Thank you. I do have notes that I take during the listening tests so it's not completely from memory so much as prompted by some key points to jog my recollection of each device. 😁

My pleasure! Glad you liked it 🙂

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It'll be interesting to see how you enjoy it with headphones. Ares II is also very popular with speaker uses so maybe a swap will bring you benefits in both systems

if you have an Ares 2 you could check out what HEADquarter Audio has to say about it. This guy is deeply into hardware tuning - he suggests to unscrew and carefully rescrew the XLR sockets on the back in the case. Apparently this improves the sound noticeably, I guess because the action can reduce tension on the circuit board where all the resistors are on, nearby (perhaps flattens it just a bit, which in theory could make quite a difference because warping could change the distance between the resisistors by a minimal amount). Even if it doesn't really do something, it is worth a try, because it takes a few minutes and you are not even opening up the Ares.

Interesting

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Glad I've been able to help! I'm still trying to get a supplier for Gustard gear - it's proving tricky.

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I keep hearing good things about the R26. Now I just have to get my hands on one to review... 🙂

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@@PassionforSound yeah, that's the one I'd like you to weigh in on.

I've bought one and the review is in the schedule. It's still a while away though...

Comments are always welcome. I'd be interested in particular to know how BF2/64 and Gumby compare

So any updated news about your comparison ?

@@PassionforSound The BF 2/64 is more hifi sounding, more refined than GMB. It has lower noise floor, better blackround, better detail retrieval, better imaging, as good bass response, but better treble than Gungnir MB A2 Unison. I personally can't think of any way the GMB was any better to my ears, so I sold it. I also did a direct A/B with Yggdrasil LIM and BF 2/64 using XLR output on each DAC to a Schiit Freya S+ and 2x Tyr setup. I was doing the A/B with another guy and we both came to similar conclusions: the BF 2/64 sounded fuller with better treble. The LIM had better mid-range and timbre, better detail retrieval, better instrument separation, and better blackground/lower noise floor than the BF 2/64. But we're splitting hairs, not night and day. The BF 2/64 can do 90-95% of what the LIM can do (if not better in a few respects) and it can do it at 33% the price.

@@spirosaktipis1275 posted above.

That's really interesting! Thank you for taking the time and sharing that.

Yes, I always try to give products and brands the benefit of the doubt, but this one was pretty inexcusable. Any sense of me holding back is purely because I'm making some assumptions about them based on what I've seen, but with no hard evidence. I don't want to over-influence people even though my gut says I would never buy a product from Musician

Looks like the Pegasus is a "me-too" product. A marketing term for a copied product.

I didn't know that one - thanks

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So glad you're enjoying it!

The Yggy OG is a beast. There is some talk about their USB circuit accepting higher sample rates in the future, but I'm not sure if that will translate to DSD capabilities, especially on their Multibit DACs

Always a pleasure! Glad it was helpful

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You're totally right. Schiit are unique for their upgradeable designs and they're only getting stronger in that regard it seems. Glad you liked the review!

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Thanks for confirming what I was hearing - it's always helpful. Glad to hear you're enjoying your Gumby!

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Nice one. Enjoy!

Yes, Yggy OG is the best DAC I've tried around the price with the possible exception of the Qutest, but I've never had them side-by-side. After I posted this, Musician reached out to me and we might be able to collaborate again in the future so let's see what I can try and how it sounds 🙂

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Interesting you should mention that. I've got an Abbas DAC on loan for review from a patron and I think it's using the TDA1541 (definitely something in that line of DAC chips). It sounds great!

@@PassionforSound I never got to try one of the Abbas dacs. Minimalist designs with only NOS components used all over. Lucky you!

Hi!, can you share the model and brand of your TDA1540 DAC? Thanks

@@octaviodiaz938 Hi Octavio. I replied to you but unfortunately my reply was deleted by KZfaq. This is not the first time this happens to me.

Sorry about the KZfaq bots deleting things. It's outside my control ☹️

That would be good. I'll have to see what I can arrange 🙂

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Haha. It sure is! 💩 That whole album is brilliant IMO

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Glad you liked it, Tom! I tend to always use USB for comparisons of DACs because it seems to be the most commonly used input for most people (not all, I know) and I like to have a level playing field. Trying to cover all the variabilities between different inputs on different devices would get long and complicated, but I agree with you that some devices perform slightly better from certain inputs.

