Gungnir sound before and after multi-bit upgrade?

WTF - Thanks for the feedback. Did you purchase a "stock" BiFrost and then upgrade it to Multibit?

@wtf 
Hey wtf, thanks for the follow up.  Glad to read your positive experience with the multi bit upgrade and favorable comparison to the Chord Qute.  I quickly checked price on that.  What HiFi had it at 990 British Pounds back in their Oct 2014 review...so that's some strong company for the Bifrost.  Thanks again.  

@docknow 

Jim - Thank you very much for your encouraging reply.  Did you get the Ygg with multi bit?  I'm guess you would have.  

I've been looking for reviews on-line.  A certain "rightness to the sound" post-MB upgrade seems a common theme.  I guess my concern is spending $500 for MB on my Gungnir when it already sounds so good.  Several things have recently made a big difference in my system w/respect to sound associated with the unmodified Gungnir.  Running balanced out from Gungnir to a Schiit Freya pre-amp was huge.  I'm not experiencing digital glare that is often mentioned with digital.  Could spending for multi bit it really make it sound 5 bills worth of better?  

"I can't wait to get home at night and get into my chair."
That's the best endorsement right there.  Thanks again for your time.

Had lost track of this question.  

FWIW - sent the Gungnir into Schiit yesterday via FedEx ground.  It is supposed to get there Wed 5-24.  A day or two in the shop, expect I will get it back first week of June.  

Thanks, doc.  
I hope what I think ain’t, "I just wasted $500 bucks!".
We shall see...or, more appropriately, "hear" I suppose.
In the absence of the Gungnir, running Aries Mini USB out to V-Link 192 and then via D-750 coax to the DAC in a TEAC CD3000 (also has balanced out) to Freya pre. Things are sounding discouragingly good ;-)

Hey @kdude66  - 
Thanks for posting.  Real helpful input given the original question that started the thread.  I guess we can say, "You weren't as happy as a pig in Schiit" and leave it at that.

Update
Received the Gungnir with multi bit upgrade today. Going on 7 hours since putting it back in the system.

On first getting the Gungnir installed, put Peter Gabriel’s "So" (CD ripped as ALAC file to external hard drive) on repeat from the Aries Mini (USB >>V-Link 192>>DH Labs D-750>>SPDIF Gungnir).

In the first few minutes after starting playback, things sounded noticeably brighter and somewhat harsh and "tizzy". Put the amp on mute and just let the file play through the Gungnir and Freya.

Started listening in earnest 6 hours later. Treble tizziness and harshness were gone. Improvements I noticed vs stock Gungnir:
Wider sound stage
Greater clarity...micro details better defined
Cymbals sound a lot more metallic and "shimmery" for lack of a better adjective
Percussive sounds have a firmer edge to them
Front to back depth is a little more evident
A bit more "heft" to the music (e.g., plucked strings)

Liked the Gungnir before the upgrade. Like it even more now. Hoping there’s further sonic "blossoming" with more hours. If it stays as it is, that’s okay too.

"...[a] bigger more powerful presentation, with deeper wider sound stage, and with more foot tapping bounce to the music."

@georgehifi - I think that quote pretty much nails it as far as my perception of the Gungnir post-multibit.  Thanks for the comments. Glad to get some affirmation we’re not entirely delusional. Foot tapping bounce is the real bottom-line.

@stfoth - I am very happy with the Freya/Gungnir combination. I am using the Freya in JFET buffered mode almost exclusively. I actually pulled the tubes. No point burning them if not listening through them.

FWIW -I had posted some comments about the Freya on another thread ("Do I need a new preamp", maybe) I did run the Gungnir with a different tube pre-amp (Opera Consonance Ref 50; 2-6H30s & EZ80 rectifier) for a good few years before getting the Freya. I thought that pairing sounded great...and it did - but the Freya brought a more "refined" sound. Another plus for the Freya is the balanced design. I thought running balanced ICs made a positive difference. Or at least, that’s the delusional gestalt we got going here. Good luck with the Freya (do give it plenty of time to "burn in"). Hope you like it.

Points to you, kdude, for originality and a timely rejoinder (not to mention additional useful input). And yes...as a matter of fact, I am.

Hey @kdude66
I do sincerely hope the YGG works out for you. That there is top of the Schiit (DAC) pile! Of course your past listening experience, the gear you are comparing it to, expectations and interaction with the rest of your system are going to be major factors affecting the verdict.

