Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

Although this is convincing, it’s not definite proof until Schiit says it’s so. My Gungnir MB was shipped mid-March 2018 and it has the ‘B’ prefix in the S/N. I certainly hope I have the improved Analog section, but until Schiit makes a formal announcement confirming it, this is all just wishful thinking.

 

Read the rest of the thread and connect pieces together. There were more than enough hints.

 

A counter view (devil's advocate question) -

The Head-Fi post from Jason eloquently and entertainingly explains why companies make running changes, but also one sentence stands out in my mind -

"I nodded. It really didn’t matter. It didn’t sound any different, so why call attention to it?"

That was in regard to the Yggdrasil glitch (down there in the noise). Point is how badly does anyone really want to keep sending their product back to Schiit, pay shipping both ways, wait, plus pay for new boards, every time there is a running change, and there is no audible benefit?

They'd be a rip-off company if they took advantage of every OCD quirk, conspiracy theory, there is a difference, so it must be 'BETTER' or even different sounding.

 

Audio nervosa in play

 

I feel like this thread has become “Groundhog Day”... it’s been on a loop for a while now

 

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in now that I've had some time to listen to my Gungnir Multibit (5th gen) for what I feel is an adequate amount of time. I've been browsing this board for years now and the praise bestowed on this DAC here (among other places) is the reason I finally jumped the gun.

Because it is widely accepted that the DAC needs warm up I stewed it for about 50 hours before doing any kind of critical listening. I will say that it sounded pretty damn good cold and continued to improve incrementally each 12 hours or so. From beginning to end the change, to me at least, wasn't as drastic as the near consensus led me to believe.

Testing was done with a Torepdo III amp and Grado SR200 (w/ HP2 drivers) headphones. Aside from the actual HP2's/HP1000's which I've owned twice these are the most transparent and enjoyable headphones I've had the pleasure of owning and probably the reason I've held on to them longer than any other headphone. I've been through probably 20 headphones since and have not found anything that portrays music with as much realism as these do.

Comparison was done against the other DAC currently in my possession - the Parasound DAC-2000. For those that don't already know it uses the famous and uber proprietary UltraAnalog chip which was widely utilized in some seriously high-end equipment in the late 90's and early 2000's.

To start off - this DAC is an exceptional piece of equipment all things considered and a bargain at the price. I haven't heard a ton of DAC's in my lifetime, but at first listen the Gungnir Multibit jumped to the top of the heap almost instantly. For context, previous DAC's/CD players I've owned include: NAD M51, MSB Gold Link, Parasound DAC 1100/1600, EAD DSP-7000 MKIII, NAD S500, Parasound C/DP-2000. Nothing insanely high end there, but a lot of it was in the same price range or higher when it first came out so I feel like I have a good basis for comparison.

On to the DAC - probably the most striking thing I noticed was the imaging/placement of instruments with this DAC. It leaves no question where every instrument and sound is located in the musical sphere. It's almost like every sound exists on its own but the end result is still super cohesive and musical.

The second is the gobs of detail that this thing pushes out. Every detail, big or small, is laid out bare for you to digest. I can't imagine a source being anymore detailed than this DAC. And the detail here is not of the fake variety that you get with some delta-sigma DAC's either.

The other major standout is the soundstage which is at least as wide and deep as anything I've heard to date.

Without having a ton of experience with the Schiit and without trying to draw any definitive conclusions just yet, in comparison to my Parasound I do notice the slightest bit of grain which prevents me from getting completely immersed in the musical experience. Additionally, it is also the tiniest bit laid back which may or may not be a bad thing. With the Schiit I feel like the music is being played to a small audience which I'm a part of whereas with the Parasound I feel like I'm on stage with the band/artist and they are playing directly to me. Again, this may be a win for the Schiit if you're not a fan of the sound being in your face the entire time.

To me the Parasound is an astoundingly good DAC in that it captures the emotion in voices and instruments being played better than anything I've heard - and the Schiit is no exception here. The reason is probably due to the pitch black background of the aforementioned and additionally the insanely transparent and life-like mid-range. I feel like I'm a part of the experience and not just enjoying it from a distance. That's not to say the Schiit is not engaging, I just didn't get the same level of immersion.

