My monitor/subwoofer system

[PeterA]

@Al M. It looks the Yggy2 is using summation buffers for the RCA outputs, which means I probably should be going from XLR to RCA with jumpers.

Today's sonic orgasm is listening to

and I am going to buy the entire series.. This recording has been my foremost go-to recording for voicing my Alpha.

Tasos, I'm sorry I missed the Mahler 2nd concert that you guys attended last year. Great music I wish I knew better.

I'm curious, do you have a foremost go-to analog recording for voicing your vinyl source?

 

[ack]

I'm curious, do you have a foremost go-to analog recording for voicing your vinyl source?

Yes, the Reference Recordings RR-11 Symphonie Fantastique

 

[PeterA]

Yes, the Reference Recordings RR-11 Symphonie Fantastique

Great music. Thank you. My father reminded me the other night that he took me and my brother to hear the Symphonie Fantastique in Chicago, Solti or Julini conducting, when were about 8 and 10 years old. We were all dressed up in suits for the evening concert. That was our first trip to hear the CSO at night. And you introduced me to this specific recording all these years later.

 

[ack]

Great music. Thank you. My father reminded me the other night that he took me and my brother to hear the Symphonie Fantastique in Chicago, Solti or Julini conducting, when were about 8 and 10 years old. We were all dressed up in suits for the evening concert. That was our first trip to hear the CSO at night. And you introduced me to this specific recording all these years later.

Beautiful!

 

[MadFloyd]

Ack, I would be interested to get your thoughts on the Yggy’s low frequency extension as compared to your Alpha.

 

[ack]

Day 4 with the Yggy2

I continue to hear improvements on the 4th day, so much so that I pushed the Buy button. The case for it is quite simple: for this DAC to pair so well with the Spectral 500AR amps and the rest of the system, and be able to render such a realistic sound with the right recordings, tells me that these amps were voiced with just as good if not better digital and analog components not yet released, so while I await the Spectral DAC to see what it can do, the Yggy is going to be swapped in, along with the Alpha for HDCD and hi-res (something I've been working on).

Ian, the bass from the Yggy is now more powerful, tight and rounder than the Alpha. I attribute that the greater dynamic headroom it has developed over the last 24 hours, which is also evident in the midrange.

This DAC is so outrageously good that I had a really hard time accepting Harley's comments [on the original Yggy1 version], early on and every time I read them. But here they are, because this time I feel he is spot on with respect to the superlatives he used:

"I don’t know how Schiit Audio has done it, but the $2300 Yggy is in many ways competitive with any DAC I’ve heard regardless of price. In some criteria—transient speed without etch, clarity of musical line, whole-body involvement—the Yggy is as good as digital gets."

"It’s a spectacular performer on an absolute level, and an out-of-this world bargain. The Yggy is not just a tremendous value in today’s DACs, it’s one of the greatest bargains in the history of high-end audio."

So far, it's also the only DAC in here that will render the full tape hiss of great analog transfers to redbook, testament to its extremely low noise (they claim <-119dB whatever that means and wherever it applies - I posted their PDF with their full measurements a couple of days ago).

So on Day 4, it has climbed another notch. It is a very unusual design, really off the beaten path, with that Analog Devices AD5791BRUZ which DOES NOT process audio data per se, but its data sheet says is for "Medical instrumentation; Test and measurement; Industrial control; High end scientific and aerospace instrumentation" plus 1ppm INL accuracy - so my guess is they transform the data in their own digital filter implemented on the SHARC processor. I also like the modular implementation with the motherboard/daughter boards, which makes upgrading so easy. Their use of the Nichicon Audio Grade electrolytics is also good, though these can probably be improved upon.

Overall, it makes a compelling case in here, no Schiit...

