Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Bill-P, Oct 7, 2015.

  1. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    I wouldn't just assume Multibit Gungnir 'sounds better' than DS. In fact, a lot of what you are describing reminds me of OG Gungnir. See if you can demo Multibit before making the upgrade. Horses for courses, and all that.
     
  2. klyrish

    klyrish Facebook Friend

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    Oh, I forgot to mention that I think this is an OG Gungnir.

    SCH06E C061631 is on the big sticker on the back and from some searching here, C serial numbers denote an original, right? Or does the C just mean DS in general? I'm making the assumption it's OG based on this post.
     
  3. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    He means the original multibit version A1. Not the A2 upgrade you would get if sending your DS in to schiit today for the upgrade. You can only get A1 (OG) multibit Gungnir used.

    I have the A1 and it's indeed awesome but I've not heard A2.
     
  4. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    I was referring the AK4399 Gungnir. I would associate words like ‘explosive’ and ‘impact’ with original Gungnir more so than the Multibit version.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2019
  5. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    [​IMG]

    Oops, my bad.
     
  6. klyrish

    klyrish Facebook Friend

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    Interesting! So would you say I lucked out a bit with this purchase then? And what does the current Gungnir DS ship with? On the product detail page, it still says that there are 4x AK4399 in the DS version.

    This is making me rethink things. Maybe I'll hold onto this one in DS form and then save up instead for a Yggdrasil since I'd ultimately get there anyway and this way, I cut a step out and put that $500 right toward the endgame.

    HAHAHA that gif kills me every time.
     
  7. Mr.Sneis

    Mr.Sneis Friend

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    The Gungnir DS has received no updates afaik. So OG is kind of a misnomer.... OG could also refer to Gungnir Multibit a1 as equally as DS.
     
  8. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    After reading this thread I ordered a Gungir MB and it was DOA on Saturday. Schiit had a working one in my hands by noon yesterday. I had been using an iFi iDAC2 and HQPlayer combo (always playing with upsampling/resampling/DSD) for the last 2 years or so, good sound IMO for the < $2k space.

    I will only confirm the descriptions of "incisive" sound, the separation of instruments, and its ability to handle loud/complex music passages with ease. The only aspect that might not quite be up to my iFi setup is timbre in the mid/vocal range, though I am still up in the air about this (and waiting for it to get up to temp).

    Also, where is the second socket to plug in the hair dryer (to keep it warm)? Also, where is the MQA blue light (to indicate that birth of a new world experience)?
     
  9. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    If this was via SE out then yes, A2 does sound thin (almost grating at times) and shallow in the midrange. I recently tried a cheap neutrik Bal to SE Transformer . While it started to distort heavily even at moderate volumes (Max input level is very low on the neutrik) , Bal out had the required density/fluidity in midrange. Cinemags should only make it sound better....
     
  10. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Thanks for the tip. I have the SE out to a Saga (then it's SE out to Jot), and the Bal out directtly into the Jot. Assuming the Saga is transparent enough in bypass (an assumption), I am having trouble distinguishing the difference between SE and Bal out, at least to my preferred level of significance. In other words they sound very similar to me right now, not that I have spent much time going back and forth. Still trying to get an overall impression...that and the Gungnir is still warming up ;)
     
  11. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    I had the Jot (early batch) for few days. While its not bad amp (except for some trable glare and shallow staging I think its very good for a SS), it's not the most nuanced. Bal out mostly affects the tone density and fluidness. Its subtle but in DAC terms significant.
    Warm up even for several days wont get that body in the vocals. IME, A2 improved a lot upon macrdynamics after days of warmup. It was quite timid sounding for first week or so.
     
  12. klyrish

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    I just ordered my multibit upgrade. I'm 29 of 29. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for the queue to move ahead.

    I've been doing a lot of A/B testing with my HD6XX and Jotenheim and am absolutely blown away by the fact that my Modi Multibit sounds better than the Gungnir DS. I've seen the DAC Chart of Awesomeness and know that Bifrost Multibit is slightly ahead of the Gungnir DS and that Modi Multibit uses the exact same DAC as Bifrost Multibit, but I'm still shocked that something that costs just over 1/3 the Gungnir DS sounds better.

    I know "better" is a subjective term and what I mean by that is there's better clarity and separation of instruments and it just feels more..musical? Modi Multibit is more pleasant to listen to and I can have it on all day with no problems. After a couple hours of the Gungnir, I'm getting a headache, likely due to the combination of DS treble + Jotenheim. And I can actually hear a few more details on some songs that are lost in the DS sludge when listening to the same songs back to back after swapping the TOSLINK cable.

    Yeah, Modi Multibit's bass doesn't slam quite as hard but it's a concession I'm willing to make because I've realized that I'm more concerned with all of the little details and the incredible immersion that multibit provides. It's not a fair or proper comparison, but honestly, Modi Multibit feels like I'm in the middle of my home theater with the music completely surrounding me. With the Gungnir DS, I feel like I'm listening in my truck. The music is there and I'm here. We're separate and it sounds good but I know I'm missing out on so much.

    You guys on this board have gotten me to give up EQ, too. My Loki has gone unused since I got the Gungnir and I have no intention of bringing it back. I'm a purist now. It's going to make some of the bootlegs in my collection impossible to listen to but those are just shitty recordings anyway so whatever.

