Schiit Gungnir Multibit impressions

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Bill-P, Oct 7, 2015.

  1. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    yes. disregarding the fact that I used this exact setup for the better part of 2 years, I don't see how any $1250 DACs single-ended output could be so much worse than its XLR one that it would warrant using a $200 DAC instead
     
  2. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    My naïve argument is I'd be using the summed outputs from a 5-year old $1250 DAC and pitting it against the non-summed output of newer DAC's. From what I've read, Modius also takes a hit on the SE outputs and likes to run balanced (correct me if I am wrong). That being said, I don't know of any comparison of that DAC to Gungnir Multibit SE, or Bifrost 2 SE to Gungnir Multibit SE. My guess was Bifrost 2 is the better SE DAC, but I don't know.
     
  3. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    IIRC, in the BF2 thread Marv said the SE output on the BF2 is better than the SE output on the Gungnir so if you are using exclusively single ended you may want to get a BF2. However you already own a Gungnir, is it worth it to buy an entire other DAC just to avoid using the SE outs?
     
  4. Hammy

    Hammy Friend

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    I have a Gungnir A1. I have a Liquid Fire and Liquid Glass that I connect to the single-ended outputs. I have a Liquid Platinum and now a Liquid Gold X that I use with the balanced outputs.

    The Liquid Fire connected to the single-ended output sounds better than the Liquid Platinum connected to the balanced output. That's because the Liquid Fire is the better sounding amp with my Audeze headphones. The single-ended output of the Gungnir A1 isn't constraining the sound enough to keep me from enjoying the Liquid Fire. And the balanced outputs aren't being heroic enough to make the Liquid Platinum sound better than the Fire.

    I still haven't gotten around to buying and trying a good XLR to RCA transformer box to try the balanced output of the Gungnir with the Liquid Fire and Liquid Glass. I'll get a round tuit eventually. I'm kinda slow at doing some of these things cause I'm happy with what I've got. And if I chased every idea for sonic upgrades I'd be broke. So I tend to take things slow and steady.

    I also plan on buying a Bifrost 2 early next year. When I get it I'll compare the single-ended outputs with the Gungnir A1 single-ended outputs.
     
  5. roshambo123

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    Exactly. I don't think I'd shell for Bifrost 2, no matter how much better it was. $200 I'd consider, but I'm not sure there's a $200 option that's better. It doesn't sound like it.

    That's a good endorsement for just using Gungnir Multibit SE.
     
  6. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    every schiit DAC that i tried after the original Gungnir Multibit has been a disappointment for me. i'm not suggesting it will be a disappointment for you, but i don't think it is the best use of money to buy cheaper converter tech for some trade offs. what you gain in some clarity and reduction of haze may cause you to suffer with other compromises.

    i use a DAC chip from 1985, in terms of natural sound digital technology is going nowhere fast, so i would not worry about the age of your DAC
     
  7. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The ~$200 solution to this is the SE/BAL transformer mentioned around here. That will give you the majority of the sonic benefit of the XLR without buying a whole new DAC.
     
  8. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    Thanks guys, appreciate the input.
     
  9. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    After my failed attempt to convert XLR to SE from my A1 (due to wrong transformer), I swapped in BF2 to use with Lyr 3 for a little while, but eventually reverted back to A1 SE. Just something about it that sounded better to me.

    However I didn't buy the BF2 specifically for that reason, it is being used in another setup.
     
  10. roshambo123

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    Which transformer? I just tried out a borrowed RDL EZ-AFC2 for A1 XLR to RCA. Not good, bunch of frequencies felt like they drooped. Worse than A1 SE.
     
  11. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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  12. roshambo123

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    Thanks, I appreciate it. I tend not to DIY electronics because my solder work is terrible. At work I get one of the other engineers that likes breathing flux to do it for me! For turnkey, $300 exceeds what I would spend on this. Even if the improvement was I got an SE output that was equivalent to the A1 bal output that's not worth it, especially since it's a clooged solution, which gets marked down in my book.
     
  13. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I bought a Freya S to narrow the delta between se and bal. on my Gungnir, but only because I really was in need of a preamp to connect 2 dacs, 1 streamer w/ dac, and the occasional mobile to 1 bal. ha, 1 se ha, and 1 se speaker amp, with a remote. Without the convenience factor, the sq difference between se and bal. outputs was not worth the nervosa. For mid-fi gear and low-fi ears like mine at least.
     
  14. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I know his has been discussed before but I can’t find it too many pages in this thread. Can anyone verify this gungnir to be an A1 via he serial number? Thank you

    [​IMG]
     
  15. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    The initial batch of the supposed “A2” version of Gungnir Multibit started with a “B” in the serial number. I had an OG Gungnir Multibit “A1” and it started with a “C” like yours does. Now whether that has changed in the last year or so since the “A2” version came along, I’m not sure.

    Edit: should have also mention I had one from 2018 which was after the supposed switch, and it was a B serial number.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2021
  16. Abhishek Chowdhary

    Abhishek Chowdhary Friend

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    Thats most likely an A1. My A2 started with B.
     

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  17. Melvillian

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    If it’s the one you bought from me, then it’s an A2. I remember mine beginning with “C” as well.
     
  18. Jay

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    I haven't posted in a while, but I've been lurking as usual.

    This question gets asked quite a bit, both at the other HF place and sometimes here as well, and that's how long it takes for a fully broken in Gungnir Multibit to warm up and produce its final, stabilized sound.

    After listening to my Modius exclusively for many months, I put my Gungnir MB A1 back into rotation and thought it was now an ideal time to conduct this experiment since my ears had been tuned into the Modius for so long. I turned the gungnir on and off daily over several sessions before letting it run for a long period of time. I'd say it takes about 6 hours from a cold start to stabilize into its best sound. In contrast, it took 48-72 hours when new.
     
  19. roshambo123

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    Agree. 6 hours was how long my broken in G1 took to stabilize also.
     
  20. Ksorota

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    The only way to know for sure is to remove the top plate and look at the board. Right behind all the LEDS you can read the board revision number and confirm V1 or V2. Slide gently and evenly when removing the top to not disturb the position of the LEDS so that putting it back together will be easier!
     

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