Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

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

  1. JohnnyCanuck

    JohnnyCanuck Acquaintance

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    From the Gungnir manual:

    Hey, this thing clicks between songs/between inputs/etc!
    Yes, it does.

    Care to explain why, smartass?
    Sure. That’s the muting relay engaging when there’s no input. Many computer sources turn off the digital audio output between songs and when changing sampling rates. We went with a muting relay because it’s the best way to ensure there are no clicks or pops when the input is unlocked. But it does click a bit.
     
  2. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    Indeed, I was more wondering about user impressions.
     
  3. Clear Water

    Clear Water Friend

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    I've only noticed a single click when my computer starts up/shuts off. I use exclusively USB, though.
     
  4. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I've never had excessive clicking with mine. Only when switching between sources or when my computer restarts. Songs with different sample rates will trigger it as well. It doesn't bother me.
     
  5. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    +1 to what cskippy said (I'm using the Bifrost Multibit). It's definitely audible when the sampling rate changes or the input device changes. It's not irksome.
     
  6. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    Thanks! I'm still waiting for my Gungnir Multibit, I just hope the clicking doesn't bother me! Only one way to find out |\/|
     
  7. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    I think you already know this but the clicking is a mechanical sound inside the unit and not something you hear in the headphones. If you have music playing or closed cans you may not even notice it.
     
  8. missingtime

    missingtime New

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    2 good things. The clicking isn't loud or frequent. The light looks like crap in pictures but is cool in person. One bad thing was hunting for Prince videos and when I decided to halt this slow weird page there was a serious pop from the speaks. Cd's are sounding mighty good, even my I-tunes ones.
     
  9. missingtime

    missingtime New

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    This channel and instrument separation is great. When it came to bass previously, I was scratching my head wondering if my small speakers and placement could do anything.
     
  10. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Bass was a revelation for me too. The texture and pitch differentiation are just amazing sometimes!
     
  11. missingtime

    missingtime New

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    Broke my Zeppelin box set 2 cd into 3 pieces the other night. The Coda tracks remastering was too jacked up for me. Thing got scary hot the other day. Seems to prefer signal over idle regarding heat.
     
  12. missingtime

    missingtime New

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    Nice! back to my Dragonfly 1. Soo much better usb. Dvd player was too hot for my amp so smell ya later Mike.
     
  13. Robert777

    Robert777 Acquaintance

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    Hi,

    Would the extra cost of this versus the Bifrost Multibit be considered a wise investment if it is only to be run single ended via RCA?

    Cheers.
     
  14. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    I owned my Bifrost MB for 4 months or so, and decided to sell it and bought a Gungnir Multibit soon after. I thought the Gungnir Multibit was significantly better, even single ended. I viewed as a long term acquisition and hopefully my end game dac. I found the Gungnir Multibit to be up 3 or 4 levels in clarity, a bit more neutral sounding, and sound stage was much wider and disperse. That said, is it worth twice the price? Was for me, probably not for many others.
     
  15. JohnnyCanuck

    JohnnyCanuck Acquaintance

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    A "wise investment"? That would be your call.

    I run my Gungnir Multibit single-ended in my two channel system. It's certainly worth the extra money to me and I recommend it to those who can afford it. I consider the improved power supplies and adapticlock to be worth the difference in price by themselves. I haven't used the balanced outputs yet but I just consider them to be a bonus.
     
  16. Robert777

    Robert777 Acquaintance

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    Thank you both for your input. It is greatly appreciated. My current thinking is that any DAC I can really afford right now will be a modest upgrade at best. I will save some extra money and expand my options to the Gungnir Multibit.

    Cheers.
     
  17. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    As some1 who is considering upgrading as well im still thinking how justified it would be to spend 1250 euros on a dac :|. I guess ill decide after london meet hopefully some1 there will have one.
     
  18. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    And

    Couldn't agree more. The other thing with the Gungnir Multibit is the scale factor. As you upgrade around it, it sounds even better. If you can use the coax SPDIF on it (BNC or RCA) you get another level or two higher. I can endgame with this, and the stuff I have around it right now easily dwarf it. I didn't really expect that. 1250 euros is a lot, but you can keep it a long time, its really special.

    I think its really already good single ended, I gain just a little more balanced, even through a fully balanced speaker chain though a balanced headphone chain does let this shine more.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2016
  19. Malabargold

    Malabargold Flipper

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    I recently went from a bifrost 4490 to a Gungnir Multibit to compliment my ragnarok and speakers. Now I am a believer that the source is one of the most important parts of the chain. Switching to the Gungnir Multibit gave everything a more holographic 3D sound and I immediately noticed improvements in bass quality/detail especially through my speakers. That alone would of been enough but about a week after adding the Gungnir Multibit to my chain I switched to a balanced connection and my jaw dropped, its like I never knew what dynamics and separation were until today. I can feel notes hit me and if I close my eyes I can visual the stage the band is playing on and pick out where each player is standing. This left me scratching my head because my understand was that a balanced connection should not be a massive improvement, however after switching to it my speakers have come alive. Maybe its because they are getting more power to them since the balanced cables can carry 4v? The new system also significantly improved my HD800S and HE-6 but now that my speakers have close to the resolution of the HD800S and blow headphones away in literally every other category I can now understand why many people prefer to listen to their speakers whenever possible. Gungnir Multibit feels like it was the final piece in the puzzle that brought everything perfectly together :D
     
  20. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    I'm about to make this exact same upgrade. Can't wait.
     

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