Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

I was in a unique position and was able to hear both Yggdrasil and Gungnir Multibit in my system. Both were purchased relatively recently and have the revised analog boards.

Personally I find differences in dacs far less extreme than most of you guys, perhaps my ears aren't as tuned to hear the nuanced differences in dacs or it's because of my choice to listen to music solely on stereo gear. I figure since the headphone drivers you guys use are physically closer to your ears, you feel more intimate with the music and may hear those differences.

Anyway, yes, Yggdrasil is better. The bass is more defined, has more impact, there is a greater sense of presence and focus. You feel a little more connected to the music, like the venue the song is played in is that much more conveyed. In essence, Yggdrasil sounds more "real" However, you have to remember the Yggdrasil is $1000 more, so if you want that little bit extra of performance you simply need to ask yourself is it worth it to you.

I'm very honoured to have the opportunity to hear all this great gear. I think it all sounds great. Even the built in dac on on a $50 NAD CD player sounded great!

 

I've heard the Gungnir Multibit a2 and the mjolnir 2 as a combo on two seperates occasions. (Same unit) and both times they'd spent a day or two warming up. Haven't compared either seperately so can't really talk about the specifics of one over the other.
I however did hear a Bifrost Multibit+iha1 combo on the same day.

Starting from the bass this setup had a lot of slam, on top of this it was definitely a warm pairing. The bass was on the faster side in terms of impact but I felt like it lingered more than it should and as such came across with a bit of bloat, despite the impact giving it a good initial sense of grip. This is in contrast to the iha1+Bifrost Multibit were despite it still being warm, the bass came across as more lean and wasn't as warm to begin with. This still had a sense of bloat but not as much as the Gungnir Multibit+mjolnir 2, but it didn't have the same slam or initial grip.

The lower mids were definitely bumped, I could tell that things like trumbones and low notes in saxophones were bumped forward. The issue here is some of the blost from the bass transferred here. This caused two problems, some bass bleed but also some prolonged decay in the lower mids. It was similar to the iha1 and Bifrost Multibit combo here except that didn't have bleed to an excessively long decay, but I know that is due to the Bifrost Multibit since the iha1 hasn't done that with other sources.

The upper mid to presence region seems to dip continually, it sounds hazey. While the iha1 +Bifrost Multibit seems dipped in the presence region, there isn't as strong a sense of haze. The iha1 performs differently here with other DACs.

One interesting thing about this combo is how it renders cymbals, they don't seem to have an initial tap, just a well bodied shh which has depth. This is worse on the iha1 +Bifrost Multibit combo and disappears with a different DAC.

The treble is judged on an hd580, so it has it's limitations. The combo doesn't seem to have the best upper octave extension and lacks air, despite this the treble decay seems to be rendered pretty well. I could quite easily put this down to the mjolnir given that the iha1 Bifrost Multibit combo, despite not being the last word in upper octave extension have a much better sense of air and the treble decay seems to be resolved better with a greater sense of texture and body.

One thing that was unique to the combo in the treble was this really strong treble grit. I'm struggling to explain how this sounds in music but itsi this persistent hardness to impacts in the treble, it's a lot more visceral than the stax+bhse etch that I hear.

One of my main issues with this combo is that transients don't have the best control, in fact they often come across as smeared. It's quite disjointed from the rest of the sound. Since it is a pretty resolving system. This is also a feature in the iha1+Bifrost Multibit combo, albeit not as strong. So I'm unsure whether it's the DAC, amp or even both. Since the iha1 doesn't exhibit this with other sources.

It means that often things like intentional voice doubling in music and reverb get masked. I usually prefer a system which allows me to distinguish the two based on amplitude, body and decay.
I can sort of do this on my geek out and quite comfortably do it on the Dave (although I have issues with excessive width, weaker impacts and kind of mediocre texture) and bricasti M1 setups I've heard.

Despite this the resolution of this combo seems pretty good, it gives me a sense of depth and texture to decay, it doesn't feel narrowed or rounded and has body without just being bloat. Although I feel the iha1+ Bifrost Multibit combo did this a bit more naturally as it felt like the decay spread out further into the space and gradually decreased as opposed to a more abrupt end. So I think the mjolnir 2 is a limiting factor here.

The iha1+Bifrost Multibit combo staged more naturally, I dontd remember the imaging well enough to conpare. However, despite the fact that the stage of the mjolnir/Gungnir Multibit combo Is wide it comes across as congested. The lower mid emphasis, transient smearing and lack or air makes it sound congested. The layering often overlaps and it makes things sound a bit more smothered together.
While the Bifrost Multibit and iha1 did have smearing and lower mid emphasis, it didntd come across as congested, the width from the iha1 seemed to expand across the entire range, so while the width felt similar, the layering and imaging made it seem more natural.

One thing I have noticed with the schiit multibit DACs is that they are forward. They push what are usually quiet sounds forward and make you notice them. Things like pages changing or a drummer counting, while I can see the appeal of this, I'd rather they stay rendered at a lower level.

While I personally think the Gungnir Multibit a2 is a competitive DAC with an actual sense of dynamics(rme is lan underweight alt rock girl with dynamics) at it's price point. I recognise that some of it's issues aren't my flavour and there are DACs similar to others I like on the market with issues which don't bother me as much. Which is why I'm more interested in stuff like the convert 2 these days.

 

@taisserroots what tubes on the MJ2? I ask because I find the MJ2 to be bright, and the lack of extension has me a bit curious which tube. Different tubes tend to make noticeable tonality changes and somewhat noticeable staging changes. Slam is definitely intrinsic to the MJ2.

 

Probably stock, it was schiit's UK distributor.

