Schiit Gungnir 2 Impressions + comparo

After more careful listening and comparison to Yggdrasil A2, I might now add that I do prefer the Gungnir 2 over the A2. This is in both of my setups:

Headphone chain:
PC (usb) -> Gungnir 2 -> SPL Phonitor XE -> Austrian Audio The Composer / ZMF Atrium Open

Speaker chain:
Holo Audio Red / Pi2Design Mercury V3 (AES/EBU) -> Gungnir 2 -> Lindemann 882 -> B&W 804D2

One important detail is that my Yggdrasil A2 has Gen5 USB.

Music used:
Chappelle Roan - various songs
Modern Jazz Quartet - Blues on Bach
Leonard Cohen - Live in London
P.O.D. - Veritas
Grateful Dead - In the Dark

Picture of my headphone setup

Spoiler

Though there are still some differences on how exactly does the dac impact the overall sound of these setups, I feel I'm getting a net positive in both of them - YMMV.

One of my major findings and what always occurs to me when I switch back to Yggdrasil A2 is how its timbre feels a tad disjointed or 'impure', even if in the grand scale of things there's little wrong with it. The Gungnir 2 just pulls ahead nevertheless. Perhaps part of this is because Gungnir 2 manages to produce fantastically lifelike and vibrant string instruments on a blacker canvas than Yggdrasil A2 is able to. I'm unable to detect any sound editorialization / polishing either like with Soekris dac2541, but like I earlier posted, there's a hint of vintagey tone present. Who knows, maybe I'm just a sucker for it...

Another large difference can be heard in the overall tonal balance. Yggdrasil A2 is certainly more incisive and bright sounding sounding dac of the two. This breathes additional life and excitement, but it can push things too much into the wrong direction if paired incorrectly. I had this problem in my speaker setup, where the B&W's already had quite a bright tonal balance. With Yggdrasil A2 it was easy to overdo certain recordings. I feel the Gungnir 2 is veered slightly into the another direction, with tad cautious treble. I still wouldn't call it dark sounding and for example overall I feel it's more linear than Soekris dac2541 in the top end. In terms of tonality I cannot really declare a winner here, because synergy matters too much.

Let's talk about bass. Yggdrasil A2 has lots of it. Gungnir 2 has less, but it's more nuanced and better controlled. Kinda like with the treble I feel Gungnir 2 is tad cautious on the other frequency extreme. But nevertheless I feel Gungnir 2 has a definite edge in my speaker setup, where we are already on the burly side of neutral, thanks to room acoustics. With headphones it more of a hit-and-miss and depends largely on the recording (and my mood).

If we are talking about detail, I feel Yggdrasil has more energy in both frequency extremes without any actual detail benefits. In a way this also works against it, since more energy can also mean masking existing detail. Gungnir 2 does better with string instruments, pre&post plucks and vibrations in general. So overall I feel Gungnir 2 has an edge in detail retrieval, but it's mostly because of more even tonal balance.

One interesting difference is how these two do soundstage. With headphones and coming from Yggdrasil A2 to Gungnir 2 I always feel a tad claustrophobic at first, because the extra incisiveness that Yggdrasil possess gives an impression of larger venue. But after adjusting I always feel Gungnir 2's soundstage is actually more expanded, while individual sounds and instruments feel less emphasized. This can be more effortlessly heard with loudspeakers where the soundstage is less strictly tied between the speakers and more palpable - and 3D, if you will.

About Engagement Factor™: Soekris dac2541 has wonderfully engaging sound and really excellent microdynamics. I think it just surpasses Gungnir 2 in this regard. But it can also sound somewhat tinny or lean depending on your setup. Gungnir 2 might be an easier pairing for most setups, it sounding more even-handed, without forgetting it also does better in other areas. Is it more engaging than Yggdrasil A2? Well, in a sense it is, since I do find it's timbral rendering superior and more lifelike. It isn't as outrightly dynamic nor incisive as Yggdrasil A2, but the overall tonality is more agreeable for my use cases - YMMV.

