The OP stated, "I had not planned on replacing my DAC just yet, but it was very high on my list when I came across it as a demo unit for an attractive price and decided after a few days to pick it up."
The thing is, if this was a "demo" DAC, shouldn’t it already have 200+ hours on it, and isn’t likely to change any going forward? Just a thought.
New DAC issues
I have been on a steady system upgrade path over the last year and one of the last pieces to be updated is my DAC, a Schiit Gungnir Multibit. I have no complaints with it, but I am always in search of more and better. The majority of my upgrades have been a big success.
I recently purchased a new DAC that shall remain unnamed, I don't want to throw it and the builder under the bus, but it is about a 5x multiple in cost over the Gungnir. I have had the new DAC for four days now, and I have been playing it continuously. When I installed it, I simply unplugged the other DAC and substituted this one, so minimal change. Initial impressions were that it sounded pretty lean and the soundstage was not great, but I figured it would sound better after warming up. There has been some improvement, but it is not significant.
Playing music with the Gungnir in place, bass was plentiful without being overbearing, and very clean. With the new DAC, bass is almost an afterthought. The Gungnir presented a beautiful soundstage and my speakers disappeared. The new DAC presents a good center image, though smaller than the Gungnir, and the speakers are pretty apparent on most tracks. In general, the magic is gone from the music, there is detail in the mids and highs, but not a lot of life.
I expected a different sound of course, but I cannot imagine that this is the way a DAC at this level is supposed to sound. I think that the Gungnir is considered a warmer DAC, but the contrast in this case is extreme. I am wondering if there is either an issue with the unit or somehow a mismatch with my gear. It provides a 3V output vs the Gungnir's 4V, which may make it a little less lively, but 3V is not out of the ordinary.
The rest of my systems is Pass XP-12 -> Coda #8 -> KEF Reference 1. I am in between streamers right now and using my DigiOne/Pi with LPS over RCA SP/DIF. One could question the streamer, but it sounds great with the Gungnir. I had an Aurender N10, but I did not get along with the Conductor software and now have an Innuos Zenith on the way. Connections are all balanced with Wireworld Eclipse 8's, Acoustic Zen speaker cables and an Acoustic Zen digital cable. Power is dedicated and runs through a Furman Elite 20.
I listen mostly to jazz and lower levels and I have always had a full sound, however with the new DAC the system is no longer engaging. Thoughts? Can a DAC just be incredibly lean?
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@dougthebiker -- "Even Schiit says to play their DACs for about a month before you even listen to them." Do you have a reference for that? I've read Jason Stoddard's book and follow his online missives over at Headfi, and never seen him or Mike Moffat say anything about their gear needing a long break-in. I have a bunch of their gear and have never seen anything in an owners manual, either. If nothing else, the trial period on their gear is only two weeks long. |
@zlone I agree with all the others who have posted on this stream. Over the years I've enjoyed my path, upgrading DACs from time to time and when I did a PS Audio P10 PowerPlant to their P15 model, I immediately noticed quite a few improvements to the two DACs I had at the time; tighter more defined bass, better soundstage especially front-to-back and more "distinctness" in the individual instruments and voices. I'm not sure if that helps, but I suspect that, when you get your digital setup to a certain point, cleaner AC power might make a significant difference. |
Zlone Are there settings that need to be adjusted or tried? Sometimes there can be an "oversampling" or " non oversampling", and "fast" and "slow" filter settings to be adjusted. I've never heard they made a DAC sound bad, but they certainly do change the sound. Additionally try different inputs, some are always superior with different DACs. |
I would expect that adding a considerably more expensive DAC would provide a immediate improvement over the Schiit DAC with the equipment you have, nothing else changing. If it doesn't, why keep it? Forget listening to it for 2-400 hours, that's ridiculous. Either the new unit is significantly better out of the box or it isn't worth even as much as the Gungnir it replaced. |
- 55 posts total