DENAFRIPS Terminator and Schiit Yggdrasil Evaluation and Comparison

"I don’t doubt the Denafrips sounds fantastic. However technically I have a bit of trouble with the outlandish claim of 26 bits resolution. I smell a rat that may have been released by the Denafrips marketing department. (Not unlike Yggdrasil which have dubious technical claims also - usual audiophile marketing hyperbole as some would regard this)

26 bit capability requires precision of 1 in 67 million. This resolution requires a tolerance of 0.0000015% on the resistors.

The designers claim they actually use 0.005% tolerance resistors which is technically between 14 and 15 bits resolution...."

@shadorne would you say for sub $3,000 the Yggy is the only DAC with the highest specs in =>21 bit depth that is technical backing or is there other candidates at that price level who can prove there resolution?

@redphu72 wow congratulations hope you have an interstellar experience with that DAC for many years. I'm sure it sounds sublime. Is it true that it retails for $20,645 USD?  

What speakers are you using?

Ok interesting, I suppose what Schitt was coming to was they were using a proprietary closed form solution that was manufactured using nonconventional parts that was possessing enough tolerance to form a design that would actually hold up to such claims of resolution (as seen on their site). No doubt the Terminator sounds great in its own unique way. It's just nice to see a company backing their claims. I suppose though as you've mentioned even Schitt cannot hold 100% ground on every detail of claims.

In general though to people tend to incline towards AES/EBU or SPDIF? Which is by the most part better quality?

@zoophaugus you probably already know but if not you should check out Schitt's new USB implementation they will roll out in 2020 on their DACs, a new fresh design by them. Mike Moffat usually doesn't make a big deal about things but apparently it really is a big deal, they think it sounds quite different then the USB GEN 5 im a good way and is even better sounding than SPDIF. 

I've never purchased a Schitt DAC but I think I am excited enough to patiently wait until the USB is implemented and purchase a Gumby or Yggydrasil in the future. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUBFtqNpC7U&feature=youtu.be&t=655&fbclid=IwAR09FYCDZwNX...

The company rings a bell but they’re latest model I have not come across in any reviews when I searched modestly last year. Of course my budget was sub $1500 so perhaps that is why. However, for him to say "at a ridiculously low price of $2500" is typical audiophile writer hogwash to be taken with a grain of salt. $2500 is NOT ridiculously cheap it is reasonable though. If it matches Chord Dave’s performance than I can see how that comparison works.

Like when Absolute Sound in their testimony on the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 2, mentioned "The Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 2 would have received my highest recommendation had it cost $15,000. Yes, it sounds that good. That it sells for $4995 qualifies as a minor miracle." That is just typical salesman downplay of price phycology.

Taking an aside, I will definitely take your recommendation up and do some research on the ifi DSD Pro Dac though. $2500 is probably the most I would ever spend on a DAC even if I became a millionaire as I think that seems to be the sweet spot on the price to performance curve for anyone really serious about audio in a positive way for sound alone and not fancy appearance or exotic parts.


Does can it compare to Schitt’s Closed-Form Digital Filter solution though and how can it not be less accurate?

More importantly than ever in this evolving market does it utilize off the shelf DAC chips?

But thanks for the reply @zoophaugus. Let me know if you can answer my previous questions as I would like to know that part of the chain as I think I could gain a better understanding on the DAC upriver side of things. 

Thanks.

That's really interesting that AES /EBU is superior to SPDIF, I was wondering why Mike in the latest video did not mention that in this comparison to why he was trying to make USB good or better, in his case the latest development of USB they are working on in the beta stage is so good that "why even bother with SPDIF". But if what you say is that AES /EBU is better than SPDIF, than I'm not sure why SDPIF could be the ideal way to go about things.

In the case you are using the Matrix Audio interface, may I ask what your chain is specifically to get a better picture?

In particular, what is the transport you use and how does it connect to your Matrix interface. 

If you are using a laptop with USB (just case and point) since it is using proprietary XMOS U208, could you say you are still comparing that to USB gen 5 even though you eventually feed into the Yggydrasil with AES /EBU?


If you are not feeding the audio via USB into the Matrix perhaps you are using something else I guess. 

Currently I have the Ares https://www.denafrips.com/specs-ares, but digital inputs are only Coax x 2 , TOSLink x 2, and USB Combo384 Amanero which I believe was an upgrade over the old Ares which had XMOS implemented a year and a half ago. So it cannot be fed with AES /EBU, (the 2nd model up in the Denafrips departmen Pontus has AES /EBU).

As much as I like the Ares sound signature and I am enjoying it, I will be looking to seriously purchase either the Schitt Gunir or Yggydrasil depending on how my music tastes match up since the detail retrieval is substantially more revealing. 

So if I am to use my gaming laptop as a transport (Razer Blade 2017) it is a question if I am really gaining something by using the 2020 USB implementation Schitt freshly installed on new DAC or if as you say something like you have would be worth it.