New! Unison USB
 

The UNISON USB upgrade is now available.
Fits Bifrost, Gungir, and Yggdrasil.
Even better news, you can install it yourself.

Some fine print i just read:
Gungnirs must come back to Schiit for motherboard reprogramming to be compatible with Unison USB.

I love these guys - they are constantly upgrading their modular hardware. The upgrade is $200 if you have Schiit install it, $150 if you DIY. :smoking:

https://www.schiit.com/public/upload...on%20board.jpg

Yes!

Waay cool!

I ordered mine today.

I installed it into my Yggy yesterday. While I was in there, I also changed the fuse from the SR Blue to Orange fuse. The upgrade is significant and all for only $150 and less than an hour of work. This was my 5th time opening up the Yggy. I would say that the improvement is almost as close to going from Curious Cable USB to the Shunyata Sigma USB.

If one has their digital media on a HDD what software is used to run the HDD/Schitt combination? Does Schitt provide control software?

kmmd... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Thanks Ivan :) New to the forum but not audio.

There are two clear choices right now for digital media software: JRiver and Roon.

JRiver is low cost and very flexible but does not support streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal.

Roon is more expensive but much more capable.

I am running JRiver but will switch to Roon shortly.

I think the best route to go is to use an open source purpose built media server like Silenzio.

Second best are a plethora of purpose built music servers from the likes of NAD, Lumin, Aurrender, Sony, MSB, etc. With these, you are tied to their hardware and software solution forever.

:thumbsup:

No, Schiit does not supply control software.

There are number of ways of providing content from music files stored on hard drives: JRiver, Audirvana, etc. But the one that many folks find the best now is Roon. Roon has superb metadata and lets your play files from your HD, Tidal or Qobuz in a Radio mode that plays related content. Great way to discover new music. The most recent update to Roon added 44 Gbytes of metadata to the database.

And you can run a Roon Core on a number of devices, a laptop, computer, Intel NUC using ROCK (Roon OS Core Kit), or the Roon Server (which is a re-skinned Intel NUC). I use a Mac Mini; it works very well, too. If you get something like the Innuous Zen streamers you can run the Roon Core right on the streamer.

New! Unison USB
 

I don’t know about Sony and MSB, but NAD, Lumin, Linn, and most other higher end music servers now support Roon, so you’re not tied to their proprietary software at all. And most also can be used with a host of other off-the-shelf DNLA/upnp player apps.

That’s good news - thanks Tony!

Wonder how much difference there would be between the new USB Gungir and Bifrost. What does the $200 get one?

I’ll let you know - my board arrives this Thursday.

kmmd has posted some thoughts on the upgrade in post #4 in this thread.

These Schiit engineers are really good. If they decided to develop a proprietary USB interface instead of using one of the chip-based interfaces, there must be a very good reason.

Tom

Is it just a few screws and plugging/unplugging a board (properly grounded)? I have no other skills or PC to load code. The line looks like it will move slowly to ship it in.

Yes it involves removing screws and a ribbon cable. All of the screws on the top need to be removed. There are two rows of screws (on the bottom front) which free up the front / face. You also remove the screws on the outer edges of the sides and back. Then you remove all of the black screws on the back and the nut to the BNC connector. You slide the front / top panel out slightly and disconnect the ribbon cable. The boards can then be freed with the unit right side up. The Unison board is held down by two screws. There is no coding involved. This link gives you an idea of how the Yggy looks with everything taken apart.

http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/Schiit_mod.html

Ken

Ken - great description of the disassembly process.

I just finished installing the Unison USB card in my Yggdrasil. It took about 30 minutes total.

The build quality of this unit is exemplary. All the casework fits perfectly. The tolerances are very tight. Every machine screw mates to a nut plate - no thread rolling screws or holes tapped into sheet metal.

Listening impressions to follow.

I've spent several hours listening to the new Unison USB card in my Yggy. While A/B comparisons are impossible, the Unison USB made a noticeable improvement in my system. Digital sources sound even more focused and dynamic now. Everything seems to be quieter too - the background noise continues to be inaudible right at the speakers.

I liken the improvement to the difference between the WW Platinum Starlight Seven USB cable which replaced an Audioquest Carbon USB cable in my system. The fundamnetal sound hasn't changed - everything just got a little better.

Highly recommended if you are using the Yggy USB input. And it's an easy DIY project.

Tom

New! Unison USB
 

Tom (and kmmd),

Thanks for the initial impressions. Looking forward to longer term impressions.

While I’m still in love with my Gumby, it’s a no-brainer for me to upgrade; it’s only a matter of letting it go for two weeks (Gumby needs to go back home for the upgrade).

