about the same. Both had similar musicality. I think that I would give a slight edge to the Yggy. How ever, I could see some people preferring the Yggy by a long shot depending upon tastes. I don't know if it is enough to make me go out and buy it though. I would like to hear it compared to the PSA Direct Stream and the T+A DAC8, 2 DAC's that I really like.

The Atma-Sphere UV-1 was very interesting. It looks like it was made in the 1920's. It does not come with a remote. It sounded very good in my system with a lot more warmth and tube sound compared to my BAT preamp which sounds almost SS in comparison. One guy pointed out that it made digital sound more like vinyl. However, it lacked the detail, resolution and clarity of the BAT. It's sound stage was good but much smaller than the BAT which sounds almost holographic in comparison. However, the UV-1 did put out deeper and punchier although not as tight sounding bass.
Click to expand...

That’s why in this league, I learned is it better or different - too many options, too many variables




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Mechnutt said:
Tonight I had some friends over and they brought over a Yggdrasil DAC with the Gen 5 usb
Click to expand...

Interesting comparison that you describe, yet from this beginning sentence it seems the Yggdrasil was barely warmed up. For full potential, the Yggy should be plugged in for two days.
 
I would not change DAC on difference you described unless my overall system really needed it. When I put my Mojo in and compared it to a very nice RT Audio, I would description like the Luxman, the difference was not subtle. The whole harmonic texture and overall realism of Instruments jumped. Not only that but the soundstage gained depth and precision placement. IMO, if you hear changes like that and it's affordable to your budget, upgrade. Otherwise stay with what you have till something jumps out and grabs you.
 
Al M. said:
Interesting comparison that you describe, yet from this beginning sentence it seems the Yggdrasil was barely warmed up. For full potential, the Yggy should be plugged in for two days.
Click to expand...

AL M. .......I never turn my Yggdrasil DAC off, nor do I turn off the Simaudio Moon Neo 260 DT transport or my Aurender N100H music server in the living room system. The same is true for my Esoteric K-01x CD/SACD/DAC and Aurender N10 in the studio system. They are always warm and ready to make music at any given moment. It does make a difference.
 
The Yggy had been on for about 3 hours before playing and we listened to for about 1.5 hours. While I have no doubt that it would sound better with longer warm up, I still don't think that it is not a huge step up from the luxman. Upsampling music on the Lux to 352 and 384 using Bug Head music player closed the gap with Yggy. We did not try DSD.

The Yggy certainly performs well above its price point and is well worth the money. If I was starting from scratch, it would be in my top 3-5 dac's in my budget.
 
Mechnutt said:
The Yggy had been on for about 3 hours before playing and we listened to for about 1.5 hours. While I have no doubt that it would sound better with longer warm up, I still don't think that it is not a huge step up from the luxman. Upsampling music on the Lux to 352 and 384 using Bug Head music player closed the gap with Yggy. We did not try DSD.

The Yggy certainly performs well above its price point and is well worth the money. If I was starting from scratch, it would be in my top 3-5 dac's in my budget.
Click to expand...

A friend once borrowed another friend's Yggdrasil after having been impressed with it. He was disappointed with it in his own system at first, but about 36 hours later he texted, "what a wonderful DAC!". Long warm-up made all the difference to him.
 
jdandy said:
AL M. .......I never turn my Yggdrasil DAC off, nor do I turn off the Simaudio Moon Neo 260 DT transport or my Aurender N100H music server in the living room system. The same is true for my Esoteric K-01x CD/SACD/DAC and Aurender N10 in the studio system. They are always warm and ready to make music at any given moment. It does make a difference.
Click to expand...

Same here.
 
Mechnutt said:
Tonight I had some friends over and they brought over a Yggdrasil DAC with the Gen 5 usb and an
Atma-Sphere UV-1 preamp that was modified with Teflon Caps and some other upgrades recently by Ralph of Atma-Sphere.

We compared the Yggy to my DA-06 and I was happy to hear that the Yggy did not blow the Luxman out of the water. The Yggy had a bit more detail, was crisper and had a faster pace. It was also slightly more forward. The Luxman was more rounded, smoother and slower with a bit more warmth although the Yggy was not bright at all. Sound stage was about the same. Both had similar musicality. I think that I would give a slight edge to the Yggy. How ever, I could see some people preferring the Yggy by a long shot depending upon tastes. I don't know if it is enough to make me go out and buy it though. I would like to hear it compared to the PSA Direct Stream and the T+A DAC8, 2 DAC's that I really like.

The Atma-Sphere UV-1 was very interesting. It looks like it was made in the 1920's. It does not come with a remote. It sounded very good in my system with a lot more warmth and tube sound compared to my BAT preamp which sounds almost SS in comparison. One guy pointed out that it made digital sound more like vinyl. However, it lacked the detail, resolution and clarity of the BAT. It's sound stage was good but much smaller than the BAT which sounds almost holographic in comparison. However, the UV-1 did put out deeper and punchier although not as tight sounding bass.
Click to expand...

If the Yggy wasn't warmed for a period of time - t² - based on the time - t - it was disconnected, you won't hear it at its best. I know, I made up that formula, but the gist is true.
 
