The Yggdrasil is a very good FAC for the money. I went through a detailed analysis of DACs in this price range for a friend and concluded that the Yggdrasil competed in sound quality with DACs twice their price (I have been at this for fifty years and am very good at ferreting the right components with the right sound). I bought a Gungnir for my office and my friend bought the Yggdrasil. I have several much more expensive DACs and I can highly recommend it.
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Bottom line compared to DACs in its price range. YES.
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yes the yggy does not embarrass itself in its price class in terms of sound and build quality - it does have a certain sound signature and some ergonomic foibles
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yes. I'd pick it over either of the ones you mentioned.
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Personally, the DACs with the Schiit Multibit filters were the first (and still only ones I’ve heard) that sounded like music to me. I have a multibit Bifrost and a Yggy.
They have also written their own USB code and implemented it in the DACs (Unison) and by the end of the first quarter are expected to release their "Urd" (~$1,200; USB-C only), which is a Cd player, but also has a USB pass through port and will provide their implementation of the USB code on the send side, to the Schitt DACs. They say it makes quite a difference. Fingers crossed it does.
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i personally liked the pontus more than the gumby and yggy... pontus has a warmer tone, more solid bass, with equal air and imaging ... other excellent option in the lower/middle dac segment is one of grannyring's modded mhdt tube buffered dacs (orchid, etc.)
just shows that one really needs to try these in their own system to determine what works best given individual room, system and preferences
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Myself have heard 90% of most things out there being in a multi state audio get together the Yaggs is detailed and I owned the latest in 2020. It’s just so neutral
i couldnot get over that the Pontus2 is very good ,some out there are having issues with a glitch the Gustard as a modded I looked in depth great build quality
one thing to mention ,it’s sounds very good But a substantial upgrade is adding a 20 mm , 2.5 amp T ,synergistic purple fuse and any decent power cord , the Pangea sig mk2 with Cardas copper wire is $200 for a 1.5 m cable ,I owned all of the above in my 2nd system and the Gustard I still have it has 6 settings to also Taylor the sound ,realistic a solid 10% improvement ,and I found a guy in NY that gets them within a week or so and $600 ,very surprised .3 others gave me the tip
on the Power cord and fuse . In my experience true reference dacs over $5k
which I am saving for the T&A 200 dac for my main system .
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It's probably real nice sounding, but no I2s to connect my Jay's cdt2-mk3, so I will never
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Yes the Yggy is a very good DAC for the money, and it all comes down to personal preference on it's sonic presentation. I found the Yggy to be a little forward though very detailed, kind of similar to Chord DACs. Great soundstge, very quick, yet a touch too detailed....but might be perfect for someone that likes that signature. I got fatigued listening after a few hours.
I love the Pontus II (now 12th), and as jjss49 suggests I found the Pontus II more engaging, mid bass had more "purpose", richer mids, and more of a warm sound. The addition of the Denafrips Iris DDC made everything more than a little bit better.
I have not listended to the Gustard so cannot offer an opinion.
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Can't compare the Yggi since I never heard it. However, since others are mentioning Gustard, I can whole heartily recommend them. Whether it's the X26 PRO which I have, the R26 or the new A26, I seriously doubt you will ever come up close to similar sound quality for anything at that price range or even 1k more. And the connectivity available on these beat most if not all, at any price.
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My answer to your question, ‘Is the Yggdrasil a quality DAC?’ I can respond with an unqualified ‘Yes.’ I purchased the ‘Garage Sale’ version with the former ‘quality parts’ from older versions I was was quite pleased, but noticed some oddities on the sound stage, with instruments appearing where they shouldn’t have been, like at my feet, (so I upgraded to the ‘Less-is-More’ with the new analog boards, chip, and Unison USB. I seldom use the USB, but the new analog cards and ‘Less-is-More’ chip brought a new ‘cohesiveness’ to the presentation. The sound is very clear, compared to my analog sources, and could be characterized as ‘forward’ as above, but I have never experienced more clarity than through this DAC. I’m waiting until after my taxes are paid, and then I plan to upgrade again in order to gain the ability to control source selection through remote control. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Some people, including Jason Stoddard (one of the owners) is reported to prefer the Gugnir, but I can’t say why. Being that the Yggrasil is top-of-the-Line for Schiit, I think it is a good bet.
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Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.
oldrooney. Can I ask if you have used both the balanced and the rca outputs and if you hear any difference in quality between the two?
I like that it has 2 rca outputs (not something you see normally) makes it easy to connect a headphone amp.
My Primare Dac30 is a clean sounding dac with okey resolution and a firm bass, but I think it could be improved upon, I don’t want a too warm sounding dac as I run tube pre and a class A amp that was designed to sound more like a tube amp, so it could get to muddy I think very fast, my LS 5/9 are monitor speakers with the famous bbc bump, but otherwise a very neutral speaker.
Also that the Schiit can be upgraded later on is appealing.
Would be nice if I could demo the r26, Pontus and Less Is More side by side, but unfortunately that is not possible.
If anyone else has heard some of these dac’s, feel free to comment.
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I never heard Schiit Yggdrasil but I owned Pontus-2 and construction vise Pontus looks much more serious DAC too me. Huge toroidal PSs placed in separate compartment is big advantage.
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The Yggy can't be matched at twice the price, IMO. I've owned the OG model for >2 years. Can't comment on the Less is More model.
My system stomps many of my fellow audio club members at a fraction of their investment.
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TEAC NT-505x is worthy of your consideration in that price range.
Preferred it to my Yggdrasil A2 in my home system.