EDIT: Worth noting also, that as I posted under my system thread a while ago, the Spectral SDR-4000SV player does NOT offer a high enough slew rate to match the preamp and amplifiers, which I think contributes to its slightly softer, a touch rounder and less resolving, sound. I really hope they change this in the upcoming DAC

 

[PeterA]

Actions speak even louder than words, Ack. And in your case, your ordering this DAC speaks volumes. I look forward to hearing it in your system one day. We know someone who sold an almost complete Vivaldi stack for this Yggy 2 DAC.

I continue to chuckle at this designer's use of the term "fancy" when describing some audiophile power cords in the power deliver/cord thread that Al started. You seem to think he knows what he is doing, at least when designing a DAC. He seems like a serious, no nonsense kind of guy.

I wonder if you or Al should copy these review posts over to the Yggy DAC thread. Or at least post a link. These are strong impressions. BTW, did you experiment yet with different connections to your transport and will your Yggy2 DAC eventually settle in its own space in your rack?

 

[Al M.]

Day 4 with the Yggy2

I continue to hear improvements on the 4th day, so much so that I pushed the Buy button. The case for it is quite simple: for this DAC to pair so well with the Spectral 500AR amps and the rest of the system, and be able to render such a realistic sound with the right recordings, tells me that these amps were voiced with just as good if not better digital and analog components not yet released, so while I await the Spectral DAC to see what it can do, the Yggy is going to be swapped in, along with the Alpha for HDCD and hi-res (something I've been working on).

Ian, the bass from the Yggy is now more powerful, tight and rounder than the Alpha. I attribute that the greater dynamic headroom it has developed over the last 24 hours, which is also evident in the midrange.

This DAC is so outrageously good that I had a really hard time accepting Harley's comments [on the original Yggy1 version], early on and every time I read them. But here they are, because this time I feel he is spot on with respect to the superlatives he used:



So far, it's also the only DAC in here that will render the full tape hiss of great analog transfers to redbook, testament to its extremely low noise (they claim <-119dB whatever that means and wherever it applies - I posted their PDF with their full measurements a couple of days ago).

So on Day 4, it has climbed another notch. It is a very unusual design, really off the beaten path, with that Analog Devices AD5791BRUZ which DOES NOT process audio data per se, but its data sheet says is for "Medical instrumentation; Test and measurement; Industrial control; High end scientific and aerospace instrumentation" plus 1ppm INL accuracy - so my guess is they transform the data in their own digital filter implemented on the SHARC processor. I also like the modular implementation with the motherboard/daughter boards, which makes upgrading so easy. Their use of the Nichicon Audio Grade electrolytics is also good, though these can probably be improved upon.

Overall, it makes a compelling case in here, no Schiit...

EDIT: Worth noting also, that as I posted under my system thread a while ago, the Spectral SDR-4000SV player does NOT offer a high enough slew rate to match the preamp and amplifiers, which I think contributes to its slightly softer, a touch rounder and less resolving, sound. I really hope they change this in the upcoming DAC

Congratulations, Ack, on your purchase!

Now you understand why I have sung the praises of this DAC all the time. It really is as Robert Harley claims in the quote you gave.

The problem with the AD5791 BRUZ DAC chip is that it has significant glitch energy at zero crossing; for that, see:

http://e2e.ti.com/blogs_/b/analogwire/archive/2013/06/14/what-s-with-all-this-glitch-ing

This issue, which has no effect on the precision applications in other areas, precluded it from being recommended by the manufacturer for audio. Somehow Mike Moffat managed to get the glitch down about -110 dB in the first version of the Yggy, and apparently to practically zero in the Yggy2.

The designer of the DAC chip was very surprised that Moffat had succeeded, see second post on this page:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/who-is-thinking-of-buying-the-schiit-yggdrasil.752962/page-15

Mike Moffat says he did *not* use sample and hold, which is usually employed for this problem, because he thinks it sounds bad.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Mike Moffat is behind Schitt? Mike Moffat is brilliant!

How come you didn't tell is he is behind Schitt from the beginning?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ron, quite a few of the really big names in audio from 15-20 years ago are behind newer, smaller concerns.

