Review and Measurements of Schiit BiFrost DAC

[Bronco]

I am confused as to why you would review a DAC that is no longer in production as if it is a representative of their current product. To my understanding, I have read your reviews as an attempt to determine objective standards and ratings for audio equipment. This lacks anything remotely like objectivity. You received an eight year old unit, far out of production and no longer representative of the product, from a third party from which you cannot verify the treatment of that product during those years. You then draw conclusions about Schiit's current practices based on their standards and equipment from 2011. This post drips with inauthenticity. Your conclusions judge a companies standards of today when you are critiquing a unit built in a garage almost a decade ago. If you feel that the only way you can find objective results is buy testing customer units, become a customer when testing units. Purchase the unit under a pseudonym and test it objectively and honestly. If its bad, say its bad based on fair test conditions.

Respectfully, Schiit has no one but themselves to blame for the fact that an item they produced in 2011 is externally indistinguishable from an allegedly updated product of the same name produced in 2019. It is the open and honest nature of this forum that allows such elucidating bits of information to come to light.

I think it’s unfair of you to ascribe any nefarious motives on Amir’s part when he’s done nothing more than provide objective measurements of the unit he was provided and then offer his recommendations based on the same. Had he conspired to hide the fact that this was an older unit, then you might have a point. But the exact opposite is the case here - insofar as he actively encourages the membership to offer any clarifying data they may be privy to that will better helps us uncover these manufacturing details and then assess how the unit tested might compare to products which are available today.

IMHO, your complaint is with Schiit. You need to ask them why they would want consumers to be unable to distinguish differing versions of the same model from one another. For Amir’s part, time permitting, I expect he’d be happy to test any present day update of this unit you’d be willing to send to him. But it’s equally unfair of you to intimate that anyone without the resources to purchase out of pocket every unit they test, is engaging in some sort of unethical behavior.

 

[Blur]

I have an updated version. Perhaps Amirm would be willing to measure it?

 

[majingotan]

I have an updated version. Perhaps Amirm would be willing to measure it?

Bifrost 2? That would finally put a stop on all the subjective hype I see on typical shill forums regarding this DAC and reveal that it's all just distortions in their head

 

[Veri]

I have an updated version. Perhaps Amirm would be willing to measure it?

You should send @amirm a message

 

[Blur]

It's a Bifrost 4490 that I purchased a few months back before the Bifrost 2 was released. I always wonder how it measures. I'll see if Amirm has time, but I'm selling it so I may not end up sending it in.

 

[Veri]

It's a Bifrost 4490 that I purchased a few months back before the Bifrost 2 was released. I always wonder how it measures. I'll see if Amirm has time, but I'm selling it so I may not end up sending it in.

It's been measured already! Good channel was good but the bad channel made it "Meh" overall:

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

 

[Blur]

Without knowing the date and history, and due to the parts falling off inside etc, I'm hesitant to trust that all units measure this way. I wanted to add one more data point from a newer unit because Schiit has made some changes to the design.

 

[teej]

I won an auction for a an older model Bifrost and Lyr a few years ago, and the guy shipped them HORRIBLY, all loose in a box that was way too big with practically no padding or support. They both just rattled around in the box something awful, damaging each other in the process. I ended up having to send the Lyr to Schiit for repair. The Bifrost was fine (apart from a large gash in the steel on the front), but it was obvious there were some parts loose inside, rattling around. I opened it up and found the exact same loose heat sinks. I reattached them myself. I was never able to get the little lights to seat correctly back in their holes on the front when putting it back together, but the DAC works and sounds decent enough. This is the DAC in my garage system to this day.

I had chalked the loose heat sinks up to what remains the worst packaging job I've ever seen. Apparently even decent packaging caused them to bust loose.

 

[Pillars]

I've never had the sinks on a Bifrost come loose during shipping and I've owned a few iterations over the years. I liked the Uber version the best.

 

[teej]

I've had a lot of different Schiit gear, too, and it's true that it had never been an issue before. Maybe it was just one version of that particular DAC that slipped through with unsecured sinks.