@@PassionforSound I would like to know your experience comparing the balanced and unbalanced outputs. I’ve heard other reviewers say that the difference in the two outputs is less on the Bifrost than many other dacs. I need a DAC I can start with single ended to keep my old receiver limping along but I have monoblocks with balanced and unbalanced inputs. I plan on getting to a complete balanced signal path but need something to start that also performs well on the single ended outputs which perhaps don’t get the attention I’d like from many of the manufacturers. Do you think the Bifrost might perform well in this regard?

I definitely think the Bifrost is good in that regard. There is very little difference between the RCA and XLR outputs. Hope that helps!

@@PassionforSoundThe reason there's little to no difference between the 2 is because there is none. Balanced and single ended operation is not compatible. If you are mixing the 2, steps have to be taken to make the connection the same at both ends. With home audio 90%of the time, the connection defaults to single ended. And the reason for this is simple. A balanced connection requires 3 conductors. 2 signal, 1 ground, and a single ended connection requires 2 conductors, one signal and 1 ground. On the balanced component something has to be done with the 3rd pin. It has electricity running through it with no place to go. At this point I have to stop. How that 3rd pin gets dealt with can differ quite a bit. There's more than one way a component can be balanced. And after a choice is made on how to do it, there are other options, as well. So, even if you have 2 pieces of equipment that are balanced, what was done to make them balanced can be different. With all that being said, the point is that when he connects the 2 pieces, the connection will not be balanced. Using the xlr outputs will be identical to using the rca outputs. If you want to verify that the connection isn't balanced, its very easy to do. When you balance a signal, you naturally end up with 4-6db higher output on the balanced connection. Try it both ways and if the balanced connection isn't louder than the SE connection, its not balanced.

It seems to me that most DS DACs are limited by both the op-amps put inside to keep the price low and keep the size small (as opposed to discrete class A designs like the Gustard X26 Pro) and all of them are limited by the rather basic filters. For me the solution has been to get a well-designed DAC (the Gus) which also has the option to bypass its internal filtering and then feed it HQPlayer-upsampled (and already PCM to DSD converted) signal with the filter of my choice. The difference between this set-up and something like the Topping D90 is night and day. I would be surprised if any of the DACs reviewed here could come close to the sound this produces as the filters are even more advanced than Chord products'. It also didn't cost that much in comparison so I couldn't be happier.

I definitely agree with this, Michal. Greymatterstome, the R2R vs DS topic is a really interesting one, but hard to summarise in a single video because a lot going on with the questions of system synergy and taste added to factors like the filters used by most chip DACs (AKM, ESS, Cirrus Logic, etc.) and then also the output stages as Michal said. The short summary is that DACs built on ESS, AKM, etc. are always going to lack soundstage layering and depth and will tend to present a very left-right wall of sound which some people prefer because it pushes details forwards, but that's still a gross oversimplification.

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Yea. There is nothing iffy about the Musician brand. They are from the same company that makes the Denafrips products. But this approach from the Chinese company just confounds the western users, who are not used to a manufacturer blatantly making similar products under different brandnames. For example, most toasters may be made by one OEM company but since designs are different w different brandnames, no one really questions if there is anything wrong. For this, we can only blame the company behind musician and denafrips for confusing their worldwide audience.

I heard some youtube critics on denafrips clones Rockna's r2r dac but make it much more affordable by cutting corners.

Say more about the fuse? Is it an AC power fuse?

That's interesting info, Berkanan!

@@NeilBlanchard actually there are two fuses; if I remember correctly one is used for 220V and both for 110V, and on forums it is mentioned too that replacing the standard fuse(s) improves performance. I have a Pegasus, and I was aware of the customer support issues with this brand. I just bought it through a trusted European distributor - Audiophonics - so any potential warranty issues will have to be solved by the distributor.

Glad you liked it! Yggy continues to impress, but I agree that it's not the perfect DAC for all setups 🙂

Snow- if you don’t mind sharing, what are your favorite DAC’s for headphones?

@@Ray-dl5mp I haven’t heard everything out there but I very much agree with Lachlan’s ears. I’ve heard the Ares II and it’s too soft/slow for me. Chord stuff I find very clean on its own but they seem to work really well with tube amps. I tried a Holo May + Soloist GT at CanJam and that might have been my favourite setup but not cheap!

@@snowrang3r657 Yeah Lachlan hasn't sterred me wrong yet. I love my SA-1 (big reason I got it was his review). Finally got a fully balanced setup with my modius and I'm blown away. Everything sounds amazing on this thing with my HD600's. Surprised how a lot of orchestra sounds way better than I thought was possible on these headphones too. Just very happy overall, makes you love the hobby when you find something that is so damn good. But of course now I'm curious, should I update the modius to BF2 or something else, ha. But still loving it so far. : ) thanks for your thoughts!

