First Gen Multibit Bifrost obsolete?

I had one of last made Bifrost multibits before they switched to the Bifrost II.  To my ears, it was one of the only DACS that didn't have a digital glare under $1000 - a good listen.  It still is a good DAC today - nothing wrong with it.  I'd keep it.

If you are going to compare to the state of the art, it was obsolete the day you bought it.  It is an insexpensive (cost effective) DAC.  It does not compare well to 5 digit DACs.  I have a Bifrost II in my second system.  It is, in my opinion, one of the best DACs you can get in it's price range but it doesn't hold a candle to my Chord DAVE with M-scaler in my primary system.

That said, when it comes to inexpensive stuff, if you find one you like, stick with it.  There are lots of qualities to judge in a DAC.  Clarity, definition, soundstage are important to me.  I have an old Wired4Sound dac that still sounds pretty good (I guess it was a $2500 flagship DAC 20+ years ago.)  But it needs drivers installed on the streamer feeding it (usually a computer back then) and so it is indeed obsolete since it can't be used with Roon or a modern streamer.

No, you probably can't improve for $300.  While DACs are getting better, inflation is working in the background.  I think the Toppings that some people like are junk.  I recommend the schiit BFii as a great entry level DAC.  You might consider upgrading to a used version of it. The BFII was a total redesign as I recall.

Jerry

It's not particularly about the "chips." What does Schiit say?

Be happy that it's still working. Only your ears can determine what you like better. There are limited choices under $300, almost the price of a dinner for 2.