[adydula]

Fathers day brought me a nice new DAC...Schiit's Bifrost Multibit or "Bimby".

I am a die hard Beyer Headphone guy lately and have been looking for a great combination to make my
T1 2nd gen play as best as possible.

I have built many DIY amps looking to that special "one" and some are really great, some are mediocre good
but nothing special, same can be said for my dacs...

The T1's at 600+ ohms need a kick in the pants to sound well, IMO and I have an ODA (AGDR DIY SS) that has
enough emf to make them play well as well as a Bottlehead Crack and Schitt Vahalla 2.

So I wanted to try a multibit ladder dac but read all the stuff techie etc good and bad...but to me seeing is believing..

So its been here for 2 days, three hours listening time...its feeding the Vahalla2 via the 2nd gen USB and a nice new cable from
Schitt as well!! (lol).

The immediate impression is holy cow this is the cats meow!!

I went away for a few hours and listened again late last night...same impression ...spectacular!

This am as I type I am listening to Williams "Star Wars" off a Boulder Cable demo cd.

I am wowed!

This combination with these T1's is better hands down over anything I have heard to date.
All those mushy adjectives apply and I am a pretty objective guy.

The immediate impression that comes to mind is "clarity" things are really crisp, well defined and articulate.
The ability to hear into the recording is absolutely stellar...I am taken aback at how good it is.

When something makes you STOP and just listen..and overrides the desire to keep playing different cuts just to find that
one to make the "stuff" sound great...this is a keeper IMO.

I don't know what magic the Schitt folks have in this box but its well worth the cost...

So heres a stellar setup, $600 dac, $350 and headphones $830...so for $1780 I have found something
that's pretty close to my end game.

All the best
Alex

[dB Cooper]

So I wanted to try a multibit ladder dac but read all the stuff techie etc good and bad...but to me seeing is believing..

What 'bad'? A 'ladder' type DAC is simply and unequivocally better than a sigma delta DAC, no question. Here is evidence. My Modi Multibit (which uses the same DAC chip as your Bifrost) mops the floor with the sigma-delta Modi that preceded it in my system.

Please note, before anyone invokes the 'stairstep' canard, that the 'scope shots are of raw unfiltered output.

[JohnR]

Um, that page is not evidence of anything (technical or factual anyway). You can't have your cake and eat it too - either filtering is a thing, or it isn't.

[FullRangeMan]

I dont believe this is a 1bit deltasigma DSD/SACD sine wave

[adydula]

All I can say is what I hear..and this dac has made my situation with the T1's absolutley stellar and this is day three and the sound still sounds like it was day1...I am waiting for the new toy syndrome to wear off...

So far its really good...very clear, transparent, articulate...to me IMO I cant go back to my other dacs...its that apparent to me.

Both USB and Digital optical perform very very well!

I would not spend $600 for a box that doesnt do anything, I was prepared to return or sell it.

But, this dac is a keeper and the others will be sold...its as simple as that for me....

When something really matters and can be audibly heard and isnt an astronomical increase in cost...count me in.

The only thing lingering in the back of my mind is possibly the lower cost MB dac from Schiit might be a better cost performer.

But the ability to upgrade in the future made me go for the bimby.

I am a very happy camper...and for all those articles and arguments...you guys have at it...I am just going to listen
to beautiful music and SMILE!

Happy fathers day to all.
Alex

[Armaegis]

Er... if you're looking at unfiltered output, that really doesn't give you a good representation of the actual output. There's a whole lot of mathematical wizardry that still needs to happen, and a "nice" looking unfiltered output doesn't really mean much.

I did not like the Modi Multibit, but the Yggdrasil is fantastic. By that token however, I currently have a couple delta-sigma dacs on loan that I personally feel are all on the same level of performance as the Yggy.

[adydula]

I am in my sixth listening session going back to my DS dacs and its really dissapointing to go back now....insert Bimby and its like wow again!