@@snowrang3r657 My favorite so far for headphones setups is Gustard R26 and Soloist GT. I also just added the Gustard U18 DDC and Gustard C18 clock. All I can say is wow. Sounds good to my ears.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Nick. Glad you're enjoying the Draco and the Excalibur would be a great choice of USB for the smoother R2R DACs

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Glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know 🙂

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Glad you liked the review. Have you upgraded to the BF2/64? It's totally worth it IMO and will bring you quite close to the Yggy sound

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The Yggy is still one of the best DACs around for its price. Nice choice IMO 🙂

Great that you got to try them for yourself and hear what each step up brings! I've got the new Modi Multibit 2 here now and I'm looking forward to reviewing it soon

I have the OG MM with the Vali 2++. The combination is extremely musical. There is sense of organic naturalness that is very pleasing.

It's such a great choice!

I can't compare to the old one, but I'll have the Modi+, Modi MB2, Magni+, Magni Heretic and Magni Piety in a video very soon

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Absolutely! I believe Musician are honestly trying to improve there, but I can only talk about the current experiences which were poor.

Did you see his interview? Gumby is gonna be phased out due to demand and supply chain constraints

@@Maver1ck911 I did not, sigh. Thanks for the info. I hope they can put something for 1200-1500 usd range.

@@mar2ky yea I hope so too. It’s just tough probably for Schiit to know what to do in that price range because Biifrost appeals to so many people because of the price under $1k and by all accounts is a great dac subjectively. So the Yggy is like the gold standard but has huge drawbacks like size and price. So if they release a mini Yggy, everyone would buy it but then there would be no point to the more expensive one. And not sure if they can even reduce the size easily and do what they are doing. The only option I could really see if you make a better version of Biifrost for 1k-1.2k but I don’t even know what that would be.

@Mark tbh. Balanced, while better for headroom (hotter line level output) and peace of mind (shielding and ground loop elimination) and taking advantage of full balanced design (so you don't use a summed single ended output)... isn't necessary in 2023. Keep an eye out for used Yggy OG's or LIM versions

@@Maver1ck911 it’s nice if you need the extra power for EQ set ups. Even the objective guy Amir suggests balanced. But I agree if you don’t have a big negative pre amp setting for eq or you don’t use eq, then balanced is probably not needed. It’s all about having enough power for what you’re tying to do.

Both models that are high on my radar for future reviews if I can get my hands on them

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Sorry to hear about that! I haven't tried anything from Kinki yet

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You're in for a treat. Enjoy!

Glad you liked it. We tried to arrange a 3-way Yggy comparison when the LIM and MIL versions were released, but it's a big expense for Schiit to send out review units

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Co masz w kolekcji Michał, bo widze że górna półka cie interesuje. Ja sam amatorsko zagłębiam się w sprzet i muzykę

@@soulfulfool Siemasz, Denafrips Pontus 2 12th, Singxer Sa1, Singxer Su6, Hifiman Arya Stelth, Kable xlr pure silver, kabel 3.5mm 3m silver copper hybrid

My Caldera review came out recently with all that info, Michal. 🙂

@@michabuszynski7326 Pontus 2 to juz wyzsza liga ja sie zastanawiam nad gustard r26. Mialem Arya ale wersja 2 nie przekonaly mnie bo gora byla sztuczna i za ostra, calkiem mozliwe ze twoj Pontus bylby w stanie to naprawic :). Singxer sa1 tez posiadam, kabel hybryde pewnie z Forzy masz. Ja osobiscie przestalem kupowac planary, wole moje dynamiki na lampowym wzmaku. Jak tak lubisz Arya to nie myslales nad Susvara? Cena podobna do Caldery

We tried to arrange that in the early days of the LIM and MIL versions, but it's a big expense for them to ship chunky DACs like that too Australia for review

@@PassionforSound ha yea. It's probably cheaper for them to pay for an all expenses trip for you to come to America. But they do I'm assuming make good profit on each one sold...but what do I know.

I think it's probably a balance of how much they want discussion of certain products compared to the cost of sending those products to reviewers like me. If the product is already selling well then they probably don't feel the need to invest the time and effort in sending out review units. On top of that, parts supplies have been limited at times recently so they'd need to prioritise the paying customers over reviewers

@@PassionforSound Yea that's true. They must be doing well as a company to keep coming out with new products pretty consistently. They probably don't need you to review it as much as I want you to. : ) but that just means I really respect your thoughts on things. Thanks for explaining.

I'd love to share it with you too, Ray. Glad I can provide some reliable info for you

I haven't tested this for myself, but this seems to be very true with many people preferring the R2R DACs for 2-channel (speaker) listening.