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your impressions. I agree that the Yggy is very well made, solid and easily upgradable. Mine is a 1st Gen Yggy, so I’ve swapped the fuse from the SR red to black to blue and now orange. I installed the USB Gen 5 board years ago and sent the Yggy back for the analog 2 board. I picked it up at their B&M storefront. It’s been through a lot over the years, but its upgradability is exactly why I purchased it. I commend the folks at Schiit for their commitment to offer upgrades for their products at a reasonable price.

I switched to the Shunyata Sigma USB several months ago from the Curious. The Sigma USB performance is exactly as everyone on the Shunyata forum posted. There is so much separation, detail, focus and air. Everything has its own space and contributes to an amazing overall musical performance. With the Yggy Unison change, everything has become more dynamic, full of body and has become more natural sounding. In my system, I can feel that pluck of a guitar string, strike of a piano key and voices such as Eva Cassidy, George Michael, John Legend, etc gives me goosebumps. Please wait a few more days and allow the Unison board to settle in. Everything seemed to be forward initially, but it will settle and your soundstage depth will improve.

BTW for people wondering about my system, as I can't edit my signature yet, I am using a 2011 MacMini with SSD and a Paul Hynes SR7EHD power supply running Roon. The PC is a Shunyata Alpha NR PC plugged into a Denali 6000s V2.

My pre is a VAC Sig MkIIa SE with US made Amperex PQ white label with gold pin 6922's.

I have Maggie 3.6R speakers that are biamped with a highly modified Marchand XM44 crossover.

Amps for now are a ModWright KWA150SE (will be replaced by Pass Labs later this year) for the mids and highs and Bryston 7B SST's for the lows augmented by a pair of REL S/5 SHO subs.

The 2-channel components are part of an all Maggie HT system controlled by a Theta CB IVa with D3 Xtreme DAC pre/pro as a second pre.

Cabling is all WireWorld with Platinum 7's for main 2-channel listening and older Golds elsewhere. PC's are mostly Shunyata KC and Anaconda Helix CX and Paul Kaplan's HE's for 2 channel.

It's a modest system compared to those in this thread. Now I'm waiting for the Everest to replace my Running Springs conditioner to supply my pre's, DAC, and crossover. A Sigma EF C19 PC is on order already.

Ken

Unison USB
 

I've been listening to the new Unison USB card for 4 days. I've been running digits through it the entire time, even when I'm not listening. Here are my impressions:

On installation, Win10 recognized the interface immediately and downloaded the correct driver:
Schiit Yggdrasil Unison USB (WASAPI)

It also loaded a direct sound driver which I have not tried.
Schiit Yggdrasil Unison USB (Direct Sound)

No fiddling about - it just worked and on next startup all the Gen 5 drivers disappeared. Nice.

Also I had not turned on the unit yet when all this driver goodness went down, so the server powers at least part of the USB interface. The Unison card has a number of isolation transformers and circuits on it for true galvanic isolation.

I used a WW Platinum Starlight V7 USB cable for most of the testing. My server is a SurfacePro3 i7 running JRiver 25 and optimized for audio. I run it on battery to keep some of the AC crud out.

The first thing I noticed is that the lock-up time is very fast. I use a set of standard tunes of various bit depths and sampling rates and the new card switches resolutions very quickly.

I used the following tunes for my audition. I listened to a lot of other music as well but this is a representative sample.

Camille Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 76 Telarc CD-80051
The Art of the Balalaika Nonesuch CD
Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat CD
Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East SACD
Beck Sea Change 24/192

All the 44.1 kHz stuff was upsampled and interpolated 4x because that's where I find the Yggy shines. The DSD files were converted to 176 kHz 24 bit PCM by JRiver because the Yggy doesn't do DSD.

So what's the Unison USB like? It is not a night and day change. It keeps the overall sonic signature of the Yggy, which is a very good thing. It is just a bit better and clearer with improved pace and rhythm. Very smooth, with more definition and better hall ambiance retrieval.

It is like going from a cheapo USB cable to a really nice one like the WW Platinum Starlight.

I did try a cheapo USB cable out of the parts drawer and everything collapsed so if you are thinking of this card as a replacement for a great cable think again.

For the DIY install price of $150 and 30 minutes of my time, this upgrade was well worth it.

Highly recommended if you are using a USB interface with your Schiit Yggy.

Tom

Thanks Tom. I appreciate the time to articulate your thoughts on the upgrade.