Simple clearer and alive...can see into the recording...could not be more amazed...

Hope this lasts....

Alex

[mr_bill]

Er... if you're looking at unfiltered output, that really doesn't give you a good representation of the actual output. There's a whole lot of mathematical wizardry that still needs to happen, and a "nice" looking unfiltered output doesn't really mean much.

I did not like the Modi Multibit, but the Yggdrasil is fantastic. By that token however, I currently have a couple delta-sigma dacs on loan that I personally feel are all on the same level of performance as the Yggy.

Which Delta Sigma dacs are you liking?

[Armaegis]

Which Delta Sigma dacs are you liking?

I've been going through a few pro audio options lately. The differences are all minuscule at this level, but if I had to pick single words for each...
Prism Lyra and Callia: musical
RME ADI-2 Pro: clinical
Forssell MDAC-2a: warm

On the Schiit multibit dacs...
Mimby: hazy
Yggdrasil: smooth

[adydula]

What makes something a "pro" audio device?

Alex

[adydula]

Ok Dale, thanks for that information...then by that definition I have used many "pro" devices in my past EE career....testing etc.

Some if the pro gear to me doesnt sound any different than good DIY'ing stuff...nuff' said there.

So now that I have this Bimby and have conversed in other sits on the merits of PCM, FLAC, via Digital, coax and optical vs PC USB2.0...I put together my
in-home test and invited several people over to test them!!

(I like these real world sessions where we discuss the merits of each and then "listen" with knowing what the sources are and then I do a Blind test with the group and see if they really can hear what they are talking about!

Well hooked up to my Oppo modified old BD 83 Special Edition, I had both digital outputs going into the Bimby and a USB to a PC with Flac files.

Once I got them synched up the fun started....

With the switch on the front of the bimby it was easy to switch quickly between the three.

The results were interesting:

At first when one listened for 30 seconds or so I switched to the next source input...most all immediately said "the other one" real fast....but then after 30 seconds or so it was harder for anyone to tell good or bad.

When someone said the other one I hid the selection switch and moved around and even set them up by saying it was this one right...and they said "Yes!" but then I told them it was not the one etc....more smiles..

Then end result of a nice Glass Optical digital cable, a great Coax digital cable and a good quality well known USB cable to a "noisy" PC with all its RFI, digital clocks spewing out RF etc....was that no-one could reliably tell the difference in any of the three.

Mike Moffet at Schiit prefers PCM to Digital out etc....and I understand the technical reasons etc...but in my real world its really close..and to most a "dont care".

But its fun to play and test and have a few laughs...

Next we will do the same with a bunch of dacs and see if "bimby" works as well as I think it "sounds"..

All the best
Alex

[adydula]

Dale,

Yes its interesting....

I do alot of blind AB testing and am well aware of ambient noises...A/C, external cars driving by etc...I do most of my serious listening late at night after the
world has basically gone to sleep!

I was able to sync the source material on the Oppo to an identical albiet FLAC on a pc close by...both start really close together and
you can get a good comparison of the same section of music in a second or so....the bimby makes this easy with the front
button selector.

I agree there are technical differences, but audible ones are IMO in this case down in the mud....
as a analytical nut that I am subjectively I still want to choose the one that has the least transformations, cables and connections.

The PC makes selecting easily and via USB or digital its so close its ok....

I might just take that oppo and leave it out of my HT and just use it for a transport...nothing like shuffling all my reference cds
I got from lonewolyny42...whom I surely miss here on the site.

Alex

[adydula]

Schiit has announced there Gen 5 USB for all their dacs...so I called Schiit seeing how I just purchased a Bifrost multibit and asked if there was a ugrade kit to install the new USB in the Bifrost.

They replied quickly stating there is no install kit for this new Gen 5 USB card...yet?

But they replied indicating that since I just got this dac that I qualified for an exchange...I was pleasantly surprised. I just sent my Bifrost back and the new one is on its way here, should get it this sat...

