What is the best compact integrated amp without breaking the bank?

[jdandy]

Jason.......I have not auditioned the Schiit Audio Gumby DAC so I am unable to offer an opinion on how it compares to the Yggdrasil. I know that Serge, member PHC1 owned the Gumby, then purchased the Yggdrasil. You may want to PM him for his take on the differences. For me, the Yggdrasil represents the cream of the crop, especially with its robust power supplies, the Class A upgrades to the analog output stage and the latest Gen 5 USB input upgrade. Worth every penny in my opinion.

Schiit Audio offers a 15 day audition from the day you receive their products. You could always order both the Yggdrasil and the Gumby, compare them head to head, then return the one you'd don't want to keep. Heck, you may end up wanting to keep them both.

[Grasshopper]

Thanks Dan,

I’ll reach out to Serge!

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jason.......I have not auditioned the Schiit Audio Gumby DAC so I am unable to offer an opinion on how it compares to the Yggdrasil. I know that Serge, member PHC1 owned the Gumby, then purchased the Yggdrasil. You may want to PM him for his take on the differences. For me, the Yggdrasil represents the cream of the crop, especially with its robust power supplies, the Class A upgrades to the analog output stage and the latest Gen 5 USB input upgrade. Worth every penny in my opinion.

Schiit Audio offers a 15 day audition from the day you receive their products. You could always order both the Yggdrasil and the Gumby, compare them head to head, then return the one you'd don't want to keep. Heck, you may end up wanting to keep them both.

[Grasshopper]

Dan,

Do you have recommendations for a better purpose built server rig in mind?

At some stage soon, I predict my Mac Mini will become the weak link. I’m definitely pursuing “good enough” and don’t want to chase this dragon forever to keep my wallet happy

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jason.......

As for streaming Tidal with Audirvana through a Mac mini I would suspect the Yggy to deliver a very convincing performance that will have you favoring the Yggdrasil over your other DAC's, but using the Mac mini, although a decent server rig, it is not delivering a premium level presentation. A true dedicated, purpose built music server will up your performance bar substantially.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Dan,

Do you have recommendations for a better purpose built server rig in mind?

At some stage soon, I predict my Mac Mini will become the weak link. I’m definitely pursuing “good enough” and don’t want to chase this dragon forever to keep my wallet happy

Jason.......My recommendation for a music server that will elevate your enjoyment to a whole new level would be the Aurender N100H music server. The N100H can be purchased with 2TB or 4TB of internal storage, with the 4TB model available in black or silver for $2999.00. I have the Schiit Audio Yggdrasil and a 4TB model of the Aurender N100H in my living room system. Fabulous sound.

http://www.aurender.com/page/n100h

[Grasshopper]

Thank you!

Looks awesome!

Originally Posted by jdandy

Jason.......My recommendation for a music server that will elevate your enjoyment to a whole new level would be the Aurender N100H music server. The N100H can be purchased with 2TB or 4TB of internal storage, with the 4TB model available in black or silver for $2999.00. I have the Schiit Audio Yggdrasil and a 4TB model of the Aurender N100H in my living room system. Fabulous sound.

http://www.aurender.com/page/n100h

[PHC1]

If the budget allows for a YggY over Gumby, there is no question. That's not to take anything away from the incredible value to performance ratio of Gumby but the extra $$$ does buy a noticeable amount of analog smoothness and 3D/enhanced focus and palpability factor.

[Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by PHC1

If the budget allows for a YggY over Gumby, there is no question. That's not to take anything away from the incredible value to performance ratio of Gumby but the extra $$$ does buy a noticeable amount of analog smoothness and 3D/enhanced focus and palpability factor.

Thank you so much for your feedback.

Budget is totally Ok with either.

My debate has been based on the reports that the Yggy tends to err on the side of slightly brighter than the Gumby multibit.

I have a strong aversion to brightness (and with B&W 800s which can run a little hot in the tweeter, I’ve gone to great lengths to tone down the brightness).

I bought the c2300 tube preamplifier to tame the speakers some.

I worry that the Yggy may be more “transparent” and faithful to the original recording (many of which are mixed “hot”) but the Gumby may take some of the edge off. If this is the case (and the Gumby perhaps isn’t as faithful to the original recording, but more listenable as a result due to some smoothing as a result, I’d lean that way.

You are uniquely qualified as one who has owned both DACs. I sincerely appreciate your thoughts.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Thank you so much for your feedback.

Budget is totally Ok with either.

My debate has been based on the reports that the Yggy tends to err on the side of slightly brighter than the Gumby multibit.

I have a strong aversion to brightness (and with B&W 800s which can run a little hot in the tweeter, I’ve gone to great lengths to tone down the brightness).

I bought the c2300 tube preamplifier to tame the speakers some.

I worry that the Yggy may be more “transparent” and faithful to the original recording (many of which are mixed “hot”) but the Gumby may take some of the edge off. If this is the case (and the Gumby perhaps isn’t as faithful to the original recording, but more listenable as a result due to some smoothing as a result, I’d lean that way.

You are uniquely qualified as one who has owned both DACs. I sincerely appreciate your thoughts.

Could not be further from the truth. First of all neither are bright by the standard definition we audiophiles tend apply to that term. Second of all, if anything, the YggY rebooted (ver.2) is probably a bit on the too smooth and buttery side for some systems. My Luxman SACD player sounded more incisive and enthusiastic up top although even the Luxman is not bright. The YggY serves it up in such a natural and unforced way that one tends to over analyze it thinking there must be something missing when in reality it just sound very natural. I am also intolerant of hyper responsive treble and believe me neither Gumby or YggY have ever left me cringing with the typical genres of music and various recording qualities I have listened to.

Besides, if you are purchasing from Schiit direct, you have 15 days to try it out. YggY did not change as noticeably as Gumby did and what you will hear from YggY on day 1 will persist so you can quickly tell if this DAC is your flavor or not. Although I do not own either of them anymore simply because it would have been redundant and my plans for a second system did not materialize, I have nothing but fond memories of both and nothing but praise.

[Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Could not be further from the truth. First of all neither are bright by the standard definition we audiophiles tend apply to that term. Second of all, if anything, the YggY rebooted (ver.2) is probably a bit on the too smooth and buttery side for some systems. My Luxman SACD player sounded more incisive and enthusiastic up top although even the Luxman is not bright. The YggY serves it up in such a natural and unforced way that one tends to over analyze it thinking there must be something missing when in reality it just sound very natural. I am also intolerant of hyper responsive treble and believe me neither Gumby or YggY have ever left me cringing with the typical genres of music and various recording qualities I have listened to.



Besides, if you are purchasing from Schiit direct, you have 15 days to try it out. YggY did not change as noticeably as Gumby did and what you will hear from YggY on day 1 will persist so you can quickly tell if this DAC is your flavor or not. Although I do not own either of them anymore simply because it would have been redundant and my plans for a second system did not materialize, I have nothing but fond memories of both and nothing but praise.

Thanks a bunch for your thoughts!!

[Mike82]

I'd also look at the Rega integrated amps. Very good sound. A pre-owned Elicit-R should come in under $2K.