The Yggy and Node Dac have never sounded identical to me. Agree many low cost DACs sound quite good. But each different nonetheless
Schitt Yggdrasil Vs. Bluenode 2i (Shock!)
I am having a bit of a dilemma. I recently added a Node 2i to my setup to be used primarily as a streamer. My digital rig consists of
- Amp: Rogue Stereo 100 (GE and Amperex Nos tubes)
- Preamp: Primaluna Evo 100 (GE and RCA cleartops Nos tubes)
- DAC: Latest model of Schiit Yggdrasil
- Speakers: Monitor Audio Platinum 100 II
- Analog & digital Interconnects: Audioquest Silver Extreme
- Speaker cables: Audioquest Rocket 44
- Power cables are all stock, and no attention has been paid to power supply
I had been pretty satisfied with my setup after breaking in the Yggy; I subsequently added the Node 2i and was using it as a dedicated streamer and never bothered using it as a DAC. A buddy of mine who is contemplating the node 2i came over and I offered to use the Node DAC on my system so he could get a sense of the performance. I was initially pleasantly surprised by how good it sounded, but the shock came when I started doing A/B comparisons with the Yggy and I honestly could not hear the difference between the 2 DACs. I subsequently spent the last few days comparing them and I still can't discern a difference. So my question is
- Is the Node 2i just that good?
- Or is my system not transparent enough to highlight the difference?
- Or are my ears are just not sensitive enough to pick up the difference?
- Do I need to invest in more expensive power cables and supply?
I'm interested to hear from others who have had experiences with these DACs or similar, because I'm seriously contemplating putting my Yggy up for sale.
- Amp: Rogue Stereo 100 (GE and Amperex Nos tubes)
- Preamp: Primaluna Evo 100 (GE and RCA cleartops Nos tubes)
- DAC: Latest model of Schiit Yggdrasil
- Speakers: Monitor Audio Platinum 100 II
- Analog & digital Interconnects: Audioquest Silver Extreme
- Speaker cables: Audioquest Rocket 44
- Power cables are all stock, and no attention has been paid to power supply
I had been pretty satisfied with my setup after breaking in the Yggy; I subsequently added the Node 2i and was using it as a dedicated streamer and never bothered using it as a DAC. A buddy of mine who is contemplating the node 2i came over and I offered to use the Node DAC on my system so he could get a sense of the performance. I was initially pleasantly surprised by how good it sounded, but the shock came when I started doing A/B comparisons with the Yggy and I honestly could not hear the difference between the 2 DACs. I subsequently spent the last few days comparing them and I still can't discern a difference. So my question is
- Is the Node 2i just that good?
- Or is my system not transparent enough to highlight the difference?
- Or are my ears are just not sensitive enough to pick up the difference?
- Do I need to invest in more expensive power cables and supply?
I'm interested to hear from others who have had experiences with these DACs or similar, because I'm seriously contemplating putting my Yggy up for sale.
- ...
- 28 posts total
One of the things I notice about the Yggdrasil is the width of the sound stage can be incredible on good recordings. For example, the West Side story original cast recording on the Yggdrasil produces finger snaps beyond the boundary of my speakers. One some other DACs the image placement is not nearly as wide. So depending on your musical taste, you may or may not hear much differences in DACs. |
I'm glad to hear that others are hearing a difference. Something must be off with my system and it could be that I have never actually heard what the Yggy is capable of! I will continue to tweak things starting with with the digital cable. I will point out that based on this review (https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/bluesound-node-2i), there is a noticeable bump up in quality between the Node 2 and 2i. |
- 28 posts total