Both DAC's are incredibly dynamic but to me the Parasound wins by a hair because the blackness of the background creates a perception of better dynamic range. If that even makes any sense. Bass is about equal with the Schiit hitting harder and the Parasound sounding slightly more organic.

With all that said the Schiit is not far behind in the above categories and easily wins in the imaging and soundstaging departments. But those two features just aren't nearly as important to me as other aspects of the music.

I will say that I do not claim to have golden ears and like with all impressions they are 100% subjective. I've seen the Gungnir Multibit being compared favorably to DAC's costing 5x-10x what the Parasound cost when it was first released, so what the heck do I know.

I think I can safely say, without hesitation though, that both of these DAC's are splendid in their own way and there isn't much that touches them that won't force you to take out a loan. The Parasound of course is old and not readily obtainable anymore, but I do see it pop up here and there (that's how I got mine).

I'm very much looking forward to enjoying these two and further comparing them in the coming weeks. I would not be surprised if the Gungnir Multibit wins me over in the end.

 

You've said it, man.

 

I found this especially humorous because someone literally took a picture of it and you literally spelled out. It's been obvious for months now, rright down to Schiit themselves telling people this is sonothing they would do in their post about theirupgrade philosophy.

 

“Osmium heads”!

 

So having had a bit more listening time with the Gungnir Multibit, I still think the Parasound beats it. They are both very enjoyable to listen to, but the Gungnir Multibit simply can't match the Parasound in transparency. There's a slight dryness/coarseness or whatever you may call it to the Schiit that is only really evident when comparing it to a DAC like the Parasound which has a pitch black background and an incredibly realistic midrange (the headphones "disappear" on certain songs).

I honestly did not expect to like the older DAC more, but here I am. I'm incredibly curious now to hear the other DAC's with UltraAnalog chip since I believe the Parasound was one of the more humble (i.e. affordable) machines that utilized it.

 

Don't wanna get involved with the cloak-and-dagger of this thread, but my unit, upgraded in April, 2017, seems to be an early example of the B-series (at least, as indicated by the revised manual and random S/N). It boasts the revised board and plummy caps and fairly brims over with specialness. Sound is that of a Gungnir Multibit Luxe. Christie's auction to follow.

 

I went out and got myself a Gumba; b serial number gungnir multibit. I'm about 2 hours into power on. Compared to my C series Gungnir Multibit, this thing already sounds better. The blackground is serious business here. It's giving me spooky vibes. More impressions to follow as it reaches assumed peak stability.

 

Wrote both Schiit and Sonority Audio, and they did not confirm there being a Analog 2 board for the Gungnir Multibit. Price adjustion to the Gungnir Mutiibit would be most likely if one came along.

"Dear X,

the B at Gungnir is not Analog 2, its Gungnir Gen 5. Analog 2 is as schiit says not existing at the moment and if so, than the price will go up as i also mentioned earlier"

 

Of course they're not going to confirm it

After the whaaambulance brigade when Yggdrasil A2 was released I wonder if they ever will tbh.

 

Pro tip: The first thing you look up is if Schiit made an official announcement. I didn't see anything on their website. Otherwise they're not going to confirm anything.

Your post may play well on Head fi but as others have said, it's a waste of time by now on here.

 

I'd imagine they will announce the a2 gungnir update in the same fashion as the Yggdrasil. I feel I recall they (Baldr himself) actually announced it here on SBAF something was coming and to order a Yggdrasil now because there was good value. That was a hint at the $100 price increase which happened two days later when they announced the analog 2 Yggdrasil. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't that the same month they took out a page in Stereophile? Going by that logic I'd expect a $100 increase for the Gungnir (all variants?) once the announcement is made.

Anyway, my take on the situation is that just like the Yggdrasil, anyone who's bought a Gungnir Multibit since late last year has had a unit with the newer analog output stage. Just like the Yggdrasil a2, units with these new boards had a B designated serial number.

More likely than not the only reason why schiit hasn't announced this update for the Gungnir Multibit is that they are inundated with the upgrade queue for the Yggdrasil. They want to wait until their backlog to finished.

 

You are rephrasing what was already discussed countless times. Let's keep the thread informative please.

 

I have been waiting to upgrade my D/S Gungnir to the A2 when it was announced. But agree that the A2 is the current spec offering.

I figured the upgrade wait would be super long after the announcement so I just went for it. I am #188... this might take awhile... but can't wait!