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Old 10-08-2017, 07:11 PM
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Default Gungnir Multibit DAC Mini-review

I thought I'd post my impressions after a few weeks living with my Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC, also known to everyone as "Gumby".

PART I: The beginning of my journey with Gungnir

I bought my Gungnir back on Jan 2, 2014, a few months after it first shipped. Mine was a 1st Rev unit with the Gen 2 USB implementation. I upgraded to Gungnir from a Schiit Bifrost. At the time my set up was a Mac Mini running Audirvana and connecting via an AudioQuest Diamond USB cable to the USB port on Gungnir. One of the reasons I liked Schiit products was they designed them to be future-proof, and upgradeable for functionalities like USB interfaces, DAC chipset and the like, and also had a 5 year warranty. Also, when you reached out to Schiit for a question, or support, they got right back to you, usually the same day. You were corresponding to a real person at the other end.

I was very happy with this setup for quite a while; Gungnir was a nice step up from the Bifrost, and sounded smooth, musical and natural. When the Schiit Wyrd USB "de-crapifier" was released, I installed one between my Mac Mini and Gungnir using an Audioquest Coffee USB cable and obtained another level of overall sound quality and observed a concomitant improvement in sound quality, mostly due a lower noise floor and overall cleaner and quieter presentation. I should add here that from the time Schiit released their first DAC, the Bifrost, Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat at Schiit were saying that USB really was not a good interface because it was dirty, grungy and hashy-sounding, and they didn't think it sounded very good; they really felt that S/PDIF was a much better-sounding interface. I paid them virtually no heed at the time because I did not have a digital source component or computer that could output S/PDIF via coax and I simply wasn't interested in using anything but the USB interface.

So, this is how things stayed until the end of 2016, when I bought and installed a Sonore microRendu. The MR brought another significant improvement in sound quality, and also allowed me to use it as a Roon endpoint, which I liked very much. The MR again provided an even cleaner USB signal to Gungnir than Wyrd, most likely because there was no longer a direct USB cable connection between the Mac Mini (via Wyrd) to the Gungnir. Instead, the MR was connected via ethernet from an Airport Express streaming files from the Mac Mini via WiFi, and then outputting via (very clean and re-clocked) USB to the DAC. So, there was no computer directly connected to Gungnir anymore. Personally, I've found this to be rather a big deal. General purpose consumer-electronics computers like Mac Minis are very noisy, grungy and hashy devices, and spew all sorts of high-bandwidth noise and crap all over the place, most significantly, into your audio amplification chain and speaker cables. Breaking this direct connection again resulted in a lower noise floor, ability to hear into the music, and improved naturalness and musicality to the sound. I gotta say, installing the microRendu had Gungnir sounding pretty d*mn good. So, by the end of 2016, and start of 2017, I was very happy with the Sonore microRendu and Gungnir. But, as the saying goes....IGNORANCE IS BLISS.
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.

Last edited by Puma Cat; 10-08-2017 at 07:22 PM.
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Old 10-08-2017, 07:53 PM
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PART II: Eitr and S/PDIF

Right around July, I realized that I no longer actually needed to have my Mac Mini in my audio rack because it was connecting to the microRendu and ultimately, Gungnir via a network, so I pulled my Mac Mini out of the audio rack and put it in my bedroom office at the far end of the house. I wanted to get the Mac Mini as far away from the audio rack as possible given how dirty computers are with respect to noise pollution.

So, I disconnected everything, moved the Mac Mini to the bedroom office, and went to reconnect Gungnir to the microRendu via USB. Except that now, neither Roon or the Sonore would see Gungnir. At all... Whoops. I hooked up other DACs I had, like my AQ Dragonfly and LH Geek Out, and Roon/Sonore saw them and worked just fine. I then tried hooking Gungnir up to three different Macs directly via USB, and none of them could see Gungnir with either the Sound control panel, the Audio Midi Utility, nada, nyet, nothing. All the other USB DACs worked fine. Hmm....seems like when I disconnected the Sonore and other bits to move the Mac Mini out of the audio rack, I must have fried either the USB port or controller on my Gungnir. After some research, I assumed that the USB port/controller might have suffered a static electricity charge-induced failure when either disconnecting or reconnecting the microRendu. Schiit says that they repair a lot of static electricity-induced USB interface failures.

As I needed my USB functionality repaired, I placed an order for the new Schiit Gen 5 USB upgrade, which had literally been released that week. Since Gungnir was going to in to the Schiit-shop for a USB repair/upgrade I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and also ordered the Gungnir Multibit upgrade as well. This converts Gungnir from a delta-sigma DAC to a multibit R2R device.

Meantime, I pulled the Gungnir out of the rack, and I put my Schiit Modi 2 Uber that was being used for mybedroom headphone setup into the system and it worked fine with the Sonore (as did my Schiit Loki, Trickster God of DSD).

