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Yggdrasil+ GS2

Modular, Upgradable...Now More Affordable!

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$1,699.00

Ships 1-3 days

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Always wanted an Yggdrasil, but didn’t like the price? Welcome to Yggdrasil GS2, a new Yggdrasil+ that uses re-purposed Analog 1 cards and a Gen 5 USB card to slash the entry price to $1699!

A Full Yggdrasil+—Now More Affordable
Yggdrasil GS2 includes the same features that make Yggdrasil+ the only truly modular, upgradable DAC available today, and a fantastic platform for the future:
  • 100% modular
  • Easy access to all cards
  • Reconfigurable rear panel for future expansion
  • Remote control
  • NOS mode and phase inversion
The Original True Multibit™ Performance
Yggdrasil GS2 uses our True Multibit architecture, pioneered in the original Yggdrasil. In this case, new firmware enables dither, NOS, and remote control, while the analog output cards are the original Analog 1, with two Analog Devices AD5791BRUZ DACs per channel. The analog output cards are the only repurposed part of the entire DAC—everything else is new.
 
Convenience and Flexibility
Yggdrasil GS2 comes standard with our isolated USB Gen 5 interface. You can also upgrade to our Unison USB™ interface for a small additional charge. Beyond that, we’ve included 4 additional SPDIF inputs. Ease of access is assured with standard remote control, and we’ve provided features like absolute phase inversion and NOS mode so you can optimize for your individual system and recordings.
 
Designed and Built in California
By “designed and built in California" this is what we mean: the vast majority of the total production cost of Yggdrasil—chassis, boards, transformers, assembly, etc—goes to US companies manufacturing in the US. Our chassis are made minutes from our facility. Our PCBs are done just over the hill from us. Our transformers are also made in California. All of this comes together in our Valencia, California facility, where each Yggdrasil is assembled, tested, burned in for 3 days, and then listen-tested again. 

3-Year Warranty, 15-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Yggdrasil GS2 is covered by a limited warranty that covers parts and labor for 3 years. Try Yggdrasil GS2 in your own house for 15 days. If you don’t like it, simply send it back for a refund, minus a 5% transaction fee. 

Frequency Response, Analog Stage: 20Hz-20Khz, +/-0.1dB, 0.5Hz-200KHz, -1dB

Maximum Output: 4.0V RMS (balanced), 2.0V RMS (single-ended)

THD: Less than 0.005%, 20Hz-20KHz, at full output
IMD: <0.005%, CCIF, at full output
SNR: > 124dB, referenced to 4V RMS
 
D/A Conversion IC: Analog Devices AD5791BRUZ x 4 (2 per channel, hardware balanced configuration)
Analog Stage: Fully discrete, DC coupled Class A FET buffers optimized for high current output and fully discrete, Class A FET summing stages for single-ended output
 
Inputs: Gen 5 or Unison USB, AES/EBU XLR, RCA SPDIF, BNC SPDIF, Optical SPDIF
Input Capability: up to 24/192 for all inputs
Input Receiver, SPDIF: AKM AK4113
Input Receiver, USB: Unison USB™,  based on Microchip PIC32 microprocessor
 
Clock Management: Bitperfect clock management at all native sample rates via Adapticlock analysis and VCXO/VCO regeneration
Digital Filter: proprietary Schiit time- and frequency-domain optimized digital filter implemented on Analog Devices SHARC DSP processor
 
Output: One pair XLR balanced and two pairs RCA single-ended
Output Impedance: 75 ohms
 
Power Supply: two transformers (one for digital supplies, one for analog supplies) plus one input choke for discrete, dual mono, shunt-regulated analog +/-24V supply, plus 12 or more separate local regulated supplies for DACs and digital sections, including high-precision, low-noise LM723 regulation in critical areas.
 
Upgradability: Fully modular architecture. Separate digital input board, USB input board, DSP engine board, and DAC/analog output boards.
 
Power Consumption: 45W 
Size: 16 x 13” x 2.875”
Weight: 25 lbs
 

What does “GS2” stand for?
Garage Sale 2. It’s our cheeky way of saying, yeah, we’re re-using the original Analog 1 cards for this product in order to deliver it at a crazy low price. It’s full name is Yggdrasil+ Garage Sale Semi-Used Edition, Version 2. 

Why isn’t this version of Yggdrasil on the main Yggdrasil page?
Because it’s very different. It uses repurposed Yggdrasil Analog 1 cards, so it’s technically semi-used. It also starts with an older Gen 5 USB card, and has a different warranty (3 years) than the other Yggdrasil versions. So it really should be its own thing.
 
But other than the Analog 1 cards, this is a full Yggdrasil+, right? With remote control and NOS mode and everything?
Yes.
 
And I can choose Unison USB on this, rather than Gen 5?
Yes, for $100 more.
 
Holy moly, this seems like a really insane deal.
Yes it is!
 
Why even offer this model?
Because we have a lot of Analog 1 cards. In the past, upgrades used to come back to us. To keep the cost of upgrades from Analog 1 to Analog 2 low, we kept the Analog 1 cards with the plan to recover the uber-expensive AD5791 DAC chips for future projects. As it turned out, it’s better to leave them on the Analog 1 cards, build Yggdrasil GS2s, and offer you a smoking deal on an insanely capable DAC.
 
Didn’t you do an Yggdrasil GS a while back? 
Several years ago. It didn’t use up all the old cards, though. So now you get GS2, in the new Yggdrasil+ chassis.
 
Is Yggdrasil GS2 upgradable?
Absolutely! It can be upgraded with the same analog and USB cards as any other Yggdrasil or Yggdrasil+. And, in the future, if we come out with different input cards, different DSP cards, etc, those can be swapped as well. And, like all Yggdrasil+, the chassis makes swapping cards easy, and also allows for easy chassis changes thanks to a removable rear panel.
 
Do I get the same warranty reactivation as other Yggdrasils when I upgrade?
Yep!
 
What’s stopping me from ordering an Yggdrasil GS2 and, say, the LIM cards?
Nothing, but you’ll receive the cards separately. You can swap them in and out as you like. Basically, if you pick Yggdrasil GS2, you have two choices: whether you want the Unison USB card instead of the standard Gen 5 USB input, and whether you want it in black or silver. Unison USB is $100 more, silver is $100 more. We won’t be doing any analog card changes to GS2s before you get them. 
 
Why would I choose Gen 5 over Unison USB?
To save $100.
 
Seriously.
Seriously, if you’re not interested in getting the ultimate USB input—like, if you don’t use a USB source, or if it’s a secondary source—Gen 5 saves you some money.
 
Can I just buy the Analog 1 cards?
Yes. In Yggdrasil GS2. Sorry, they are not sold separately.
 
Besides the information above, everything else on the Yggdrasil+ page applies here, right?
Absolutely. It’s the same DAC. Just with the older Analog 1 cards. 

Yggdrasil+ Manual