The All Purpose Advice Thread

well I am hoping to find a used Gungnir Multibit or Gungnir in my price range, at least a Gungnir, I prefer Schiit gear over everything else.

 

for the Valhalla 2, what tubes would be better, Tung sol 6cg7 or jj e88cc?

 

Looking for some advice on upgrading my PC audio. My existing active speakers died, but I have XDA-2 with original Airmotiv's for speakers and HD650's for headphones. Mainly this is used for music listening (80's rock mostly) and gaming.

I'll be demo-ing the usual suspects for speakers: ADAM, JBL, Focal, etc. But l would like some advice on DAC and amp upgrades. Right now I have HD650's, but after getting my speakers replaced, and upgrading DAC and amp, I want to upgrade my headphones, possibly to some planars like LCD-2/3/X or Ether Flows. Of course, if I don't like them I'll try other open headphones until I find something.

For a DAC, I am trying to decide between a Modi Multibit and Gungnir Multibit. This will be used for both headphones and speakers. Bifrost Multibit doesn't seem a good value right now.

For an amp, either Jotunheim or Mjolnir 2 (I do have balanced cable for my 650's). Never tried/heard a tube amp of any kind, the XDA is the first and only DAC/amp I've ever used (I guess technically the first and only external DAC/amp).

I don't want to get something I will want to upgrade soon, notice I kept all my existing equipment for 5+ years without change. So would a Gungnir Multibit be better since it will be going to both speakers and headphones? Bit of a better bet for long-term usage?

For an amp, that is harder to determine which would be better for me. With LISST, it's almost three options (Jot, M2 w/ tubes, M2 w/LISST). If I do get the M2, I'd go with both tubes and LISST so I could A/B them myself. But even after reading everything here and elsewhere, it's hard to decide. I suspect it will be something like both are very good, just pick one.

Any advice for me please?

PS: Already posted in the new user intro thread

 

For headphones, Gungnir Multibit/Mjo2+Tubes. If you're going orthos this is IMHO all you'll ever need. LISST sucks. None of the Schiit amps are transparent enough as pre-amps, if you're getting good active monitors get some passive volume control.

 

Any recommendation? Schiit sys?

 

JBL M-Patch 2 can sit in-between Gungnir Multibit and Mjo2/Monitors, has a very nice pot. If you don't need output toggling the TC Level Pilot is nice too. Your local pro audio store should have a good selection of monitor controllers. The SYS is fine but unbalanced only and the mini-pot sucks.

 

Emotiva DC-1?

 

IMO jj e88ccwould be better but that is my own personal taste. The best tubes I have personally used with the V2 are Amperex Orange Globes though.

 

That does look really nice and has balanced outputs which is what I am looking for,

 

Before I got to learn about Schiit multibit DACs the Audiolab M-DAC (not the "+" version) was at the top of my list. It was designed by John Westlake, who also designed the original Dacmagic. It has a Class A output stage, balanced outputs, volume knob, a remote control, and various filter options. Westlake also continued to update the firmware on his own time. It's been very popular in Europe within the two channel market.

I have not heard it myself but I have seen it likened to the desktop LH Labs DACs by one or two people here.

 

I appreciate the mere act of feedback on a board like this, but I really was hoping for a bit more nuanced answer. Have you used a Gun. 1 Apple TV as a source for anything before? I kind of expected the Raspberry Pi to be the recommendation because of its popularity among users here, but how does it actually compare?

Are the jitter measurements bad for the ATV or something? For an audio only source, the ATV would seem to offer the following advantages:

- Slick interface that is controllable via a minimalist remote.
- Professional case that does not look DIY.
- Can sync with iTunes (I know this won't matter to everyone, but if you've got a TON of ALAC files it's kind of nice...)
- Includes an OS that is specially optimized to support the hardware.
- Possibly a higher quality power supply than a basic Pi kit.
- Le$$ moolah.

Is there anyone who can confirm that it legitimately sounds worse than a Pi setup? It would be nice to spend the $140 difference elsewhere.

 

Yes.

Tthey were all cyclically replaced with newer generations. And then, when those didn't usefully improve matters, relegated to use as smart-TV interfaces/video streamers with no non-TV-audio duties.

Fundamentally, yes. They're not as bad as the original ChromeCast, but sample variation means some will result in activation of the clock-mode indicator for Gungnir and Yggdrasil, indicating that their jitter performance is rather out-of-whack.

And getting the best output here will require spending the difference between an ATV and RPi solution on a proper optical interconnect (and no I don't mean woo-woo AQ stuff).

