Thanks @Chops, that’s exactly my case, and I appreciate the Schiit’s honest reply not trying to force you to buy their more expensive option, so kudos to Schiit!
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@M0N About the BF2 I am curious how it compares vs the Crane Song Solaris DAC, as this is the most higher level DAC I “have” to compare (need to borrow from my brother’s studio).
Generally the bf2 and yggy share a similar signature, with the yggy having a straight step up in technical performance, so somewhat similar but one is on a much higher level. The main differences might be that the yggy is a bit more forward and the bf2 a bit more relaxed, and that the yggy se out aren’t as good as the balanced out (where I think the bf2 single ended and bal out are reasonably similar enough)
So generally the crane song is just a step above, it has much more detail overall, and feels more light on it’s feet and fast. The bf2 does have a bit more tonal density and thickness (but the crane song isn’t lacking there and that’s more preference), and timbre might be slightly more organic on the bf2 though. Stage wise, the bf2 might be a bit wider but is less accurate and realistic when it comes to imaging and placement vs the crane song imo (crane song has more depth). Dynamically the crane song is a step up as well especially in microdynamics. Both are actually somewhat slightly fun leaning with being decently organic, but the crane song is a more energetic and clean signature overall focusing on technical performance and it isn’t that forgiving, where the bf2 is more neutral warmer smoother relaxed leaning (with still great technical performance for the price)
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Thanks @M0N for that great and deep comparison. I have a better picture of BF2 by now, definitely leaning towards it.
About the Crane song, yes, one of its features I most enjoyed is the stage it presents, it’s just so fun to listen to! And while I like the Crane Song I think it could be a little overkill for my current setup.
By other hand, if no mind how would the BF2 could stack vs the chord qutest? is the qutest analytical or does it have a sound signature similar to the mojo?
thanks!
And keep in mind during all of this talk, we’re comparing a $2000 professional DAC to a $700 consumer grade DAC, and whichever one sounds better to whoever is all subjective.
That says a lot about Schiit’s capabilities at such an affordable price point. Precisely why I’m keeping my BF2 in my stereo setup and just using the M400 in my headphone rig.
Yeah really nice for sure, I have a crane song hedd quantum that I use from time to time since it’s presentation is both accurate yet really fun lol
Yes, but it does set you up for a nicer amp in the future lol, and the neve still shows a fair amount of what it can offer lol. For awhile, I tended to use a lavry quintessence with the rnhp (and another higher tier headphone amp) in my mastering rotation and it did show a surprising amount of what that dac could do (but I would never recommend a setup like that lol)
Hmmm so the qutest is more neutral and brighter than the mojo so not as fun, but it’s also not straight up analytical like something like the tt2 for example. Generally if you liked the more fun lean on the mojo, that would be less present than the qutest, but both the mojo and qutest have the chord house sound overall. So comparing to the bf2, the qutest has more resolution, the bifrost 2 has better macrodynamics but the qutest has superior microdynamics, both are fairly smooth overall, the qutest has a smaller and less large presentation but more depth, timbre wise the bf2 does pull ahead, speed wise the qutest feels a bit more snappy. The bf2 does hit harder punch and impact wise though and is a bit more dense feeling
Sure
Sure
Very good for sure, but there’s also alot more to be had above later on too
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Oh I know. I’m not saying the BF2 is the end-all, be-all DAC. I know there’s better out there, but you probably have to get to at least double the cost of the BF2 to make it worth the upgrade.
Maybe one of these days I’ll pull my BF2 out of the main system and throw it in my headphone rig just to see how it compares to the M400.
Sounds about right
Worth doing if you have both on hand
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Oh I definitely have both on hand… Literally about 10 feet apart from each other as we speak. LOL
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Absolutely, there is a big gap in price range and quite impressive for BF2 to still somewhat hold against it, def a best bang for the buck product.
Haha, yeah if crane song is an overkill the lavry should be a nuke 
Awesome! Definitively going for the BF2!, now the long wait hehe, hope to report back in following weeks.
Once again, thank you all for great help!
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To be more clear, the crane song is pretty much an upgrade in most aspects and there really aren’t many situations where I’d rather have a bf2 over a solaris, but the bf2 isn’t embarrassed either and would most likely offer better bang for buck (but it all depends on what headphones and source chain one has, if you are only rocking 600s + neve then a crane song isn’t a good investment, but if you are using something like a clear + vio v281/280, the crane song might present a stronger value over the bf2)
Pretty much lol
will be curious on your thoughts
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A little update, in the end I went with an Ares II over the BF2 mostly because of the more relaxed sound of the ares and the extra features Ares offers over BF2, since I like to somewhat tweak the sound with external software like Roon, HQ Player, etc, and since Ares II offers NOS, was a big factor in my final decision.
