[Mr.Sneis]

  I recently bought the Schiit Gungnir to replace an ODAC (which i thought was very good).  My initial impressions of the Gungnir was that it made everything sound 'brighter' and snappier but removed or hid some of the bass.  So much so that i thought maybe something was wrong but i guess i'm getting used to it.  
 
.....
 
I have a Mac Mini running OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) connected via USB to the Gungnir with output to a Onkyo A-9555 integrated Amp.  Everything worked fine out of the box with this connection and i was enjoying music straight away.  I left the amp with the volume low and the Gungnir on over night with music playing to give it some 'burn in' and get it warmed up.  When i came from from work later that day i turned the volume on the amp up to listen and all i heard was a loud BUZZZZ sound coming out of the speakers.  I checked the computer and paused the music but the buzzing continued.  i cycled inputs and the buzzing continued.  i unplugged the USB and plugged it back in and the buzzing continued.  I then shut the Gungnir off and turned it back on and it was back to normal playing music.  This happened the next day as well but with the amp OFF all night and no music playing.
 
..... 
 
Anyone else have or seen this issue?  Is my unit faulty and should i get a replacement or should i just get a refund? 

 
To the first bit, I didn't dislike the Gungnir but I too found it a bit of a pushy and up-front listening experience; one could say very engaging and energetic I suppose. I also found that when it came to subtle details of the DAC it had a tendency to smooth over some of the nuances I was used to hearing when compared to other DACs.  Like I said I did find it a great listen in the grand scheme of things as it was still quite musical and dynamic when called for, but in many regards was quite distracting due to the pushy tendency which was something I have not run in to in my history.  I've actually been contemplating giving the Gungnir another try as I have been on the hunt for a solid performing - lower priced DAC.
 
About OSX Mavericks, I really regretted making the jump to the latest OS.  Have had new issues arise with my playback software and odd glitches with my USB/SPDIF adapters that I never had prior.  I would believe it if Schiit is saying it may have something to do with the OS itself and possibly needing a new driver.  Look at it this way, m2tech has only very recently provided a working Mavericks driver for their interface... this affected not only their few products but the many 3rd party manufacturers who use their usb interface in their dacs.  Luckily we have some smart guys and supportive 3rd parties who have figured out a few workarounds way before m2tech did but for them to take what 6 months+ to release something?  Crazy!
 
I'd say stick with the Schiit, they have proven to many others they have great customer service when it's needed.

 

[paradoxper]

Really excellent point about m2tech, Mavericks is really a POS. 

 

[BeyerMonster]

 
When i came from from work later that day i turned the volume on the amp up to listen and all i heard was a loud BUZZZZ sound coming out of the speakers.  I checked the computer and paused the music but the buzzing continued.  i cycled inputs and the buzzing continued.  i unplugged the USB and plugged it back in and the buzzing continued.  I then shut the Gungnir off and turned it back on and it was back to normal playing music.  This happened the next day as well but with the amp OFF all night and no music playing.

Happened once with my Modi, but didn't happen to my Gungnir during my trial period. Both were hooked up to Windows PCs, my best guess is that it had something to do with static electricity.
 
Might not be helpful, but thought I'd mention it, just in case.

 

[KLJTech]

My Gungnir will be arriving later today, does it have 3 or 4 feet on the bottom (the pic in Audio Advisor makes it appear that there are 3) and are they screwed on or stuck on? I'd like to use a new pack of Sorbothane Hemisphere feet that I bought IF its easy to remove the stock feet. I don't know that the Sorbothane feet will improve the sound at all, but I have seen them work in other applications in my home to know that they do help minimize vibration and I have a Velodyne DD-10 in the room that the Gungnir will be used. 
 
How much burn in time is required (ballpark) for the Gungnir to sound its best? I've seen anywhere from 100 to 200 hours. 
 
Thanks! 

 

[Neuromance]

My unit has 3 feet (2 in the front, one in the back) that are screwed on. I haven't tried removing them, so no claims as to ease or difficulty.
 
I didn't do a scientific evaluation, but i would agree with the timeframe in terms of ease and liquidity. Right off the bat though you already get the bass and dynamics that the DAC is known for.  

  My Gungnir will be arriving later today, does it have 3 or 4 feet on the bottom (the pic in Audio Advisor makes it appear that there are 3) and are they screwed on or stuck on? I'd like to use a new pack of Sorbothane Hemisphere feet that I bought IF its easy to remove the stock feet. I don't know that the Sorbothane feet will improve the sound at all, but I have seen them work in other applications in my home to know that they do help minimize vibration and I have a Velodyne DD-10 in the room that the Gungnir will be used. 
 
How much burn in time is required (ballpark) for the Gungnir to sound its best? I've seen anywhere from 100 to 200 hours. 
 
Thanks! 

 

[Barry S]

...  
How much burn in time is required (ballpark) for the Gungnir to sound its best? I've seen anywhere from 100 to 200 hours...

 
I'd estimate roughly, 100 to 200......milliseconds.

 

[madwolfa]

  Ever try Blue Jeans Cable? I have no experience with XLRs since my system isn't balanced, but they made me a beauty of a RCA to 3.5mm that I use to connect my Gungnir to my Pico Slim (seems odd maybe, but my headphone of choice is actually a pair of IEMs).

