Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

Is there a new Gungnir Multibit?

 

It’s pretty obvious that there have been various iterations of Gungnir Multibit over the years.

 

Relative to Gungnir Multibit in my system, Yggdrasil is brighter and comes off a bit cold & sterile. Bass quality is a little better (tighter, more precise), but Gungnir Multibit bass quality is already really good. 445+Utopia is probably a little on the bright side by itself, and Gungnir Multibit warmth balances it out.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

Here is definitive proof that Gungnir MB analog board WAS UPGRADED in B series.

Old analog board:


My Gungnir MB, B series, originally bought in Dec 2017:



Look at lower-left corner of Analog boards. On original board you see "Gungnir UpAna-1.0", on the new board: "Gungnir-UpAna-2.0". Similar marking exists on Yggdrasil A2.

Actual changes: From what I can see, electrolytic capacitors were upgraded to Nichicon KW series with gold-ish writing. There are 2 solid state capacitors less in the upper central side, and a few traces disappeared near upper-right corner. They were probably moved to other PCB layers. On overall few design changes, but same happened with Yggdrasil A2.

So here we have it, Silent Gungnir A2 upgrade... At about the same time as Yggdrasil A2, but never announced. (See my previous post on Gungnir serial numbers analysis).

Now it would be nice if someone does SQ comparison.

 

My mobo was changed last february (DC popping from relay), kind of curious if it's newer version then. Can't say if there were any changes since listening has been so random for a while.

 

I have upgraded my Gungnir Multibit to usb 5 by myself and I have made a photo or two.
I am trying to find them but if I remember right the caps were the nichicon gold's.
Bought it 05/2017.

 

I don't want to over simplify, because Schiit did go through a round of shit with the Yggdrasil upgrade, but I do think they listen to the gear they are building. A running change can just be a change, for reasons such as cost, reliability, part availability, etc.

Schiit has said they won't offer upgrades unless there is a significant, sonic, value in the change, and they have a decent track record of not making false claims.

 

Far from it.

How long have the 2.0 boards been in the Gungnir Multibit? The Gungnir Multibit PCB picture from their site that you used to make your comparisons is likely from initial release, long ago. It doesn't place a date on the change to the 2.0 board. It could pre-date the Yggdrasil A2 change. If it does, that pretty much kicks the Gungnir Multibit A2 theory to the curb.

Your comparison does show minor differences, but I don't see the dramatic changes to the board like the Yggdrasil A2 had which would prove a Gungnir Multibit A2 change. A running change, yes, but not a complete analog output change like the Yggdrasil had.

Let's not get all conspiracy theorist on this and fly off the handle based on assumptions and anecdotal information.

 

Hhmm..."Gungnir UpAna-1.0" in A-series vs "Gungnir-UpAna-2.0"in B-series? Too much of a coincidence? Though we don't know the exact timeline of the B-series, there is quite a high possibility that this could be the Analog 2 upgrade.

 

2.0 board is pretty sure linked to Gungnir Multibit serial numbers starting with B, which appeared somewhere in Sep. 2017. Yggdrasil A2 also has board version 2.0, and serial number B. This alone is strong evidence that the change is more than just a running change. I don't recall a comparison of Yggdrasil A1 vs A2 external differences, but Mike Moffat said most differences are not visible. Looking now at Yggdrasil A1 vs A2 pictures, they are pretty similar.

I'd guess the change is somewhere in between a running change and Yggdrasil A1-> A2.

 

Makes sense to me.

I think Schiit probably updated their pic sometime there too with the Analog 2 board.

Now if Schiit is going with the silent update, this is probably as much proof as we can get.

 

When "pretty sure" becomes "proven fact" with supporting data, let me know. Until then I'll consider it an opinion based off assumptions.

It's an assumption, not strong evidence. 2.0 on the Gungnir Multibit could mean they found more efficient ways to trace the board, or found a cheaper way to build it. There is no supporting evidence that all 2.0 boards across all products in Schiit's line up equates to an analog output design change.

I'm not trying to be a dick. I just hate assumptions.

 

I could be wrong with this. But this is my conjecture.

With all the Yggdrasil hassle, Schiit might be done with an official announcement and leave the "clue" in the pic update and the B-series change.

 

ref: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o... A2-sound-impressions.5665/page-8#post-190787

Now I know they did the 2 ( or 4) simultaneous, you can see the ground (or signal traces very similarly tweaked, and an actual reduction of components on both...) ;D -- makes sense to do it at the same time!

That's Gungnir Multibit analog 2.0 flat out, and it even looks to get the ya type caps.

Hmmmm... Bifrost Multibit & moBy?

Still... gotta build it first! Maybe it turned out not as big an impact/delta as the ya2... so why mention it?

 

@thoth thanks for the photo.

 

This uncertainty regarding A2 with pictures and speculation is quite ironic, and funny. I can imagine two people holding chocolate bars, and examining the wrappers to determine whether or not one of the bars of chocolate is the new and improved one, and the other the older. Of course if a gourmet could determine chocolate quality with taste, could not an audiophile determine fidelity with listening?

In all fairness, I am not certain that I could determine the 'truth' in either circumstance. However, neither pictures nor expert testimony, nor testing with instrumentation would convince me. Ultimately, I would have to steel myself to make up my own mind. Drats!

 

So has anyone here compared Gungnir Multibit to Gungnir Multibit A2 or Yggdrasil A2 to Gungnir Multibit A2?

 

Ewww... no, let's not call it Gungnir Multibit A2. Please.

 

Agreed...let's not call it Gungnir Multibit A2...once there is definite proof and we are voting on a name change mine will be for Gumba. Hah

 

@thoth - im pretty much convinced and thanks for opening up to “Gungnir Multibit A2”