For all those "advantages" you're locked into a forced ASRC scenarios that re-renders everything as 16/48 kHz. If you don't care about bit-perfectness and only want convenience, they're fine. If you want to maximize the performance of your DAC and not f**k with your source material before it ever reaches said DAC, they're a non-starter.

No particular challenge using this remote with an RPi solution.

Nobody cares, unless they have a need to have all their devices on display, as both units are so small they are easily hidden. Oh, wait, unless you are using a Gen 1 ATV, in which case it needs LoS for the remote! Not an issue for an RPi solution.

Share the file-source for these, and almost anything else can use that library, and it's meta-data, too.

So?

Do you care more about the aesthetics of the implementation or the end results?

Any competent UPnP/DLNA client/server will be better here. As will Roon.

Lovely ... but a benefit that is mostly theoretical and then entirely obviated by the much lower quality output model coupled with forced ASRC. Purely digital devices rarely give a measurable-(much less audible)-f**k about PSU quality at this end of the market. Hell, using batteries is cheap here.

If that's the overriding concern, then go for it.

It does. Though there's no way to prove it to you here. I can offer some anecdotal evidence (which will seem to be bragging, I'm sure) ... see below. Unless you're looking at multiple end-points, the TOTAL cost of an RPi solution should be in the $70 range, never mind $70 per end-point MORE than the ATV G1.

...

I run an all-Apple household. I've not had Microsoft stuff at home (outside some niche contracting and amateur radio stuff, all in VMs) since I left there in 2008 (and I'm not bitter, I made millions during my time there ... I just don't like where their products/protocols have gone for what I do personally). My music server is a Mac Mini. My primary workstations are nMPs. I have an iPad Air 2 (or better) for every room. I own every iOS device for testing purposes. I have more MacBook Pros than I know what to do with. I have Apple TVs all over the place ... though NONE for audio-centric purposes because ... AirPlay sucks* (v2 may be better, we'll see) and so does the ATV TOSLINK output compared to other options.

Great for convenience, lousy for SQ.

Pick your poison.

 

There was a discussion on the merits of the DC-1 before, I believe zerodeefex didn't like it a lot and Psalm (bless be his banned soul) found it good value in this thread: http://superbestaudiofriends.org/in...he-buck-dac-to-complement-the-jotunheim.4079/

 

well honestly, I trust @zerodeefex a lot so I have to go with his thoughts on it.

 

When I got my Audio GD NFB10ES2 I aim'd to find something portable that mirror'd it in terms of sound quality. I landed on a Hifiman HM901 [also ran 2x ESS 9018 dacs] and had a similar dark sound. Amp wise my now defective iBasso PB2 works well and my current PicoPower also works well, but that set up cost me around $1500, I spent twice as much chasing a DAP/Amp that matched my Dac/Amp/Pc

I would advise getting a nice portable dac/Amp that works with your phone. It'll cost more than your E17 will but it'll also make a nice upgrade to that. Which Dac/Amp, I can't help with. The mojo seems popular. But if your enjoying the Apple Music files, than I'd grab something to use with your iPhone. A Dedicated digital Audio player is a bit of a waste I think... I only have my hm901 because my phone back then was garbage... if I would have that cash back I could probably get a better sounding rig with my v20 as a source...

 

Hey thanks for the reply, I've been doing a fair bit of research and am leaning solidly towards the mojo. I considered the fiio X5III but I'd rather keep everything on my phone instead as it saves me having to manage two devices. I realise the mojo isn't the best value for money but I've come to terms with the "portable tax" and it should beat the e17+k5 quite nicely even in a desktop scenario.

 

Hi, sorry if this is the wrong place.

I just received my Modi Multibit. I haven't plugged in anything but the power cord yet because I don't have the right input cords yet. That said, when I push the selector button on the front, the front light indicator only toggles between the Optical and Coaxial sources.

Does USB need to be plugged in for it to toggle or is there something weird worth contacting Schiit about?

 

Yes USB does need to be plugged in

 

Don't get the Mojo, get a Geek Out V2+ or GO2PRO instead. Price should be the same or possibly less. They have basically the same features as the Mojo but sound significantly better (less scratchy treble, nicer tonality, much better soundstage, less picky about source) and have a better form factor. I sold my Mojo to buy a Geek Out V2+ and it was a clear step up.

 

That's good to know, I've heard a lot about the Geek Out as well. I'll have to work at getting my hands on one to hear for myself alongside the Mojo, as both have a lot of praise and positive feed back