Implementation can be more important than chip. And consider that TI owns Burr-Brown designs and tech. I’m inclined to think that Schiit would not want to mess with a good thing knowing their base.
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all who wander are lost.”
Absolutely. I am hopeful that they have broken the DaVinci code and dveloped the holy grail. But I’m skeptical.
It will also be interesting to see what all the manufacturers who switched to ESS chips will do when AKM comes back on line. Would be hard to bounce back and forth while saying that each one is the best.
Drooling at the new BF2/64. Just take my money now.
And the list of bad influences continues to grow…you can add yourself to the list. Ordered mine as well.
In the words of Billy Joel:
You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just may be a lunatic
You’re looking for
Turn out the light
Don’t try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right
I suffered through years of literal headaches because I didn’t believe in DACs. Then I upgraded my DAC and became a convert to starting from the source. Roll the dice as to whether this particular technical change will be an improvement. The nice thing about this product is that you might try for yourself and then unload it (at a profit?) very quickly if it’s not for you.
Don’t trust other’s opinions – trust your personal experiences and very own placebo effects. This morning I’ve got to take my crystals out of the cryogenic chamber and arrange them in a pentagram around my isoblucodentic speaker cables, being careful to not knock the cables off my 24 Brooklyn Bridge shaped floor isolators.
The NOS capability of the Bifrost 2/64 makes HQPlayer a much more interesting proposition with that DAC
Not that I’m advocating for HQPlayer, I own a license but only really used it for comparisons and testing whether DACs improved with it, or not (back when I could still be bothered to do reviews and impressions). I don’t use it when just listening for pleasure.
But … if you were interested, grab the free trial when you get your upgrade done.
Thanks, @Torq, that thought had crossed my mind. But I may be channeling @generic ’s thoughts because I’m thinking that then I would need a Ripsnorter 64 Imodium Plus 128 Gigolobyte computer, Hullabalootion filters, 3/4 race cam treadle-based linear monopole magnet system. At least. And WIRELESS Brooklyn Bridge isolators.
You can get a taste of what HQP can do even if you dont have a higher end computer, my MacBook couldn’t do above 128 for DSD but I got a sense of what HQP could offer and ultimately I decided that when adding up the sonic positives and negatives it was a negative for me over what I was using.
Still one of the better digital players I had used at the time. Its standalone UI was in need of a lot of improvement so you almost have to hope it integrates well with Roon, for example.
I’ve let my windows machines age. I use what was a hot i7 Win 10 gaming laptop in 2012 daily for email and this forum. I also use a modem MacBook Pro 14 with a mid-tier M1 pro processor. Just 16gb of ram, but the M1 is very efficient in memory management.
I run parallels on the Mac and an instance of Windows 11 for ARM in the virtual machine. I like this because my primary use for work windows is to vpn to my office computer. This satisfies company security and my paranoid desire to keep corporate ITs cotton picking mitts off my personal equipment and out of my home mixed ecosystem of windows, Mac, and Linux
I do run ROON on the Mac with endpoints on the Mac a few old windows boxes, iOS phones and iPads and some SONOS throughout the house. The Mac ROON to a SONOS Port is the usual way I get Qobuz and Apple Music to my main speakers (sometimes I use the native SONOS app).
From discussion here I think the MacBook Pro could run HQP if I want to further scramble my cerebellum.
You are absolutely correct on all counts. Frankly, despite my skepticism, I would 100% be buying the upgrade if I didn’t already plan to make a much bigger upgrade to my DAC next year. Also, even IF this new “2/64” thing is 100% marketing fluff (not saying it is, but just EVEN IF), you’re still getting one helluva DAC for under $1k.
I’ll likely keep the BF 2 or BF 2/64 as a second source even if I upgrade to another DAC. However, I’m wondering if Schiit sees the writing on the wall for DAC technology. Have they hit the point of diminishing returns, as there’s only so much one can do to process music digital bits? Technology improves every year but our hearing does not (and actually gets worse on average because we abuse our ears so much).
I wonder if they are repositioning their products, as they introduced the “Less is More” Yggdrasil at a lower price than the OG Ygg, and don’t seem to be pushing higher cost for the sake of higher cost. Similarly, some reviewers said the introduction of the BF 2 reduced or eliminated the need for the mid-priced Gungnir. Moving forward, will Schiit offer entry level, BF 2/64, and Ygg only?
Now, other firms that don’t have Schiit’s budget orientation may continue to find ways to outperform. Or we may be entering an age of very low cost quality performance.
These are all good questions. With supply chain issues remaining and some parts hard to get, I’ve heard companies are assessing which products to invest in and sell, thus reducing their line ups. That could factor in here. And yes, you can get a number of very good DACs for under $1000 these days. You can always pay more and get an increase in performance, but the “quality performance” baseline is already very good. I’m starting to wonder if it’s good enough for me. I’m curious about this new Bitfrost or the upcoming Lyr+.
I have a Chord Mojo 2 that’s great, and it’s portable too! Small, not very expensive and darn good.
I don’t have a ton of experience with Schiit – I’ve owned only 3 of their products over the past years – but I periodically check their catalog and my perception is they are constantly tweaking their products and line up, so perhaps it’s nothing more than that. They seem like people who are curious to try new things often.
For those curious about the new 2/64 update. Here’s what the cards look like (new one on the left)…
I had heard elsewhere that some were having difficulties with the update not working correctly. Just want to say that I didn’t have any problems. Getting the slots aligned took a couple tries. The firmware downloaded and worked first try…no issues there.
As far as sound goes…it sounds good lol. I suck at being able to remember (or believing I remember) exactly what it sounded like before and compare. I mean it sounds great but without the ability to A/B I couldn’t confidently say what if any difference there is.
I think perhaps there’s more clarity there…a little crisper image? 
Maybe in time I’ll pick up things that I can differentiate for sure.
I got the notice that mine is in the hands of FedEx. One thing I thought about is what if you want to go back? Is there a software downgrade available?
You can revert back to the old firmware
I’ve been reading that the OG Bifrost 2 revision can take the software upgrade as well. Then you can simply swap cards and compare without issue.
Mine is supposed to be delivered tomorrow evening, but that actually means Wednesday.
Mine is due to be delivered tomorrow… As this is FedEx, that will likely be Wednesday.
Can confirm that Jason posted that the software will run both cards and the NOS move will work with the old card as well.
And for someone who is usually very cagey about saying ‘this sounds better than that’, he came out and said it’s a significant upgrade.
Thanks for the info! That’s good to know
