Schiit Gungnir Multibit

[belgianbrain]

Opinions on this unit? By all accounts, it's very close to a Yggdrasil, but maybe even preferred by some for being slightly less analytical.

A good friend of mine watches my hobby in great interest and wants something good. He doesn't have the skill to rebuilt old units like me, so he's more interested in something new.

Awhile back I considered a Yggdrasil for myself, but was led in the direction of an Aqua LaVoce instead. I tried it. It was good, but it lacked something my other favourite DACS have, and that's more grunt and body in the low to midrange (think the sound of a musician hammering on the low note piano keys). This is a limitation I notice in some new DACs. Anyway, eventually I sold the Aqua deciding the ~$2,000 USD was worth more to me than it.

So, my friend listens to either my Adcom GDA-600 (rebuilt with OPA627s) or my Lampizator and wants something similarly euphoric.

The Gungnir Multibit has been recommended to him. Is he likely to be satisfied with it given the benchmark I've set?

 

[soundmig]

Unfortunately, I've not heard the Adcom with your rebuild or the Lampizator or the Gungnir MB. I do own the Bifrost MB and I like it a lot. One of the things I like most about the BiFrost MB is the "Body" in the upper bass and lower midrange which is critical (IMO) for warmth and "realism". I'm currently considering upgrading to the Gungnir, so I look forward to additional posts from people who have experience with the Gungnir MB.

 

[seminole54]

Worth a look in my opinion. I have had one for a couple of weeks and really like it even with the stock Chinese tubes. Have been rolling through the multiple options for rectifiers and once that has been resolved will start in on the signal tubes. Many options for both.

http://www.musicalparadise.ca/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=80

 

[stish]

I've had the Gungnir Multibit for a couple of months now and really like it. I went to this unit from a first gen Modi and, of course, it's in a completely world as far as streaming goes. The better comparison is using my Marantz CD6004 as a transport through the DAC vs. using the players own DAC. Both are very good, but to my ears, the Schiit presents a sound stage that is more of a cohesive unit while, at the same time, providing better space between individual instruments. I debated between the Bifrost Multibit and the Gungnir Multibit and decided on the Gungnir based on the similarities with the Yggdrasil. I have not regretted the decision.

 

[nyhifihead]

just on an objective level, across the 4-6 forums I frequent for audio, I've never seen a series of DAC recommended as frequently as the multibit line, and this is before the modi multibit which I know will be very popular

I've only heard the bifrost multibit and the yggydrisil but I think the gungir is a perfect middle ground considering that its still 1/2 the price of the flagship yggy

I'm a big fan of the r2r style DAC, my main DAC is parallel pcm1704uks, if I didn't have it I would be a owner of either the bifrost or gungir multibit 100%

Worth checking out too in this price range is the gustard x20, its a quad balanced ESS 9018, its not r2r but I've seen very favorable reviews of it and even seen it called the yggy killer on what's best forum where most peoples systems cost like 6 digits..

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?19433-Chinese-DAC-shames-a-few-heavy-hitters

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?20414-EVS-modified-Gustard-X20-Gustard-X20-thread

Also worth a look is the audio gd pcm1704 DACs. I've never heard then but they are highly praised even on this forum.

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/DAC1911/DAC19EN.htm

 

[davidflas]

I've been the owner of a delta-sigma Gungnir for over three years, and have loved its sound, especially the weight of the low end. I owned a Bifrost Uber for about 15 months, and while I liked its sound as well, the Gungnir was better in my system by a long shot. Currently the Bifrost is on its way to a new owner, and my Gungnir is on its way back to Schiit to receive a multi-bit upgrade. I can't wait to get it back!

 

[soundmig]

I've been the owner of a delta-sigma Gungnir for over three years, and have loved its sound, especially the weight of the low end. I owned a Bifrost Uber for about 15 months, and while I liked its sound as well, the Gungnir was better in my system by a long shot. Currently the Bifrost is on its way to a new owner, and my Gungnir is on its way back to Schiit to receive a multi-bit upgrade. I can't wait to get it back!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the switch to the MB Gungnir when you get it back and break it in!