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My name's Lachlan, but you're welcome 🙂🙂

@@PassionforSound yea Michael lent the Denafrips you asked us to thank him 8)

Oh, LOL. I forgot - sorry!! 😳😳

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That's interesting about the ladder design being from a single source.

Yes, they'll all sound great. I do think it's worth spending more on the Pontus II and Yggy OG for people wanting max performance, but there's definitely no bad choice here

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My pleasure!!

It's a lovely sounding DAC for sure

I think it's a better choice. I rarely get the same enjoyment from Sigma Delta DACs like I do from Schiit Multibit or Chord DACs

Just ordered the 2/64 today from Schiits Site but it's out about 10+ weeks.

Ouch. It's a long wait, but worthwhile

Thanks for sharing your experiences and confirming what I'm hearing. Glad the Pegasus hit the spot for you - it's definitely a nice DAC

​@@PassionforSound I agree. I also like that you mention the potential issues with customer support of a (any) brand - it is important, because these products aren't cheap, and could break down. As I wrote elsewhere here, I got it through a more local distributor that I trust, and with regional (European) customer protection laws. A direct link with a manufacturer can also be nice just to ask general questions and have discussions, or just tell them that they made a great product. That is a bit of a bummer with a brand like Musician - where this element is compromised.

Hopefully they're improving that side of things - I believe from what they've now said to me that it's their intention to do so.

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I do think the Pontus 2 produces more sense of depth in the soundstage so that's true. I'm not sure about the room reflections though and would need to try them both again to be certain of that one. Unfortunately, the Pontus 2 was on loan so I don't have it here to check.

Yep, my Yggy is huge 🤣😉

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The Qutest displaced my Gungnir Multibit back when I got it so the fact that Yggy OG beats Pontus II and is better than Gumby would suggest that Qutest will be better than Pontus II. I'd love to see how Qutest and Yggy compare!

Just my two pence worth but i had a Qutest for 18 months, later using it with a linear power supply, but i changed it for a Denefrips Ares 2 and i definitely felt that was a better DAC than the Qutest. I then upgraded Ares to Pontus and that was another step up again. for example, i like Radiohead and some of their more experimental and very busy tracks were just a jumbled mess of sound with the Qutest. That improved significantly with the Ares, and they are now a joy to listen to with the Denefrips. i could name dozens of songs with either very congested computerized type notes/tones or songs with very deep bass that the Qutest just couldn't reproduce properly, yet the Denefrips Ares made a much better stab at it and then the Pontus was able to nail it - - Note: i use/used both Denefrips in O/S mode slow filter - Amp is an Auris HA2 SF and headphones were Focal Clear and then Meze Empyreans with Meze silver cable.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Richard

I have the Pontus II and borrowed my friends Qutest to A/B and to my ears it was hard to pick up any differences except Qutest is more mid forward and the Pontus have more airy space between the notes. In the end I couldn’t decide which one I like most so when a Hugo 2 came along on used market I had to buy it to compare it with my Pontus over a longer period. So far after a month or so I still can’t decide as Hugo 2/Qutest adds more weight to vocals while I still enjoy the holographic sound of the Pontus. The filters on the Qutest is also a great feature as it can add more bass if you want it which is a really nice pairing with my Cayin Ha-300B and Susvara :)

Both are great DACs so it's always going to be hard to choose and often will come down to the particular track as to which sounds better. Glad you got to spend time with both!

That's some nice setups you've got there, John! I'm so glad you ended up with the Pontus instead of the Pegasus. Peace of mind is invaluable 🙂

@@PassionforSound And it was you Lachlan that swayed me into buying the Burson 3X GT

@@johnhallkenney Any of your own thoughts on the comparison between Bifrost 2/64, Pontus II and RME ADI-2 FS? Thanks

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It will only click when changing sample rates which means it won't interrupt gapless playback of a single album. When it does click, it's about the same as most other relay-based devices I've tried. It's not loud enough to hear in another room, but it's loud enough that you won't miss hearing it when you're in the same room.

@@PassionforSound thank you for the detailed response. That is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much.

I wanted to thank you for this video and your recent reply. I ended up with the Pontius 2 12th anniversary. I'm astounded with the sound. It's not like the occasional track gains missing details. Every track is like a new recording. The instruments no longer hug the individual speakers but finally sounds contiguous across the soundstage. This video and your response was very helpful to me. Thanks! 😊

That's wonderful news! Thanks so much for letting me know.

I can only work with what I have, but I'm keen to try the Venus if I get the chance

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I'd love to play with some audiophile fuses in the future

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Yes, for those wanting DSD, it's an instant deal breaker

Thanks!

