It has been a busy quarter for the Texas-based Schiit Audio. The latest on the way from the budget-conscious brand is an update to their least wallet-friendly, but still a statement unto its own. In a market battle against itself, Jason Stoddard and designer Mike Moffat released a series of flagship DACs that swap out chipsets and let consumers decide who wins in the marketplace. Now one of those options is updated even further, the new Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC More Is Better version.
We heard the last round of options at this listening party hosted by Schiit at their downtown Newhall location, you can read all about our observations between the original trio introduced a few years back here. The Yggdrasil Less Is More (LIM), More Is Less (MIL) and the OG duked it out in a blind shootout at that event. I found the original OG to be my favorite flavor of ice cream, but the price tag swings a few degrees between the models as well, and many attendees to that listen session found their preference to differ from mine. Changes were somewhat small, considering the already small changes the DAC category makes (unless the sound is really broken) so preference does come into play a bit more on things like this. The newest version is called the More Is Better and replaces the More Is Less version with a new updated, shiny, fancy new chipset. More info in the release below.
“MORE IS BETTER
Introducing Yggdrasil+ MIB, the Highest Performance Multibit DAC in History
November 1, 2023, Valencia, CA. Today, Schiit Audio introduced the Yggdrasil+ More is Better, or MIB, the highest-performance, best-measuring multibit DAC in history. Delivering -118-120dB THD+N, Yggdrasil+ MIB shatters barriers in multibit DACs, while delivering consistently precise performance throughout the audio band. Yggdrasil+ MIB is available now for at schiit.com for $2,599.
“These exceptional results are the result of Texas Instruments’ new DAC11001B IC,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s co-founder. “It has taken the precision DAC crown, across the entire audio band, from 20Hz to 20kHz.”
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+ uses 4 DAC11001Bs, one for each phase, in a hardware-balanced, differential application.
Early listeners liked the presentation of the DAC11001B-based Yggdrasil, with some choosing it over all other Yggdrasil+ variants for their audio demonstrations, and some proclaiming it the best-balanced Yggdrasil yet.
Yggdrasil+ is an easily upgradable platform, and Schiit expects to provide the MIB analog boards as an optional upgrade for current owners in the near future. The analog board upgrade cost is expected to be $800.
“This highlights a key advantage of Yggdrasil,” said Jason Stoddard. “It’s the only completely modular, upgradable DAC, which makes it evergreen. Introduced 9 years ago, it’s perhaps the only DAC of its age that has grown and changed with the times, rather then being replaced by a new product.”
Yggdrasil+ MIB is available now at schiit.com for $2599 in black, $2699 in silver. Yggdrasil+ MIB upgrade cards are expected to be available in 4 weeks for $800.”
More info: Schiit Yggdrasil DAC