Review and Measurements of Schiit Yggdrasil V2 DAC

[amirm]

Yes, it measures bad but how does it sound? Subjectively?

The answer was just above your post: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-of-schiit-yggdrasil-v2-dac.3607/post-1273559

The owner claimed that with specific tracks and comparison to a specific Topping DAC, the Yggy sounded better. I made that exact comparison except that I matched levels and performed AB tests. No difference at full volume whatsoever.

They must be doing something right because there wouldn’t be so many audiophiles doing subjective listening tests and absolutely preferring these sadly distorted ladder dacs over any perfectly testing sigma delta DAC out there…

Why "must they?" There were plenty of people who thought earth was flat before it was discovered that it wasn't. Fact is that people don't know how to do these simple comparisons correctly. They do ad-hoc testing which is prone to tons and tons of errors.

And remember, for every one of those people, there are tons who don't believe at all in what you stated. Don't be selective about who you listen to. Make sure they provide reliable, repeatable back up for the opinion.

 

[TonyJZX]

I love it how Amir is still here in a review that was two years before Covid!

and really, its the same old song and dance from the manufacturers

funnily enough I just visited the Schiit site and their top of the line Vagisil Plus model is now an amazing $2,799!

to my surprise the chipset isnt amazing in any version and it doesnt look or spec or perform like a close to $3k unit... the response from this crowd would be... just get an RME?

or even a low end topping smsl sub $500 which would probably run rings around it chartwise

these are for the Schiit tragics out there

 

[Jimster480]

I love it how Amir is still here in a review that was two years before Covid!

and really, its the same old song and dance from the manufacturers

funnily enough I just visited the Schiit site and their top of the line Vagisil Plus model is now an amazing $2,799!

to my surprise the chipset isnt amazing in any version and it doesnt look or spec or perform like a close to $3k unit... the response from this crowd would be... just get an RME?

or even a low end topping smsl sub $500 which would probably run rings around it chartwise

these are for the Schiit tragics out there

For 3K there are so many options.... From Matrix to Benchmark if you even wanted to spend such money.
You would have to WANT to spend this money because really you could have a whole nice Streamer setup for that money (provided you wanted one of those).

My whole stack + my headphones costs about as much as the Yggy. Honestly I would rather an EX5 and a DCA Stealth than spending the money on a Yggy...

 

[Sal1950]

They must be doing something right because there wouldn’t be so many audiophiles doing subjective listening tests and absolutely preferring these sadly distorted ladder dacs over any perfectly testing sigma delta DAC out there…

Cause the bible (Stereophile and TAS) told them so.
They have no mind or ears of their own.

 

[TonyJZX]

R2R dacs is another sore point of contention on this forum... you really dont want to poke the bear there!

I seem to recall this place has maybe a handful of reviews of R2R and they measure as you would expect... like the tube equivalent or amps.

 

[Sal1950]

R2R dacs is another sore point of contention on this forum... you really dont want to poke the bear there!

I seem to recall this place has maybe a handful of reviews of R2R and they measure as you would expect... like the tube equivalent or amps.

No real contention here, if you enjoy the sound of distortion over transparancy, that's the listeners choice.
Just don't try to claim it sounds more like real music, when the sound of the source is the best it can get.

 

[BDWoody]

They must be doing something right...

They do have very good marketing.

 

[BDWoody]

No real contention here, if you enjoy the sound of distortion over transparancy, that's the listeners choice.
Just don't try to claim it sounds more like real music, when the sound of the source is the best it can get.

If they are even hearing it at all. Good luck hearing the actual distortion from all but the worst of these boxes under any normal listening conditions. The "I must like the distortion then" response is more likely because they are attached to the idea that if they like it more it *must* be because it sounds different, and if it does then it *must* be the distortion. Of course, they haven't shown that they can even tell them apart with basic controls let alone prefer the one with more distortion, but since their wife if the kitchen can hear the obvious difference even while blending up the margaritas, who can possibly argue with that?

Same with decent tube vs ss from what I've seen. I found @levimax 's Dynaco vs SS test very interesting, and have linked to it many times.

 

[Sal1950]

Of course, they haven't shown that they can even tell them apart with basic controls let alone prefer the one with more distortion, but since their wife if the kitchen can hear the obvious difference even while blending up the margaritas, who can possibly argue with that?

Good point Woody.
That's the whole big problem with the subjective community.
None of their claims come with any verifiable evidence to support it..

 

[majingotan]

Looks like the Schiit "More is Less" is getting a DAC update: Texas instruments has sent Jason the Ti DAC11001B which is supposed to improve 10 KHz to 20 KHz THD+N measurements by approximately 45 dB or better as measured on a prototype Yggdrasil MIL v2. Ch1 is the current Ti DAC11001A Multiplying DAC chip while Ch2 is the new Ti DAC11001B chip

1KHz measurements is negligible between the two DAC chips:

Ti DAC11001B

Ti DAC11001A (current Yggdrasil More is Less)

 

[Jimster480]

Looks like the Schiit "More is Less" is getting a DAC update: Texas instruments has sent Jason the Ti DAC11001B which is supposed to improve 10 KHz to 20 KHz THD+N measurements by approximately 45 dB or better as measured on a prototype Yggdrasil MIL v2. Ch1 is the current Ti DAC11001A Multiplying DAC chip while Ch2 is the new Ti DAC11001B chip

1KHz measurements is negligible between the two DAC chips:

Ti DAC11001B

Ti DAC11001A (current Yggdrasil More is Less)

Cool, so the people paying 2k for $100 performance can now have performance closer to $120 DACs instead.

 

[charleski]

Looks like the Schiit "More is Less" is getting a DAC update: Texas instruments has sent Jason the Ti DAC11001B which is supposed to improve 10 KHz to 20 KHz THD+N measurements by approximately 45 dB or better as measured on a prototype Yggdrasil MIL v2. Ch1 is the current Ti DAC11001A Multiplying DAC chip while Ch2 is the new Ti DAC11001B chip

1KHz measurements is negligible between the two DAC chips:

Ti DAC11001B

Ti DAC11001A (current Yggdrasil More is Less)

Still a lot of modulation of the noise floor (over 5 times higher with 20kHz signal compared to 1kHz).
Pity.