This post is going to be something of an information dump as I try and summarize my notes from a full day of testing. I'll do another post with some concluding thoughts in a day or two when I've had some more time to think everything over. Apologies in advance for the length. -- Larry (jazzfan) had come up with the idea of doing a mini-meet when Andrew (particleman14) and I bumped in to him at the California Audio show a few months ago. Larry and I had each purchased Yggdrasil DACs and we were interested in both putting them through their paces and testing to see whether the Uptone USB Regen device made a difference. We later found out that that Adam (drfindley) had purchased the Gungnir Multi-bit and we were interested in pitting the two Schiit top-dogs against each other in a blind test. Fast forward to Saturday. We ended up getting four people (including me) together for some testing at Larry’s house. The primary setup we used for our testing was Larry’s B&W 804S speakers powered by a Parasound Zamp. We used a Placette Audio Passive Line Stage as a volume control and input switcher. We tested by playing minute-long snippets of our favorite testing tracks on each set of gear to be tested. We used a Radio Shack SPL meter to ensure that differing volumes would not be a factor. I’ll describe the most interesting tests we performed, what the group conclusions were, and my thoughts, if any. -- Test #1 - Does a warmed-up Yggdrasil sound better than one that had been sitting cold for a few weeks. Background: Larry’s Yggy had been plugged in and powered on continuously for weeks. My Yggy has been unplugged and powered off for a few weeks since I currently don’t have a rig to run it with. Would Larry’s “Warm” Yggy sound better than my “Cold” one? The Yggy manual mentions that you should always leave it on. Is there any truth to this? Conclusion: Yes! All four of us preferred the sound of the “warm” Yggy to my “cold” Yggy. My thoughts: The Schiit advice about leaving the Yggy on is real. There was a noticeable difference between the two. The “cold” Yggy sounded congested and slightly veiled compared to the “warm” Yggy. The “warm” Yggy had more definition and a crisper sound to my ears. We didn’t blind test this, but I’m sure we would have all be able to tell which Yggy was which. -- Test #2 - Did the “cold” Yggy warm up after a few hours and sound the same as the “warm” one? Conclusion: No. All four of us still preferred the sound of the “warm” Yggy to the “cold” Yggy even after the “cold” Yggy had been powered on for a few hours. -- Test #3 - Did the Schiit Wyrd USB device make much of a difference with the Yggdrasil or the Gungnir Multi-bit? Background: I was extremely skeptical that either the Wyrd device would make any difference. If they had better USB technology why wouldn’t Schiit offer it as an option to include it internally on all their DACs? Conclusion: Not really. I think only Adam (the owner of the Wyrd) was even certain he heard much of a difference between using the two big $ Schiit DACs with or without the Wyrd. If there was a difference, it was very small. My thoughts: I highly doubt that any of us would have been able to determine whether or not a Wyrd was being used in a blind test. I will not be purchasing a Wyrd primarily for this reason. -- Test #4 -Did the Uptone Audio USB REGEN device make a difference with the Yggdrasil and Gungnir Multi-bit? Background: The Wyrd didn’t make much of a difference, so I had low expectations for the Regen. Conclusion: Yes! The Regen makes a noticeable difference in the sound with both the Yggdrasil and Gungnir Multi-Bit. All of us heard the same differences on every track. The interesting thing was that on some tracks we preferred the sound of the stock DACs while on other tracks we preferred the sound of the DACs being fed by the Regen. My thoughts: I heard the sound of the DACs with the Regen as being slightly warmer and punchier than the sound of the DACs running stock. Without the Regen I heard slightly more top end energy and definition. The difference between using the Regen and not wasn’t huge, but it was there and it was noticeable. What was more curious is that some tracks sounded better with the Regen and some tracks sounded better without it. For that reason, I can’t really say it defiantly improved the sound as much as it changed its “flavor.” -- Test #5 - Which sounded better, the Gungnir Multi-bit or the Yggdrasil? Background: Larry conducted this test in a way that allowed the other three of us to test blind. We sat on the couch while Larry switched DACs behind us. He used a coin flip to randomize the play order. We conducted this test with speakers and with headphones. Conclusion: First and foremost, they both sound great. Second, what we initially all were sure we knew which DAC was which, but we ended up being wrong. We all thought that what was actually the Gungnir was the Yggy. We also generally preferred the sound of the Gungnir! We performed three sets of trials and the Gungnir won two of them and the Yggy won the other. The two DACs sound close, but there are definite differences between them. My thoughts: Wow… if $ is no object then you really have to hear both of these DACs before making a purchasing decision. If $ is a factor, get the Gungnir! The primary difference I heard between Yggy and Gungnir was that I thought Gungnir tended to feel a bit more laid back with a bit wider soundstage. In contrast, Yggy sounded more defined and perhaps more detailed with a strong center image. This was a very interesting test. I’m not tempted to sell my Yggy, but if I didn’t already have one I would probably buy a Gungnir and pocket the difference. The Gungnir is one heck of a DAC that some may even prefer to Yggy. -- Test #6 - How did the Oppo BDP-105 compare to Yggy? Background: Prior to owning the Yggy I had used the Oppo as my primary DAC for many years. I like the sound of the Oppo, but a lot of people online have claimed that it is essentially crap compared to the Yggy. Conclusion: All of us liked the Yggy more. The Yggy sounded more "organic" and slightly more three-dimensional than the "flatter" sounding Oppo. My thoughts: I still think the Oppo is a pretty good DAC, but between the two of them, I prefer the Yggy. I may just be partial to the Oppo's sound after using it for so long, as Adam claimed he didn't just prefer the Yggy but actually disliked the sound of the Oppo. I thought he was being a bit harsh, but again, my ears may be biased to hearing the Oppo for so long.
