Qutest vs Yggdrasil Analog 2 vs Gungnir Multibit

I am a happy owner of a Yggdrasil Analog 2/Gen5 USB.  The Schiit multibit DACs were the first to actually sound like music to me.  I had a Bifrost with two different DAC boards in it before multibit and they were fine, but di not really make me want to listen to lots of music.  That changed when the multibit board was installed.  I liked it so much that I bought a Yggdrasil for home and moved the Bifrost to work.

Please note that the BiFrost 2 is now out and includes the new Unison USB board.  It is supposedly the equal of the exiting Gen5 Gungnir.  Schiit has bought a license to develop their own USB code and by reports, it is quite an improvement over the Gen5 USB board.  Upgrades to the existing Schiit DACs are supposed to become available after 1/1/2020.

If you can wait, you should audition the Gungnir and Yggdrasil with the Unison USB board.  Hopefully we will also get a Schitt product with a Unison code sender USB port.

I'm shying away from anything with preamp or headphone capabilities. I'm not a fan of having extra circuitry and features that I would never use. I once steered away from an integrated that I was interested in specifically because it had inputs for Tape, Tuner, AV, and CD. All components that I would never have hooked up to the system. It's silly but that's one thing I love about my Rega integrated. Inputs 1-5, no labels. I'm nitpicky.

I just bought a Benchmark DAC 1 PRE, and it is outstanding. It brought my digital front end up to what I would call first class sound (well, that and a newly gone through Modwright 9.0 SE Line Stage).

These two purchases have ended the all-consuming audio quest for me, for the long haul. End of story.

Good luck,
Dan

Thanks. I'm quite fond of the Schiit sound. The filter modes (Neutral, Neutral HF roll-off, Warm, Warm HF roll-of) on the Chord peak some interest. I wonder if the Warm filters would give the Chord a more laid back sound option. Not sure how drastic the filters are but they do add some versatility. I like the idea of a DAC that can be shaped to fit different music. The Yggy 2 is mighty attractive though.

Not exactly but I went from 2qute->Yggdrasil and they were definitely completely different animals.  

The Chord was laser sharp and detailed and had a very modern audiophile sound, the Yggy in comparison is definitely more laid back and seems to be more focused on presenting music as the sum of all it's parts playing in unison versus presenting all of the threads separate from each other.

The Yggdrasil is definitely not bright nor would I say the Chord was either - best way I can describe it is that the 2qute made me itch for the next step, the Schitt I doubt is the be all end all but it it just makes me want to keep listening to music. It definitely presents music in a more organic way than any other DAC I've owned besides the Metrum that I still miss on occasion...