Upgrade amp or buy a dac?

[Owlman]

I have the Schiit Vali 2 tube amp and the headphones I'm using are the Beyer Dynamic T90 Jubilee (might replace these with the sennheiser hd 650s as i find the t90 too sibilant). Using on-board as dac, motherboard in my signature

 

Should I upgrade my amp to Asgard 2 /Valhalla 2 (I have no idea if I prefer tube or SS) or buy a dac like the Modi 2 or the Bifrost? Also what is the difference between the Bifrost and the Bifrost Multibit?

[Metallus97]

7 minutes ago, Owlman said:

I have the Schiit Vali 2 tube amp and the headphones I'm using are the Beyer Dynamic T90 Jubilee (might replace these with the sennheiser hd 650s as i find the t90 too sibilant). Using on-board as dac, motherboard in my signature

 

Should I upgrade my amp to Asgard 2 /Valhalla 2 (I have no idea if I prefer tube or SS) or buy a dac like the Modi 2 or the Bifrost? Also what is the difference between the Bifrost and the Bifrost Multibit?

DUDE! Shiit LOVE EM!

Definitely get a DAC!

Vali 2 is ultra nice and more than enough for your Cans
I am rocking it with HD800s

 

I do recomend getting a Shiit Modi 2. I have the same one and tried the Bifrost but yeha could not spot it in a A/B blind test with my HD800.

But i COULD verry much against my internal crap DAC

 

Difference between Bifrost and Bifrost multibit is the way of processing the audio

To make it short: You wont notice

[Owlman]

@Dackzy

[Owlman]

1 hour ago, Metallus97 said:

DUDE! Shiit LOVE EM!

Definitely get a DAC!

Vali 2 is ultra nice and more than enough for your Cans
I am rocking it with HD800s

 

I do recomend getting a Shiit Modi 2. I have the same one and tried the Bifrost but yeha could not spot it in a A/B blind test with my HD800.

But i COULD verry much against my internal crap DAC

 

Difference between Bifrost and Bifrost multibit is the way of processing the audio

To make it short: You wont notice

What about the Modi 2 multibit?

[seduce_me]

10 minutes ago, Owlman said:

What about the Modi 2 multibit?

If you aren't going to replace the T90's soon, mimby is a good option to add some warmth into your system. There are clearer DACs out there than mimby.

[Owlman]

2 minutes ago, seduce_me said:

If you aren't going to replace the T90's soon, mimby is a good option to add some warmth into your system. There are clearer DACs out there than mimby.

I'm pretty much set on replacing them, fatigue isn't fun. I just haven't decided on the replacement yet

[Owlman]

4 minutes ago, seduce_me said:

If you aren't going to replace the T90's soon, mimby is a good option to add some warmth into your system. There are clearer DACs out there than mimby.

mimby = modi 2 multibit?

[seduce_me]

2 minutes ago, Owlman said:

I'm pretty much set on replacing them, fatigue isn't fun. I just haven't decided on the replacement yet

You can get the modi 2 or modi 2 uber if you want to avoid noise since modi 2 is powered through USB. Mimby is Modi multibit.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Owlman said:

@Dackzy

Check out her/his older threads. Lots of neural nutrition tucked in among the @Dackzy postings....

Edited June 27, 2017 by Guest
Showing respect to peers, eh.

[Dackzy]

TBH just get a normal modi 2. I am personally not a big fan of the mimby, bifrost or bimby, to say it simple then I think they sound wrong to me, they have a fairly thick low end compared to other DACs and they are not among the DACs in this budget with the most resolution. I would actually consider an NFB 11 where only the DAC part is being used as better value than a bimby, but to be clear when I say thick low end about a DAC then it is not the same as if I said it about a pair of headphones, the DAC would be quite a bit more subtle.

 

A modi 2 cost 125€ and then save up the rest, later you might be able to get a better amp which the HD 650's would like. 

 

Let me see if I can boil multibit a bit down.

 

So the music we listen to is encoded using pulse-code modulation also called PCM, which represents the audio as samples of the signal amplitude, but the thing is that most DACs are using pulse-density modulation also called PDM to decode and they use a technique that is called delta-sigma modulation. The drawback of delta-sigma DACs is that in order for them to do their decoding they discard the original PCM samples when they make them into PDM and they are typically 1-5 bits or something like that, this is seen as a drawback for some people and multibit is supposed to overcome this drawback. Can you hear it? maybe, maybe not.

 

Hope that helped a bit.

[SSL]

Love the low end on the Bifrost 4490. Doesn't really sound thick to me, even pushing the HD650.

[Owlman]

@SSL @Dackzy 

Is the Schiit Lyr 2 worth looking into? Found one used for less than half the cost of a new one.

 

EDIT: Lyr not Lyr 2, about 45% off retail price

[seduce_me]

1 hour ago, Owlman said:

@SSL @Dackzy 

Is the Schiit Lyr 2 worth looking into? Found one used for less than half the cost of a new one.

 

EDIT: Lyr not Lyr 2, about 45% off retail price

Just get the newer amps from Schiit, vali 2 or valhalla 2 if you want tubes at an affordable price.

[Owlman]

3 minutes ago, seduce_me said:

Just get the newer amps from Schiit, vali 2 or valhalla 2 if you want tubes at an affordable price.

Saw the listing for the Lyr and thought I'd ask. I have the Vali 2 fyi.

[Dackzy]

1 hour ago, Owlman said:

@SSL @Dackzy 

Is the Schiit Lyr 2 worth looking into? Found one used for less than half the cost of a new one.

 

EDIT: Lyr not Lyr 2, about 45% off retail price

eh the OG lyr isn't that good at all, you kinda want second gen products when it comes to schiit.

[Owlman]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

eh the OG lyr isn't that good at all, you kinda want second gen products when it comes to schiit.

Ok, thanks 

[Metallus97]

On 27.6.2017 at 2:33 PM, Owlman said:

What about the Modi 2 multibit?

same thing