But, I wasn't that overly thrilled with the sound. Obviously, while the Modi 2 Uber is a good DAC, it does not sound as good as a Gungnir. It was acceptable; good, but certainly not great, it has a somewhat thin, dry & sterile presentation of the music compared to Gungnir, with a smaller soundstage (and nowhere near as good Loki, I might add, FWIW).

Turns out, when Schiit did the Gen 5 USB upgrade, they also released a cool new device, Eitr. Eitr is a USB/SPDIF convertor that utlizes the new Gen 5 USB implementation as a well as superior S/PDIF output circuit. Both the USB and S/PDIF circuits are completely isolated from RFI/EM using transformers rather than optocouplers, each has their own, independent linear power supply and each circuit was isolated from each other. Schiit pulled out all the stops on Eitr. I figured, hmmm, I could use Eitr with it's Gen 5 USB/SPDIF conversion functionality and connect it to Gungnir via it's coax SPDIF input while I wait in queue to send Gungnir in for its upgrades. So, I ordered it, and when Eitr arrived, I hooked it up to the SPDIF input of Gungnir using a single Zu Wylde RCA interconnect.

My digital music chain at this point was: Mac Mini in the bedroom sending files from Roon via wi-fi > Airport Express in the stereo rack > Audioquest Cinnamon Ethenet Cat 5 > Sonore microRendu 1.3 > Eitr > Zu Wylde RCA "analog" interconnect cable > Gungnir SPDIF input > C-J amplification chain. Well, it sounded pretty darn good, and more importantly, Gungnir was back in business while I waited in queue. Cool.

Meantime, I ordered an open-box Shunyata RCA terminated SPDIF 75 ohm digital cable. Once I got that, I replaced the Zu Wylde regular RCA analogue interconnect with the Shunyata 75 ohm digital coax SPDIF cable.

So now, my chain was essentially this: Mac Mini/Roon > Airport Express > Sonore microRendu > Eitr > Shunyata Venom 75 ohm SPDIF digital coax> Gungnir SPDIF input.

Another NOTABLE improvement: with the Shunyata 75-ohm digital cable the sound quality was demonstrably smoother, sweeter, more musical and dimensional and more full-sounding than with the Zu cable, and quite noticeably so. Soooo, now we're cookin' with gas...the system sounded VERY good and most importantly, my Gungnir was back in the system and performing to it's full potential. Here was the key takeway for me: using Eitr with a good SPDIF digital coax cable sounded notably better than the original Gen 2 USB input on Gungnir. I realized after using Gungnir for over three years that I had not actually been truly hearing how good it could actually sound! (remember that comment back in Part 1 of me ignoring Jason and Mike's comment about USB not sounding very good? Well, they were right...)
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.

Last edited by Puma Cat; 10-08-2017 at 08:03 PM.
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Old 10-08-2017, 08:17 PM
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Part III: Waiting for Multibit....

The time finally came for me to send Gungnir in to the Schiit-Shop for it's upgrades. So, I had to put my Modi 2 Uber DAC back into the system while i waited for Gungnir to be transformed into Gumby.

I put my Modi 2 Uber back in, but this time I used it in conjunction with Eitr and the Shunyata digital cable, going into the SPDIF port on the Modi 2 Uber.

Okaayyy..using the SPDIF input on Modi 2 Uber in conjunction with Eitr takes this setup up quite a notch, IMHO. The musical presentation is now more natural, more full-bodied, sweeter-sounding, less sterile, and quieter than using the USB input only on Modi 2 Uber. NOT as good as Gungnir, but really quite good, impressively so when you consider what Eitr brings to the table for what it cost, and good enough that I could live with it. At this time, I also borrowed a friend's microRendu while I sent mine into Sonore for the Version 1.4 hardware upgrade, which basically upgraded the microRendu with all-new ultra-low jitter clocks.

So, while Gungnir was in the shop, I got my microRendu back with the version 1.4 hardware upgrade. This was a much more significant upgrade than I thought it would be.
I find that the new 1.4 hardware upgrade provided significant improvement in sound quality over version 1.3 What I noticed most was a lower noise floor, increased soundstage width and depth, improved articulation of musical instruments , more refined and delicate instrumental and vocal timbres and, increased resolution but not at the price of a more etched or sterile sound, Vocals and subtle instrumental details are notably improved in terms of “musicality”, but in a really nice, natural way. Overall, a more spacious, sweeter, musical, refined and most importantly, engaging musical presentation. Turnaround time from the time Sonore received the unit and shipped it back out was only a few days. And, in combination with Eitr, it made my Modi 2 Uber go from a DAC that I wasn't overly thrilled with to a completely enjoyable and musical-sounding DAC.
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.
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Old 10-08-2017, 08:29 PM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
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Stephen-



AsI await part IV!
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Old 10-08-2017, 09:15 PM
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Part IV: Multibit arrives!