I will take a listen and see if there is any difference, but I dont think it will be a great difference. They two issues that seem like a good idea is the way isolation is achieved and that this USB solution is powered by the dac supply and not any current from the USB pc supply.

Alex

[FullRangeMan]

Bimby Curious how Shiit chose its equip names.

[Armaegis]

They replied quickly stating there is no install kit for this new Gen 5 USB card...yet?

Their plan is to meet demand for their current stock and for upgrades before offering it separately as a kit.

Bimby Curious how Shiit chose its equip names.

The nicknames were a result of their internal shorthand which caught on with the general public.
Yggdrasil = Yggy
Bifrost Multibit = Bimby
Gungnir Multibit = Gumby
Modi Multibit = Mimby

[AllanMarcus]

Ok Dale, thanks for that information...then by that definition I have used many "pro" devices in my past EE career....testing etc.

Some if the pro gear to me doesnt sound any different than good DIY'ing stuff...nuff' said there.

So now that I have this Bimby and have conversed in other sits on the merits of PCM, FLAC, via Digital, coax and optical vs PC USB2.0...I put together my
in-home test and invited several people over to test them!!

(I like these real world sessions where we discuss the merits of each and then "listen" with knowing what the sources are and then I do a Blind test with the group and see if they really can hear what they are talking about!

Well hooked up to my Oppo modified old BD 83 Special Edition, I had both digital outputs going into the Bimby and a USB to a PC with Flac files.

Once I got them synched up the fun started....

With the switch on the front of the bimby it was easy to switch quickly between the three.

The results were interesting:

At first when one listened for 30 seconds or so I switched to the next source input...most all immediately said "the other one" real fast....but then after 30 seconds or so it was harder for anyone to tell good or bad.

When someone said the other one I hid the selection switch and moved around and even set them up by saying it was this one right...and they said "Yes!" but then I told them it was not the one etc....more smiles..

Then end result of a nice Glass Optical digital cable, a great Coax digital cable and a good quality well known USB cable to a "noisy" PC with all its RFI, digital clocks spewing out RF etc....was that no-one could reliably tell the difference in any of the three.

Mike Moffet at Schiit prefers PCM to Digital out etc....and I understand the technical reasons etc...but in my real world its really close..and to most a "dont care".

But its fun to play and test and have a few laughs...

Next we will do the same with a bunch of dacs and see if "bimby" works as well as I think it "sounds"..

All the best
Alex

Your equipment and cables aren't good enough to hear the difference. Spend a lot more money on one thing, then you will decide that thing is better

 

[Letitroll98]

You're joking right?  Pulling out that tired old chestnut in an effort at humor?  Cause if you're serious it's pretty lame.

Rather it's the methodology of the test I'd question.  A few seconds on an unfamiliar system with unfamiliar selections generally produces a null result.  I know it was a fun ad hoc experiment with friends and family, but next time try longer selections that the participants are very familiar with.

[adydula]

No joking, I have spent many hours listening to material that is very well mastered and recorded ......

Lame? Ok we all have our opinions, experiences etc and I respect yours, but I would not call them "lame"...

Just sharing an experience....

Using a cd player, fairly decent without all the conversions, music players, pc's, windows etc...helps cut out the crap and its just the pcm stuff via its internal dac etc...

Not much difference that these ears and many of my audiophile friends can detect...and if it takes mega buck cables or other electronics..well thats just not going to happen here....

Its more than good enough for me!

All the best
Alex

[walkern]

Hi Alex,

I've got an older Bimby which I love, and I'm very curious about how the latest USB update sounds.  Please post your impressions when you get your Bimby back?

Thanks

[Letitroll98]

Sorry adydula, that first sentence wasn't directed at you, rather the poster who thinks you need better equipment to hear differences.  I did take exception with the methodology in my second sentence, but only as a suggestion.