Great info, Peter - thank you! Musician have been in touch with me since this video went public and it seems a combination of slow responses and spam filters led to the issues I discussed here. They're taking responsibility and looking to improve which is great news. Hopefully we'll have some new Musician products to play with in the future

@@PassionforSound Forgot to mention I enjoyed the video! A couple more notes from when I owned the Pegasus: The AES input gives the most slamming bass. The I2S is the cleanest and most detailed. I rarely used the USB input, because it was too gentle and soft in its attack. Using a DDC with either AES or I2S was far more satisfying for most music. The Denafrips style lid was changed in Musician dacs manufactured after April 2021. I guess they also noticed the confusion it caused as it was such a distinct design obviously connecting them to Denafrips. The firmware upgrade I mentioned fixed an issue that both Denafrips and Musician had with skipping or popping noise over the toslink, coax, AES and I2S inputs. It was a bug in the buffering system that causes asynchronous inputs to overrun the buffer and cause a reset. This manifested in a skipping or popping noise that happened every couple hours or so. The firmware upgrade fixed it completely. In case someone else is also having that problem, it’s fixable. If you’re not having that problem, don’t bother upgrading the firmware, because it doesn’t do anything like change how the dac sounds. Only bug fixes.

@@PeterHas Still enjoying your Pegasus btw =) What did you use to feed into I2S?

@@ekjellgren Glad to hear it! I used an Audio GD DI-20 for I2S. One thing to keep in mind with I2S is the pinout scheme. There is no formal standard, but most companies have converged on using the PS Audio standard. That's what the Pegasus uses, and also the DI-20. Since I bought the DI-20 several newer DDCs have come on the market that are about €200 cheaper. I expect you'll get equally good results with one of those, because they seem to use the same Accusilicon clocks inside. I got the DI-20 from Audiophonics, which is also where I bought the Pegasus. They have a good selection of DDCs in their "Digital Interfaces" category.

I've actually got an Abbas DAC on loan from a patron and it runs a TDA1541 and sounds great. As for Audio Note, I don't currently have any contacts with them, but I'm always on the lookout for new products to review

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Glad you liked the video and the channel. Unfortunately, the Okto was new to me until I read your comments.

That will be a system synergy thing, as you say. And yes, the Yggy won't help with that. Best to stick to the Pontus. 🙂

Glad you liked it! Still the TT2 for me (with M-Scaler)

I'm keen to try one - haven't heard it yet

@@PassionforSound highly recommended

You sure did!

@@PassionforSound I still want to hear Ares II. Maybe one day

I gather that it is best on speakers rather than headphones. On headphones, I don't think you're missing anything special.

I can understand people better bitter about being ghosted or poor service for sure, that is fair game. However, the speculation about being a rip-off, clone, is just that and not worth perpetuating. Truth is we have no idea what agreements business have in china together. Could be an OEM job but why paint it in such a negative light. There are tons of brands in China which produced products that look exactly the same except their label.

@@User_not_found_403 It is an OEM job as admitted by chief Denafrips designer. Of course this is not at all a bad thing by itself. Bad or non existent customer support and service is.

Thanks for the info about the origins of the Musician brand. I also completely agree that I don't care about the clone side of things and wouldn't have even raised it if it weren't for the very poor communication and support leading me to questioning the whole company

@@PassionforSound Its a shame that many customers have had poor service with Musician. Not only that, but several KZfaq reviewers. I had a good experience with them (or at least their reseller/distributer). Mine was an earlier release of Pegasus which needed some type of upgrade to get proper I2S working. I just handled the shipping and the reseller did an excellent job of managing the whole upgrade process for me. In terms of SQ you seemed to have the same experience I did. Having owned both Ares II and Pegasus. Pegasus was what the Ares II was missing - provided that extra detail and and resolution at a slightly higher cost. Maybe you could call it a baby Pontus.

That's good to hear you've had a better experience by going through a reseller. Glad you've been able to enjoy the Pegasus because it's a lovely DAC. As for the service experience I had, Musician have reached out and identified the cause of the communication issues so hopefully they'll fix the service challenges and share some new products for review in the future

He's comparing the Yggy OG. Not everyone likes the LIM better, apparently.

