These are my first impressions of my Bifrost which arrived today. Intro: I have been wanting to upgrade my Squeezebox sound for quite a while now. First upgrade was going from a Duet receiver to the Touch - which made a difference. But I was still not satisfied with the sound and detail etc. To really listen to music, I still used my NAD CD 545, which sounds great in my combo. Therefore I was looking for a DAC which would take the Touch to the level of my CDplayer. Since then I have been searching and reading, nearly bought the Beresford, but then found the Bifrost on the net when a gutfeeling told me to finally take a dive and buy this new DAC.
Unboxing: It arrived today, so my impressions are very new. It looks beautiful and has a very sturdy build. It cost me about 360 Euros including shipping to germany and taxes, customs etc. Plugged it in and put on music I had just listened to yesterday and which I am familiar with. Beware this is not the sort of detailed A-B comparison, just an emotional report - and to me the emotions I get through music are most important. I had hoped for a little difference, but boy was I in for a (positive) shock. First piece I put on was "The Lark Ascending" with Nicola Benedetti, the violin was sailing high and light between my speakers, rich detail up to the highest notes, sounds stupid - but here it is, it sounded as if the violin was in my livingroom, none of the harshness I had with the Touch. Loads of detail, but the violin still sounded warm and did not loose body. Next Holst Planets the Levine recording (underrated great sounding recording)What went on during Mars, was unbelievable and very satisfying. The orchestra in full blow, amazing soundstage, very clear (without being irritating) the bass really tight. I have never heard my stereo like this. It really sounds as if a veil was lifted and everyting is now in a next level. Went on with some 24bit Beatles, Yesterday and SGT Pepper never sounded so alive and let's call it real. Long story short, I am very happy that I waited for the Bifrost to arrive. Problem is, now my CDplayer sounds dull in comparison - so I will also connected it to my DAC. I am not a believer of Burn-in, but there are quite a few people that write that DACs begin to sound a lot better after burn-in. All I can say,is that it sounds amazing out of the box - so should it sound even better after a couple of days or weeks, I am all for it - should it stay the same, it is already much better than I had hoped for. I found the Bifrost through a guy on "The Art of Sound - forum" and am very grateful I did. -- Squeezemenicely Squeezebox Server 7.6.1 on Squeezeplug (Dockstar) Synology DS-410j NAS Squeezebox Touch Squeezebox Boom Spotify Premium iPhone: iPeng - iPad: Squeezepad ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Squeezemenicely's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=41812 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=91772 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
