Anyone using Schiit DAC

Hi Everyone,

I have sierra 2 LCR and a svs sb16 ultra powered by Yamaha DSP A1.

I am extremely happy with my setup.

Yamaha DSP A1 was flagship AVR of its time and its now 2 decades old.

I was wondering if using latest DAC such as Schiit BitFrost or Gungir Multibit will result in even better quality music listening experience.

IF anyone is using those DACs with ascend speakers, it would be great to hear their experience.

I am pretty sure that the amp section of DSP A1 is really good and i would like to keep using it for few more years or until its dead.
This is because i bypassed the amp section and hooked up emotiva xpa 3 Gen 3 and felt like my 20 years old Yamaha is better/sweet sounding.

I have a Bifrost with Uber upgrade. I currently run it through a Plinius 9100 Integrated. Prior to this setup, I ran it through a Yamaha AS-501 Integrated. With the Yammie, I did a pretty thorough A/B of the Bifrost vs. the onboard DAC and there was a noticeable difference (to the positive). IMHO, the Bifrost is a high quality option at a pretty reasonable price. I got mine used and have never regretted the purchase.

When comparing DACs, make sure they are precisely level-matched.

Then make sure you do it in such a way that you don't know which is which when you listen.

You might be surprised at the results!

I run a microVortexbox to a Squeezebox Touch and am very pleased with the sound.
Since the Touch has been long discontinued I picked up the BiFrost to futureproof my system
and I am still very pleased with the sound. I AB'd the Touch and the BiFrost and both have
great sound, though I could not tell much difference. The additional inputs on the BiFrost
are a bonus.

I'm using a Schiit Yggdrasil (and Ragnarok) with a pair of RAAL equipped Horizons. I couldn't be happier with the pairing. Detail and imaging still amaze me after a year of listening.

Wow.. thank you so much Guys. your comments confirmed that schiit is a must try for ascend setup.

I am planning to do a home audition of Bitfrost Multibit, gungir multibit and Yggdrasil.

Whichever comes out to be the best bang for 90-95% of the quality, i will compare it with emotive XMC-1.

I will then keep either one.

Emotiva xmc-1 has also great burr-brown DAC + lots of processing/inputs. But if schiit Dacs are really ahead, i will keep schiit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vicky

Whichever comes out to be the best bang for 90-95% of the quality, i will compare it with emotive XMC-1.

I will then keep either one.

Emotiva xmc-1 has also great burr-brown DAC + lots of processing/inputs. But if schiit Dacs are really ahead, i will keep schiit.

---

Will you be utilizing the XMC’s Dirac implementation for the evaluation? Full or lite version?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

Will you be utilizing the XMC’s Dirac implementation for the evaluation? Full or lite version?

---

I am thinking to do lite version first. If lite itself comes out to be a better overall setup than using schiiit DAC, then i might not get full version. If for some reason schiit feels better, i will give a shot to live version.

and maybe at the end use schiit DAC with xmc-1 once and try :D although i am planning to keep only 1 at this time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vicky

I am thinking to do lite version first. If lite itself comes out to be a better overall setup than using schiiit DAC, then i might not get full version. If for some reason schiit feels better, i will give a shot to live version.

and maybe at the end use schiit DAC with xmc-1 once and try :D although i am planning to keep only 1 at this time.

---

Sounds good.

One thing though, using a DAC with the XMC means the signal goes through another round of analog to digital to analog conversions .... kind of defeats the whole purpose of the DAC.

i have the XMC-1 with the full version of Dirac and think it’s great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

Sounds good.

One thing though, using a DAC with the XMC means the signal goes through another round of analog to digital to analog conversions .... kind of defeats the whole purpose of the DAC.

i have the XMC-1 with the full version of Dirac and think it’s great.

---

Ya true. i suppose there is no point on using both even if xmc-1 had a digital bypass maybe.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vicky

Ya true. i suppose there is no point on using both even if xmc-1 had a digital bypass maybe.

---

Even then, why make the signal go through an additional analog path?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

Even then, why make the signal go through an additional analog path?

---

Fully agree. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vicky

Fully agree. :)

---

:)

So do the Schiit units do bass management?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

So do the Schiit units do bass management?

---

i just checked. They are purely DACs.

So do you you have a preamp?

