Schiit Audio - Official Thread

[xiaoyaoyou]

@robson

Hope you enjoy your Gumby, I can’t imagine you won’t! You’ve got a pretty sweet setup going now

I’ll be curious what you notice going from Bifrost to Gumby… I got a Yggy OG as an upgrade from BF2, and it is a noticeable and significant improvement. The noise floor is less, greater detail and definition, sweet sounding mids, better bass control and extension, and quite a bit better soundstage vs BF2, at least to my ear

But in fairness to BF2, it gets you probably 70-80% of what the Yggy does, which really speaks to what a great DAC and value the BF2 is.

After you’ve had some time love to hear how you’re liking it, and how it pairs with your amps.

I’m not sure if a week’s worth of listening is enough time to form a definitive opinion except in cases where something is either really good or really bad, but I’ll give it a shot. I initially used the HD6XX with the Lyr+ before moving directly to the LCD-X (2021) and skipping my other headphones. I kept the tube engaged for the entire listening time. Both DACs were left on for the duration of the week, though I turned off the Lyr+ every night.

When passively listening, i.e., having the headphones on but focused on doing other things like answering emails, both DACs did a good job with the HD6XX. Nothing really grabbed my attention - the music from both DACs were inoffensive and unobtrusive - nothing really seemed off either through a lack or through an overabundance. However, this was passive, unfocused listening.

When actively listening, the differences, while initially subtle, became very apparent once I became more familiar with the Guungnir Multibit (Unison USB). I won’t say that this is pure A/B testing, but I really wasn’t paying attention to the chain and recorded my reflections after each song separately before switching plugs and pressing the input selector again at the end of my test track playlist. My experience has been as follows:

1. The bass seemed better controlled, e.g., in Grimes’ So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth (Art Mix) the first beat of the repeating beat pattern starting at roughly 0:17 felt tighter / less loose and over the place. This was noticeable with the HD6XX, but even more so with the LCD-X. However, Jeremy Soule’s Dragonborn from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyim (Original Game Soundtrack) sounds really, really good with the BF2. Especially the first 30 seconds. The deeper bass drums are very present but not overpowering.

2. Stage seemed a bit wider as well, though I don’t chase stage width as much as definition/instrument placement (see note below). If the BF2 felt like the stage was headphone width or narrower, the Gumby felt like the stage was about shoulder width and sometimes a bit wider. It was also noticeably easier to place the instruments/voices in my head with the Gumby than the BF2. Compared with the BF2, there was a bit more space on U2’s Vertigo between Bono’s voice, the drums, and the bass guitar with the Gumby.

NOTE: With headphones and IEMs instead of feeling like I’m in the audience with the band / orchestra / etc. in front of me, I feel like the stage is in my head or I’m standing on it and I’m facing the audience. This occurs regardless of the headphone, source, etc., but isn’t a problem with speakers.

3. I didn’t really detect the difference in noise floor, but I was only using the single-ended outputs of both DACs. Also, the Lyr+ was impressively quiet with the Dorado 2020 but made the Ara hiss (they are only dead quiet on the Asgard 3 and RebelAmp).

4. Details seemed better, but not boosted to the point the music lost its music nature, i.e., over-sharpened. It’s like looking at the drawing on the cover of Santana on your iPhone and seeing a lion and realizing that there are some legs below the lion’s chin and not thinking much of it until you see it on your iPad and noticing there are faces hidden throughout the entire drawing. Now I can’t unsee those details.

In conclusion, I’m really happy with the Gumby, Lyr+, and LCD-X chain. I can go from listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams to Pavarotti singing La Donna è Mobile to Till Brönner and Bob James’ recording of Save Your Love for Me to Haujobb’s Penetration (F**k the Floor) to Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September and feel like the entire chain synergizes really well (this is not a common playlist for me, just songs on my test track list). While I have a niggling doubt in the back of my mind about how much performance I might be leaving on the table by not running the Gumby’s balanced outputs, it’s not enough for me to seek out a new balanced amp right away having sold the Jotunheim 2 (FOMO strikes again!). However, I remain curious as to how the chain would sound with a ZMF Atticus or Eikon instead of the Audeze; or with a Folkvangr, Ampsandsound tube amp, or maybe the Cayin HA-3A instead of the Lyr+. I also need to spend more time with the RebelAmp in place of the Lyr+ (Gumby squared?).

Of course, these are my recollections of a subjective experience and I make no claim to their universality. No coworkers were emotionally or physically harmed in the testing of this equipment. Your mileage may vary. Open other end. Close cover before striking. All standard disclaimers apply.

Regards,
Vic