Sometimes It's Immediately Obvious

In a previous post I described how I was disappointed in one of my new acquisitions – the Kara F preamplifier from Schiit Audio, after being so deeply impressed with the pair of Schiit Audio Tyr monoblocks I added to add some muscle to my system, and which have quickly proven themselves as champions.

The Kara F preamp is a nice unit, but it's not in my system's class. So it's on its way back to the fine folks at Schiit Audio in San Antonio.

Today the next piece in the puzzle arrived: Schiit Audio's award-winning Yggdrasil+ digital-to-analog converter, which has been reviewed as competing well with $20,000 - $35,000 models, despite costing less than $3000.

Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, class act DAC and then some

Got it out of the box, connected it and listened a bit.

Within about 2 minutes, I had an immediate verdict: this puppy isn't going back, not ever. Even cold, right out of the box, it's a star. Warm, rich, but clear and transparent sound. The Bryston BDA-3 that it replaces is a fine DAC, without a question. But the Yggy wipes the floor with it.

I may not be a total out-there audiophile, but I haven't the slightest problem recognizing a class act when I hear one.