There's a fairly even split between OG and LIM based on everything I've read (and based on subjective impressions)

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The measurements don't tell the whole story because there are some measurements that ASR don't do and also we don't necessarily completely understand how to interpret all measurements to make a complete picture of the subjective experience. Great measuring gear can sound great and it can sound flat and lifeless. "Poorly" measuring gear (i.e. not top of the SINAD chart) can also sound great or it can sound terrible too

@@PassionforSound I agree that it may be difficult to interpret how the measurements will affect sound quality. I think Amir from ASR himself doesn't necessarily know how important Sinad is. However without looking back at the original evaluations, distortion was measured for Bifrost and Yggy which should be audible and therefore not a good thing and Amir could not recommend them.

It all depends on the type of distortion (2nd order, 3rd order, intermodulation vs static noise, etc.) and, probably more importantly, is the fact that the levels of distortion Amir might consider unsatisfactory are often still way below the distortion levels of a headphone driver so it's a bit of a non-issue and the Yggy OG continues to be one of the subjectively best sounding DACs I have tried at the price.

@@PassionforSound Can I ask if you did this comparison test blind as expectation bias can also influence subjective listening tests. If you have read or listened to reviews from other reviewers you are expecting a piece of gear to sound a certain way and then you are looking for those things when listening so you are priming yourself to make a similar assessment of a product. Also you may not really want to disagree with other reviewers for fear of being the only one to think differently about something. I am not saying you would do this knowingly but sometimes we may not be fully aware of the things influencing us.

I have tried blind testing and sighted testing in the past and both have their drawbacks. I'll do a video about this in the future. The short answer is that I didn't blind test, but I also hadn't watched reviews of the Pegasus or Pontus II and I've owned the BF264 and Yggy OG for ages now. I also make a point of deliberately testing my first impressions by coming back at a later time and listening again while seeking to prove my original impressions wrong. This is a way we can overcome unconscious biases if they are present. Based on your questions, I'd guess that you're splitting time between ASR and the rest of the audio world. Please be mindful that the ASR community as a whole has a fairly singular, black and white view of this hobby. In my experience, there's a LOT of grey area that's not completely understood scientifically and also there's the grey areas of preference, taste and synergies between gear. I'm not discouraging you from visiting ASR, just encouraging that you maintain an open mind and keep asking questions without forming your own pre-conceived ideas of what's right and wrong.

Thanks Andrea

I'll generally always use the balanced outputs for these sorts of comparisons and will always say otherwise if I don't. In this case, it was balanced outputs from all DACs.

I'm yet to hear the Venus II so I can't help there - sorry!

Definitely!

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I didn't actually test this with the Pontus - sorry! I wouldn't expect much difference other than maybe a subtly different soundstage presentation, but that's just my estimation based on experiences with other devices.

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The EF400 is nice, but it's a decent step behind these DACs based on my experiences (I think I compared the EF400 and Bifrost 2 in my big all-in-one shootout video)

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I will say as well. I do wish the Phoenix shared more of the design with the Aquarius. The text on the front of the Phoenix is two different fonts, whereas on the Aquarius the font is unified. The buttons are also different between the two. The brush of the aluminium goes a different way on the top panel between them. The faceplate is thicker on the Aquarius. The side panels don't match either. And, most egregious of all, the dimensions of the boxes don't match! Placing the Aquarius on top of the Phoenix gives me quite a sizable overhang at the back! Giving that both of these are their TOTL units I thought they should use the same design. It seems like the boxes were made in a different factory or something? I'm surprised Sandu didn't pick up on all this in his review of the duo. But! The sound is absolutely fantastic, so it's kind of nit picking really. I chose these because I wanted a high precision, fully balanced, OCXO timed, fully discrete R2R DAC setup (digital head-fi done 'properly' imo) for a relatively affordable price. And I couldn't be more pleased with the sound. Granted, I haven't had years of gear auditioning.

Musician have actually reached out to me and explained what happened (without making excuses) so I think there'll be some more Musician products on the channel in future which is great. Glad to hear how much you're enjoying the Phoenix and Aquarius!

@@PassionforSound I look forward to hearing your opinions on the Aquarius! I found it sounding a little bit thin on it's own, but with the Phoenix in place it sounds nicely full-bodied.

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Didn't forget. Chord DACs are Delta Sigma. The Mojo 2 and Bifrost 2/64 are on about the same level, but I don't have a Qutest here to compare - sorry.

Good question! I think it's about on the same level as the Bifrost 2/64

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I generally prefer Chord DACs because R2R can be a bit too soft on the transients/attack. Chord DACs don't always provide the same amount of maximum soundstage space as R2R DACs, but they tend to provide more texture and image focus so it's all a trade-off

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I don't completely agree with Mike because products like Chord exist, but in general I do agree with him (although not quite as extremely) 😉 Musician have actually reached out to me since this video went public and it seems there were some email issues with spam filters, etc. involved. The service was still substandard, but they've taken responsibility for it which is great and hopefully they'll lift their game and share some more products with us in the future.

