Article: New Schiit Yggdrasil Blind Listening Comparison

[Iving]

Great report on what must have been a great experience. Job satisfaction comes through loud and clear!

 

PhDs in blind testing ... There likely aren't any. And any guru on the streets is probably more biased than anyone. This procedure looks perfectly fit-for-purpose.

 

I was intrigued as much as anything by the match or mismatch between your evaluation and the aggregate of takes on this close family of DACs. I understand well that you strongly preferred the least expensive "Less is More" in blind conditions. And you and your notes explained plenty why. You didn't expand too much on "disappointment .. This wasn't the case for others" regards More is Less.  Your concordance with one other listener was specific to Less is More.

 

Will there be a formal/Schiit report on this event - perhaps including # listeners and their conclusions? A comparative summary?

 

The divergence of measurements and SQ is also interesting. It would be great to hear from the horse's mouth how engineers produce DACs notwithstanding measurements.

[Iving]

8 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

If vanilla beans cost more than cocoa, then vanilla will be more expensive than chocolate, all other things being equal. 

 

But all other things are never equal. Your statement summarises the Supply factor correctly. The Demand factor is just as, if not more important in determining price.

[Iving]

31 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

We have 2 DACs designed and manufactured by the same company. Given how they were designed together, I think the vanilla and chocolate analogies are pretty accurate. 

 

Both vanilla and chocolate are irrelevant unless there is Demand. If you mean that the Prices of the respective models are determined by what it costs to make them, then the Manufacturer is perfectly entitled to reflect those costs in asking Price. But it is Demand that will determine Sales regardless of the price of vanilla and cocoa. Here we have an anomaly in which chocolate outperforms vanilla (by your account and you don't seem alone). Demand will determine Sales in a curious way. Chocolate will sell like crazy because (fuelled by favourable reviews) it will be in high Demand and it is cheap to make and, so, the price can be kept "unshocking". Vanilla will burn out quickly (expensive to make - higher Price - no or little Demand).

 

The cynic might think that More is Less was never intended to sell and Schiit have only made 2 or 3 units knowing this in advance. Do they have some clever marketing girls and guys? In contrast they have a warehouse of Less is More ready to ship out?

[Iving]

Creative marketing, and gearing to build/sell as Demand starts to queue is not equal to scam.

Good luck to them.

I think they were taking a bit of a risk - the downside possibility that people who are technically thick or risk-averse might experience distress making a decision (not kidding) and lose confidence in the company ...

vs, the upside of getting everyone to talk about the launch - er - like this.