Review and Measurements of Schiit Yggdrasil V2 DAC

[rebbiputzmaker]

@amirm has also commented on Schitt’s soldering technique. In sum, measurements and under the hood scrutiny have, I am sure, been of great interest to many ASR readers.

My soldering is not that great either.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

I agree with you. Drawing the line is partly the issue. The other is even if two pieces of gear are both beyond perceiving, but one costs ten times as much while having measurably lesser performance then why would anyone purchase it?

So in this thread about the Yggy, it appears to be at best a moderately good performing DAC bettered measurably by cheaper devices. It also doesn't offer remote control. So would you review it yourself and say you recommend it or tell perspective owners to look elsewhere? Or do we get some more rhetorical responses that lead nowhere.

Ultimately, people have to decide for themselves. To be fair we are talking about a DAC, not something insanely stupid like a $2,000 power cord!

 

[raband]

But if one cannot hear these"measurements" why should it matter?

Are we buying audio equipment for listening, or for measuring?

Not at yourself, but there are a hell of a lot of people out there that are (according to them and the companies that sell them the gear) able to hear differences in components that have ZERO effect on measurements ($XXXk's of cables, crystals, magic dust, textas etc)

If they can hear differences (sometimes night and day according to them) that are immeasurable - surely they'd be able to hear something as obvious as a measurable defect. Should be a hell of a lot more noticeable to them than the difference obtained when there's a small block of wood in the far corner of the room.

 

[Jinjuku]

But, one does not have to lump all people together. Some have legitimate claims and some rather sketchy. How about possibly some general respect, that not everyone is an idiot. YMMV

I more interested in legitimized data than claims.

via Imgflip Meme Generator

 

[amirm]

Day 4 snapshot:

No change. Same flaws remain. People who think the "clocks" need to stabilize see how the frequency counter still shows 80 ppm too fast.

And of course nothing is changed in linearity either.

All that has happened is that my power meter running faster, costing me money!!!

 

[Guermantes]

I'm really surprised in this day and age that we are arguing about how long a piece of solid state gear needs to reach its optimal operating condition. Days? Really?! Pro-spec gear is expected to be optimal after in a matter of seconds (at most minutes, if it goes through a self-check or boot-up routine) of turning on -- anything more and it will be labelled "Not fit for purpose".

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

Day 4 snapshot:

View attachment 13618
View attachment 13619

No change. Same flaws remain. People who think the "clocks" need to stabilize see how the frequency counter still shows 80 ppm too fast.

And of course nothing is changed in linearity either.

All that has happened is that my power meter running faster, costing me money!!!

I don't see the point of testing daily. IMO a cleaner electrical environment would be more interesting.

 

[amirm]

IMO a cleaner electrical environment would be more interesting.

I cannot power the unit down so no such option exists.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

I cannot power the unit down so no such option exists.

Why not, is it set to explode if unplugged?

 

[amirm]

Why not, are they set to explode if unplugged?

No, owner wanted it warmed up for a week and tested. I can't stop now or have to start the week-long period again.

And now there is a request for 3 weeks of warm up time so no option exists for any power down.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm really surprised in this day and age that we are arguing about how long a piece of solid state gear needs to reach its optimal operating condition. Days? Really?! Pro-spec gear is expected to be optimal after in a matter of seconds (at most minutes, if it goes through a self-check or boot-up routine) of turning on -- anything more and it will be labelled "Not fit for purpose".

It is incredibly ridiculous. No matter how many times you do the test, no one who wishes to believe otherwise will pay attention.

About clocks, Don has told us it should be on spec in milliseconds. I've tested clock speeds myself and within the ppm range they just sit there unchanging from the first measurement which takes me a minimum of a few seconds to get started. I've seen a couple of devices have lower IMD and THD over the first couple hours. Very small improvements. Like .001% to eventually .0006%. Repeated it a couple times to make sure it was real. That is about it.

Turn the stuff on and use it. Maybe a power amp takes a few minutes to reach operating temps. Maybe tube amps too. Everything else, its just BS.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I don't see the point of testing daily. IMO a cleaner electrical environment would be more interesting.

