Schiit Mimir Mesh and Forkbeard DAC Preview

This is all a tangent and I promise I'll stop adding noise to this thread after this post but NOS is fun to play with because there may or may not be an audible difference between WAV files and FLACs derived from those same WAV files that vanishes when OS is engaged; I feel this is a compliment to how the OS filter then does a decent job of reconstructing the full signal from limited data points (i.e. FLAC that is often less than half the bitrate of full fat PCM). Could just be more PC playback foobar2000 weirdness though because I was ABXing using the tool there.

I DEFINITELY need a sanity check for this by the way. Some days the differences are audible and easily ABX-able, others I can't be arsed to critically listen and it's all a crapshoot.

I did the stupid thing and skipped over the Vali to the other single-tube hybrid amp in their lineup cuz I figured it'd possibly be a good stopping point for me for many years, but I get what you mean about MMB2>Piety synergy— the treble can be a bit much in OS mode with some material but damn if they don't make for a greatly engaging listen for its being a relatively budget stack. Looking forward to your impressions for the Mimir, I recall you were very unimpressed with the Unity so this should be fun lmao.

 

Which outputs were you using and with what amp? Comparing against Modius E, just the SE outputs of both DACs into Pietus, I found that Mimir was overall drier and lacked the tonal richness of Modius. That still makes Mimir pretty neutral; Modius has some amount of bloom on stringed instruments that can be tonally pleasing but isn’t exactly neutral.

I haven’t noticed anything sharp or glaring in the highs, but there is a slight graininess to fast-past drum hits, cymbal crashes, and the like. That and the somewhat soft low end are probably the two big deficits I’ve noticed so far. Against the multibit card, the lack of glare in the highs makes Mimir much more tonally neutral, and it’s far more holographic overall. For electronic music or anything where bass slam is a priority, the multibit card or MMB2 are still probably better on account of the bass slam, but for chamber and orchestral music Mimir is ahead by a long shot.

All of this feels like nitpicking to me since Mimir is an extremely engaging listen, and the instrument separation and placement in the headstage is top notch. I’m tempted to take it downstairs later and stick it in the big system with the SourcePoint 888s to see what it does.

Honestly, as long as I can understand you and there isn’t a huge sibilance issue, I couldn’t care less about how awesome your mic is. If I’m going to gripe about anything on that account it’s that the videos seem to have a manual English subtitle track that’s completely empty. Otherwise, speaking purely selfishly I’d rather you put the time and effort into more content than more production stuff.

 

My personal Mimir and Forkbeard wish list, in descending order of priority:

• USB volume control: this is super useful if not essential if using Mimir as a digital preamp in a desktop/near-field two-channel setup. Yes, I can stick a headphone amp in the middle, but my first reflex on “ow that’s too loud” is to jam the volume down button on the keyboard, not reach for a knob, so it’d be really nice to have.
• Persistent attenuation display: I’m not sure why the currently selected attenuation disappears after a second, leaving only the loudness slider display, but I’d like to be able to always see the attenuation in dB in the app.
• LED dimming or disable: I have no idea whether the LEDs are hooked up for PWM, but the “identify” button blinks them so “off’ must be a possibility, right? This would be super useful to have for the bedroom. Bonus points if pressing the input select button turns on the LEDs for a set period of time, then turns them off again. Massive bonus points if future headphone amps have a LED disable feature as well.
• Crossfeed: PEQ is never essential to me, but crossfeed sometimes is for hard-panned recordings. This is the feature that would make the difference between always being able to use a Schiit DAC and sometimes needing to swap in an iFi or Chord DAC instead.
• Sample rate/bit depth display: self-explanatory, but it’d be nice to see what the current sample rate (and bit depth if available) is from the DAC side of things, particularly for platforms like iOS that don’t show you that otherwise.
• Auto input select: this one might be a hardware change, but it’d be lovely if Mimir had an auto input select mode for “set it and forget it” multiple input applications.
• Selective output disable: this one is almost certainly a hardware change, but for digital preamp purposes it’d be nice to be able to disable the balanced and unbalanced outputs independently sometimes, such as if one is going to a headphone amp and the other to speakers.
• Per-channel PEQ settings: this is a super niche thing, but my left ear is a little less treble sensitive than my right ear, so sometimes it’s nice to correct just that side.
  