 

[Starchild]

I've owned my Gungnir multibit for about a year and I love it. There is no digital glare and it's very natural sounding. I never thought standard resolution digital could sound so good. Here's a review by John Darko at DAR:

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/01/zesty-and-sweet-the-stunning-schiit-gungnir-multibit-dac/

I think he hit it right on the nose. I followed the posting of the principals of Schiit (Jason Stoddard, formerly of Sumo, and Mike Moffat, formerly of Theta) for a long time on HeadFi trying to get a handle on this dac. Mike Moffat is a genius and knows what he's doing. Once you listen to a good R2R dac, I don't think you'll go back to delta-sigma dac. I'm not by any means a geek but their applications just make sense even for this technophobe. I fall squarely in the "if it sounds good do it" camp but I like to have some idea of how it works. The only reason you wouldn't consider this dac is if you are into dsd which it will not play. However, you can't beat if for the money on pcm digital. Just my 2 cents.
Mike

 

[soundmig]

I've owned my Gungnir multibit for about a year and I love it. There is no digital glare and it's very natural sounding. I never thought standard resolution digital could sound so good. Here's a review by John Darko at DAR:

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/01/zesty-and-sweet-the-stunning-schiit-gungnir-multibit-dac/

I think he hit it right on the nose. I followed the posting of the principals of Schiit (Jason Stoddard, formerly of Sumo, and Mike Moffat, formerly of Theta) for a long time on HeadFi trying to get a handle on this dac. Mike Moffat is a genius and knows what he's doing. Once you listen to a good R2R dac, I don't think you'll go back to delta-sigma dac. I'm not by any means a geek but their applications just make sense even for this technophobe. I fall squarely in the "if it sounds good do it" camp but I like to have some idea of how it works. The only reason you wouldn't consider this dac is if you are into dsd which it will not play. However, you can't beat if for the money on pcm digital. Just my 2 cents.
Mike

Well, I'm going to RMAF again this year. I suppose that I can listen to the BiFrost MB (which I own) and the Gungnir MB both there and decide whether or not to upgrade. My guess is that I will, but we'll see

 

[soundmig]

OK, so I talked to the Schiit guy (LOL) at the Schiit booth (laugh again) and he said that since my pre-amp is single ended that I'd likely not gain much by stepping up to the Gungnir. He said to save my money and "be happy' with my BiFrost MB. Sounds like a winner to me. But ... Schiit also has this new (and great sounding) balanced tube pre-amp for less than a Grand - so ????? Hmmmmmm. Maybe the balanced pre-amp and a Yiggy is the way to go. Shhhh, don't tell my wife!

 

[davidflas]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the switch to the MB Gungnir when you get it back and break it in!

I never came back to this thread after getting my Gungnir back. I can say that without question the upgrade was worth the money. I now have a DAC that sounds more natural and really resolves the space between instruments. I really am hearing familiar recordings in a new and better way.

 

[SoNic67]

Thanks for coming back to report.
That's exactly my experience with multibit versus delta-sigma - when listening to CD recordings. I have both flavors of DAC's and I always tend to go back to the MB version for CD originating programs.

I am using the D-S only for SACD/DSD or DVD-A programs, and only at that level they start to get close acoustically.

 

[soundmig]

I never came back to this thread after getting my Gungnir back. I can say that without question the upgrade was worth the money. I now have a DAC that sounds more natural and really resolves the space between instruments. I really am hearing familiar recordings in a new and better way.

Yes sir! That's multi-bit - glad your enjoying it. I heard the Yiggy at the RMAF show yesterday and its more of the same. I've heard odd reports that people think it thin sounding? Not in the display that I heard it in! Lots of rich inner detail, but not thin by any stretch of the imagination.