“Yggdrasil+ is the successor to Yggdrasil, which we introduced in 2014,” says Mike Moffat, Schiit Audio’s co-founder and head of digital development. “But it’s not a replacement — current Yggdrasil owners can upgrade to Yggdrasil+ to get remote control, NOS mode, and new chassis that looks better, offers way more flexibility, and substantially simplifies upgrades.”
Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s co-founder and head of analog development, also notes that Yggdrasil+ starts at the same price as the original Yggdrasil. “Despite 8 years of inflation, despite offering more features, despite offering higher performance, despite a much cooler-looking chassis design, Yggdrasil+ starts at the same price as the 2014 Yggdrasil.”
Schiit’s high-value design doesn’t stop at battling inflation, however. Since all former Yggdrasil are upgradable to Yggdrasil+, Schiit protects its customers investment in the platform. In addition, the new chassis makes upgrades much easier, with only 4 screws to get at all modular boards, and a replaceable back panel to accommodate any changes in connectivity in the future.
“Our customers have been asking for an easier, more convenient way to do upgrades, and Yggdrasil+ delivers — without abandoning the whole platform,” explains Mike Moffat.
In terms of performance and value, Yggdrasil+ sets a robust standard for a high-end DAC. At a relatively modest price, it includes Schiit’s True Multibit platform — a unique time- and frequency-optimized digital filter implemented on Analog Devices DSPs, plus medical/military grade multibit D/A converters from TI or Analog Devices; Schiit’s own Unison USB input, implemented on a Microchip 32-bit processor; massive choke-input power supply with two transformers and local regulation; unique adaptive reclocking to accommodate both high- and low-quality sources, and features such as remote control absolute phase inversion. Yggdrasil+ can even be put into “non-oversampling,” or NOS mode, to bypass its digital filter entirely.
For those not familiar with Schiit Multibit approach, Jason Stoddard describes it like this: "Most digital filters destroy the original samples in the process of upsampling. They’re just like sample rate converters or delta-sigma DACs. We’re all about the original samples, so we created a unique digital filter that performs a true interpolation, which means it retains all the original samples. This is a major difference between Schiit True Multibit DACs like Yggdrasil and every other DAC in the world."
Specifications for the Yggdrasil+ models include Unison USB, AES/EBU XLR, RCA SPDIF, BNC SPDIF, and Optical SPDIF inputs, support for up to 24-bit/192kHz for all inputs. Outputs include one pair XLR balanced and two pairs RCA single-ended. The power supply section uses separate transformers for digital and analog sections, plus one input choke for discrete, dual mono, shunt-regulated analog +/-24V supply, plus separate regulated supplies for DACs and digital sections. The fully modular architecture allows for the digital input board, USB input board, DSP engine board, and DAC/analog output boards to be replaced and/or upgraded. All Yggdrasil models are in stock and available to purchase.
Available Yggdrasil+ models include:
Yggdrasil+ Less is More (TI DAC8812 based) — $2299/2399 black/silver
Yggdrasil+ More is Less (TI DAC11001 based) — $2449/2549 black/silver
Yggdrasil+ OG (Analog Devices AD5791 based) — $2699/2799 black/silver
All Yggdrasil models are in stock and available to purchase at schiit.com.
Owners of the original Yggdrasils can upgrade to Yggdrasil+ for $499 in black, and $599 in silver. The price reflects only the final color; customers can choose to swap colors when they upgrade. The original chassis will be recycled (it is 100% aluminum and steel), or shipped back at the cost of packaging and shipping to those that request it.
www.schiit.com
