Marv, if you are bored for Xmas, we could suggest on HF some more random questions :


- I've found cheap dac based on TDA1541/1543 chips on ebay. Does their sound have something to do with your theta Gen V ?
- Do you think the Future Metrum DAC will blow out the water the Iggy ?
- Do you think God has something to do with the sound accuracy?
- Are you the fuckin Messiah?
- I've read here or there that you are the Messiah... I'm a bit doubtful. Can you prove it and change my Odac in something better right now?

etc... I've gob of ideas 

300 Eur difference "depending on finish"!  Love it. 

He never did wander in here, did he?

Marv, ever listen to any of the Audio Notes (kit or production)?

I'll follow up on the pre-GAIN, GAIN, and GAIN2 MoFi releases. I obtained several CDs using each of these A-D conversions. While recording and mixing quality varied with the tapes MSFL used, the A-D process definitely sounded different. Another thing I noticed is that MSFL mastering was consistent and actually better pre-bankruptcy.

TRUST BUT VERIFY

2012 THE SHOW: I remember sitting down with Mike Moffat and Jason Stoddard. Gungnir and Mjolnir protos were on display. Somehow the conversation turned toward DACs (and at this time, I had zero idea that Mike Moffat was the "father of the stand-alone DAC" and Theta.) I guess this conversation was probably an extension of the conversation that I had with Jason about the Gungnir at the headphone meet at The Village. My comment to Jason regarding Gungnir: "could it be more resolving?"

Schiit seemed to be planning a true multi-bit DAC (R2R, ladder, etc.); and I was asking what they were using to use for D-A, i.e. the PCM1704 or something else. (I knew the delta-sigma stuff was out of the question). Mike poopoo'ed the idea of the PCM1704 and started going off about "military, aerospace, medical", etc. A little bit oblique huh? Well not really when we look back. We get more hints later on.

So fast forward two years, and it's pretty much "Hey Jason, how's that DAC coming along? What are you using for A-D?". Sometime in mid 2014, I get the sense the DAC really is going forward. Jason's yapping about special DSP: filter algorithms which were the result of gov't and monopoly subsidized R&D in earlier in the century which could not be realized at that time (no computers), divide-by-zero math, closed-form math, keeping the original samples, yadda, yadda, yadda. Sounds interesting, but my head is spinning. Mike follows up on the military and medical application aspect in an interview posted online. In the interview, Mike alludes to accuracy: missiles not hitting hospitals or cancer showing up correctly on medical imaging devices. Also, I realize Schiit always preferred the PCM63, which they considered the best R2R chip up to now.

So basically, at this point I'm like WTF? Is this just a bunch of BS marketing or do all these factors (special DSP, no PCM1704, milspec accuracy) actually correlate into good sound. Knowing Jason, I have never ever heard him say anything directly or explicitly about how Schiit's gear sounded - he has always let me use my own ears. However, I had had never seen Jason say so much indirectly, albeit in marketing terms, about a product, so I figured something was up. Might the Yggy be a game changer?

Yggy wasn't close to being out, but I was very curious. I no had to reason not to trust Jason; he had certainty earned my trust over time, particularly from private conversations and critiques regarding Schiit gear.

Anyways, the adage "TRUST NO ONE" espoused by a handful of Head-Fi'ers is nonsense. Trust to me is something that is earned over time. I prefer to TRUST BUT VERIFY, mainly because I'm curious when it comes to audio, and also because I've been an auditor for the past seven years or so. I know it was probably less than a half-year to Yggy's release, but I couldn't wait to try to verify Schiit's marketing claims and how of if they correlated to good sound.

TO BE CONTINUED