Hi all!
I'm new to the Schiit family with the purchase of the Bifrost 2. I have a Sonore microRendu going to the Bifrost. All I cam says is how excellent this sounds for the money. I'm really impressed with the Unison USB implementation. I recently has for a very short time a new DAC with XMOS USB. I couldn't get either the rendu nor a ALLO usbridge to work with it and was told by the DAC manufacturer that wasn't his fault... Even my PS Audion PWD mk2 had periodic issues with the USB interface. Not the Schiit, working great from day one.

eis01... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Hi eis01,
Yes, I had the microRendu for 3 years and was very impressed with its performance and audio quality. It punches way above what its size and price would lead one to believe.

I've been using Schiit Audio products for about 8 or 9 years now, and have been very happy with their performance and quality for the price. Their performance per dollar is, on the whole, multiples of their price, yet they are sometimes not given consideration because, ironically, they are not expensive enough. Welcome to the Schiit family.

Taking it through its paces on my Yggy after 72 hours of burn in this evening! It was kind of muffled out of the box Tuesday, but the Yggy had cooled down which may have been part of that. No issues for the Innuos streamer upstream.

Hearing same stuff reported. Has a little more bottom, or maybe the bottom is cleaner. Everything a bit clearer so you can hear a little bit deeper. I may be chasing better timing adding some smoothness, but that will take a while to form an opinion.

I’m using a shunyata alpha usb cable also— that move was probably more significant. But this cost less, and a sigma cable is too far off for me. Ya the cable difference makes no sense to me, but my ears don’t care what my logic thinks.

That was a Schiitload of screws. Best recommendation was position them on painters tape. No way I’ll A/B this change.

Worthwhile.

Awesome. Thanks for the update.

Thank you both for the warm welcome!

Strike “bit”. Yes better timing.

Listening to the same playlist as last weekend all day, and, this inexpensive upgrade is a must do now. Thank you Schiit.

Here are some of my thoughts regarding the Schiit Bifrost 2 via usb. It has taken a full month to become familiar with the DAC and for it to fully settle in my system. My last DAC was a PS Audio PWD mkII.

I was unable to a side by side comparison unfortunately. However the Bifrost has brought a more enjoyable musical experience to me in my system. The PWD was probably a little more revealing, and definitely has more features (that I never used). As I stated before, I've not had a single driver issue or glitch attributed to the Bifrost. The Bifrost is absolutely communicating a vivid musical picture in my room no matter the source i.e. NAS (flac files LMS) or Spotify Connect or my current favorite Hirschmilch Radio Chillout.

Well, I got the email from Schiit. Time for the upgrade. I’m returning my Gumby today for the upgrade. I can’t wait. :thumbsup:

I installed the Unison USB module into my Yggy a little over a week ago and have finally had some time these past few days to do some dedicated listening. I have to say I'm very pleased with the upgrade. I'm hearing similar things to what others have reported - wider/deeper soundstage, even more detail, and a more realistic sound with better impact and decay. Not huge, but most definitely and immediately noticeable, and a very worthwhile upgrade!

My digital front end has really come together with this final upgrade. I now have the Sonore Ultrarendu powered by the Uptone Audio LPS 1.2, the Uptone Audio EtherRegen also powered by the LPS 1.2, Shunyata Sigma USB from Ultrarendu to Yggdrasil DAC, and Shunyata Sigma Ethernet cables from wall to EtherRegen and from EtherRegen to Ultrarendu. All of these various pieces have made a definite and cumulative improvement, and I'm super happy with how things sound! :music:

:goodpost:

I don't have a Unison upgrade yet, as that will involve waiting "in queue" for some time, and then more waiting some weeks for them to install the upgrade at Schiit as I have a Gumby, but the benefits you describe for the other components in your digital front-end (all of which I also have with the exception of a SOtM network bridge instead of an UltraRendu) are 100% concordant with my findings and experiences. The benefits the ER and the Shunyata Sigma Ethers bring are not subtle, either. :thumbsup:

I’m super happy that your front end is coming together- it’s obvious that you’ve spent a lot of time and thought on it. Congrats!

Looks like a new Yggdrasil already comes with the unison but they raised the price accordingly to $2449? Or did the price go up sometime before? Gungnir is at $899 with the unison usb.

Correct Serge - price increase was aligned with Unison USB.

Pretty sure the Gungnir was $899 before the unison upgrade. Not sure why they didn't raise the price on the Gungnir? Having owned both, I'd say that while the Yggy was the better performer in absolute terms, I could easily live with either! That also makes the Gungnir a screaming bargain all things considered.

They have mine this week for upgrade. Can not wait for it to come back!

The Multibit version of Gungnir is $1249. That's the version you bought on my reco after auditioning little Loki. :thumbsup:

MIke,
Did they give you an estimate of the TAT? (turnaround time)