"Ears deep" in Schiit

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......You've still got it! Your writing is as intersting and entertaining as ever. That was a very enjoyable review of your new Schiit Gungnir with the Multibit upgrade, aka "Gumby". I have no doubt it is as revealing and resolute as you describe, particularly since your Focal Utopia headphone is of reference level quality. It also sounds like the Bryston BHA-1 headphone amplifier is a perfect fit as well. Appreciate the concise report. I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you Dan. I would not have been inspired to write such a long post late at night if I was not so impressed and did not feel it would benefit our members to be aware of the value Schiit is putting out to the audiophiles and music lovers. Their product range starts at laughably cheap components by all audiophile standards but seems to me there is real value and bang for the buck for everyone that spends their hard earned money in their quest for better sound.

A $10k, a $20k or higher priced DAC is supposed to sound great given its price be damned approach. That’s easy. Much harder in my mind to offer products under $2k that deliver this kind of performance. I hope my post will inspire, be beneficial to at least some of our members and enhance their enjoyment. I’ll be happy knowing I contributed to their enjoyment just as I am sure our member PumaCat Stephen feels.

[bart]

It all makes you wonder how good their headphone amps are...

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......I have no doubt it is as revealing and resolute as you describe, particularly since your Focal Utopia headphone is of reference level quality. It also sounds like the Bryston BHA-1 headphone amplifier is a perfect fit as well. Appreciate the concise report. I enjoyed reading it.

Dan, I will be sure to share my impressions on both the Focal Utopia, the Focal Elear and Bryston BHA-1 at some point. They certainly deserve separate threads.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by bart

It all makes you wonder how good their headphone amps are...

I believe Stephen uses a Schiit headphone amp. I have not personally heard them.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Stephen, thank you. Looks like our impressions are very similar so it's not just my ears. Thanks for the suggestions on the music, funny that 3 out 5 you suggested were on my initial impression list already. I guess we also have a similar taste in music.

I was reflecting back over the years trying to come up with the equivalent of what I am hearing today through the Focal Utopia/Bryston BHA-1/Schiit Gungnir and nothing really quite compares to even my high end audio/theater setup.

One particular track that came to mind was Nils Lofgren "Keith Don't Go". It is a great track to evaluate the speed and grip of an amplifier on the speakers and also the resolution of any system. The lightning speed transients of Nils guitar playing will ultimately reveal if the speakers and the rest of your system can convey the sense of speed and all the rich harmonic overtones present on this recording.

Hi Serge, I have that track in my collection, know it well and will definitely give at listen. Right now I am listening to Murray Perahia accompanied, by yes, the one and only Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields playing Bach keyboard concertos (nobody plays baroque like the Academy...) Wonderful!

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Humbuster

Good review as well.

I am about ready to go Schiit as well. Planning up upgrading my rather pedestrian headphone system with a DAC and tube headphone amp.

Which DAC and headphone amp are you considering? What headphones are you using? Schiit makes headphone amps for a variety of classes of headphones, from planars and orthos to OTL amps designed for the Senn HD600/650 series.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Thank you Bart. It brings me pleasure to share my findings with such an impressive product for a very affordable price that is much more reachable for most folks vs a $20k external clock.... If the Gumby is a good indication of what Schiit brings to the consumer, there is some serious value here.

They are ALL about maximizing the value proposition. Their little USB/SPDIF convertor, Eitr, is a frickin' killer product. For a whopping $179. For those that have USB DACs that also have SPDIF inputs and want to run from a computer/music server via USB out (where the USB implementation may not be the latest and greatest and most importantly, cleanest), Eitr kicks some serious ass.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Thank you Bart. It brings me pleasure to share my findings with such an impressive product for a very affordable price that is much more reachable for most folks vs a $20k external clock.... If the Gumby is a good indication of what Schiit brings to the consumer, there is some serious value here.

It is. My original, 1st Gen USB, non-Uber, non-Multibit Bifrost that I bought in 2012 or thereabouts for $400 blew my $1200 Wadia 121 completely into the weeds. It wasn't even close. My first introduction to the AKM DACs, too.

[Puma Cat]

[QUOTE=John Jordan;874533]Serge-

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and literary lesson!

Schiit appears to make a solid product; not crazily priced, modular in design and a track record of reasonable upgrades. About as future proof as a digital device can be!

Also, Stephen you input on this subject has been invaluable.

It is interesting to note that the fantastic results you both are experiencing are not based on the use of a high end music server. I like that kind of value!/QUOTE]

That's correct, John. I am running a basic Mac Mini from 2012. Granted, I'm using a Sonore microRendu to stream files from the Mac Mini via Wifi to my Airport Express then Ethernet to the mR then USB to Gumby's Gen 5 USB port.

This lets me run my Gumby as a "Roon endpoint" and I can stream lossless bit-perfect data via RAAT (Roon Advanaced Audio Transport) to Gumby. The DSD-PCM via DoP conversion is killer, too.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Hi Serge, I have that track in my collection, know it well and will definitely give at listen. Right now I am listening to Murray Perahia accompanied, by yes, the one and only Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields playing Bach keyboard concertos (nobody plays baroque like the Academy...) Wonderful!

Can't find that particular album Stephen but I have listened and enjoyed him as well!