Schiit Yggdrasil DAC piques my attention
 

The Schiit Yggdrasil DAC has captured my attention. Based on all the reviews I have read, the Yggy is an exceptional DAC that goes head to head with many DACs at six times or more its price. Although you get the occasional comment from someone who thinks it is bright or whatever, the bulk of information available about the Yggy does not support that description of its performance, although it has been reported the Schiit Yggdrasil does require an extended break-in period to reach its full performance capabilities.

The Schiit Yggdrasil has been recognized as a Class B DAC among many other prestige DACs in the April 2017 Stereophile magazine. I think Robert Harley summed the Yggy up quite well when he wrote in TAS, "The Yggi is not just a tremendous value in today's DACs, it's one of the greatest bargains in the history of high-end audio." That is quite an endorsement from a seasoned and highly respected audio reviewer.

My interest in the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC is to replace a Wyred 4 Sound DAC2 that I was using with my Sennheiser HD800 headphone and Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier in my office. I relocated the DAC2 to the living room sound system for use with my Aurender N100H music server. I believe the Yggy can deliver considerably better performance in the living room system, then I can return the W4S DAC2 to the the office headphone rig.

I am caught up in my usual procrastinating, but I find myself leaning heavily toward the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC. The price to performance ratio makes this DAC extremely attractive. Wish it were available in black.


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https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...9&d=1512151913






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Dan, I think that the comments about the Yggdrasil sounding "bright" mostly has to do with system synergy. I don't believe this is the case at all.

I can say that by judging by the performance I am getting out of Gungnir, which shares some but not all of Yggdrasil's architecture. The similarities are same proprietary closed-form DSP-based digital filter as well as Gen 5 USB which features full galvanic isolation via transformers, self-power for low noise and latching, and high-quality local clocking for both 44.1 and 48k multiples.

I am pretty sure the Adapticlock system, which provides for both exceptional jitter performance and rock-solid, glitch-free connectivity is the same.

Adapticlock analyzes the incoming signal quality and automatically routes it to the best clock regeneration system—either VCXO or VCO-based. And, it does all of this without altering the bit depth or sample rate of your original music.

Most important part is that this is not a Delta-Sigma DAC which many of us are used to. :yes:


There is much to discuss here but way too much to type and if you care enough (I believe you personally would knowing your level of enthusiasm :D) to do some background research on who is behind the design, the credentials, the knowledge and philosophy then one starts to get the picture here. :yes:

In summary, it doesn't take long to realize this DAC is special. It will grab your attention out of the box but once it comes up to "speed" and thermally stabilizes which does take some time (a few days) and some settling in, (a few weeks to a month total) .

What you can expect is a very impressive "naturalness" to the sound. I could never describe the Gungnir and I suspect it is the same with Yggdrasil, that it sounds bright, edgy or analytical, just as I would never describe the Gungnir sound as lush, warm or any other adjectives which by definition takes us away from the true to the source reproduction of the music and the source you are listening to.

To my ears and I would love to hear your impressions on the Yggdrasil if you decide to pull the trigger, this is (Gungnir in my case) by far the most natural sounding DAC I have heard to date. It is true to the source, it easily resolves all the details buried in the recording, it commands respect for being extremely linear and extended from the lowest to the highest frequency extremes without any peaks or dips or etching or coloring of the sound.

No pre or post ringing, no digital glare, no harshness, no artificial sweeteners nor any acerbic notes here. It's just amazingly analog smooth and natural without sacrificing anything to be so. Isn't that what we should expect from a DAC? After all, in this digital age, the DAC is the heart of the system and sets the tone for everything else downstream from it.


Having said all that and I personally am impressed beyond words with my Gungnir, we all have our system synergy to take into account and we all hear things a bit different, we all have our preference and understanding what constitutes good sound, should something not work out for you, there is a 15 day return window.

I would be very surprised if you will be returning it after installing it into your system. You may as well kiss the $2229 goodbye the moment you click "add to cart" button. :D Good luck on your journey Dan. :thumbsup:

Having actually heard the Yggradasil and having been listening to my Gumby for the last 2-3 months, I can virtually echo everything Serge has said. I could repeat it all, but what would be the point? Serge nailed it. I would say the overarching quality these DACs have is incredible musicality and naturalness; they simply do not sound like digital sources; they sound like very, very high-quality analog sources.

As for competing with products that sell for 6X the price....well, that's just what Schiit does. Extraordinary performance for money. My little DSD-only $149 Schiit Loki can blow DACs costing $1500 into the weeds...as I am Serge will support as he's spent time with it.

Schiit has occasionally made some products in black; what they've found on the whole is that most folks don't buy them. And the black finish adds to their COGS which would raise the price to the customer; they really work hard to try to keep the price to the customer as low as possible.

Stephen, I think Schiit intentionally released the Loki at the time for an absurdly cheap sum of $149. It was to rock the audio world and open people's eyes to the absurdly overpriced and overhyped products that we have gotten used to over the years. :smoking: I nearly fell out of my chair when I plugged the little Loki in and started streaming what little DSD material I had to listen to. Going from memory, it easily equaled and in some ways surpassed the musical and analog smooth qualities of the McIntosh MCD/MDA1000 combo which I believe was an $18k combo at the time back when I owned and enjoyed that combo.... We have come a long way since then. :yes:

Yeah, I fell out of my chair the first time I heard Loki, and then even more so when I connected it to my Sonore microRendu. It's an astonishing DAC for the money; I remember auditioning it for an audio buddy that had an MSB Analog DAC and his mouth literally fell open when he heard it.

Serge.......I am aware of the history for both Mike Moffat and Jason Stoddard. Being old enough, I easily remember California Audio Labs, Theta Digital, and Mike's long history of designing leading edge digital products. The same goes for Jason's design contributions all the way back to Sumo. These two Schiit Audio partners have accumulated a wealth of digital and amplification design knowledge that certainly guides them today. That they have created a company capable of manufacturing state of the art digital products made in the USA at what are basically entry level prices is remarkable, commendable, and I'm sure profitable. Schiit Audio is a unique company with a bright future.

Somehow I had no doubt you would know all that Dan. :thumbsup:

Yggy is a great DAC - one of the best I've heard.