So, finally, Gungnir arrives back metamorphosed into Gumby. I put it into the system, allowed it to warm up over the weekend, and started listening 2-3 days later. I was using Gumby with my Sonore microRendu and the Gen 5 USB input. I compared it initially using the SPDIF input via Eitr, and while they are very close, I think I prefer the character of the USB input.

The first and most noticable impression that the Gungnir Multibit gives over Gungnir is one of incredible detail, spaciousness, airy-ness, resolution, instrumental and vocal body, structure and placement, but always accompanied by a pervasive and unwavering musicality, and wonderful sweetness of presentation. Listen to "Se Voce Me Ama" on Melody Gardot's The Absence, and every subtle vocal and instrumental detail, shading, texture is beautifully and naturally represented. You can hear the delicate sounds of the lyrics emanating from the throat and lips of singers, the texture of the steel guitar string, and the resonance of the guitar body itself. Yet each singer and instrument is fully fleshed out and separate from the other, as if you could look over and see each singer sitting on their own chair while singing. In her song, "If I Could Tell You I Love You", you can hear the resonance of the sound emanating from Melody's throat through her husky voice. Yet none of this detail, resolution, vocal articulation has any trace of etch or glare or sterility, instead it sounds warm, sweet, and natural.

Spend 14 minutes luxuriating to a 24/192 version of the title track of Grant Green's sublime "Idle Moments" on Blue Note. OMG. You can not only hear the brushes on the cymbals, but the texture of the steel fibers of the brush as they splay onto the cymbals. Meanwhile, Green's guitar sounds detailed, nuanced, rendered with beautiful overtones and touch...the harmonics cascade off the strings into space with beautiful decay. Joe Henderson's sax has a wonderfully husky Ike Quebec-like breathiness, backfilled by a cleanly rendered and sweet Duke Pearson piano line. I'm not a big vibes fan, but on Bobby Hutcherson's vibes, the soundbars sound physically palpable, their tones ringing off into space sweetly.

On Dave Brubeck's Joe Morello's cymbals and triangle are fully articulated and differentiated from the Paul Desmond's alto sax and Brubeck's piano in Blue Rondo à la Turk, each instrument, harmonic and tone color are fully resolved from one another, but each combine to provide the propulsive drive of the piece. Absolutely amazing.

Back in November, I upgraded the tweeters in my Dynaudio Contours S3.4 to Esotar 2s, and once broken in, while they were notable and considerable upgrade to my speakers performance in almost respects, I found them a bit too resolving and bright on some content when using D/S Gungnir.

Well no more more; after getting Gumby back, that occasional brightness/sharpness is now gone...and I now realize that what I was hearing from the Esotar's superior detail and resolution was the classic "delta-sigma glare", something D/S DACs are sometimes faulted for (often exemplified by ESS Sabre DACs) when compared against a very good R2R multibit DAC e.g. an MSB Analog R2R ladder DAC, Yggdrasil, the Holo Audio Spring DAC, etc.

These are just brief notes and impressions, but the overarching and predominant quality of the Gungnir Multibit is that it is one of the most analog, least digital-sounding playback devices I've ever heard. It sounds like the best of analog on a very good turntable, but it sounds like going from a good moving magnet cartridge to a superb low-output moving coil. it is brilliant at creating an engaging and beguiling musical experience and I find myself just getting sucked into the music hour after hour. It doesn't sound digital..it sounds like MUSIC
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.

Last edited by Puma Cat; 10-09-2017 at 02:27 PM.
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Old 10-09-2017, 08:50 AM
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Great story -one of development, evolution and a learning curve!
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Old 10-09-2017, 09:22 AM
John Jordan John Jordan is offline
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Stephen-

Beautifully written essay with much detailed information as to how you arrived where you are. It is certainly a great guide for those of us who are flondering with next step "computer" audio decisions.

Do you still have your MacMini away from the audio rack and stream to an Airport Express connected to the DAC via the MR? Do you think this new Gen 5 USB would allow the elimination of the MR/Express and allow you to have the mini on (or near) the rack connected directly to the Gumby via USB?

Thanks for all of this!
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Old 10-09-2017, 10:28 AM
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Stephen.......That was an enjoyable and detailed report of the upgrade path of your Schiit GUNGNIR DAC and related ancillary digital gear. The EITR USB to coaxial converter with linear power supply is a unique device at a good price. I enjoyed reading this review. It made me take a look at the Schiit website.
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STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario
LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113
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Last edited by jdandy; 10-09-2017 at 11:54 AM.
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Old 10-09-2017, 11:35 AM
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Stephen- I look forward to your review of a new Yggdrasil.
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Old 10-09-2017, 12:58 PM
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Thanks for sharing the progression of your Gungnir, Stephen. I sent mine in to get the USB option a while back. I don't use it all that often, but I just might upgrade to the multibit anyway.
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