11/19/2023 0 Comments Schiit stack with surround soundBut here, those shiny knobs give Schitt’s otherwise very basic forms a slightly more elevated look. The volume control knob on the Freya+ and the source selection buttons on both units are very shiny, which I know is a primitive small-brain sort of thing to point out, but in general I don’t find Schiit to be all that great about aesthetic details. Both my units are industrial silver, which I always prefer, although the Bifrost 2 does come in black. They both feature the curved sled front, where the front face and the top plate are one single bent sheet of aluminum that slides on to cover the bottom, sides, and back, where the guts reside. Overall, both the Freya+ and the Bifrost 2 exemplify Schiit Design Theory Principles. Historically, Schiit remotes have been a little on the boring plastic-afterthought side, but this is a nice little hefty thing. And finally, most important of all, there’s a remote, a very nice, heavy slab of aluminum with mute, volume, output mode selection, and input selection. The volume control uses a relay-switched stepped attenuator so there’s some fun clicking when it turns. There are a total of five inputs, two balanced and three unbalanced, along with one balanced output and two unbalanced outputs. Schiit claims the Freya+ tube stage is “whisper-silent,” and I found that to be more or less accurate, but tubes are never going to be perfect. They start making weird sounds they hiss, fart, burp, and make all other manner of very rude noises. Which also means that if the tubes ever go out, you can switch over to the solid-state mode while they’re being replaced. It functions in one of three modes: passive differential solid-state buffer for balanced outputs and differential tube gain for that sweet, syrupy tube sound. So to simplify just a bit, the Bitfrost 2 is a serious DAC with the ability to play a wide range of files, accepts USB, coax, and optical inputs, and works on most platforms. But truth be told, I’m not much of a digital person, and a lot of the technical jargon goes above my head, and I suspect that holds true for the majority of hi-fi listeners. It accepts formats up to 24/192 on all inputs (USB, coax, optical). The Bifrost2 also includes a remote control (for source switching and phase inversion) and balanced outputs, which is nice. It changed out the power supply, switched to a new 18-bit Analog Devices AD5781ARUZ D/A converter, swapped in that new custom USB, and made future updates easier. Beyond that, Schiit took the original Bifrost and gave it some upgrades. The Bifrost 2 also incorporates a new proprietary USB input, called Unison USB. Starting out and working my way in, the Bifrost 2 is a “True Multibit” DAC, employed in conjunction with Schiit’s custom in-house digital filter. I’ve wanted to review a full Schiit system for a while now, and recently settled for a nearly full Schiit system instead: the Freya+ preamplifier ($899) and the updated Bifrost 2 DAC ($699). It’s also all made in America, and its designs are admirably consistent across component categories. It’s an impressive line of products, and one that has largely remained in the sub-$1k range, which in itself is worth talking about. Or at least they have enough reasonably priced products to furnish a full system ( sans loudspeakers), whether it be on the desktop or full two-channel.
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