Schiit Gungnir 2 Impressions + comparo

That's too bad. Love the design and features. From your sound description, it sounds like I might be better off just sticking with my OG Bifrost 2 and for my other setup maybe going with the Holo Cyan 2, which has that thick analog R2R presentation I prefer (from what I've heard).

 

It sounds like a protection mechanism is getting tripped due to the grounding issue. If the Gungnir is CE marked then it had to go through ESD immunity testing and this behavior would constitute a fail on that test, so it's not a design issue in that case. More likely something inside is not making good contact with the chassis. Definitely send it in and have it looked at.

 

Yes that does seem and weird and would be concerning. It could also be having an impact on the sound, as your impressions seem to differ from others’ so far. Maybe have it checked out or replaced and then update us?

 

While I agree it could be having some sort of impact on sound, I dont think it really is, as nothing is standing out as sounding "broken". Just a bit of a bad taste in my mouth with Schiit products at this point, last couple things I've bought new from them have had some sort of issue. Hoping for an easy refund at this point and then look towards a Wavelight. MIB is still the best DAC that I've heard/owned though.

 

Do we know anything about "Multiform"?

<rant>

I avoid Head-Fi, so if it's there in that endlessly bloated blog thread, I haven't seen it yet. Soooo much trash in that thread that you can't find the information that you are reading it for in the first place. If it's only there, well schiit, I'll try to tough it out, but I'd rather not...​

</rant>

Such a potentially large change needs much more explanation that just a marketing blurb.

If Multiform is indeed an important step forward, will upgrades to this tech be made available to the Gungnir and Bifrost 2 lines?

 

@Grattle
here's a couple snippets from Head-Fi:
"I'm afraid you're not going to get a lot more specifics on Multiform. It's something new, it's mostly on the analog side, it involves the multiplying DAC side of things. And that's it. Beyond that, people are going to have to reverse-engineer it. Not that anyone is interested, nobody wants to go through the pain of using the multibit DACs we are."
reference: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-18437292

and... in response to the question "Can you at least explain what multiplying DAC side of things means?"
"It's a type of multibit DAC.
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/d...96175&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mouser.com%2F"
reference: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-18437462

 

Thank you. I think you took more effort than Schiit has. If they are going to use it as a selling point, they aren't doing a very good job of that.

 

You mean naming it Multiform™ wasn't enough?

Basically, if we name something, it's important. I mean, sometimes we do forget to name things, like Mike's megacomboburrito filter, which I've come up with a bunch of silly ideas for, but nothing has really stuck. The Multiform thing came about because we're basically using the same filter, but, as I mention in the Gungnir 2 FAQ, and on head-fi, it's a different approach, mainly on the analog side, for our multiplying DACs. Going farther gets into literal schematics. I'm pretty sure you don't expect to see those.

Edit: this approach was what Mike said "resulted in a 35 year maxima in audio wood." I don't think MaxAudioWood would be a good name for this, given that we are living in the 21st Century. But that's how we got "Megacomboburrito." Even Mike names things when it's important. It's just that, well, they are Mike Names.

Beyond that, we don't get into the super-long-page vaguely-techy-with-AI-generated-diagrams things (that really don't say that much more) that seem to be in vogue.

As to whether you'll see Multiform elsewhere, of course we don't talk about future plans for present products, but everyone knows we work on a ton of different things all the time, and if we like it it will likely appear elsewhere. And you won't have to throw away one of our upgradable DACs to get it.

Sorry if this approach doesn't work for you.

 

Thanks for trying to explain this. I suppose it does much the same things that megacombo currently does, but in a new way required by the MDAC chips? Essentially, a way to tell us that even though this product uses a multiplying DAC, you are still using your bad ass mega-combo burrito?

 

Every multibit product of ours (True Multibit or Multiform) uses a version of the megacomboburrito. We're still trying to come up with a cheeseandbeanburrito version of it that will work on even more affordable products.

(Argh, see the problem with naming? Even if I had changed it to something foofy like "Synchrony," then we'd have, what, a Synchrony Lite?)

And, most of our stuff uses multiplying DACs now (TI DAC8812, AD5547). It's just that they are used very differently in Gungnir 2. Hence, no claim like that of "Bifrost 2/64 is kinda like a desktop Yggdrasil LIM." We can make that claim because they use the same DACs and the approach is the same. Gungnir 2 is different.

And, to disambiguate even further: "megacomboburrito" is shorthand for "Mike's unique time- and frequency-domain optimized, closed-form digital filter, implemented on an external SHARC DSP, as the front end for our multibit products." The "mega" part refers to the bit depth and speed of the overall calculations, which are far in excess of the original implementations, while the "combo" refers to the unique combination of time- AND frequency-domain optimization.

 

Is it normal for the G2 to stay on muted output? Pressing the button on the remote does nothing. The light stays on. Also, has anyone else experienced the G2 just randomly shutting off? Twice I've had to toggle off then on again for it to come back on.

 

Oh wow. I just asked this question less than 5 minutes ago. Mine has done the same thing. I'm trying to get my mercury 3 going and I noticed while fiddling with the back of the G2/M3 setup the G2 would be off. No lights. So I would toggle it off and then back on and everything is lit. My problem atm is getting the mute to turn off. No dice with the remote. Just got the G2 1 week ago new from Schiit

 

Yep. Any chance you brushed the chassis with a bit of static from your hands? Check my post #137 in this thread. Mine does whenever I touch it with the dry air right now during the winter.

 

I'm certain that I bumped it. I definitely did plugging the aes cable in. After reading what happened to you I went over to see if I could do it again and so far randomly touching it , it hasn't happened again. I'm still trying to figure out why the mute light is staying on. The remote will not turn it off.

 

With newer yggys and the gungnir 2, the mute is auto-applied to the inputs and doesn't unlock for a specific input unless it is connected or receiving active signal. Could be that or something else entirely. I had issues with my Yggdrasil GS2 with input selection and mute when I first got it, it had to go back to Schiit twice until they said they put a new firmware on it and it has been solid since.

 

Ok cool, that makes sense. I haven't gotten the mercury 3 working yet so I'm assuming that's why. Appreciate the reply brother! Not sure what to do about the shutting off situation. I suppose I should just email schiit.

 

Yep that's probably the issue then, I sent an email to schiit to return mine last night and just waiting for reply. Not a great look to have two units just completely dying from a little static, I thought maybe it was just the silver finish but now it appears to be both.

 

If you have issues, contact us. If there is anything common, we can do an OTA update if you have Forkbeard.

FWIW, just checked and was told that no static sensitivity has been noted in internal testing. Every Gungnir 2 (and all of our products that have an AC cord to the chassis) go though instrumented testing, burn-in (1-4 days), and listening check before shipping, so they go through at least two separate people, and burn-in. May be worth checking your house grounds.

 

Should be stickied somewhere

 

House wiring is properly grounded, tested it recently, and then just checked it again, specifically where I plug my gear into. I've never had any ESD problems with any other Schiit DAC, amp or any other companies' DACs. This issue is consistently repeatable with the Gungnir 2, if i don't touch metal before touching the chassis, it turns off. But enough has been said. I emailed info@schiit