While I still have not received my new Ares II, I noticed a post on Head-Fi, regarding Ares II NOS not being a really NOS dac, so should I be worried about this affecting my plan to use software based upsampling ?
Any experience with Ares II NOS with Roon and or HQ Player ?
Cheers!
Gotcha
Looks nos enough to me, from other measurements I’ve seen, it has the typical nos roll off and the impulse response is free from any reconstruction filter ringing, which is really the main reason nos is desirable imo (technically that’s more not having a filter but whatever), I wouldn’t worry too much about it imo (the holo dacs also operate in this way too of not exactly nos but close enough). When I had mine I personally just left it in nos mode as imo it had more to offer there (although with the neve perhaps some organicness and technical performance is worth trading for a more cleanly and forward signature in os mode)
For upsampling possibly, although since you already have one on the way, just use your ears to judge if upsampling is going to be the way to go or not, don’t do that myself so I can’t give you any info there
Edit: After looking through the whole not true nos thing, really pretty sure that’s nos and I wouldn’t see a practical reason to call it not nos
Hi @M0N
And yes from the article you kindly shared definitely looks like a NOS, and as said that kind of try different filters, the ability to upsample and even more the wait time on BF2 (10-12 weeks at the time I ordered Ares II) weighted more towards Ares II.
Hopefully Ill get my Ares II next week so eager to finally try it! and report it back.
Once again, thanks for all your help, greatly appreciated!
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Well finally I received my Ares II and have spent some days with it, very very happy with it!
It is a huge difference from my previous dacs (EL DAC, AudioEngine D1, iFi iDac2, ADI-2 DAC), it sounds so natural, full body, the stage and depth is unmatched, simply I can’t go back haha.
A few observations, in my system (beefy gaming pc) I noticed an improvement using a DDC (schiit eitr + BJ coax cable) over USB, blacker background, deeper stage, more defined and tighter bass, but I used a schiit pyst usb cable, so with better usb cables things could be different.
I already ordered an audioquest cinnamon usb so hopefully it improves the USB quality to match the eitr as I would like less boxes on my desk 
By other hand, an unexpected finding is that I ended up liking the Ares II with my Gilmore Lite MK2 more than my beloved RNHP! not quite sure why as the RNHP is a little more spacious and defined, but the GL is just a fun to listen to, thicker, punchier, clearer, simply I was not expecting this as honestly my GL was getting little to no use before Ares II.
And this leads me to seek your advice, I noticed there’s an improved psu for the Gilmore Lite MKII, the Golden Reference PSU, so I am wondering if this is worth it, as I have no experience with different PSUs and what can expect from a better one, so I appreciate any comments about it.
To close, I am really happy with the improvement Ares II brought to my system and highly recommend it to those still on the fence, the order process was just flawless.
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It is a big step up for sure
Nice
I can see that, it would actually focus on some of the flaws with the lite on improving those
I actually haven’t heard this one either, I do want to hear it though. I bet it would be pretty nice imo, psu upgrades are typically pretty worthwhile for most things in the higher end
Can somewhat agree, not sure if the RNHP is more spacious but it is more accurate in presenting the stage and the placement of instruments, both in width and depth. However it can sound a bit lean, possibly in the mid compared to GL which is smoother thicker with a bit more bass (Altho not particularly well extended I don’t feel) At times I find the RNHP a bit too engaging and analysing too much information for me, whereas with amps like GL or G111 I can sit back and relax but without missing the details (but I do have to pay more attention) so that might be the reason. But as I said above, I do feel the GL is slightly lower tier than G111/RNHP, and I personally find great synergy between Ares II and G111
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I see, so it seems to be a positive improvement. Actually some guys on headfi have tried it and reported positive improvements.
Hover not quite sure if the sound quality of GL2 MK2 + GRPSU worth $800…
That is the hard part. I agree with @mochimashu that I personally felt the sq of the g111 and rnhp were a bit ahead of the gilmore, but adding on the psu could change that, but it’s a synergy thing at this point, and you don’t know how much it will raise performance
Thanks for sharing your findings, and I agree, based from M0N experience with better PSUs and positives reviews from head-fi, it definitely seems an improvement, but the thing here, is how much will improve and if worth the price because as you commented, there are other options like Lake people amp near psu price…
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