Mike Moffat was Theta, yes?
The Wadia team now run Exogal dacs and amps.
Alex Crespi of Hovland now runs Uptone Audio.

The market is very different, way more atomised. And now the objective is in packing a lot of tech into small, more affordable packages. Often factory direct.

 

[Al M.]

Mike Moffat is behind Schitt? Mike Moffat is brilliant!

How come you didn't tell is he is behind Schitt from the beginning?

Ron,

I must have mentioned that fact several (err, numerous) times .

What makes you say that Mike Moffat is brilliant?

 

[Ron Resnick]

Ron,

I must have mentioned that fact several (err, numerous) times .

What makes you say that Mike Moffat is brilliant?

I’m teasing, I know you did, I just didn’t make the connection.

Mike Moffat: Mod Squad Deluxe Line Drive, TipToes, Theta, etc.

 

[Al M.]

Ron, quite a few of the really big names in audio from 15-20 years ago are behind newer, smaller concerns.

Mike Moffat was Theta, yes?
Top Wadia man now runs Exogal dacs and amps.
Alex Crespi of Hovland now runs Uptone Audio.

The market is very different, way more atomised. And now the joy is in packing a lot of tech into small, more affordable packages. Often factory direct.

Actually, Schiit is now bigger than Theta ever was. Moffat says that at the height of Theta they employed 9 people; in the 2017 cycle, according to the Harley TAS review, Schiit sold 65,000 (yes, sixtyfive thousand) units, but of course a lot of these are rather cheap. Moffat said around the same time that they sold 1,000 units of their $ 100 DAC per month, which would have been 12,000 units per year, a significant share of the total of 65,000.

 

[Ron Resnick]

And the brilliant Jim White of Aesthetix came out of Theta.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Al, I used to run Hovland amps. I still remember how painful their demise was. At least Alex Crespi has moved on to a productive future. I'm sure Uptone sell way more than Hovland ever did. Not sure whatever happened to Bob Hovland.

 

[Al M.]

Further down in the link that I mentioned above,

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/who-is-thinking-of-buying-the-schiit-yggdrasil.752962/page-15

the designer of the DAC chip says regarding measurements provided by member "atomicbob":

Thanks atomicbob. I've just read your assessment linked here, and wow, you are pretty thorough! I would admit that from my (very limited) understanding of this stuff, several of the most spectacular performance measurements are nothing to do with the DAC chip itself. It seems the surrounding circuitry, including the clocking and filters, must be rather fabulous. So really, if this yggdrasil sounds as good as you say, credit should go to the Yggdrasil designers. I'm still intrigued to know what additional tricks they might have used in regard to dealing with the DAC chip's inherent code-dependent glitch energy, if that leads to THD that offends audio buffs ... ?

 

[microstrip]

(...)
What makes you say that Mike Moffat is brilliant?

Yes, it is strange - a designer becomes brilliant when we own something he designed, as far as I know Ron does not have digital ...

 

[MadFloyd]

Congratulations, Ack.
I’m curious if you tried any of your HDCD titles with the Yggy. I know you’re a big fan of those discs.

My only complaint with the Yggy is a slight roll off in the low bass. Not a deal breaker in any way and perhaps the Alpha wasn’t any better.

 

[microstrip]

And the brilliant Jim White of Aesthetix came out of Theta.

Now you are following the rules!

 

[Al M.]

Actions speak even louder than words, Ack. And in your case, your ordering this DAC speaks volumes. I look forward to hearing it in your system one day. We know someone who sold an almost complete Vivaldi stack for this Yggy 2 DAC.

From what I extrapolate after recently hearing the Rockport Lyra speakers with the full Vivaldi stack, including the clock, that digital playback goes one step further than the Yggdrasil DAC. In particular, I have never heard such a superb rendition of orchestral strings before (I don't think the explanation lies just within the system, it must be a superior digital source too).

I would be curious to hear how the rhythm of the full Vivaldi stack compares to the Yggdrasil 2.