DENAFRIPS Terminator and Schiit Yggdrasil Evaluation and Comparison

If you spend some time on the forums or a lot of time like I did you would see that the general consensus is that the AES / EBU input is superior to spdif.  When I bought my yggy in early 2016 schiit was going on about their new usb3 input which mine came with.. And then came the even better new gen5 usb.. And now apparently theirs another one in the works... 
I've had some one PM me on the DDC I use and he was reluctant to purchase it as he had the new "gen5 usb" .
Well a few weeks later I get another PM from thus same person thanking me as the DDC via AES / EBU totally beat out the new gen5 usb...
This made me feel really good as I skipped an upgrade step from schiit and still came out on top...
In case your wondering I use a Matrix audio X spdif 2 DDC powered with a Uptone audio LPS1.2 linear power supply.. 

That's really interesting that AES /EBU is superior to SPDIF, I was wondering why Mike in the latest video did not mention that in this comparison to why he was trying to make USB good or better, in his case the latest development of USB they are working on in the beta stage is so good that "why even bother with SPDIF". But if what you say is that AES /EBU is better than SPDIF, than I'm not sure why SDPIF could be the ideal way to go about things.

In the case you are using the Matrix Audio interface, may I ask what your chain is specifically to get a better picture?

In particular, what is the transport you use and how does it connect to your Matrix interface. 

If you are using a laptop with USB (just case and point) since it is using proprietary XMOS U208, could you say you are still comparing that to USB gen 5 even though you eventually feed into the Yggydrasil with AES /EBU?


If you are not feeding the audio via USB into the Matrix perhaps you are using something else I guess. 

You may want to add the Ifi DSD Pro Dac at $2,500.00 to your shootout, Herb Richert from Stereophile was blown away by this little dac and felt if was in the same league as three of his reference dacs and Herb also uses the Yaggy.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-pro-idsd-da-processorheadphone-amplifier-page-2

Bottom line: iFi Audio's Pro iDSD lived up to the hyperbole of its owner's manual. It did actually play music like "a 'state of the art' reference digital to analog converter." It did indeed sound like "an all-out assault" on what is possible in DACs today . . . and it did both of those good things at a ridiculously low price. Highly recommended.

Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-pro-idsd-da-processorheadphone-amplifier-page-2#atGeRi...


We have never heard one but the reviews are praising this little dac as a true giant killer and no we have never heard one but are a fan of Thorsten Loesch.


The reviews out of Europe as stellar as well.

If this little $2,500 dac can stand up to $7k dacs and a few other well lauded dacs it may be even better deal then the Denfrips of the Yaggy.


Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

and for the Audio Doctor haters we are not currently selling Ifi but after reading this review we will be bringing in a sample. 

Currently I have the Ares https://www.denafrips.com/specs-ares, but digital inputs are only Coax x 2 , TOSLink x 2, and USB Combo384 Amanero which I believe was an upgrade over the old Ares which had XMOS implemented a year and a half ago. So it cannot be fed with AES /EBU, (the 2nd model up in the Denafrips departmen Pontus has AES /EBU).

As much as I like the Ares sound signature and I am enjoying it, I will be looking to seriously purchase either the Schitt Gunir or Yggydrasil depending on how my music tastes match up since the detail retrieval is substantially more revealing. 

So if I am to use my gaming laptop as a transport (Razer Blade 2017) it is a question if I am really gaining something by using the 2020 USB implementation Schitt freshly installed on new DAC or if as you say something like you have would be worth it.

The company rings a bell but they’re latest model I have not come across in any reviews when I searched modestly last year. Of course my budget was sub $1500 so perhaps that is why. However, for him to say "at a ridiculously low price of $2500" is typical audiophile writer hogwash to be taken with a grain of salt. $2500 is NOT ridiculously cheap it is reasonable though. If it matches Chord Dave’s performance than I can see how that comparison works.

Like when Absolute Sound in their testimony on the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 2, mentioned "The Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 2 would have received my highest recommendation had it cost $15,000. Yes, it sounds that good. That it sells for $4995 qualifies as a minor miracle." That is just typical salesman downplay of price phycology.

Taking an aside, I will definitely take your recommendation up and do some research on the ifi DSD Pro Dac though. $2500 is probably the most I would ever spend on a DAC even if I became a millionaire as I think that seems to be the sweet spot on the price to performance curve for anyone really serious about audio in a positive way for sound alone and not fancy appearance or exotic parts.


Does can it compare to Schitt’s Closed-Form Digital Filter solution though and how can it not be less accurate?

More importantly than ever in this evolving market does it utilize off the shelf DAC chips?