• ESS filter option: turn your Mimir into a Modius F with this one weird trick! Probably only useful for A/Bing.
• Cirrus DAC: haha only serious.

 

The Mimir, the Modi MB 2, and the Gungnir OG/A2.

Mimir debuted last week, and the Byggy upgrade was announced yesterday. I had the Mimir for two days and here I share some of my preliminary thoughts. There have been quite a few intense discussions on Schiit’s marketing style in the last two days. Due to these heated discussions, I try to be as neutral as possible. I am not suggesting anything to anyone. I am comparing the Mimir to a similar-priced multibit DAC and an old but 2 – 3x more expensive Schiit DAC on the used market. I haven’t heard a Modius.

Personal preferences and testing gears.

This is my first brief report based on a headphone system. Life changed and my speakers and amps are in boxes, including my Yggdrasil OG/A2. I hadn’t been able to reproduce the sound stage from a stereo system in any of my headphone setups until recently I bought a used Mjolnir 3 and paired it with my LCD-2 Classic. The head stage and head positioning are still new to me. So, take a lot of grains of salt when reading this brief report.

The testing system consists of a PI2AES “hacked” with a LPS just to power the hat. Mjolnir 3 set at SE, low gain, no feedback. When I compare the Mimir and Modi MB2 (NOS mode), I use a home-brew input switch box. I adjust and try to match volume when switching between the Mimir SE to Gungnir A2 XLR (switch on Mjolnir 3).

I ordered one Mimir without finishing Jason’s new chapter about the Mimir. I wouldn’t call it compulsive spending though. I have been preferring multibit DACs for years, getting a bit curious about other types of DACs. I have noticed that several members here mentioned Modius for its special sound quality. In addition, at a recent Schiit meeting, I heard a Chord TT2 Mojo 2, which impressed me with its unique and high-resolution sound. I was like, hmm, I’d like to try a D/S DAC with the manufacturer’s proprietary digital filter someday. Then, the debut of Mimir.

Mimir vs. Modi MB2.

First, I was shocked by the similarities between the Modi MB2 and the Mimir (SE output). The switch box helped tremendously, as it is very hard to distinguish between them if I don’t use the switch box to compare “on-the-fly”. This is a good sign because Mimir doesn’t have the stereotypical ESS Sabre chips’ analytical sound signature. With more careful listening, I was able to distinguish the different head stages that Marv described. The head stage with Mimir is wide with depth. I sensed a bit lower and higher position of some instruments, even though I knew it was my illusion. The separation of instruments is great. To nitpicking, I felt the location of instruments was not very focused. Still, it is very easy to identify different instruments because of the very good layering ability. Modi MB2 is behind the Mimir in all aforementioned aspects. The Modi MB wins at the dense (or meaty) tonality, a strong suit of multibit DACs. Especially, the sound of vocals and piano are more realistic to my ears. The treble of the Mimir is very nice, sweet, and sort of airy. The bass quantity may be a tad behind the Modi MB2, but the texture of the bass is superior.

Mimir vs. Gungnir A2.

When comparing the Mimir to the Gungnir OG/A2. No surprise, Gungnir is better in most ways. Keep in mind that I root for the classic Schiit MB DAC sound. And Gungnir is a lot more expensive. I did my best to put the differences in numbers. Please don’t be serious, especially don’t make your purchasing decisions based on these.



Note: These numbers are less descriptive compared to the ratings or spider charts produced by Marv and other experienced members. I used the table to shorten my text.

Mimir’s XLR output.

The XLR output sounds better than the SE. How much better? I don’t know. Maybe consider adding 0.5 for Mimir to every number on the above table. It is more enjoyable.

Forkbeard.