I've got a pair of balanced XLR interconnects from BJC. They're great! Highly recommended.

 

[earwaxxer]

   
If we didn't fix the problems, you should have contacted us--we would have fixed it under warranty, of course. However, everything is tested twice--by two different techs, using instruments and ears, before it goes out from repair, so it was certainly working when it left the building.
 
Did you contact us, say it wasn't fixed, and request us to fix it again?

The reason I let it go was that I was not impressed with the sound of the gen2 USB input compared to some of my other DACs, so I decided to move on to one of my other DAC's. I cant tell you why it got sent out not fixed, but the gen2 USB input does sound better than the SPDIF inputs, so I wasnt too motivated to go the extra yard to get the SPDIF inputs fixed.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

 
The reason I let it go was that I was not impressed with the sound of the gen2 USB input, so I decided to move on to one of my other DAC's. I cant tell you why it got sent out not fixed, but the gen2 USB sounds better than th

If you don't let us know there's a problem, it's impossible for us to fix it. I'd contact tech@schiit.com or alex@schiit.com to get it brought back and fixed.

 

[rwelles]

  If you don't let us know there's a problem, it's impossible for us to fix it. I'd contact tech@schiit.com or alex@schiit.com to get it brought back and fixed.

Guessing you meant "possible", not "impossible". You were very diligent in fixing my Gungnir when it was misbehaving!!

 

[KLJTech]

   
I'd estimate roughly, 100 to 200......milliseconds.

 
Who has that kind of time on their hands? 

  
 
I like how they used 3 feet to support the DAC...saves them money and makes the Gungnir sit firmly balanced on my desk/bench.

 

[KLJTech]

I see in the new HomeTheaterHiFi review of the Birost Uber and Asgard 2 that the reviewer uses J.River MC (as do I in my office system) yet he has the bit depth "padded to 24 bits" and "sampling rate set to 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz"
 
Anyone else using J.River with the Gungnir?
 
I'm setting my new Gungnir up this weekend and I've always set the J.River's Bitdepth to "Automatic" and the Sample Rate to "No Change" and this gives me an Audio Pathirect (which is what I thought we were shooting for).
 
Anyone using J.River or another player to upsample the feed to the Gungnir? I thought the whole point was to bypass as much of the computer's OS and/or software as possible. Obviously the main objective is to enjoy your music and if upsampling via software helps that's fantastic. Now I'm very curious if others are upsampling the signal to their Schiit Audio DAC's.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I see in the new HomeTheaterHiFi review of the Birost Uber and Asgard 2 that the reviewer uses J.River MC (as do I in my office system) yet he has the bit depth "padded to 24 bits" and "sampling rate set to 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz"

Anyone else using J.River with the Gungnir?

I'm setting my new Gungnir up this weekend and I've always set the J.River's Bitdepth to "Automatic" and the Sample Rate to "No Change" and this gives me an Audio Pathirect (which is what I thought we were shooting for).

Anyone using J.River or another player to upsample the feed to the Gungnir? I thought the whole point was to bypass as much of the computer's OS and/or software as possible. Obviously the main objective is to enjoy your music and if upsampling via software helps that's fantastic. Now I'm very curious if others are upsampling the signal to their Schiit Audio DAC's.

+1

 

[commtrd]

 

Anyone else have or seen this issue?  Is my unit faulty and should i get a replacement or should i just get a refund? 

Well, If you are within the return/get your money back time frame, I would do that. From my experience, Schiit is not real good about honoring the warranty. I sent my broken Gungnir back and also had them add the gen 2 USB to it. They added the gen 2 USB but didnt fix the problems, and they were not forthcoming about it at all. I even asked them in an email what was wrong with it, and I got a reply that the technician would get back to me on it. Never heard from him, just got the piece in the mail - still broken (Coaxial and BNC inputs would not work), with the new gen 2 USB. No charge was requested, but I would rather have a fully functioning piece.

My Mjolnir amp died a year after I owned it so sent back for repair plus the USB upgrade. Got them back and even though there was a note in the box that said they found nothing wrong, it is now sounding fine. USB upgrade helped. Have never compared any other dacs though so I can't comment on if it's better or worse than anything else.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I see in the new HomeTheaterHiFi review of the Birost Uber and Asgard 2 that the reviewer uses J.River MC (as do I in my office system) yet he has the bit depth "padded to 24 bits" and "sampling rate set to 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz"
 
Anyone else using J.River with the Gungnir?
 
I'm setting my new Gungnir up this weekend and I've always set the J.River's Bitdepth to "Automatic" and the Sample Rate to "No Change" and this gives me an Audio Pathirect (which is what I thought we were shooting for).
 
Anyone using J.River or another player to upsample the feed to the Gungnir? I thought the whole point was to bypass as much of the computer's OS and/or software as possible. Obviously the main objective is to enjoy your music and if upsampling via software helps that's fantastic. Now I'm very curious if others are upsampling the signal to their Schiit Audio DAC's.

 I use JRiver 18 with a Gungnir and like you I want nothing done to the signal. I leave the bitdepth alone as I haven't heard any reason to not do so. Love the Gungnir. I was very tempted by the new Oppo as I needed a headphone amp, but the Gungnir is just so pleasing to me that I just ordered a Schiit Asgard 2 and I'm good.