Schiit Gungnir 2 Impressions + comparo

From the video, relative to the MIB;
- 2 steps behind in bass impact
- a step behind in incisiveness
- less rough in the treble
- rounder transients
- more resolving in the mids
- more midcentric
- similar-ish head stage

From the other thread:
- tonally, a drop-in replacement for the MIB, or somewhere between the LIM and MIB
- more resolving in the mids than the MIB and LlM
- slam is a step below
- a bit of vintage-y tone and wetness
- free of treble issues
- possibly a spiritual successor to the Theta Gen V (except may be for the slam?)

Man, this sounds like everything I want in a DAC for my headphone chain, except for the bass impact. My 45 amp and the 580, 800 are already low in terms of bass impact.

Based on my experience with Yggdrasil A1, my guess is, the MIB and other Yggs probably pull ahead on speakers in terms of imaging, depth and presentation.

 

I'd be curious how the G2 compares to the G A2, as that is my current dac, and I still really enjoy it, especially with Mj3.

 

That exchange on the side about wanting impactful bass for speakers but hating the sensation of high headphone bass mirrors my experience as well. Bass quality is intrinsically linked to the scale of the speaker for me and ear canal bass like IEMs or ear bass like small driver dynamics just sound really really wrong after a while. Boosting it to compensate like the Olive curve suggests makes it worse. Your body wants a big kick throughout, not more pressure on just your eardrums

 

Speakers as well please if you can !

 

Thanks for the further impressions and recording the comparison video. It sounds like the Gungnir 2 output stage coupled with the Yggdrasil power supply and digital input stage could be the DAC we've all sort of hoped for for a while. A true successor and upgrade to the various Yggdrasil "flavors", incorporating the benefits of prior Yggdrasil versions and mellowing out their respective benefits and quirks into a neutral, long-term companion with zero problems and that no one will ever want to upgrade from or change.

Based on the charts above, it also seems that Gungnir 2 would be a great companion with the DSHA-3FN and Utopia. Benefits of the increased clarity and resolution, while rounding out the transients and potential treble issues of the Utopia drivers. If we do a loaner tour, I'm excited to try that combination, but worry that I'll miss the grunt of the Yggdrasil power supply when used with my (relatively) bass-light Maggies on the same system.

 

Is it possible to make comparisons to Yggdrasil GS or A2/OG in this conversation? If we're talking about comparisons to Gungnir A2 I assume it becomes reasonable to include them, unless it muddies waters

 

And for us peons ever looking upwards, can you do a spider chart with the BF2 OG? I would anticipate everything being better but the bass. Just trying to understand how much I'd lose. I feel like the MIB is really what I want, but not sure I'll ever spend that much new.

 

I had an Yggdrasil a few years ago. In a moment of self-control I sold it - uncomfortable with the amount of money I had wrapped up into the hobby. I've reigned in my spending since that time. Gungnir 2 is a tad more than I'd like to spend - but it's perfectly within palatability for me. As much as I want the best of the best - I think the Gungnir 2 is where I'm comfortable. Looking forward to it.

I ordered the BF2/64 at release and did a direct comparison against my Gungnir 1 A2. I'm sure this comparison has been made a number of times on this forum - but I'm in the camp favorable to the G1A2. Aside from tone and timbre - G1A2 was superior in all respects - greater depth, soundstage, separation, heft, etc. The BF2 went back. I imagine this delta will be even greater with the G2.

 

@purr1n Hi Marv, thank you for the nice review.

Based on your previous posts - I could be totally wrong - but I had a feeling that you liked the Gungnir MB OG A2 (the late version of Gungnir MB OG with unison USB) at a time. In some occasions, you mentioned that you preferred the Gungnir OG A2 to Yggdrasil in some setups for better synergy. I have both Yggdrasil+ OG A2 and the Gungnir OG A2. I do like the Yggdrasil OG A2's way of interpretation of music, which reminds me the sound of legendary Theta DACs. Compared to the Gungnir OG, the Yggdrasil has more details and is more expressive. But at the same time, I appreciate Gungnir OG A2, which I felt it had a unique way (neutral but also integral) interpreting music.

How would you compare the Gungnir OG A2 to the Gungnir 2? Does the Gungnir 2 more similar to Soekris DAC2541 (light bass) than the Gungnir OG? Many thanks.

 

Any impressions of the G2’s SE outputs compared to balanced?

 

It would be amazing to see updated versions of some/all of the below with the G2, but I know it's a lot of work and a very imprecise science that I'm sure gets even more difficult as new DACs are added. I find them really invaluable though.






This definitely isn't a hot take but my ideal DAC, having never actually heard an Yggdrasil or Gungnir, would be the perceived frequency response of LIM with the plankton, resolution, and blackground of MIB and the dynamics of A2/OG. It seems like the G2 might be approaching this other than dynamics? The form factor of Gungnir might be a bit more awkward looking than Yggdrasil but it would also fit much better on my desk, I just really wish they stuck with USB-B instead of USB-C for a DAC of this size and price. When I had MMB2, the USB-C port seemed to get much looser over time as I would plug/unplug the DAC, to the point where the USB-C cable would slip out of the port with basically 0 effort which just didn't feel secure. USB-B is so much more sturdy.

 

Why do you think that is the case? It seems that it wasn't the case with the LIM/MIB based on what I remember reading, because those used opamps in the output stage, so does that mean that the Gungnir 2 has a discrete output stage as well given there is now a discrepancy again?

 

I’m a geek but hopefully Jason/Schiit puts up internal pics sometime on the site. I’d assume G2 likely uses the same “upgraded” transformers found in BF2 (you can see what I mean if you compare the trafos in BF2 internal pics vs. those in Yggdrasil or Gungnir 1), which definitely contributed to BF2’s character.

I think Schiit may be done with discrete output stages, but who knows, maybe that’s in the cards still for a “Super Yggdrasil.”