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of FB yet. I have been using the LMS ecosystem for streaming. I use the iPhone app iPeng to control the piCorePlayer on the Pi2AES. For small volume adjustments (70% volume to 100 % volume), I use the iPeng app for its convenience. And it have been fine. But when I use Forkbeard to control volume, whenever it was not at 100% (i.e. digital volume off), I felt something was “off”. My head was spinning. I cannot describe it. I guess I am very sensitive to digitized music signals. For example, I can listen to Airpods pro2 fine but only when I turn off the noise canceling. One function that worked well was the NOS control with FB. Compared to the default Superburritocomb filter (a simplified version of the Megaburritocomb filter, due to the limited Pic32 microchip computing power), the NOS lost a bit of detail and gained a bit of bass, but in general, a little dull. I guess this is a nice feature for those who use HQplayer or other digital filters. It would work with some extreme “hot” recording. Well, I tried, and I realized that I am a simple guy. I don’t want to twiddle my fingers when I just want to listen to music.

In summary, while the Modi MB is phasing out, I feel that the Mimir can fill the gap well. My current best HP system consists of a Gungnir OG/A2 + Mjolnir 3 + LCD2C combo. For a system with a smaller scale (both size-wise and cost-wise), I’d be happy with either a Mimir or a Modi MB2 + Vali 3 with any type of GE 5670 + any headphones on hand.




Edit: It was a Chord Mojo 2, not a TT2.

 

Thanks very much for that. I just ordered Mimir today, and plan on racing it (sources: iPad/Qobuz, CD’s) against my Yggdrasil A1/OG… only in my case pretty much solely with amp/speakers… I really want the PEQ to flatten the bass in my room a bit (optimal position for planars and imaging is sub-optimal in bass below about 160Hz, even in my pretty large room)

good comparo

 

Thank you for the write up. I do have a couple questions.

I like the MMB2 in NOS mode treble a lot. You describe the Mimir treble as airy and sweet and rate the Mimir treble better than the MMB2 in your comparison table. Is the Mimir treble thin sounding because the sound is airy? I know it is so hard to describe sound I am just trying to fully understand what you mean.

This also ties in with the MMB2 having a denser tonality. I still assume the Mimir overall is not thin sounding?

Finally, what do you mean by bass texture. Marv's review gave the edge in texture to the MMB2. Texture is a term I have a herd time understanding.


Again, thank you for taking the time to write an excellent mini-review.

 

Thank you Marv I am pretty sure I understand bass texture now.

I have a MMB2 and a Modius. I did use the Modius single ended because I did not like the balanced input initially. I recently tried a different XLR cable and WOW I now agree Modius has warmth and is definitely better sounding balanced vs single ended. I always preferred the MMB2 NOS but with the Modius used balanced I believe the Modius has edged ahead.

You stated ...... It's just light, opposite of dense, like light with heft and slam, although the lows and body is still very much present.

So ,the Mimir still has good dynamics but is just slightly less rich sounding/ more neutral?

I like the Modius richness and I am going to have a tough choice between a close out Modius or the new Mimir.

 

Marv addressed the "thin" sounding question, thank you Marv.

Regarding the treble of MMB2 in NOS mode, I agree with you that it is a lot better than the treble in its OS mode. To provide a reference point, from a perceived emotional (musical/engaging) viewpoint, I'd like to say that the sonic difference between MMB2 OS and NOS is more remarkable than the difference between MMB2 NOS and Mimir.

I also have a Modi MB1 with opa2156 mod to compare with. I do prefer (maybe 10% more) the treble of the opa2156-moded Modi MB1 (see more details about the mod in this thread on SBAF) over the MMB2 in NOS mode. I felt the treble was still a little incisive to my taste in comparison. In addition, the MMB2's treble carries a very little hint of haziness (again, very subtle). The Mimir's treble sounded cleaner and clearer to me.

The bass texture to me means the feeling of sonic waves. For example, I consider a bass sound to have "texture" when I can hear or feel the vibrations of the drum skin or the string of an electric bass guitar. If I hear a loud mixed bass like "Vroom" but I can't hear the vibration, I'd describe the bass to have good quantity but lack texture.

The MMB2 and Mimir are a draw to me. In the end, it really comes down to personal preferences.

 

Perhaps selfishly OT, but I'd be interested in any other observations you have on the modded MMB1 vs the others.

 

Posting for reference, I DEFINITELY need NOS mode engaged on the MMB2 for something like this cuz of that treble-- doesn't really matter which of the amps on hand I pair with it (I haven't had the Magni Unity at home for a few months now cuz it's been on indefinite loan to a friend but I feel like even the nice velvety treble on that might struggle to ameliorate the sizzle on here with the MMB2 oversampling filter engaged).