Upper octave usually doesn't make stuff bright for me, it usually makes stuff airy. But mid and lower treble definitely get hot.

 

@taisserroots my sentiments mirror yours. I've heard that exact combo with at canjam NYC with a variety of headphones. The bright ether open didn't sound good through the combo..felt smothered somehow. Im not sure how much is the dac or amp. I wasn't impressed at all compared to The Yggdrasil with the rag next to it. From that combo, I could hear the room echos, movement of musicians etc. That I couldn't hear through the gungnir + mj2 on the same track. . That's why I still hesitate when I'm recommended the gungnir multibit because I was not impressed in the slightest bit compared to the Yggdrasil under these settings. Wondering if it's just the amp portion that was holding it back.

On that note, Having a hard time finding something that's more incisive than schiit in the transients, and less grey but I don't want to lose the room air palpatations and don't want to deal with any glare from something Delta sigma/sabre(even geekout v2+ caused fatigue) . Dangerous convert sounds interesting but since the Yggdrasil is already fatiguing I wonder if it's a good choice after marvey's feedback on it's intense character.

 

@taisserroots Enjoyed reading your impressions. Some people have written the MJ2 is not much affected by tube selection, but I simply do not agree. I hear dramatic differences depending on what tubes I use, so also curious about your tubes used. The stock tubes are overall murky, pleasant enough, but mushy for me.

 

I can listen to my Mj2 + Gun A2 all day! That is what I love about

This combo provides the flavor and texture to the music I love but keeps that big slam and fast transients that I cannot live with out. I always run all balanced from DAC->amp->headphone.

Love this dac/amp with all my headphones, LCD-X, HD600, Aeon flow closed.

Very happy customer

 

I haven't yet experienced those TOTL amps, but the MJ2 is a very pleasant amp. Surpasses my previous tries on pure SS amps on every level. A bit of envious of those who have been able to enjoy the true top of the line choices, but this is still an amp that combined with Schiit's DACs makes a very good and listenable choice.

 

I really liked the Gungnir MB A2, but ultimately I decided to return it. It sounded more wonderful the longer I listened to it however I feel the sound was not flat. I've seen some FR measurements showing top and bottom rolloff in some Schiit gear and looking back this would make sense. The lowest of the lows were not as present on my modded K702 (which extends impressively low) when listening to the Gungnir A2. Instead the power was shifted a bit higher in the FR though the detail was much better throughout. It sounded more realistic yes.. definitely. However so did my Auralic Taurus MKii when connected to a DS dac, it sounded immediately more natural. Polished. ie - altered. So my thought process was "Well, is the Gungnir MB just altering the sound as well?" Maybe that is why it doesn't 'measure well' because it is altering the sound in an albeit very pleasant way to make it sound more natural. Does this make the MB Gungnir bad in any way? Definitely not.. it just wasn't quite exactly what I was looking for.

This statement is a purely subjective thought I had while experimenting and testing different combinations during my trial period.

 

I definitely agree about trusting certain people who know how to measure. I was actually looking at AtomicBob's zoomed Y axis that showed the dropoff towards the highs as reference. Although it was slight it was indeed there. Still, measurements don't exactly define the differences I was hearing with both the Gungnir DS and MB. I don't understand why some would put all of their stock into measurements alone. The Gungnir MB is an amazing DAC to be honest, it did many things better than my DS and just a couple things worse.

 

You mean this one:


Where the drop at 10KHz is 0.025 dB and by 20 KHz still less than 0.2 dB?
Most people over the age of 18 have more than 5 dB loss above 10 KHz and couldn't distinguish that minuscule 0.2 dB.

 

Yes, it doesn't even matter with differences that small. However, symbols for example sound much different to me on MB than DS. Much better in my opinion. Less tizzy, less splashy. Yet, the DACs from a FR standpoint are pretty-much identical. Is there anything measurement-wise that could explain this? The bass power and texture, despite the measurements also have differences. I'm sure this has been touched before somewhere but, seems measurement usefulness definitely has its limits.

 

What DS DAC are you talking about, did you mention it?

 

Yes, I was directly comparing Gungnir DS to Gungnir MB for the trial period.

 

Jitter is one measurement that comes to mind. Another is time domain filter response shown in 20 Hz square wave oscillographic displays.

 

I've been reading up on how to better interpret audio measurements and there is such a huge wealth of information on the subject. Though, that is for another thread.

About the Gungnir, I really did like the DAC but the couple of drawbacks (note: for my preferences/chain) on a $1,200+ purchase gave me the justification to hold off. One thing is for certain though, of all the gear I've had Schiit as a whole has given me the most listening enjoyment and toe tapping 'wow' experiences. No measurement will change that fact despite also owning some gear that may be considered better. This is what matters most. Happy listening all and thanks for the responses.

 

I believe @SoupRKnowva also prefers DS Gungnir over MB. He noted greater “intensity” and “kinetic energy”.

 

Interesting wording, I like it.. If I was more of a pure redbook listener I'd have chosen the MB in a heartbeat. It has a "woah this sounds right" experience going on. The DS has a more gritty, more rough presentation and visceral slam that I find quite musical, though not nearly as correct sounding. I'll miss that amazing Gungnir MB bass texture though, that shit was somethin' else.

-- Just noticed the avatar tag --
Thanks a lot assholes I just thank god audio isn't my profession, just a hobby where my preferences often go against the grain.

 

Sold my GMBY a while back to fund a 4K TV knowing I'd get it back at some point when I could save the funds.

But you guys got me curious about the DS version. I could potentially afford that much sooner and just upgrade to MB down the line. I really liked Bifrost 4490 when I owned it during my mid-fi days.

Anyone owned both I'd be grateful for any comparison notes or just DS Gungnir thoughts in general.