Yggdrasil MIB was: Jason+Marv Pyrate Edition 11001B

Update! So after my initial experience with MIB boards, I'm convinced the boards I originally heard were somehow borked (i'm not kidding, they sounded like absolute hot YMO ass). The sound was so totally off I sent them back for a refund. A month or two later I went ahead and ordered another pair of MIB boards, and despite some less than professional shipping issues, they've been in my headphone rig for about a month. And have now been in my speaker rig for about a week. All I can say is there absolutely must have been something wrong with the boards I originally heard, as these newer boards are fan-f'ing-tastic. Bass is actually present, if not just a bit less slammy compared to A2, and a little less textured (especially into the midbass) compared to LIM. But everything from the upper mids on up the frequency response with MIB is just silky smooth compared to both A2 and LIM. With MIB there's less "golden lit from the mids" perspective compared to LIM, but the layering and fine texture kinda trounces the LIM's palpability with greater nuance and delicacy. With MIB there is absolutely zero grain or white-washing.

If I had to sum up my experience with these three different analog boards it'd be this: LIM—I focus on percussive immediacy and instrument body, and bass and midrange texture; A2—I focus on soundstage delineation, definition, detail, space, and unraveling complex mixes, and bass heft and slam; MIB—I focus on vocal inflections, transient information (attack, sustain, release, etc), and microdynamic expressiveness.

What's most wonderful to consider is that with these three (well, four, I have A1 boards, too) I have a DAC that I can tailor towards the rest of the chain's misgivings and omissions and cover most scenarios of minor tuning mismatches. For example, in my speaker rig, MIB is the True King, however, in my headphone rig, LIM is the realism and palpability master.

 

Does the MIB upgrade kit work with the old chassis?

 

Yes. When you purchase Yggdrasil upgrade cards, on the Schiit website it asks you if you have the older or newer chassis. If you choose the older chassis, they send you the cards plus the appropriate firmware (EEPROM) chip to install it, assuming you choose self-install.

 

Do you know if a 110V Yggdrasil can be converted to a european 230V ?
thanks

 

It can, but that'll void your warranty. Voltage conversion is available as a service by Schiit US (it was two-way shipping costs + $50 a couple of years ago). May be reasonable to ask Schiit Europe, whether you have that option as well.

 

if I wasn't impressed by MIL and LIM replaced A2 eventually (I enjoy tight bas and rolled of highs don't bother me), is there any chance I would still enjoy MIB?

 

Hi everyone. I just bought yotacowboy's A2 boards and would like to install them in my MiB's Yggdrasil+ chassis. I haven't been able to find guidelines for swapping the boards.

From what I can gather, the new chassis is easier to access, with fewer fiddly screws to contend with than the old one.

I also gather that there's now a universal ROM chip for firmware (per Jason, here). I assume that means it's "simply" a case of swapping out the boards, being careful to line up pins correctly and to avoid static buildup. I also know to handle the boards by the edges.

Any other hints or advice? I'm open to being told not to be a doofus and to send it back to the Schiit mothership for them to do it. But it'd be good to learn a new skill and to be able to make the change again in the future, so any advice would be most welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

It's really simple, the new Yggdrasil+ chassis has a universal ROM chip so you don't have to worry about that, all the boards simply swap in with no funny business. In order to swap em:

1) Unscrew 4 screws on bottom of the Yggdrasil.


2) Flip it back over and push the top case slowly and carefully from the back of the unit towards the front. Don't push too fast, because the front panel controls are connected by a large ribbon cable on the inside.

3) Once it starts sliding forward a bit, lift the top case up from the back and disconnect large ribbon cable. Can remove the top case and place it out of the way.


4) Unscrew the 6 screws on each of the previous dac boards and pop them out



5) Check your MIB board switches on bottom left corner and make sure you place the left board in left slot, and right in right.



6) Align the pins with the sockets with the new DAC boards and screw the 6 screws in each of the standoffs

7) Reconnect ribbon cable and top case.

Easy as cake, I must have done it 15 times at least between my A1/A2/MIB swaps. Was able to do it in about 4 min with an electric screwdriver by the end of it haha.

 

EDIT: Read that wrong, A2 is even simpler, same procedure, just don't have to worry about the Left and Right dip switches since the A2 boards don't have a switch, they will both work on either side.

 

FWIW, in the non-+ case and with the LIM cards, which also have dip switches, I noticed no channel weirdness or any other problems if the "right" card had its dip switch set to "left." I set it "correctly" anyway, and YMMV. Like you said, though, the A2/A1 cards do not have the switches, so no issue when working with them.