The notable DACs I've had for any stretch of time at home have been an early Bifrost MB updated to Gen5 USB (bought here ages ago) and a Chord Hugo (borrowed from a friend). My listening skills were much worse back then but it does feel like the MMB2 could have matched them for mere detail retrieval, other technical aspects aside? The voicing on it is just really finicky to work with and can be sizzly unless you have a much darker amp to pair it with e.g. the more affordable Lake People stuff; the bass with that pairing was hilariously rumbly.

But yeah if an affordable DAC exists that combines the best aspects of both modes on the MMB2 that'd be compelling. Doesn't seem like the Mimir is that? Do the ends of the headstage on Mimir have definite edges like the MMB2 does in OS mode or does it just sort of gently trail off into nothingness like in NOS? Also, how's rendition of upper harmonics to vocals/instruments with Mimir? That's one thing I really appreciate about NOS mode on the baby Modi— it's a beautiful rendition of things.

 

I bought a Mimir that arrived Tuesday, so let it warm up for a couple days to try out in my headphone setup. I bought it because I am determined to get rid of my Yamaha AVR for my all-purpose 5 channel speaker rig. I have a SYN; the Mimir seems like a good match-up & has some nice features.
This evening I listened to a few songs, all sounds well. So decided to A/B it against my Soekris 2541 since they were side by side. Spotify on laptop > DAC > Shortest Way 51+ > HD600. I listened to what I consider 2 well-recorded songs: Fly Me To The Moon/Sinatra & Basie; and Come Back Baby/Guy Davis. First one has Basie's big band and sounds like you're in a large nightclub. 2nd one is just acoustic guitar, bass, drum & harmonica and sounds like you're in a small coffee house.
I am fairly terrible at describing what I hear, but - I could listen 'critically' to the Mimir and get a sense of space & texture; I didn't hear anything offensive, so happy about that. Listening to the Soekris, though, the song would be over & I'd realize I was just listening & enjoying the music. Its so clean/smooth/whatever. Doesn't call any attention to itself, which to me is a great thing.
For me, my current headphone setup is locked up. I have an HD560 & an Elex if I really want to hear something that's a little sharper/faster, but honestly I use them less & less.
I will never have a really great speaker system because I wanted bookshelves and cabinets on the wall I face; so even with some room treatment, with speakers on actual shelves, there are compromises but I'm OK with that. The room is laid out well for everyday usage & no regrets. I expect the Mimir will be just fine, and with SYN & decent amps will be a step up from all the processing that goes on in an AVR.

 

Honestly the entry price here and the small bump fir the forkbeard addition is really really attractive. I am still set with my BF2 OG, i dont even want the upgrades but this would be great for a set up going to some active speakers and make a real workshop setup.

 

Interesting. For me i have it hooked up to an RNHP and my HD800s at the pc. I do use PEACE to bass shelf the senns so if i am catching what your dropping it would be interesting to compare peace vs fork, but ill be honest this is the one chain im so happy with its sound and plug and play-ability on a windows pc it may be an arm twist (for me personally).

 

Wait?! How do you hook up your gold Bar to your Beats at the gym?!!

 

To add a couple of thoughts after a few more days of listening.

1. Mimir is an engaging sounding DAC. A new Mimir may require several days to break in its electronic parts to sound its best. I feel the Mimir has improved on details, headstage, focus, and bass over the last few days. Of course, it could be due to my brain adjustment. YMMV. The bottom line is that I haven't had a moment when I disliked the sound of Mimir.

2. Mimir's USB-384 input is something special. The delta (difference) between Mimir's USB input and the SPDIF coax input is very small, significantly smaller than the delta on MMB2's. This is when streaming 16bits/44.1k CD quality music. On MMB2, I am positive that the spdif (co-axial) is the better input, can't say the same for Mimir. I reached my limit on describing the differences. Maybe the Mimir via USB input sounds a bit more vivid and the spdif sounds more "black-ground"? I'd appreciate other owners to chime in.

I hazard to say that Mimir's USB implement is an advanced new design than simply doubling the PIC32 microchip's frequency. A shout out to @schiit Schiit Audio's digital team for their dedication and commitment to keep improving their proprietary unison USB design.