Schiit Modius vs Bifrost II

[playittwice]

I am wondering if anyone has compared these two. Is the price difference worth t it? I have and am currently using the Modius and really like how it sounds in my system. Just curious if the price difference is justifiable.

 

[hoodie]

I like the Bifrost better than the Modius. I found the Modius kinda one dimensional while the Bifrost offers more depth with a bigger sound stage. Of course YMMV

 

[playittwice]

Do you have the Bifrost II?

 

[hoodie]

Not the II, I have a Bifrost Multibit Gen 5.

 

[chicks]

Modius outperforms the Bifrost at half the price.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/schiit-modius-balanced-dac-review.13769/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-and-measurements-of-schiit-bifrost-dac.7206/

 

[GChief]

^^^ but how does it sound? That's where the rubber meets the road.

Edit: and don't take that the wrong way. I am a life long electronics tech that spent the first 23yrs of my career operating and maintaining sound transmitting, receiving, processing, recording and play back gear. I understand how significant and insignificant some measurements are.

 

[hoodie]

^^^ but how does it sound? That's where the rubber meets the road.

Absolutely

 

[gvl]

Bifrost II is a successor to Bifrost multibit, not the vanilla Bitfrost. Irrespective of that measurements suggest it’s likely a DAC with some coloration of the sound. No one can answer the question if you’re going to like the coloration or not, so you have to try it yourself to find out.

 

[chicks]

^^^ but how does it sound? That's where the rubber meets the road.

A properly designed DAC will have no "sound". It will be transparent.

 

[GChief]

A properly designed DAC will have no "sound". It will be transparent.

If it has no sound then it is broken or not getting a signal

 

[fredgarvin]

If it has no sound then it is broken or not getting a signal

A while back Schiit designed three versions of the new Yggdrasil. each version had a slightly different voicing. They invited a bunch of people to listen and compare the models. It was interesting, I don't remember the details but all three had a number of votes. All three sounded differently.

*ok, here's an article about it.

Let's cut to the final chase scene before going over the nuances of listening to each DAC. By far, my favorite version is Yggdrasil Less Is More. That's right, the least expensive model, with the least number of bits (16 bit DAC chips, 17 bits total), sounded the best. It wasn't even close. The second place DAC was Yggdrasil OG, the original Yggy that I've listened to for years in my system. My least favorite DAC was Yggdrasil More is Less. You read that right, the best measuring multi bit DAC ever, sounded the worst to me. This conclusion wasn't a close call.

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/new-schiit-yggdrasil-blind-listening-comparison-r1045/

 

[gvl]

That was more of a marketing move or advertising of new products rather than a meaningless experiment because they didn’t confirm that listeners could actually recognize one from the other unseen in a repeatable fashion.

 

[fredgarvin]

Intent on adhering to the most scientific route available, Schiit introduced the listening session in what is traditionally called a double blind A/B test, or one where the exact version of the DAC is hidden from both the listener and the host. This was achieved by presenting each model of Yggdrasil in the exact same external case, with only a hidden model number (corresponding with a sealed key decoder) to reveal the truth at the very end of the exercise. If this all seems a bit much, it is intended to be so – and all in good fun.

https://audio-head.com/review-schiit-yggdrasil-og-vs-less-is-more-vs-more-is-less/

another reviewer

https://headphone.guru/a-day-at-the-schiitr-schiit-launches-three-flavors-of-yggy/

 

[gvl]

I repeat, they did not establish in a scientific way if listeners could identify the DACs, they only recorded their “impressions”. For all I know those impressions could be just a fruit of their imagination, listening blind or not.

 

[hoodie]

 

[xdd]

A properly designed DAC will have no "sound".

How can a 'properly designed DAC' be identified as such?

 

[chicks]

How can a 'properly designed DAC' be identified as such?

Very simple. It will measure well. Low noise, low distortion, great linearity.

 

[SWL3600]

Very simple. It will measure well. Low noise, low distortion, great linearity.

When I threw my Maverick Audio Tubemagic D2 out the window it seemed to have 'great linearity'.

 

[CKDC]

I think ASR should be the official judge of what a “properly designed DAC” is.

If the DAC does not pass his testing, the manufacturer should promptly file for bankruptcy and be spanked severely with a cat o nine tails made from Audioquest toslink cables.

 

[playittwice]

Just to jump in here, I don’t care about specs, I am curious about the bottom line…. Is there 3.5 times better listening experience with the Bifrost being 3.5 times the cost of the Modius. That’s all.