Does a new cd transport require break-in time?

Shrill sound? Looks like you have a jitter problem with the Gumby and it prefers the Oppo. Bits are bits but how well a DAC handles jitter is part of the DAC design.

@jea48

Yup. That is why all modern DACs should have complete jitter immunity. Some don't despite 20 years of jitter issues.

Right. Just my .02, but.....

.....the Schiit Gungnir (and of course the Yggdrasil) have an indicator light (meant for user observation) that would indicate whether or not there is an "issue" (widely defined, see respective Schiit documentation for specifics). Therefore, and in the OPs case, if that light isn’t illuminated, he/she likely *does not* have an "external jitter issue", a "transport issue" or a "coax or particular input cable/source issue".

EDIT:

@rvpiano

Is there anything you can report regarding the status of the Gungnir VCO/VCXO indicator light?

First, to answer the edit: question, the light does not go on with the Gungnir.

I have been having some incredibly bad luck with my equipment:

1. The new Gungnir stopped working.  It’s now on its way back to Schiit.
2. My Oppo 105D stopped working.  It’s on it’s way to Oppo.
3. The new Cambridge CXC transport is evidently having trouble with error correction. It skips or mistracks.

As I mentioned, for whatever reason, the most natural sound Ive been getting is from the combination of the Oppo and the Gungnir, both of which are out for repair.  So, currently I’m using the Cambridge with my old Theta DAC. The sound is actually fairly good but not as good as with the previous combination.

I don’t understand why the Gungnir doesn’t sound better with the Cambridge.  I thought it would. Maybe it is a question of break in.  Shrill is perhaps too strong a word for the problem with the sound.  It just seems lacking in fullness.

I’ll  try again when the equipment comes back from repair.