I said the same thing when I got my BF2. Now I have the Spring 2 and Sagra… Never say never.
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Fair enough, but my other huge (to me) purchases brought me great joy. DAC’s, IMO, are getting into the headphone cable/power cable realm.
Is there a noticeable difference if you listen real hard? Yes! Would I pay $2K for a better DAC? NO. Would I pay $500.00 for a better headphone cable? NO. Would I pay $200, $300, $400 for a better power cable? NO.
I understand that audiophiles with golden ears will spend thousands for that extra 5 to 10%. That is NOT me. 
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All excessive purchases are excessive until the value is shown. If you have a system worth less than $1k there is no reason go through obscene power filtering and cabling.
On a system that costs $40k? Arguments can be made. Personally I hear a lot of differences with DACs and the biggest factor with the DAC is the amp synergy.
In the chain between transport to driver. You a touch of warmth (usually), touch of space, analytical gear mixed in, and handle impact and sibalence. For a more general all purpose chain.
You get some stage and warmth with BF2 with some great details for the price. And the speed of it is amazing.
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Not only do i agree with you on the cost to performance ratio but am fully starting to understand that many folks have no idea what the differences beyond the most blatant really are…when i hear folks talking about listening to spotify and youtube on a $20k system or even a $$10k system i roll my eyes more often than not and stop reading whatever opinions they had…i know how much effort i put into trying to hear differences on the cleanest source material i can find being run through thousands of dollars of kit which still equal mid-grade stuff and somedays i just don’t hear anything beyond nice music…
Edit, i have also found that what time of day it is plays a role on my ability to discern fine differences. Early on in the day fresh out of bed i am better able to tell fine nuances rather than later in the day after a full day of activity.
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In my main system I am about $10K in with DAP’s, DAC’s, amps and headphones. I love what I have and am pretty content. The BF2 didn’t rock my world, but it is fine. I suspect I would have gotten more joy from a used set of Clear Pro’s, which I likely will try eventually.
I think we have to file this under different strokes for different folks.
PS: Holy Crap! I just did what we should NEVER do!!. 
I added up everything beside my lazy boy (1 DAP, 2 DAC’s, 3 amps and 9 pairs of headphones). You could buy a Very nice used car for what I have spent. Wow, it is sobering when you lay it right out. 
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I have spent a large amount (to me) and most of what I listen to is lossy files from iTunes. I just ripped several CD’s while sitting here (into ALAC files), but they are jazz CD’s I get from Jazziz magazine.
To me, my system is exceptional, for what I do. Different strokes… 
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Agreed on what one hears, For instance I can hear the very high pitched beep of the coffee maker in the morning (It is the quietest I have ever heard) but if I put a pot on in the late afternoon I could literally put my ear next to it and not hear it…
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My Bifrost 2 is scheduled to show up tomorrow. I sure hope I can tell the difference from my sdac balanced on my 789, listening to my elex. I will plug it in for at least an hour before I add it to the system.
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I my initial impressions with the Bifrost 2 when I mainly was using the THX 887. I hope this helps you.
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I think of any product I’ve come across here, BF2 seems to have the most satisfied and fiercely loyal ownership base of any.
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I couldn’t tell ANY difference my first day, going back and forth between DAC’s.
Dumb question, what sampling rate is the BF2 using? I’m assuming you’re using windows and using USB, correct?
The chain is sounding sweet. Test playlist of 33 songs with a Wide variety of music (I am on song 27).
Laptop to BF2 to MAD Ear+ HDII tube amp to Grado GH2’s. Very nice sounds are coming out. 
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Also note… ladder DACs need time to stabilize and first burn in maybe longer than usual. But with the Bifrost 2, first DAC that I could hear a night and day difference from the sampling rate sent to the DAC that I owned. Note: Your music player may not control the sampling right as the operating system normally sets that and holds it.
I haven’t even looked at that. My music source is now a laptop, an MSI GL73 8RC.
Right… go into sound settings and look at preferences if windows and check the sampling rates. Personally I set mine to 24 bits 192 kHz and just leave it. If you don’t see it, windows sets it to 48 kHz and it sounds kind of crappy. I know M0N will say a few things about way forcing the over sampling is bad but I’ve found the gear I own is good enough. I notice the sound is much crisper with all my DACs. The Bifrost 2 USB implementation makes it sound SO MUCH BETTER, if set correctly the output should make a clocker mostly irrelevant at this level of gear.
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ShaneD,
Thank you for bringing up Dido. I down loaded a couple of her songs.
I’m using Foobar 2000 as my music player. I’ve downloaded over 3,000 songs from Tidal over the last 2 months. I download FLAC files at 24 bit. Might be over kill, but that’s what I’m doing. I picked up a 500 gig portable solid state drive just for music. I’ve used 133 gig so far 
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I just changed the settings to what you recommended. Sounds good. I MUST keep listening now.
Have to see if there is a real difference. And if there is, am I just imagining it?
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I have only bought two of her songs, but I Really like White Flag and Thank You.
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