The only advice I can offer is to run that thing 24/7 with some kind of burn in CD when you first get it. I run continuously track 9 of the XLO test cd. No need to have amp and speakers playing, of course. Just be outputting signal through the DAC. The Gungnir took a good long while before it opened up (can’t remember hours; I had the stock Gungnir several years before I sent it off for the multibit update). When I first got it, the Gungnir’s highs were definitely rolled off sounding which also lead to a closed in soundstage. It was quite dark sounding, initially. It did open up, however. I do leave mine powered up 24/7 even after break in.

I can also say it responds to cable changes and that balanced seems better to me than single ended. Intelligibility of vocals is much improved with balanced (or so I think).

Anyway, good luck. Maybe you too will be able to brag about the piece of Schiit you have in your system ;-)

FWIW (if you haven’t seen it) - a pretty active Yggdrasil thread on HeadFi.org. Entertaining, if nothing more...

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/schiit-yggdrasil-impressions-thread.766347/page-348

gdnrbob - Hope you like what you hear with the Multibit mod.

gdnrbob - I just got the Multibit upgrade latter part of May.  Started the process May 16 or 17.  The authorization to ship in my Gungnir for the upgrade came very quickly after I completed the on-line order form at the Schiit website - same day or, at most, the next day.  Once they received it, was only  a day or day and a half before I got notice it was done and being shipped back.  The entire process seemed efficient and fast to me.  Time in transit during shipping was the main delay.    

Glad the Ygg is working out in your system, Kenny.  Schiit Audio seems like "the real deal" in terms of designing and mftg. affordable, great sounding equipment.  For me, the MB upgrade to the Gungnir is turning out to be even better than what I had first thought.      

@gdnrbob
Did you fill out the form to join the que for the MB upgrade? The more I listen to the G w/MB the more certain I am it was money well spent. Continues to sound better and better.

re, "...they will not comment on what makes the various models sound better."
Schiit is a bit of quirky outfit. I had called at one point to find out what they recommended cable-wise...ICs and maybe power cord. Can’t recall if it was for the Gungnir or an Asgard 2. The response was something along the lines of "we don’t believe in cables". That’s NOT an exact quote but is the gist of what was communicated.  The tone was definitely "blunt".  I guess I can understand them not wanting to get sucked into the whole cable controversy, especially given how system (and listener) dependent results with different cables can be. It just wasn’t the helpful sort of response I was expecting.

Anyway, good luck in your further dealings with them. Hope you do get the MB upgrade.

Another followup post re the Gungnir MB upgrade...

Am continuing to enjoy how music is sounding, mostly listening to ripped CDs or Tidal through an Aries Mini via Black Cat Silverstar 75 SPDIF to MF V-Link 192 to Gungnir. After listening to a ripped CD of Clapton’s 461 Ocean Blvd., I decided to listen to an old vinyl copy of "There’s One in Every Crowd". Usually, switching from digital to vinyl playback, I’ve noticed a greater fullness and "mellowness" associated with vinyl. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I was struck by how little difference there seemed to be switching from digital to vinyl. As others have said, seems like the MB upgrade has resulted in a more analog-like "feel" to digital playback.

Bob - Doing the MB to the Gungnir seems to have transformed it into a different product altogether. I’m not given to exaggeration; often things some call "huge" I either can’t hear or simply find to be subtle and inconsequential. Upgrade doesn’t really convey the significance of this change, however. Can’t tell you how to spend your $. If you got the scratch, I’m guessing Yggdrasil would be the way to go but personally, I don’t see me feeling the need for another DAC for a long time. I was leery about spending the $ but it ended up being good value for money. Thanks again to DPatterson for recommending it.

An afterthought - look to your digital coax.  Before the upgrade I liked the way things sounded using a DH Labs SilverSonic D750 coax more than the Stereovox XV-2 SPDIF I had.  Afterwards the XV-2 took front seat.  It sounded very very good.  Recently I switched to a Black Cat Silversonic 75 SPIDF cable.  The sound is insanely good and certainly a contributor to my enthusiasm.  I auditioned several digital cables from The Cable Co. - worth considering to maximize what you already have component-wise.

@gdhal - 

Just today ordered an Eitr USB/SPDIF converter from Schiit.  Placed the order around 9:30AM (my time - 3 hrs ahead of Calif) and got an email from Schiit right at noon saying my order had shipped.  Was picked up by USPS 2:40 this afternoon.  

Truly sorry for your long wait...but I'm guessing it's for a legitimate reason and not incompetence on their part.  Hope the Yggdrasil is worth the wait.  By all accounts, I expect it will be.