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The Yggy can’t be matched at twice the price, IMO.
based on my own experience with the yggy and numerous others (roughly 40 dacs since early 2021), i don’t agree with this statement
three dacs come to mind readily that to my ear, in my system, outperform the yggy in overall musicality, prat, imaging, and top to bottom cohesiveness
mhdt orchid (esp, w grannyring mods), but also in stock form ($1600 modded)
denafrips pontus ($1700)
cambridge cxn v2, with dan wright’s brilliant tube output stage mods ($2400 modded)
to be sure, different systems benefit from dacs with different sonic presentations, but based on my own listening and owning various dacs, i wanted to offer this contrasting point of view to the bold statement set forth above
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I a Yggy several years ago, I also had a W4S DAC. I initially I preferred the Yggy but after having both upgraded the W4S was better and I sold the Yggy. I sold the W4S for a Terminator and then sold that for a Terminator plus. I would go Denafrips over Schitt.
I also had a Freya and the Schitt phono pre. Schitt makes good low to mid quality gear but it's not outstanding.
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I have the Schiit OG, LIM and Gustard R26.
The Gustard R26 is new and I am still putting in some hours on it before I start A-Bing with a balance switcher.
Preamp Modwright 36.5 LS
Amp Electrompaniet AW250 R Stereo Amplifier
Speakers Triangle Signature Alphas
It all depends on your system. System matching is very important.
IMO the Triangle with its horns speakers although every detailed can get bright so type of music and quality of the recording in very important.
Initial Impressions:
The OG sounds glorious with good recordings. It has more air than the other 2 DACs. The sound stage is by far the biggest on the OG. The vocals are more forward on the OG than on the R26. If you want a more balance presentation the R26 might be a better option as the vocals are definitely pulled back between the two.
The LIM loses the top end energy in comparison to the OG. The LIM sounds great but I always feel like their is a veil when switching from the OG.
On poor recording I would take the LIM hands down as the OG can get fatiguing on the Triangles. But I do not want to lose that Air and detail on well recorded music I get with the OG
I am trying to get to a balanced sound on this system that will work better with everyday recording.
Quick recap on this system
For me OG is stunning and best with great recordings, not so more for poor ones. More air, Biggest soundstage than the other 2, Vocals take centre stage.
LIM is great and if I was not bouncing back from the OG would say if also is great. But when going back to back in this systems there appears to me to be a veil on the best recordings.
The R26 is very detailed and no veil. The sound stage today is not as big and the air is less than the OG. TheR26 pulls the back the vocals I think I hear more of the music on the stage. Personal preference comes into play on if you prefer a more balanced presentation (R26) or more air and again vocals taking centre stage with the (OG)
Foot note on a different system:
Aesthetix Mimas Integraded
Speaker PMC Twenty Five 26I
On this system the OG is perfect to me. That top end energy is that can be too bright on the Triangles is wonderful on the PMC's. I love this system. Can pretty much play anything and it sounds wonderful. Huge sound stage and not bright..
Both the Schitt OG and LIM are wonderful DACS. I am hoping with time the R26 improves where it might displace the OG. I am looking for more air from it and a bigger soundstage. Really I need both LOL. When playing vocals OG all the way. When playing jazz R26 may be the ticket with a more balanced approach.
I am contemplating trying a Denafrips Pontus ll 12th to see if if this might be the missing ticket on the Triangles.
Any suggestions are welcome:)
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I own an Yggdrasil A2 (before the latest Less is More variant). Also owned a Terminator which I sold for a Terminator Plus. I think the Yggy is a decent DAC for the money, but I've had a friend's Gumby MB over to compare and thought that DAC offered better value (not much different than my Yggy).
Compared to my the Terminator (circa early 2000), the Yggy was a bit more forward sounding with a shallower soundstage. It was also a bit fatiguing after a few hours. I've had the Terminator Plus for a couple years now, so it's been a while since I compared the original Terminator to the Yggy.
The Terminator Plus with Gaia has more detail while at the same time being smoother sounding and easy to listen to for hours on end.
I haven't heard the lower-end Denafrips DACs, but I'm very happy with my Terminator Plus. But of course, its a much more expensive DAC.
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i would concur with what is covered in the last couple posts, given my own experience with schiit and denafrips dacs
in the schitt line, i also felt the gumby was the sweet spot, just as i felt the pontus was that in the denafrips line
yggy and terminator brought the treble forward significantly, sounded more hifi, more robotic, less natural to my ears -- of course, overall the terminator is better than the yggy (og i tried) all around, just as the pontus is somwhat better sounding overall than the gumby
for the schiit dacs, the clicking of the internal relay when the streaming sample rate was changed between songs drove me crazy, compelled me to sell them off
similarly, for the denafrips, i was using a bluesound node 2i at the time as the streamer, and with its rca digital output, there was a major compatibility issue with the pontus/pontus 2 input receiver card, that was a total pain the butt
in the end, i moved through these makers, and then sonnet/metrum, ayre, musical paradise, ps audio ... towards chord, mhdt, audio mirror, audio note, bricasti ... then eventually to the msb and weiss units which i currently have (along with the chord m scaler/hugo tt2 stack, among a few others)
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Its a great DAC... I sold it and upgraded to a PS Audio Directstream mk 1- which was clearly better in all sonic ways. In fairness , the Yiggy was 2300- and the Directstream was 6K. The point being you can get mint PS Audio Directstream used currently for 2500 or less. Both these DAC's are very good..but the Directstream MK 1 at another level.
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