[Erukian]

It's always interesting to see what other people think. If I were you I'd compare what you think of the DAC with changestar's spreadsheet comparison and see where your thoughts align.
 
I don't brag or really even talk about my gear but when friends and family ask, I always invite the listen and they're usually blown away by the sound. Also with how huge/ugly the LCD-2's are, lol. 

 

[smileallways]

Hi DAC Gurus,
  I  have a Schiit Gungnir without USB. I am trying to decide between the new Schitt USB card , M2Tech hi face 2 and Musiland 2012  03 USD  USB 3.0 Digital sound card to SPDIF device.  Please share if you have any experience with using these devices.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Quote:

Hi DAC Gurus,
  I  have a Schiit Gungnir without USB. I am trying to decide between the new Schitt USB card , M2Tech hi face 2 and Musiland 2012  03 USD  USB 3.0 Digital sound card to SPDIF device.  Please share if you have any experience with using these devices.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

Welcome to head-fi. I wish I could offer you any suggestions/thoughts, but I can't. I'm sure others will be more than happy and able to help.

 

[joebobbilly]

I'm bout to get my Gungnir tomorrow, and just wondering... I currently run foobar2000 with WASAPI event SPDIF into my DAC via TOSLINK from my motherboard. 
 
... if WASAPI "event" mode is about the device "pulling" then doesn't it need to communicate with the computer? If so, how is SPDIF via TOSLINK able to handle event mode?!?!
 
Sorry if I seem to be asking an insanely stupid noob question. I really am not familiar with this and would like better understanding.

 

[Sonic Defender]

You can't use event mode with Gungnir so don't waste your time. Just use ASIO as it is also bitperfect.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Quote:

It's always interesting to see what other people think. If I were you I'd compare what you think of the DAC with changestar's spreadsheet comparison and see where your thoughts align.
 
I don't brag or really even talk about my gear but when friends and family ask, I always invite the listen and they're usually blown away by the sound. Also with how huge/ugly the LCD-2's are, lol. 

Finally had time to look at the spreadsheet, thanks for the suggestion. I would in general concur, but I don't actually try and analyze sound on such a detailed level, so agree with his really micro-focused points would be impossible for me, at least at this point. Very good guide, and I am glad that some people have, and take the time to write such detailed impressions. Very helpful, albeit very subjective one would suspect.

 

[justie]

Quote:

You can't use event mode with Gungnir so don't waste your time. Just use ASIO as it is also bitperfect.

Wasapi event mode with foobar2000 works fine on my gungnir. using TOSLINK as well

 

[joebobbilly]

WASAPI event seems to work for me... though it's through TOSLINK, not USB... could that be why?
 

 

[Sonic Defender]

Quote:

WASAPI event seems to work for me... though it's through TOSLINK, not USB... could that be why?
 

That must be it. I was trying USB and Jason at Schiit told me it wasn't supported with Gungnir. I didn't think he meant only via USB, but I guess that is what he must have meant. My bad, glad to hear it is working for you and others. Exits room with egg still on face, the silent crowd feels sorry for him ....

 

[justie]

Hey guys, has anyone tried using a USB 3.0 cable with the gungnir before? Also, is there even a difference between a usb 2 and usb 3 cable?
 
EDIT: nvm, just realised the usb3.0 male B plug is different.

 

[zackzack]

Let me ask you a newbie question:
Is a balanced DAC like Gungnir wasted if hooked up
to a single ended amplifier? 

 

[Sonic Defender]

The benefit of the balanced DAC design is still passed through to the amplifier, however at that point your audio signal will become will be a single channel signal. My understanding is that whatever difference seems to be detected with fully balanced rigs is modest. I have heard from experienced posters that there is very little if any difference, others feel there is a difference that they can hear. Hopefully a few members who run balanced designs can chime in. I would think the effect might be in the magnitude of a biwired speakers versus single wired speakers, again here the difference if at all noticeable is minor, at least in my experience. 

 

[zackzack]

Quote:

The benefit of the balanced DAC design is still passed through to the amplifier, however at that point your audio signal will become will be a single channel signal. My understanding is that whatever difference seems to be detected with fully balanced rigs is modest. I have heard from experienced posters that there is very little if any difference, others feel there is a difference that they can hear. Hopefully a few members who run balanced designs can chime in. I would think the effect might be in the magnitude of a biwired speakers versus single wired speakers, again here the difference if at all noticeable is minor, at least in my experience. 

 
You are saying the benefit of a fully balanced DAC can only be heard through a balanced amplifier

 

[joebobbilly]

Quote:

 
You are saying the benefit of a fully balanced DAC can only be heard through a balanced amplifier

 
I believe in theory that is correct (EDIT: at least from what other more educated engineers and experienced individuals have taught me). I've only tried two balanced rigs... my own, and another from a meet (was older balanced amp from Headroom I believe... don't remember the DAC, but that was balanced too). To my ears, the biggest difference was the soundstage and imaging improvement that I heard. Of course, with most balanced amps being very well designed in the first place, the improvements to overall transparency and resolution were noticeable too.
 
I A/Bed my Gungnir with a friend's Lyr and my Mojo and still found the soundstage and imaging to be better when balanced... however, the difference was not huge (could be an amp difference or simply cause of the tubes in the Lyr? He was using the JJs). In the end, it's best if you can demo one @ a meet or something. Gotta let your own ears decide for your wallet. 

 Worst case scenario... you could do the Schiit 15 day return policy and try out their balanced stack (just remember you can only do that once per year 

)

 

[pelli]

Quote:

 
You are saying the benefit of a fully balanced DAC can only be heard through a balanced amplifier

This could be a pretty simple A/B if you connect a Mjo/Gun stack with both balanced and single ended ICs and switched the Mjolnir between SE and balanced.  You could even enlist a friend for a blind test to see if there is a placebo free difference.