P.S. - general observations about tonality: I feel Gungnir 2 to be largely neutral sounding dac (with a hint of vintagey tone), and without that 'chocolate cakeness' that some other Schiit dacs possess. And this isn't even nitpicking but I might mention it either way: I feel Gungnir 2's treble being tad drier than the rest of the frequency spectrum. I am not saying Gungnir 2 has dry treble, nor a gritty sound, nor an unpleasant tone. This is very minute observation, that might actually be a characteristic of my own system(s). And it's more evident with my headphone setup either way.

 

Have had the Gungnir 2 for a few months now, running speakers only. I sold an MIB to get this and the gungnir 2 is all around the best dac I have had. My only complaint is the USB C inputs, WTF is my reaction I spent a lot of time and money on getting good cables including my USB a-b so the only way I can use them is to use an adapter which in my mind defeats all of the work. Im sure there's a good reason they did this but Dam it sucks for us guys who believe in cables and have worked to find what works for us.
best,
Josh

 

Just get a Xangsane 4N silver USB-C cable. They're excellent value.
Not sure how hard it is to import to the US now, though.

I should note that the S/PDif input (RCA) is excellent with both the Mano Ultra III.5 and WDNET and is my preferred way to drive the Gungnir 2.

(*) I get that "buy another cable" is probably not what you want to hear, though

 

I'd love to see an eye diagram of your source through that cable versus a regular cable. Personally my go-to value cable is the JDS Labs USB-C cable which is rubbery and pliable, and most importantly, comes with a big honkin' ferrite on it for the low low price of $4.99. Now that's what I want to see in a high speed data cable!

FWIW, I am a believer in cables in the analog domain, where there are measurable properties (particularly capacitance) that can interact with the source or amplifier. I've certainly seen bad USB cables too, but making the conductors silver instead of copper isn't going to fix that problem. Usually it's down to poor shielding or impedance matching.

I also believe in cables in another way, which is why I have a short GUCraftsman USB-C silver cable for use with dongles. Cables are audio jewelry and a nice looking and feeling cable is just part of the whole experience of enjoying music. I don't pretend that there's any special auditory magic in that, though. It's just a question of whether you want your drink in a crystal tumbler or a solo cup...

 

I have found the coax to be excellent as well as the toslink, would be nice to play with the USB cable with noise blocker I have
best,
Josh

 

the cable I have is an all copper one, very cheap from amazon, a group of us tried many different cables at different price points and this was a winner. the clean up of the cable comes from a custom powered noise blocker Gregg straley at Reality cables built, I will try and find which one it was

 

The topic of USB cables reminds me of a t-shirt that Lachlan (Passion for Sound on YT) was wearing in one of his videos.

It said:
"USB Cable - noun
a device used to create online arguments between audiophiles".

 

Are you connecting the Gungnir 2 to your Node Nano via USB? I also have a Node Nano and am considering the Gungnir 2. I'd want to take advantage of the Schiit's internal clock rather than the Node's (thus USB rather than SPIDF). Thanks!

 

Original Gungnir for sale!

So, Gungnir 2 arrived today and I have been listening it for several hours. My original Gungnir Multibit is now for sale. Gen5 A2 Silver $650 lol

 

Can your comment be translated into suggestion that BF2 - GNR2 gap can be reduced with a good power decrapifier on BF2? Some of them can be under $200...

 

USB 3 or USB 4 audio protocol over USB-C can use 4 signal wires vs 2 wires in USB A/B with USB 2 protocol. Besides speed, USB-C should pick a lot less noise because 4 signal wires work similarly to a balanced cable where the noise cancels each other in wires of opposite polarity. While in USB-B the possibility to pick up noise that affects not properly galvanically isolated DACs (not Unison) is a common knowledge and is very likely true, the old instincts and habits are no longer applicable to USB-C. It's tabula rasa.

 

I use a Liftec toslink and a Harmonic Tech coax, I use the coax , its made with Neotec OCC copper the parent company of Neotec bought Harmonic tech a while ago, and is a great value at $150. Both sound very good I prefer the coax currently.
best,
Josh