Schiit Eitr Preview Thread

Based on what I can find, the old Norse "ei" sounds like the Spanish diphthong "ei". So that would have “Eitr” pronounced like "ate-r". Or "hater" without the "h".

Of course, it is Schiit’s product so they can pronounce it any way they want!

 

It ate all the schiit so your tunes can sound moar better.

 

That's correct; and that dipthong persists in Swedish/Norwegian today for some words, IIRC.

Personally, I pronounce it "I-ter" so folks know what I am talking about when I reference it.

 

I've been super-busy with other stuff, but finally I found the time to ask my wife, who does not follow gear details and has a better musical ear than I do, to compare 1) with 2), using Neurochrome HP-1>MrSpeakers Ether C Flow. She didn't know which was which, but she consistently chose 1) with different tracks from Cécile McLorin Salvant's "For One to Love" and the Reiner/CSO 1956 "Scheherazade." She felt that the 2) had a bit of haze compared with 1). Again, she doesn't care about the gear or all the terms we use to describe how it sounds, she just said it as she heard it, not a big difference but readily noticeable. I can't hear it myself, but then she's got the better ear, and unlike her I know which setup is playing.

If we have some time, I should have her listen to Eitr with the two different sources (microRendu or USBridge) to determine if that matters. But my suspicion is that the real difference is I2S vs coax into the Holo Spring, for which there's been some support here and elsewhere.

 

Any cable recommendation for use with a Magni/Modi stack that sits close to the wall?

Currently using the intropose connector to connect the Magni/Modi.

 

That Intropose connector looks cool, but for interconnects like RCA you want shielding and low capacitance, and I don't think a pcb is the way to go for either of those.

You should notice better sound quality with a decent 1ft RCA from Blue Jeans:
https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm

Maybe try turning the stack sideways?

 

I own a Theta Gen. V. I plan to use an EITR with the Theta so I can use the Theta with my computer. I would appreciate any input on how you think the EITR might workmwith the Theta. I would also appreciate your opinion relative to the Schiit DACs that would be a definite step up above the Theta.

 

I would wager what your wife's hearing is what Torq had been reporting previously, namely that Spring behaves best with i2s input compared to all other inputs.

 

I suspect you are right. We've been rather busy so I did not have the time to try different combinations of the various upstream components.

 

About to add the Eitr to my Modi Multibit/Vali 2 chain. What do you all use as a cable to connect the Eitr to the Modi Multibit? Bummed to see there isn't a short Pyst cable for it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D29JBSI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I had blue jeans cable make a 1ft 1505f coaxial cable to go between Modi Multibit and Eitr. Very flixible cable and works perfectly for stacking.

 

Blue Jean Cables made a 1ft Belden 1694A 75 ohm coax for me. I have a bit more room so I didn’t need the extra flexibility. Works great. Wish they made cables shorter than 1 foot.

 

I remember reading somewhere that you can select a 1 foot cable, and then make a note during checkout that you'd like it to be shorter (8" with connectors or what have you). The cost is the same AFAIK. The place to specify this would be the "Special Notes or Instructions" box during checkout. I have not tried this personally though, so I can't attest to it!

 

That's what @drfindley told me. I plan to order a 6" one to match the PYSTs.

Edit: "The RCA Pysts are about 6" long, excluding connectors."

 

Giving this a shot. I asked for 6-8" in the notes, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks!

 

As a follow-up the Blue Jeans Cable came in and it's pretty perfect.

The cable itself is exactly the same length as the Pyst cables. The total length comes out to be about 2" longer simply because the connectors are longer.

Regardless, it's certainly better than the 1ft. + options I was considering.

Total was $23.62 including shipping.

Now if only the Eitr would go off backorder, so I could actually put it to use!

 

I got the same thing, the 1505F cable, except I requested they make it 6". It fits perfectly between the Eitr and Modi Multibit. With the connectors, the cable sticks out about 5" from the back of the stack.

 

I've had my Eitr for a couple of months now and very much enjoy the quality it brings to my system. Contrary to lots of the comments on this thread, I do hear distinct improvements when it's partnered with better quality cables (I started with PYST and Blue Jeans but soon figured out the sweet spot for my system was totally worth the upgrade). YMMV.

The only negative from my experience has been the inability to play anything more hi-rez than 24/96. Doesn't matter whether I'm using Roon or Audirvana. Or whether or not I include my microRendu in the chain. The problem is the Eitr, I have no doubt about that. The funny part is that I'm not a huge fan of hi-rez - I generally find that native file playback sounds better. But I'm annoyed that my Schiit Eitr denies me the alternative.

So I've been in contact in Schiit 'customer service' for a few weeks now. What a joke. No, seriously. I should copy and paste their comically incompetent emails - maybe I will at some point - I can't quite figure out if the Schiit email guy (a) is dyslexic (b) is permanently high (c) just can't give a schiit.

Nonexistent customer service is sadly not uncommon in the cottage industry we know as the high-end audio business. You buy your product and you take your chances. Don't expect much from the manufacturers. The Schiit people seem like nice, funny people. I like their marketing - it's clever and well executed.

 

Never had this problem with the eitr, nor with the gen 5 usb in the Gungnir Multibit. Both seamlessly play up to 24/192, including dsd output as 24/176 via jmrc20. Weird.