    God, this wait is already killing me and it's only been about 7 minutes since the order was placed. :-/
     
  13. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Roon's DSP is good (i.e. parametric EQ, balance - even the crossfeed serves some recordings). No reason to eskew it. You can easily set it up, save a preset, and turn it on and off at will

    edit: I see you use the HD6XX with a Jot . When I use mine, I shave a bit off that mid bass hump and add a bit in the subbass (not that it does much good). Also, depending on the recording, I will shelve down the treble just a touch. All this in an effort to get a bit more neutrality out of them.

    Also, while I notice the clarity & instrument separation from my Gungnir Multibit & Jot combo through the HD6XX (as compared to say, iFi iDAC2), I really notice the difference with my Clear...
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2019
  14. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    Gungnir Multibit is quite a bit better than Modi Multibit, so I think you'll be pleased.
     
  15. klyrish

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    Whoa, I honestly had no idea there was an included EQ in Roon. I just looked up how to access it in the KB and this is awesome. Thanks!

    Which Clear headphones do you use? I'm always on the hunt for something better (which is going to bankrupt me, I'm sure).
     
  16. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    Both (Focal) Clear variants sound the same, they just vary in appearance.
     
  17. klyrish

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    I'm not really sure where else to post this but can anyone with experience dealing with the Schiit upgrade process chime in? I placed my upgrade order on March 20 and was placed in the queue at #29 of 29. In the 15 days since, the queue hasn't moved at all. I'm still #29, but now 8 additional people have joined the queue.

    Is this typical? It seems really weird to me that it's been over two weeks and there has been no movement at all. I'm planning on emailing them about it because at this point, I'd rather cancel the upgrade order and buy a new Gungnir Multibit, selling my DS for whatever I can get. :-/
     
  18. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Yeah I would ask them what the current status is and when they expect to get things moving - likely it is a board shortage or a parts shortage issue. They do have backlogs on boards/parts orders from time to time. For instance, new Vidar orders are backordered right now for another 3 weeks at least (due to board shortage according to Jason).
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2019
  19. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    It is normal. In my case, I waited 2 months in the queue. The number did not change consistently but rather jump and stall and then jump again. Once the shop called for sending in, it took another month to get my Gungnir MB back ( ~ two weeks in the shop and two weeks on the road). Well, it was last year the summer time. I was in the queue 89 ~ish.
     
  20. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    My Gungnir MB USB2 to USB 5 factory upgrade report.

    Short version: USB5 sounded a lot better than USB2. Spdif also sounded clearly better - more details and better bass, I assume it was due to both firmware update and maybe - just maybe - the capacitors had been upgraded on my A1 board? No, they didn't swap my A1 board to a A2 board. Compare to its SPDIF, USB v5 input sounded a bit warm and less detailed but coherent.

    Long version: I have been hesitating to report anything for half a year since I got my factory upgrade back in October 2018. My case was quite an odd case. I purchased mine the Gungnir Multibit A1 version in January 2016. It was quite some noise/rumors that Schiit upgraded the firmware to fix the "glitch" (something to do with the +0 and -0 in digital domain) in Yggdrasil and other MB DACs in March 2016. Later, several members believed that there were two or more silent upgrades to Modi MB, also involving the firmware. I suspected that mine originally had the firmware with the glitch. My main reason to request a factory upgrade to USB5 was to send the unit back to the shop hoping that they would upgrade the firmware to fix the glitch. I also silently hoped that they might swap my A1 board to an A2 board. It took three months to get the upgrade done - two months waiting in the queue and one month the DAC was away from me. Here is my listening notes after the upgrade:

    @ turn on, cold unit. Wow! in Willie Nelson's "Georgia" at 0:37', guitar's string resonance became very obvious and detailed.
    ... More details and micro details. Instrument location were more pin-point. Voice was more centered, outstanding and forward. Sound stage was deeper, but not wider. Microdynamic - guitar sounded more real, pluck sounded a little drier but real. Violin string sound was more palpable. Piano's overtone was more extended and fuller. In Dave Brubeck's Take Five, the saxophone and keyboard sound were easily captured and drum seemed having more "bodies". Sense of space between instruments was a lot better.
    @ 2 hours. A little more “lovable” at 2 hours. A little dry, a little bit too High-Fi. Sound stage became wider after powered up for 2.5 hours.
    @ 3 hours. Became unbearable. Grainy, noisy, dull. stopped listening, went to sleep, thought the unit hadn't gotten warmed up yet.
    @ 24 hours. In Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird", guitar sound and position were more distinct to piano, not at the plane of the piano rather at a further position. Piano's keystroke and room echo sounded better and more distinct.
    @ 48 hours. warmer, still has more details, more dynamic, and sounded more neutral compare to the sound before the upgrade.”
    The listening was done with my Pi + 502DAC SPDIF co-ax output Picoreplayer v3.50, Gungnir MB, Saga, Vidar, B&W Nautilus 803.

    I felt the changes were in line with the differences between the A1 and A2 version described by other members. curiosity killed the cat, so I opened the chassis. I still have the A1 analog board - it printed on the board. But I found my board had several Gold Nichicon electrolytic capacitors, which was different to what in the official web picture. I didn't open it before I sent in, so this will be a mystery. All in all, I am happy with the current sound, dynamic and details.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2019

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