[Iowan]

There was another poster working on an off-grid audio system, @Sinister Whisperz . Might have some additional pointers for you.

The warmup phenomenon on Schiit DACs is most acute when they are new. Once they've burned in the warmup has been reported to reduce to a few hours. @theveterans says the new MIB doesn't seem as affected.

Thank you! I wondered if some of this info had been covered (apologies if I'm dragging up topics that have been covered) ...with over 8600 pages , there is a lot to catch up on.

 

[theveterans]

Here's an inquiry for you: Does acoustic music make MIB sound warmer, or does MIB bring out the inherent warmth of the acoustic muisic and how it is recorded/mastered?

PS- I am genuinely curious, not trying to be a pest.

I think the latter is the more accurate representation of the recording. I perceive it as unique since I don’t have a similarly accurate DAC such as the Holo Audio May KTE next to me directly A/Bing the same track. I probably can dissect it as of overflowing liquidity of microdetails: a combination of the right dose of microdynamics, timing, microdetails and layering made up that syrupy acoustic sound but it’s not present on most acoustic tracks. Only a few recordings exhibited that unique timbre of guitar

 

[45longcolt]

Note to self:
Buy new Schiit DAC every eight years or so.
Even if you don't think you have to.

Ygg MIB continues to impress. I am hearing clarity and dimensionality (depth of stage) on familiar material both CD and HR streamed. This is in comparison to my faithful first-gen Ygg, which has been in place since April 2015. MIB also seems more compatible with my speakers, which use air motion drivers for the tweeter and super-tweeter. I'd been hearing occasional edginess on upper frequencies, which I chalked up to the drivers. But with MIB, that's all gone. System matching. It's a real thing.

 

[Shembot]

It has stabilized for me, but it's more incremental now. Macrodynamics is definitely starting to level off. It doesn't sound restrained/flatter like it did on the first two days. Imaging is now much more holographic after the 3rd day but still a different presentation than BF2 OG. Layering is ever more precise. The only thing that didn't change for me since first powered on is the liquid smooth transients aspect of MIB. Tonality is still dead neutral leaning warm-ish. I still think the BF2/64 is a hint brighter in the lower to upper treble than the MIB, but the perception leans towards BF2/64 being warmer due to more heft/harmonics/lushness in the bass region than MIB.

Yeah, this is a bit like religion. I remember my OG A2's evolution over the first week it was powered up, for sure, if not longer. I believe that once the initial burn-in is 'complete', Yggy seems to "come up to speed" faster on a cold start. I think that the entire device operates a lot better when it's at operating temperature, and that might take 20-30 minutes from a cold start.

I generally leave my OG A2 on 24x7, unless I am traveling - in which case everything is powered down at the Furman's main breaker.


Sorry, can't say. I only have the OG A2. It could be possible that the discrete A2 output stage might take longer to come up into its operating range.


Oh, HELL yes... this is what I'm experiencing now with the MiB. It was powered up first time Monday, upstairs, driving my OG Jot balanced. Source was Radio Paradise FLAC Main Mix. Right out of the box, it sounded special - airy and open - with the HD600s, balanced. A couple of hours later, I swapped in the Drop HD6XX with a balanced cable and was blown away with how open these (generally dark IMHO) phones sounded.

Tuesday night, I swapped MiB into the main system, and brought OG upstairs to talk with the Jotunheim. MiB has been playing music continuously since then, and it has evolved dramatically.

• First, it was open and wide and quite enchanting, but 'thready'/thin in the lower ranges
• ...and I kept wanting to turn down 2K & 6K on Loki
  • But I did not; I persevered
  • And then it smoothed out, a lot
• Then the Bass Fairy came to visit on Wednesday afternoon, and took up residence
• ...and now on Thursday I am listening to Radiohead's "Let Down", playing downstairs while I'm sitting upstairs
  • And I realize how lucky I am to own these two Yggdrasils. They are very similar w/r/t their performances in the time domain; with a "needle drop" pacing that sounds a lot like a well-spun LP. Both OG and MiB do this. Timing accuracy is a Yggdrasil family tradition
  • OG A2 is still my standard; it feels 100% analog to me. I love this MiB DAC, though
  • Because...
    • + MiB presents at a level of clarity / air / space that I've never heard before
      
      • ...at first it was wide open and bright / clear but a bit etched and certainly bass-light
      • But two days later it is crystal clear, and the low end is super-controlled and way deep, and if the notes are in the song - it can be room-shaking!
      • And it is still evolving, as the bass fills in even more and the highs settle in
        • "The Expanse", soundtrack by Clinton Shorter... title track
          • There are sub-sonics in the intro
          • MiB extracts bass you can't even hear, only can only feel <- @ArmchairPhilosopher pls note
        • and the S-P-A-C-E between the instruments and the performers simply continues to expand to fill the room
      • In my humble opinion, MiB is close to clinically perfect in its conversion and presentation of the digital signal you give it
    • - MiB is less forgiving of bad recordings than OG
      • Probably because it is so accurate and resolving
      • But omg, a good recording results in a stunning image with MiB

I think the majority of the start-up time for the electronics - DAC, pre and power amps, equalizers.