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I'd love to, but I've had no luck getting a review unit so far ☹️

for me my set up. pontus2 wins over r26. r26 has good soundstage, 3d holographic. sound detail. but. pontus2 has life like mid micro detail top notch that gives you feeling. r26 dac has dead sound

I've got an R26 on the way. I'm keen to give it a try and see how it stacks up...

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I don't know how it works exactly on all these models, but oversampling is used to help filter out issues caused by the digital to analog reconstruction process so it can be theoretically helpful depending on how it's done

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And yet, I don't love most Burr Brown devices I've tried. It's been a long time since I tried an iFi DAC so I need to revisit that if I get the chance, but there's always been something missing for me with the BB DACs

@@PassionforSound or maybe Merason Frerot? Haven't heard it but had a v good review on NRD

I'll have to look into that one - not one I've heard of before

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The J2 ESS isn't, but I'm hoping to get an AKM J2 soon to check

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You'll generally find that there's lots of negative chatter about most brands that sell a high volume of products. The challenge is that people love to get online and complain, but far less people will get online to applaud or to simply say that nothing has gone wrong in the first place so it appears like the are all kinds of problems when we're really only seeing one side of the story that may be a significant minority. I'm not defending Schiit here. This is true for many brands so my point is just that it's important to consider if it's a loud minority or if there's really an issue.

That's going to be relative across devices because it's impossible to say what's right/wrong. I find a lot of Aune devices to be a bit too smooth and warm so one could just as easily say that the Aune is wrong, but the reality is that it's just different. I think you're probably experiencing the situation where you're used to the combination of your current headphones/earphones with the Aune and they perhaps don't match as well with the SG1 for your tastes.

@@PassionforSound thank you,...I am keeping the pegasus,...the initial impression is stil there, its overal sound presentation is somthing and I managed to eq down 2 - 3 khz by 1.5 db resulting in abou 2.5 in between so I feel safer now :),

I'm glad to hear that! I believe different firmware versions might change the sound a bit too so you could look around for other firmware of you're interested

This one is newly released to the public, but patrons got access AGES ago when I first produced it. As for the Geshelli J2, I'm hoping to have the AKM version coming soon and will be sure to discuss and compare with Bifrost 2

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I'd say the Pontus II is fuller and warmer 🙂

I can't answer that, Robert. I've done my best on a different comment of yours, but I've not used the software so I don't know what exactly it's outputting

@@PassionforSound Actually i think ive solved it. I was misunderstanding whats happening. the software is virtually synthesizing surround and unlike a receiver isnt putting out actual dolby signal. so i tested it on 3 dacs and i still get "surround sound" from the dolby software since its not actually dolby signal but software trickery

Perfect. That means you can safely choose whatever DAC you want! 🎉🙂

I haven't tried the 12th Edition - sorry!

It's one of a few that I'm rotating now to keep things fresh. Glad you like it!

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I haven't tried that one and currently have no contact with M2Tech. That's not to say it won't happen, but I have no immediate plans.

Gungnir has actually gone back in performance due to part shortage like Clock regeneration is now using lesser known part and component

@@SAURAV2k3 Gungnir should be phased out - IMO - Bifrost 2/64 is better and costs less

I think at this point, the Gungnir isn't a great choice and the BF2/64 probably makes more sense. I would definitely choose the BF2/64 over the Ares II too

@@PassionforSound I actually should have my hekv2 stealth arriving this week - I wonder about the conductor 3 gt longer term

The Conductor GT is brilliant! Hope you love the HE1kV2S 😉

Just get the Bifrost 2 and stop overthinking it.

@@SonGokuhSSJ unfortunately I'm not in the position where I can swap and change things. It will take time to save up to buy something like this, and once its done, I wont be buying another dac again. So it is important that I "overthink" and make sure that the final decision is the correct one

I have never had the chance to compare the two side-by-side, but knowing that the Qutest was better than my old Gungnir Multibit (Unison 5, Analog 1 version), I'd expect the Qutest to still edge out the Bifrost 2. However... if you don't have the two side-by-side to compare, I doubt you'll ever feel like you're missing a thing and the BF2/64 brings them even closer to the point that maybe they're at identical performance levels. If BF2 suits your preferences in terms of being balanced and mains powered then go for it! You won't regret it I think

@@PassionforSound I dont know much about the gungnir, other than it being a higher priced model than the bifrost 2, and I'd have assumed better performing. So, do you feel that the 2/64 would outperform the gungnir as well then?

