John Darko
In 2021, Schiit Audio created two new variants of its flagship Yggdrasil DAC. The Yggdrasil ‘Less Is More’ (LIM) and the Yggdrasil ‘More Is Less’ (MIL) would be sold alongside the original model with the MIL promising better measured performance and the LIM better sound quality. Schiit’s customer base would then decide the fate of one model with the poorest-selling variant being discontinued. According to Schiit, sales figures have shown the better-measuring MIL Yggdrasil to be the weakest link.
Buh-bye? Sayonara? Farewell?
Not quite.
The MIL Yggrasil uses the Grade A version of Texas Instruments’ DAC11001 chip and according to Schiit co-founder Jason Stoddard, its -48dB SINAD performance at 20kHz with 90K bandwidth is problematic. However, TI’s new-and-improved Grade B DAC11001 chip, when dropped into an Yggrasil, elevates that SINAD score by a whopping 47dB (to -95dB). You can go deeper on Stoddard’s measurements in the latest Head-Fi ‘Chapter’ but it’s not all SINAD geekery ‘n graphs. Beta testers reportedly liked what they heard from an Yggdrasil loaded with the Grade B TI chip.
This surprising finding has begotten a new Yggdrasil variant – ‘More Is Better’ (MIB) – which Schiit is claiming to be “the Highest Performance Multibit DAC in History”.
From the press release: “The DAC11001B is typically not used for audio, but Schiit is experienced at using its custom DSP-based digital filter to interface with ICs usually used in medical and defense applications. The implementation in Yggdrasil (MIB) uses 4 DAC11001Bs, one for each phase, in a hardware-balanced, differential application.”
The MIB Yggdrasil sells for US$2599 in black, US$2699 in silver, with upgrade kits available ‘soon’ for US$800.
Further information: Schiit
Photos: Lee Shelly