 

Thank you so much, @Nick76, that's incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to explain this so clearly and to include the photos, I really appreciate it!

 

Of course! If you run into any issues, let me know.

One thing that happened to me once or twice after re-assembly was that the front panel lights would just blink and the DAC wouldn't respond. Just had to open it back up and reseat the large ribbon cable connecting the front panel (I missed a pin on the end). So if that happens, do not panic. I haven't had any other issues besides that minor one. You should be good to go, it's a really simple swap with the new chassis.

Good luck! A2 is great, much thicker and juicier than the MIB, although the MIB beats it out in front-to-back depth and overall resolution for me. Even though I main the TT2 now as a DAC in a weird turn of events (convenience mostly) I still think the Yggdrasil is my favorite sounding DAC of all time, and A2 would be my choice if I had a secondary system since it's the most unique and special. MIB was more of a generalist, and a hell of a good one for me.

 

Would be interested your impressions of the differences between the TT2 and Yggdrasil - not something we hear about very much around here. Also do you listen on headphones, speakers or both?

 

Sure thing, don't want to derail the thread too much, so I'll try to keep it short.

I moved to the TT2 just to try out an all-in-one box for my desk system (DAC, headamp, and preamp for my active monitors) and it does the job just fine in a relatively small package. I've had my time with Yggys, Mjolnirs, now the huge ZMF Aegis, and figured it was time to downsize with an impending move to a smaller apartment in the near future.

While I love my ZMF Aegis and have spent a ton on NOS tubes for it, I've been cutting back and enjoying the simplicity of just plugging into the TT2 and going from there. The TT2 powers all my headphones just fine and I don't plan on buying anything like a Susvara or Tungsten. After a couple years with my Yggdrasil and it's different boards, I briefly tried a Laiv Harmony (wrote some quick impressions in the Harmony thread here) and ended up returning it after about a week. In came the TT2 and more recently the M-scaler.

As a standalone DAC, I much prefer the sound of each Yggdrasil variant I've tried over the TT2, but the real value of the TT2 for me is in the total package. Speaking just as a DAC, let's compare it to the Yggdrasil MIB over the A1 and A2, since it's probably the closest in tonality (mostly in it's leanness and separation), but the Chord is still an entirely different vibe. Every Yggdrasil variant has more impact, note weight, and bass heft. It took a while to get used to the sheer thinness and relative lack of engagement with the TT2, but now that I'm used to it, it opens things up quite nicely. I think both the MIB and TT2 do an amazing job with separation and resolution, but the TT2 is a bit more forced in this way its forward, grittier treble and leaner presentation. This was exaggerated by my speakers, almost as if a high-pass filter was applied to my chain, haha. I find the TT2 to sound quite digital at times and not nearly as natural as A1/A2/MIB. M-scaler did quite a bit to improve this, but that was another large purchase just to cope and help out a DAC that's already double (maybe more?) the cost of a Yggdrasil.

Where things really change is the depth of sound. I've never heard such a holographic and realistic stage in both horizontal and front-to-back depth as the Yggdrasil MIB. It has a crazy way of doing this which I have yet to hear from another DAC. The TT2 is entirely 1-dimensional with my headphone chain, slightly better with my monitors, but it's no Yggdrasil. Everything is super flat left to right. M-scaler again helped this out to some degree, and now there is some semblance of depth to music, but still can't hole a candle to the MIB. I still remember the first time I listened to my MIB and Aegis and was shocked at how it presented acoustic music through headphones, almost spooky.

Edit: Forgot to mention this: The TT2 has a very strange way of presenting things through headphones. I hear it is being very heavily forced to the left and right sides, not exactly in the way of a a wide soundstage (or "headstage") but rather as if things were hard-panned with a lack of center imaging. It often has me feeling like I have a channel imbalance somewhere in my chain, because this effect is somewhat jarring at times. Maybe this is why Chord includes crossfeed settings on most of their gear, but it's definitely the first DAC I've had that throws such a weird separation of channels.

All in all, the Yggdrasil still remains the king of DACs that I've owned and tried, (maybe a Rockna could top it?), but my move to the TT2 system was purely one of convenience. I've been enjoying it for what it is, especially after the M-scaler came in to bump it to a more acceptable sound for it's price. I just fire up the speakers and listen, and then plug in headphones to mute the pre-amp out, and we're good to go on headphones.

There's my quick summary, can go more into detail if desired. Hope that helped and I didn't use too many shitty buzzwords or bore anyone.

TLDR: Yggdrasil is a better DAC