A few of you have asked about taking one leg of the XLR balanced outputs to feed a single ended input, instead of simply using the single ended output as provided by the designers of the DAC.
For some background, see these links:
http://www.tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/Schiit_mod.htmlhttp://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,2346.msg73846.html#msg73846http://www.head-fi.org/t/766347/schiit-yggdrasil-impressions-thread/420#post_11774881The idea behind this was to bypass the summing circuit from the differential outputs of the two DAC chips (per channel). I don't know where people get these cockamany ideas, but maybe they were thinking Ragnarok where the summing circuit does indeed degrade the sound significantly. The Ragnarok is a totally different situation though. Also, some people seem to have interpreted some comments from Jason regarding this mod as a something Schiit has "blessed". I've said this before and will say it again:
Basically XLR to XLR or phono to phono or XLR to phono via pro box with transformer. No explody anything. I like to keep things simple and as the designers designed it. There's is a solid reason why the designers put in the summing circuit instead of just taking a leg off the balanced. (I actually know some of the more nuanced reasons why, but I am not gonna say.) Fricking enjoy your Yggy instead of worrying about "increasing" sound quality based on recommendations from quacks and retards who want to sell you magic stickers and cables.However, there is no harm in trying. So I've decided to try this myself so you guys don't have to waste your money by having some dude charge you $120 for cables that cost $10 in parts or use cables that make something explode or pop. For this experiment, I've decided to use my own Golden Urine brand cables (see below). They are the second best XLR -> SE cables ever invented by mankind. If you would like to purchase a set, I will gladly sell them to for you $55 + shipping.
For this test, I used the ZD and various headphones (HP1000 and HD650). The Yggy was fed by the Theta Data III via AES. The CD used was Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues - the remaster from middle 2000s.
Here are my notes:
Ravi SE - > SE cables (using SE output from Yggy)- Deeper stage with more precise placement
- More refined. More focused.
- More resolving. Better spacial cues.
- Better texture in bass.
Golden Urine XLR -> SE cables (taking on phase of XLR output of Yggy)- Collapsed soundstage depth.
- Blurry. "Lower fidelity". Hard to describe.
- Decreased resolution. Feeling of discomfort because all the plankton I heard before and got used to isn't quite there.
- Loss of texture in bass (e.g. string buzzing in bass not as clearly heard)
- Possibly 1-2% blacker background and less veil. This is difficult to ascertain because of #2.
Overall, differences are small.
RECOMMENDATION:Don't be a retard. It appears that the designers of the Yggy know what they are doing. But I do have speshal cables to sell you.
