Despite everyone saying the Gungnir Multibit is noticeably more neutral than Bifrost Multibit, I actually hear them as both being slightly warm. Gungnir Multibit just puts out music like it's not even trying. In relation to above, Bifrost Multibit sounds a bit grainier and more strained that Gungnir Multibit. This is another very important difference in my mind. In particular, Bifrost Multibit has this sort of upper-mid, lower-treble emphasis that makes it sound more grating and less mature and refined than Gungnir Multibit. Bifrost Multibit sounds a bit more midrange focused than Gungnir Multibit. I don't remember why I wrote that, but, eh, OK! My notes say "dynamics sound more grey on Bifrost Multibit," whatever that means.
Bifrost Multibit has less micro and macro dynamics. Sure, it's not as tight as Gungnir Multibit and is woolier, but I'm just saying you can hear some of that magic still. Despite this, it still has shares some of the traits in terms of bass tautness that seem inherent to the Schiit multibit + digital filter combo. Bifrost Multibit sounds softer in terms of bass impact, slam, power, and as said before, extension. It doesn't reach as low as the Gungnir Multibit. Most readily apparent difference is the relative lack of extension on the Bifrost Multibit, mostly in bass. USB->SPDIF comparisons.īifrost Multibit vs.
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UPDATE - See bottom of post for direct USB vs. I did not have a XLR->RCA transformer converter box thing to try. Make note of this, given balanced input is known to be better out of Gungnir Multibit. Other Source - CI Audio Transient Mk2 without LPSU - always used this for both DACs, never straight USB or other inputsĬables - Have no balanced-capable amp, so had to use SE. Player - Primarily JRiver Media Center or HQPlayer for upsampling filter tests
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Laptop/Tablet - Win10 tablet, 8", quad-core, full USB out OR Acer Cloudbook 11" Whatever w/ BunsenLabs Linux + Liquorix kernel
Gear (skip if not concerned, though note use of SPDIF converter for all tests - no straight USB) While I like both for different reasons, you might be wondering how they really compare and which is better for your budget. While I've only heard the Yggdrasil at meets or at Big Sound (read: unfamiliar setups), I have had a wonderful chance to compare the Bifrost and Gungnir multibit DACs at home for a while now, which I'll continue to refer to as the Bifrost Multibit and Gungnir Multibit. I really like the new Schiit multibit DACs.