Since my DAC is always on, and the Tyrs are in stand-by, I can be sounding good in a few minutes. On a restart after a cold shutdown, I totally agree with your first sentence - it takes a while.

My chair doesn't move, but I do, and I find that the overall sweet spot for my setup is bigger than I expected... and your hearing is fine. I'm listening for things that you might not be familiar with, yet. But that's because I am obsessive-compulsive, you should avoid being like me and just enjoy the music. <G>



45 watts is a small price to pay for the performance of the power supply in Yggdrasil. <g>

I'm experiencing the same things as these two reports -- I've also had the urge to turn down 2 kHz and 6 kHz a bit on my Loki Max at first with some genres, but after a couple more days now, it's starting to smooth out! Imaging has improved a bit even since yesterday. I found the sound stage and imaging a bit confusing at first, but I think it's starting to come together. Still a bit closer than I'd like, so I hope as dstrimbu reports that it continues to expand. And note: I had already come to these conclusions before reading the above posts; I actually came to the thread to see if others were hearing what I was, and it seems they are!

I have really appreciated the clarity that the high end has given to modern metal music in particular, so hopefully that'll continue as the overall tonality becomes more balanced.

 

[Derrick Swart]

Gosh reading all your posts on how dacs behave and sound differently in slight nuances etc...
This was the exact thing I experienced with the Modius E vs the MB2 and other dacs..
This is indeed a boarderline religion here....
Soooo many combinations and not so easy to discern changes...and over time well..
This is why I have so much stuff...its good one day, better the next and then back to just good again!!
Depends on the music, the mood I am in, amount of beer consumed, time of day, weather, phase of the moon, and did I forget to pay the cable bill?
LOL!
Crazy hobby...just loving it!
Alex
:>0

you have drinking beer as your hobby?

me too

 

[theveterans]

I'm experiencing the same things as these two reports -- I've also had the urge to turn down 2 kHz and 6 kHz a bit on my Loki Max at first with some genres, but after a couple more days now, it's starting to smooth out! Imaging has improved a bit even since yesterday. I found the sound stage and imaging a bit confusing at first, but I think it's starting to come together. Still a bit closer than I'd like, so I hope as dstrimbu reports that it continues to expand. And note: I had already come to these conclusions before reading the above posts; I actually came to the thread to see if others were hearing what I was, and it seems they are!

I have really appreciated the clarity that the high end has given to modern metal music in particular, so hopefully that'll continue as the overall tonality becomes more balanced.

Soundstage definitely expands after 3 days of warmup time.

I'll cross post my first 2 days of MIB impression that I left on the BF2 thread there since I think it gives insight to what you're also observing:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-audio-bifrost-2.914084/page-309#post-17807040

Quick update between Yggy+ MIB and BF2 OG

As I get more familiar with the MIB, I can certainly point out certain things:

1) Harmonic Richness or overtones of the OG BF2: MIB definitely has less of this trait. Some people call this "grit" or "grunge". What BF2 lacks though is the more microscopic textural retrieval of the MIB where vocals and cello are more accurate to the source rather than having this extra richness/creaminess that make Schiit sound fun. MIB is definitely the most "studio" tonality Schiit has ever made. However, unlike the pro audio gears with just pure macrodetail focused, MIB is more microdetail focused while BF2 is less microdetail focused and more macrodetail focused with the right dose of grit so that you get your head banging!

2) Liquid smooth transients: BF2 OG has a rougher transient response which can be aggravating on poorly mastered tracks. MIB however has very accurate timing in the transients but without the Chord sound coloration (doesn't lean to "electronic sound" or a wall of fast incisive transients of Chord Hugo 2 or Hugo 1 TT or in other direction, a softer leading edge of Qutest). Instead, MIB delivers a thicker note density that negates this effect thus sounding more dreamy rather than ethereal so it actually sounds liquid smooth without being soft or hard! Don't confuse this with lush sound since MIB certainly doesn't have enough harmonic richness to produce a lush sound. This liquid smooth transients is a unique trait of this Yggy+ flavor for sure

3) Presentation: BF2 OG puts you a bit more rows in the audience than MIB. MIB puts you in the front row but not too forward that you're next to the band. There's still that presentation where both DACs present music more lateral than being wide with MIB while BF2 has less lateral depth but it's perceived as having deeper than MIB due to MIB's forward presentation. MIB won't showcase its wider depth than BF2 unless the recording calls for it while BF2 tends to showcase this depth a bit more obvious. MIB still stays true to its accurate sound presentation IMHO.

