Lo-Fi, Mid-Fi or Hi-Fi- What's your system and why?

The Rega Apollo doesn't need an external DAC.

I had the Bifrost and it was a bottleneck in my system. It's not a bad DAC, it's just not a great one.

Granted, it is not the best DAC in the world - i.e. right out of the box - but if you want to make it "soar" - it is possible...

1. bypass the USB input - that is truly this little DAC's  biggest "bottleneck"
    - I installed a v-link192 USB-SPDIF converter - what a difference!!!

2. treat it to a great power cable - the internal power supply is a bit small and limits the performance of audio circuitry, so installing a great power cable will do wonders for the dynamics and imaging

3. treat it to great interconnects - this will improve details and clarity

4. if it's an older Bifrost (like mine) - you can upgrade it to either the most recent AK4490 version or even the multibit option

I went with the more affordable AK4490 upgrade and my Bifrost has never sounded so good.

Granted, I could have spent the money spent on cables and upgrades on a new DAC, but I wanted to see exactly just how good the Bifrost could be - i.e. when allowed to.

It really is quite special - once it's tricked out :-)

Cheers

Hi-Fiish sounding means to me artificial sounding.  Natural sounding is High End.  One can find plenty of Hi-Fi gear in Best Buy. Atrocious sounding SS amps, sold in 70s, were also called Hi-Fi since they met German DIN 45500 standard. 

I cannot call my system High-End when the most expensive part of it - "The Room"  is "Mid-Fi".

my-fi