@@shreddherring Gungnir hasn't been updated in a while. The OG Bifrost 2 was already very close to the Gungnir to the point that Schiit did not update the op-amps in the Bifrost 2, presumably to hold it back a bit compared to the Gungnir. The 2/64 upgrade takes it even closer in performance to the point where I would not really recommend a Gungnir over a Bifrost 2. EIther get the Bifrost 2/64 and save some cash or hold out for something better than both Gungnir and Bifrost 2. My recommendation if you are in the market for an R2R DAC like the Schiit multibits is to get a Denafrips Pontus. It's more expensive than the Bifrost 2/Gungnir but less than a Qutest and sounds better than all of them. It also has all the things you are looking for.

Holo May is on a different level of performance to any of these. I'd say Pontus II is headed in a similar direction in terms of sound quality and performance and I'd likely choose Pontus II over the Spring, but May is brilliant!

@@PassionforSound Thanks! I ended up going with the May. I was also considering Hugo TT2. How would you compare it to the May without the M-scaler?

I still slightly prefer the TT2 because of the inbuilt amp and preamp capabilities so the value it provides is excellent. You can also use HQ Player on both if you want to so the TT2 is my preference, but May is also outstanding and will appeal to some people more.

No. It was on loan only

I'm looking forward to the J2 AKM review too. No news on it yet, but I'm sure it'll happen once the backlogs are all clear with Geshelli. As for the Pegasus power supply, it doesn't have dual power supplies so maybe it's an Ares II clone after all.

@@PassionforSound Right - it certainly looks like it is. It lacks the second coax input that the Ares II has, though. I use 2 coax cables - one from my Node 2i (also with an LPS upgrade) and the other from my Audiolab CDT6000 CD transport. The J2 has two coax; though one is on the front, making it a little less convenient - the cable has to be routed kind of awkwardly.

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​@@NeilBlancharddo you still have the Geshelli? What version do you use? Thanks in advance.

@@dansisternas9158 I have upgraded to the J2S AKM 4499EX. I am using the Sparkos SS2590 dual mono unit in the RCA socket. I am using a custom LPS from Pine Tree Audio. It is glorious!

They're quite similar (depending on the quality of your cables), but I believe Mike Moffat (Schiit's lead digital expert) favours coaxial so I'd go with that

@PassionforSound ok I'm now using coaxial cable , for my stream and xlr from bitfrost to jotuneim 2 and oh boy the sound is so realistic , better than the way I had it at first

That's great news!

@PassionforSound oh by the way , wave you tuber advised me to try the rca connection and that should help take away some of the thin sound I was hearing via the balance xlr connection and it did .

It's in their production queue and in my schedule already :)

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There's generally no issue using any inputs on most modern DACs. I've almost stopped testing the various inputs because the differences between them are irrelevant and are no more significant than the differences between the interconnects used. In other words, I'd probably recommend the Pontus II or the next model up from Denafrips depending on exact pricing where you are.

@@PassionforSound Thx so much! That really helped me 👍I'm already deep into the hobby and you are the channel that confirms the most or maybe all things I experienced so far 👌

So glad I've been able to help!

@@PassionforSound one last question I would really like to to know is whether you tried (a) different power cable(s) on your dacs and which differences that made. Because if this is an upgrade I would happily do at first if there is one. If so which power cables can you refer to when using the bifrost 264 🤔

I use all Supra power cables and filtering power boards for my audio gear (I've got a full review on the channel - just search Supra LoRad Passion for Sound) Power cables are a subtle upgrade for gear, but I do think they're a worthwhile step and the good news is that, once you own them, they work on all future gear too.

I don't think there's enough difference to say any input is better or worse. Given that the interconnect chosen can also influence the sound, I'd say they're as close as makes no difference

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Which DAC are you referring to, Robert?

@@PassionforSound you are absolutely correct sir, I apologize. The musician Pegasus. I loved the review and the Pegasus addresses the issues that made the Ares not worthy as a mmo RPG gaming dac. I Dont necessarily need fps pinpoint accuracy in surround but dolby encoding is important for immersion in story driven rpgs and mmos.

I'm not aware of any R2R DACs that will process Dolby Surround formats, Robert. However, if the processing is done in the software and output as an augmented stereo signal (i.e. a stereo signal altered to create the surround effect) then it should be absolutely fine.

@@PassionforSound Agreed..now to decide if i should get the musician pegasus or the bifrost 2/64... love your channel. you should be MUCH bigger!

There are mixed reports of some people getting service via their retailers, but I agree that it's been iffy to date

Just that I can only work with what I have handy. I do want to try and get some Audio-gd products this year if I can

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