Overall difference between the two: don't expect a night and day difference. BF2 OG or 2/64 is that good that I consider it as a kilobuck DAC gatekeeper and what you get with MIB if I put it in one phrase: "refinement over fun"

In the presentation part: here's the visual representation of it to make it clear:

The quick update on the soundstage, instead of 75% of depth like on the first 2 days, it's about 85-90% now (the extra 10% is reserved for recordings that are really expansive) and Yggy+ MIB is most of the time deeper sounding than BF2 OG. It's still forward but deeper, more expansive, super precise layering, more revealing of the room acoustics and venue

 

[adias]

Try sorbothane, I use it between my stand and speaker and gives a very solid decoupling.

https://www.sorbothane.com/technical-data/articles/anti-vibration-pads/

Are these it? LINK.

 

[Ableza]

"Soundstage" is a psychoacoustic phenomenon and very subjective. It varies person to person. My attempts to perceive soundstage changes due to DAC changes are a fail. But to each his own, if it's your thing and you can hear differences, enjoy the music!

 

[adias]

"Soundstage" is a psychoacoustic phenomenon and very subjective. It varies person to person. My attempts to perceive soundstage changes due to DAC changes are a fail. But to each his own, if it's your thing and you can hear differences, enjoy the music!

Soundstage cues are due to reflections in the recording venue. A DAC that is capable of separating instruments will definitely yield a larger soundstage. I can certainly hear dthe wider stage in either Yggy OG or LIM vs the MMB2.

 

[Ableza]

Soundstage cues are due to reflections in the recording venue. A DAC that is capable of separating instruments will definitely yield a larger soundstage. I can certainly hear dthe wider stage in either Yggy OG or LIM vs the MMB2.

Using the same material on the same system and only changing the DAC, I can't. Like I said, to each his own! I own three Schiit DACS: Gungnir MB, Yggdrasill A2/Unison, and BF2/64.

 

[lemp]

Bifrost 2/64 has the same (4) 16 Bit TI 8812 chips as the LIM Yggy. I love my Bifrost 2/64. It’s a phenomenal DAC. Maybe some day I’ll get an Yggy, but I don’t really need to right now

I love my Bifrost 2/64 also. Heard things I hadn't heard before even in familiar music. With some trepidation, I splurged on a used Yggy OG. OMG, I love it! Listened to bits of Keith Jarret's Koln Concert and Eno's Another Day on Earth yesterday. I couldn't believe that there would still be new things to hear. It's like having an entirely new(ish) music collection.

 

[Pandahead]

"Soundstage" and the level of how precise and tightly the instruments are imaged and the space around them is the main thing for me. I include all those factors in "soundstage".

For instance the analog two board improved my Yggy's performance in this regard. It was easily noticable.

There's 6' behind my speakers. The drums sit back there. The vocals are a little in front of the front plane of the speakers tightly defined. Instruments that are farther forward are often imaged outside the speakers. Sometimes there's instruments in back either side of drums, etc. And, there's height as a factor.

I've always said my Gungnir multibit is about 75% of Yggy because it's just not as good at doing those things.

Your imagination milage may vary of course. Just how I hear and judge things.

It's easier to pick up on this in a space large enough. Also easier to define for me than through headphones.

 

[Joppmann]

I see you have a Psvane tube in your Lyr, I have a Lyr+ and was wondering if it is any better than the stock JJ?

Moving to Psvane (I have 2 different ondes) was a great uppgrade on my Lyr+
Highly recommended!

 

[adias]

Using the same material on the same system and only changing the DAC, I can't. Like I said, to each his own! I own three Schiit DACS: Gungnir MB, Yggdrasill A2/Unison, and BF2/64.

Headphones or speakers? My observation is re speakers.

 

[mystaiced]

I love my Bifrost 2/64 also. Heard things I hadn't heard before even in familiar music. With some trepidation, I splurged on a used Yggy OG. OMG, I love it! Listened to bits of Keith Jarret's Koln Concert and Eno's Another Day on Earth yesterday. I couldn't believe that there would still be new things to hear. It's like having an entirely new(ish) music collection.

Yggy will be my retirement gift splurge when I’m eligible in just about 6 years. Maybe Yggy Uber will be out by then