And what would you consider a cleaner electrical environment?

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

No, owner wanted it warmed up for a week and tested. I can't stop now or have to start the week-long period again.

And now there is a request for 3 weeks of warm up time so no option exists for any power down.

One min to swap in an isolation transformer would have zero effect. Maybe Frank can send over a pit crew.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

And what would you consider a cleaner electrical environment?

I would have an iso transformer at least for the DAC, and maybe even one for the AP.

 

[Timbo2]

No, owner wanted it warmed up for a week and tested. I can't stop now or have to start the week-long period again.

And now there is a request for 3 weeks of warm up time so no option exists for any power down.

I seem recall reading you have a whole house backup generator, but how fast does it take to cut over?

 

[amirm]

Oh, I misspoke. The owner had given me these iFi AC iPurifier devices to test. I had thought there were series devices, i.e. you plug something into them. But no, they are parallel noise filters. So I could add them to the power strip which fuels both the Audio Precision analyzer and Schiit Yggdrasil. I will do a much more extensive review of them later but for now, this is what is claimed: https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-ac-ipurifier/

Even though it doesn't have *any* attenuation at 10 kHz (start of the graph), it is supposed to make my audio sound better? I don't think so. But let's measure the Schiit Yggy with it and see how it does.

This is a high-resolution (256k point) averaged (4 times) FFT:

Definitely no reduction. Indeed if you squint there was more noise (in red) prior to plugging it in but that is probably run to run variation.

I performed another test which was to have a running chart showing THD+N distortion at very high magnification (vertical scale) and plugged in the AC iPurifier half-way in the middle and then let it stay there until the end:

Not a thing happened. Those tiny up and downs are natural variations from the device/measurement.

As it should be. No device this tiny can have a prayer of filtering audio band frequencies. And even if it did, it would have to then reduce the noise internal in the unit by significant amount which again, it has no prayer of doing so.

Owner was kind enough to give me three so I will test them together and see what happens.

For now, this is a "plus" for Schiit Yggdrasil that it is of no need of AC tweaks. It does what it does without such.

 

[έχω δίκιο]

But, one does not have to lump all people together. Some have legitimate claims and some rather sketchy. How about possibly some general respect, that not everyone is an idiot. YMMV

Do you know anyone who describes their own claims as “sketchy” or not legitimate? Do they consider themselves to be idiots? I didn’t use the word ‘idiot’ to descrbe anyone based on their claims. You did, so please don’t lecture me about showing some “general respect.”

 

[Jinjuku]

You should include a money drained out of the wallet graph... You know just for comparison.

 

[Thomas savage]

If you really think about it if people are hearing profound differences there must be a change in the electrical signal coming out their devices, if no change can be measured ( as is the case here) the change must be happening inside their heads independently of any other stimuli .

This can be hard to accept, especially considering most folks are unaware of the limited access they have wrt their own cognitive functions.

The resistance to the idea we deceive ourselves is not surprising, it unseats us from the notion we are central to our own truth and in total command.

In fact it’s really easy to deceive and manipulate humans , just turn on the tv.. as well many don’t even realise they are doing this let along being ‘victims ‘.

Given the advancement of science and all the tools at our disposal aimed at digging into audio equipment and knowing a bit about what our ears can do, these instances are most likely due to self deception..

Nothing to do with being a idiot ..

 

[Blumlein 88]

Yes, people get so insulted when you say they are being fooled. Saying that doesn't imply a lack of intelligence or any insult.

These measurements are accurately repeatable both by the AP and most of the gear under test to a level in the few millionths of a volt. Impressive even for the "bad" ones.

Currently reading a book about Precision and its unacknowledged importance to the modern world we live in. Starts with a time when the idea was not even used. Shows some key times the 'invention' and advancement of precision opened up important new capabilities to human society. Sort of the history of the idea of precision diffusing into our world. Millionths of a volt, timing good enough to differentiate how long it takes light to travel the length of my hand, all in very affordable consumer level gear to the point it can be a hobby for many thousands if not millions of people.