I've got the Bifrost in Multibit. Running songs off my iphone through an ipure into the coaxial inputs. The Bifrost really impressed me with what it can do to old music from the 80's. Recording production, etc, got better at the end of the 80's and into the 90's, at least for pop/rock music, and the Bifrost seems to wring every bit of good out of that older music.

Decently recorded music can sound much better with full rich imaging.

I am running a Schiit Bifrost USB, Odyssey Candela tube pre-amp, Wyred4Sound 250x2 amp, Sierra Towers w/domes in a large room (26' x open end x 16' ceilings) and also a Rythmic F15 HP, sound is very good. The Bifrost DAC in my opinion is high value and quality. I listen to almost exclusively streaming Spotify music (higher bit-rate) wide variety music, and 2+1 TV audio. Again, sound is excellent. I'll def give lossless Spotify a go if and when it comes to market.

I have the Bifrost USB gen 5 AKM AK4490 chip going into my Pioneer SC-65 Elite in Analog Direct with my RAAL Towers. The room I am in now (small apartment until we find a house on the account of a recent move to a new area) is poor acoustically when comparing to my old house. But the sound that the Bifrost puts through to the Pioneers amp is very very clear. I listen to almost everything on TIDAL HIFI/MASTER. I think if I were to purchase again, I would have went with the Modi.

As others have eluded to...In order to get the best out of the Bifrost, you have to listen in analog bypass.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

i just checked. They are purely DACs.

So do you you have a preamp?

---

Cool.

I have AV processor+amp which has bass management.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vicky

Cool.

I have AV processor+amp which has bass management.

---

So it is going to re-digitize the signal to do the bass management processing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

So it is going to re-digitize the signal to do the bass management processing.

---

So u mean my processor needs to convert the DAC analog output back to digital to do bass management and then convert it again to analog using its internal DAC ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vicky

So u mean my processor needs to convert the DAC analog output back to digital to do bass management and then convert it again to analog using its internal DAC ?

---

Exactly

For my headphones-only system I have an Onkyo C-7030 CD player going to a Schiit Audio Bifrost DAC then on to a Schiit Asgard headphone amp. My favorite headphones are the Denon AHD2000 and the HiFiMan HE-400 planar-magnetics (older blue model).

The sound from this little system is simply fantastic. I love it and it makes me smile every single time I put my headphones on. The Schiit products are wonderful. Bang for the buck is just off the charts with their gear.

So if you're interested in a Schiit DAC I say go for it! Amazing sound, very fair price, and built like a tank.

Using the Schiit Yggdrasil Dac with my RAAL towers! Strongly recommend this setup and their products. Again, dacs don’t make dramatic differences but every little bit helps:)

Happy holidays to everyone!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by merrymaid520

Using the Schiit Yggdrasil Dac with my RAAL towers! Strongly recommend this setup and their products. Again, dacs don’t make dramatic differences but every little bit helps:)

---

And you have a nice preamp too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

And you have a nice preamp too.

---

It’s not bad:p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

Exactly

---

True, unless you’re using analog bass management. I can think of two integrated amplifiers that do that...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DavidD

True, unless you’re using analog bass management. I can think of two integrated amplifiers that do that...

---

Hey David!!
Good seeing you on the board!

Agreed, but vicky seems to be looking to use the Yamaha DSP A1 receiver, which I don't think has analog bass management.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by curtis

Hey David!!
Good seeing you on the board!

Agreed, but vicky seems to be looking to use the Yamaha DSP A1 receiver, which I don't think has analog bass management.

---

Hey, Curtis. Hope you are well. You’re absolutely right about this situation.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DavidD

Hey, Curtis. Hope you are well. You’re absolutely right about this situation.

---

Thank you Curtis and DavidD. I never thought about this. You guys saved me from doing pointless upgrades.

So using any DAC or pre/pro with DSP A1 would not be very useful as dsp a1 doesn't have any analog bypass mode or analog bass management.

i think i should get all separates.

Not sure if a good pre/pro (with built in dac) + amp would be a better solution OR just get all separate (dac, pre, amp)

Thank you all.

I now have very high confidence on Schiit.

I think i will have to get rid of DSP A1 :( as it doesn't have analog bypass or bass management.

I am planning to get separates - DAC+PRE+AMP(maybe all SCHIIT ?) OR PRE/PRO+AMP (xmc1+xpa-3 gen 2 ?).

Here's another option:
https://outlawaudio.com/products/rr2160.html

It has analog bass management so an external DAC would work well.