Mechnutt said:
We compared the Yggy to my DA-06

The Atma-Sphere UV-1 was very interesting. It looks like it was made in the 1920's. It does not come with a remote. It sounded very good in my system with a lot more warmth and tube sound compared to my BAT preamp which sounds almost SS in comparison.
Click to expand...
I generally try not to have 2 or more variables when comparing something, like a DAC. Hard enough with one. :)
Sounds like you had some fun. I've been impressed with the Schitt stuff I've tried, especially given their domestic manufacture and cost.

cheers,

AJ
 
Al M. said:
A friend once borrowed another friend's Yggdrasil after having been impressed with it. He was disappointed with it in his own system at first, but about 36 hours later he texted, "what a wonderful DAC!". Long warm-up made all the difference to him.
Click to expand...
His perception didn't change for 36 hrs??? What galaxy was he visiting from? ;)

cheers,

AJ
 
I also concur Yggy needs a couple of days to warm up. The difference isn’t small.
 
You mentioned that you were thinking about a T+A DAC8, make sure you get the T+A DAC 8 DSD. While it is good with PCM having 8 BurrBrown chips dedicated to PCM, what it does with DSD is out of this world. They developed their own 1 bit converter. To really see it shine, if you can, try it with Roon & HQPlayer. I upsample everything to 24.6 Mgz (DSD512 with 48 Base Clock). Simply amazing.
 
AJ Soundfield said:
I generally try not to have 2 or more variables when comparing something, like a DAC. Hard enough with one. :)
Sounds like you had some fun. I've been impressed with the Schitt stuff I've tried, especially given their domestic manufacture and cost.

cheers,

AJ
Click to expand...



It was a fun time with food and drink. We did not try the Yggy with the UV-1, only with my gear just for that reason. Unfortunately, we did not spend much time with the UV due to a ground loop which I never experienced before.
 
Randy Myers said:
You mentioned that you were thinking about a T+A DAC8, make sure you get the T+A DAC 8 DSD. While it is good with PCM having 8 BurrBrown chips dedicated to PCM, what it does with DSD is out of this world. They developed their own 1 bit converter. To really see it shine, if you can, try it with Roon & HQPlayer. I upsample everything to 24.6 Mgz (DSD512 with 48 Base Clock). Simply amazing.
Click to expand...


Yep, that is the one I am interested in. A friend of mine has one and runs it at 512. It is simply amazing.
 
Mechnutt said:
Yep, that is the one I am interested in. A friend of mine has one and runs it at 512. It is simply amazing.
Click to expand...

The laundry list of DACs I have tried is almost scary since digital is my main source. I rip every disks I get and move them to the server. Every disk literally gets one spin :). The T+A is in a league of it's own in my view. It is one piece in my system that has no chance of being replaced (unless someone wants to give me a Lampi or something :D ).

If you can run it with Roon & HQPlayer you will be impressed for sure!
 
Hey there, this thread just prompted me to register here! I just bought a Luxman DA-06 last week to compare with my Hegel HD30, and have been doing some comparisons and coming to similar conclusions as you and your Yggy comparisons.

I got the DA-06 just because I'm a big Luxman fan and thought it would play nice with my L-509X integrated, at a similar level of sound quality as the HD30 (which I was perfectly happy with). I, too, found the Luxman generally had a more musical presentation of the sound - seemingly allowing the entire composition to shine, rather than with the Hegel where - while not clinical like a Mytek, etc - it does seem to draw attention to the individual instruments (particularly percussion) a bit more.

I'm very happy with the Luxman and currently upsampling everything in Roon to DSD 128, and it sounds amazing. So I'm letting the Hegel go. But it's true that at a certain point there's not necessarily "better," just "different," and what your individual tastes are will dictate whether that "different" is better to you.
 
JSQT said:
Hey there, this thread just prompted me to register here! I just bought a Luxman DA-06 last week to compare with my Hegel HD30, and have been doing some comparisons and coming to similar conclusions as you and your Yggy comparisons.

I got the DA-06 just because I'm a big Luxman fan and thought it would play nice with my L-509X integrated, at a similar level of sound quality as the HD30 (which I was perfectly happy with). I, too, found the Luxman generally had a more musical presentation of the sound - seemingly allowing the entire composition to shine, rather than with the Hegel where - while not clinical like a Mytek, etc - it does seem to draw attention to the individual instruments (particularly percussion) a bit more.

I'm very happy with the Luxman and currently upsampling everything in Roon to DSD 128, and it sounds amazing. So I'm letting the Hegel go. But it's true that at a certain point there's not necessarily "better," just "different," and what your individual tastes are will dictate whether that "different" is better to you.
Click to expand...


Welcome aboard. Glad to see you like the Luxman. I really like the Luxman, it checks all the boxes for my type of sound. I really liked the Yggdrasil with the Gen 5 usb. I was surprised that it leaned a bit to the warm side. I may eventually upgrade to it and give the Lux to my son since it is a Japanese version and I may have trouble selling it for a decent price. Or I may just go for the T+A DSD8 once my friend brings his over for me to try in my system now that I have a computer that can do DSD512. I do have quite a bit of DSD recordings and they would be a waste with the Yggy.

This is off topic but-

Right now I am wrestling with the idea of selling my amp and preamp and going with a Luxman integrated or just sell my BAT preamp and buy a custom Don Sachs SP-14 tube preamp with all the upgrades and then wait and see how the Lux and T+A sounds with it. I am leaning on having the DS's preamp built and compare it with my BAT. I would have no trouble selling the BAT for $3200 or so with relatively new tubes and new Caps in the 6 pack.
 
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