Upgraded to Bifrost 2 from ODAC REV B. Not sure I hear a difference.

Submitted by Swolenasty t3_10d41ij in headphones

I recently upgraded to a Bifrost 2 (not the 2/64) after multiple people said my old ODAC Rev B from 2016 was defunct. After reading all the raving reviews online about the Bifrost 2 I decided to pull the trigger. Well, it arrived yesterday and I am not sure I can hear the difference between them. I ran them both through a Monolith Liquid Platinum amp, and the Bifrost 2 was connected via balanced XLR. The Odac was connected with a regular RCA to 3.5 connection.

I tested them using Focal Clears and Sony MDR-Z1R both running balanced and heard no noticeable difference. I used Youtube Music, 320 kbps MP3, and FLAC as my sources. The only time I thought I heard a difference was when I used FLAC. I thought I heard the bass being slightly tighter on the Bifrost 2. Even then the difference was so minor that I am not 100% sure it was not placebo.

Am I just deaf or what? I can hear the difference between various headphones and even my two amps but I can hear no difference between the DAC. My only guess is that the music I am listening to is not high enough sample rate but I am not sure if that would make a difference. Thoughts?

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Jerecho81 t1_j4jv1cw wrote

I couldn't hear the difference between a Modius and a Bifrost at all. I'm not saying that other folks can't. I returned the Bifrost, pocketed the money, counted myself lucky and moved right on.

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The_D0lph1n t1_j4jo859 wrote

Most DAC/amp differences are very subtle with most headphones. The main differences in DACs from what I've experienced are differences in the low-pass filter (and those differences become less important the higher the sample rate), and I've read about differences in DACs stemming from how they handle intersample overs in the music (which you can avoid by setting a negative digital preamp gain).

You experience is not unusual, there's like a post every week about how some person can't hear a difference in DACs that they have. Now that you have experience, you can make choices accordingly. Since you know that you don't hear any difference in DACs, you don't need to spend more money on them unless they have some feature that you want!

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Swolenasty OP t1_j4jvdc2 wrote

Guess it's a bit disappointing that considering the $500 and a 5-year release difference the effect was not more pronounced. Oh well, now I know for sure. Otherwise, I would be left wondering if a more expensive DAC would improve my listening experience. Thanks for the input!

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MachineTeaching t1_j4kghtp wrote

There's no real reason to assume it would make one. The odac is a fine enough DAC.

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covertash t1_j4k07ws wrote

I liken it to the metallic timbre that some hear, but others don't, with Focal headphones. If you don't hear it, then count yourself lucky and don't go looking for it. Personally, I can hear it, but it has never bothered me that I would give up all of the other good things that headphones like the Clear OG can do.

Same thing with DACs. The Bifrost 2 should largely perform very similarly to the ODAC, but if you happen to be lucky enough (or unlucky, depending on perspective) to be bothered by those last few percentage points, there may be benefits to be had. Otherwise, you can refocus on what's more important.

To me, the most important thing is that you tried it for yourself, and came to your own conclusions, which counts for a lot. :)

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TRX808 t1_j4kiu6j wrote

Not saying you're wrong or right but this is a weird conundrum with testing gear; some people claim to hear subtle differences and called out for it being placebo, but if some people can truly hear it and others can't then ultimately there's no way to tell if you can't hear it.

Placebo is also a thing. Even if there's no objective difference, if your brain says "this sounds better", then it does.

I really don't know what you hear but I can't fault you for hearing it.

Need more double blind tests because I suspect a lot of these testers would be destroyed and makes it harder to promote their affiliate links.

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StormNinjaPenguin t1_j4le2u0 wrote

  1. Difference between DACs is minuscule
  2. Have you completed the standard new component protocol? (listen to it exclusively for 2 weeks, then check if you hear difference with the old gear and form opinion only after)
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Longjumping-Fox2417 t1_j4oyx1d wrote

Upgrading from ak4997 to the acclaimed gustard R26 and i dont have the WoW factor. After a few sessions and my best technical headphone lcdx, when I reach a fuller sound, better soundstage and better textures. 1600e vs 300 euros. Im Happy with this but there is a price to get 20,30 percent more? Now im looking for a new amp. Disminishing returns gets ugly. Excuse my english. Greetings

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