Ruffter Posted January 17, 2020 Posted January 17, 2020 Hi all, I am wondering if anyone here has updated a Bifrost Uber to AKM 4490 and could give me some advice if they thought it was worth it? Same with Gen 2 USB to Gen 5? Currently running a laptop with foobar FLAC -> USB to Bifrost Uber With Gen 2 USB -> Exposure 2010s2 -> Dali Ikon 6’s. Overall I’m pretty happy with the sound, but think my DAC is the weakest link. The boss has said no to the idea of me spending money on replacing my DAC. I tried unsuccessfully to sell her on aesthetics; I’ve got a black amp and silver DAC and it does my head in a bit that they don’t match but they didn’t have black Bifrosts when I bought it, and I got the exposure 2nd hand at a good price. My thoughts are of perhaps getting the AKM and USB upgrades directly from Schiit ($170 USD plus postage) and installing myself, as I could probably sneak this in. Just wondering if the gain would be worth the outlay? I don’t want to go the multibit route as I’d have to post it to Addicted to Audio and that upgrade alone is more then the other 2. Cheers, Andrew
BRM Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 I upgraded my Bifrost Uber to the 4490 and it was a very notable improvement in all areas. It was an excellent upgrade that was definitely worth it. As far as the USB, I'm still on Gen 2, but am looking to upgrade to the "Unison USB" module once it's released (soon).
Ruffter Posted January 18, 2020 Author Posted January 18, 2020 On 18/01/2020 at 2:05 AM, BRM said: I upgraded my Bifrost Uber to the 4490 and it was a very notable improvement in all areas. It was an excellent upgrade that was definitely worth it. As far as the USB, I'm still on Gen 2, but am looking to upgrade to the "Unison USB" module once it's released (soon). Expand Thanks for the reply! I’m wondering if unison will come to Bifrost Mk 1 given they’ve now moved to Mk 2 with a modular form externally accessible. I think I’ll order the chip upgrade; Schiit will post from the states without warranty support, but I’m out of warranty anyway. It’s also cheaper direct. Edit - Now I’ve read this on the Schiit site, maybe I will send it to A2A. ‘Schiit-installed Bifrost 4490 upgrades are covered by a 2-year warranty or the balance of the original factory warranty, whichever is greater. For out-of-warranty Bifrosts, factory-installed upgrades re-activate the warranty on the complete product for 2 years.’
BRM Posted January 18, 2020 Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) They're supposedly continuing to support Mk1 Bifrosts. I'm pretty sure Unison USB is going to be rolled out to most of their products. I think I read all that on one of their newer posts on their online book (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-improbable-start-up.701900/). Edit: Found the quote Quote Unison USB for all. We’ll also be shipping Unison USB for all upgradable DACs in January. This means you’ll be able to get your Bifrost, Gungnir, or Yggdrasil upgraded to Unison USB. Bifrost and Yggdrasil do not require a trip back to the mothership or a service center. Gungnir needs to have its motherboard firmware changed, so it does have to come back to us, or to an authorized distributor. You’ll also see Unison USB on new production Gungnirs and Yggdrasils (probably with an option to go to Gen 5 for people using older versions of Windows.) Expand Edited January 18, 2020 by BRM Typo & added quote 1
Ruffter Posted January 19, 2020 Author Posted January 19, 2020 There you go. I’ll wait for this unison business then, and look at getting the unison and 4490 done at either Schiit or A2A as it means I get an extra 2 years peace of mind.
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