Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of having one of my local audio friends visit my place to listen to my new to me McIntosh XRT29 speakers. He just recently purchased a Gungnir Multi-Bit DAC and wanted to bring it over to listen to in my system. It was also an opportunity to compare the sound to my ModWright tube modified Oppo 105 which I have been using as my primary digital source and DAC for the past couple of years.
We started out listening to a few songs played from Tidal streaming through my modified SB Touch USB digital out into the MW Oppo 105 DAC. Then we switched over to the Gumby utilizing the same source and songs. It was a very interesting comparison and there were definitely differences in the presentation. I found the Gumby to be very smooth and analog sounding, and was very well balanced across all frequencies. To my surprise, it sounded warmer than the MW Oppo, with a bit more air and separation around vocalists and instruments, with very good layering and microdynamics. I felt the MW Oppo had a slightly better soundstage, both width and depth, and was perhaps a touch more dynamic overall. It also had better frequency extension on both ends of the spectrum, especially bass weight and depth. However, the Gumby sounded to me a bit more precise and defined, while the Oppo had a bit more bloom to the sound that you would expect from a tube based analog stage and a separate tube regulated and rectified power supply.
I came away from the 90 min audition extremely impressed with the Schiit Gungnir MB DAC. My friend and I both agreed that both units sounded terrific and had their own positive strengths. I also know based on what I've read that the Gumby was probably not playing at it's full potential since it was only plugged into my system for a short time and was likely not fully warmed up. I also don't believe it's even fully broken in (not sure if it has 500+ hours on it yet or not).
My friend and another local audio friend who owns a Yggdrasil will potentially both be over again later this year or early next year to hear both units in my system together and compare with my MW Oppo. That should be fun, and I will definitely post again here with further impressions if and when that happens. In the meantime, there is now a very strong possibility that the Gumby will find a place in my system later in 2018!
