Audio upgrade: Schiit Fulla 2

I recently purchased a Schiit Fulla 2. I was on the fence about it for a long time, but it's held up well, and I'm pretty happy with it. So, here's a small product review.

I should probably mention that I'm generally skeptical about "audiophile" anything. I've known too many people who spend way too much money on voodoo like "oxygen-free speaker cables". This makes me reluctant to trust reviews or spend money on anything that I can't test for myself. 

I've heard good audio. I go to concerts. I know what music is supposed to sound like, and it wasn't what I was getting from any of my computers, even with decent headphones, lossless audio codecs, etc. On the other hand, we have some Sonos speakers, and with those speakers and a good audio source, music can sound really good. Since I wasn't getting that level of quality at the computer, it meant that there was something between the computer and my ears that was part of the problem. The likely culprits were the DAC or my headphones. My regular headphones (Sennheiser and audio-technica) are reasonably well-rated, and the next step up would cost about $600 -- more than I wanted to spend. On the other hand, a new DAC would run about $100, and while I was skeptical (most DAC review sites use far too much subjectivity and aural mysticism), it seemed like reasonable gamble.

What's a DAC? A DAC is a Digital to Analog Converter. There's one built in to your computer. It's the part that turns the ones and zeroes into sound that your speakers or headphones can understand. But, most users don't care too much about quality as long as it sounds "okay". So, the company that makes your computer buys the cheapest DAC they can get. They spend pennies on them. Even with good headphones, the sound that comes out of your computer can sound tinny, and there's often background hiss and hum. With a good DAC and amp, even at high volume, when no music is playing, your headphones should be silent.

Schiit Audio (pronunciation) is a company that specializes in DACs and amplifiers. They name their stuff after Norse gods. The Fulla 2 is an all-in-one DAC/amp and one of the least expensive things that they sell, at $99.

I read the reviews, and everyone seemed to think that the Fulla 2 was one of the best options available at its price, and the next best option (Magni/Modi) was twice the price and also made by Schiit. Plus, Schiit seemed to not take themselves too seriously and in the Fulla 2 FAQ actually recommended against buying some of the stupid audio things that many reviewers seemed to like. Sadly, shipping to Switzerland was quite expensive. But, I decided to go for it.

The Fulla 2 arrived with minimal packaging and directions, but it's a sturdy and simple enough device. It's about the size of an oversized deck of cards with a big aluminium volume knob on top.

Setup is simple:

1. Plug it into the computer with a USB cable. 
2. Plug in a second USB cable to a wall charger if your computer can't supply enough power over USB. 
3. Turn the (really very nice) volume knob down. 
4. Plug headphones into the front 1/4" jack. 
5. Choose your new audio device on your computer (it shows up as "I'm Fulla Schiit" -- I said that this company doesn't take itself too seriously). 
6. Done.

One thing that I've noticed over the years with audio: beyond a certain minimum, better audio rarely sounds better right away. You listen and think, "This sounds okay -- maybe a tiny bit better." And then, when you go back to what you were listening to before, it sounds awful. The first time that I heard a CD in high school, it sounded fine. And forevermore, radio was ruined for me.

The Fulla 2 caused that effect... mostly. Most older music sounds much, much better. There are details that you can hear with it that are missing with the computer's built-in DAC. It immediately made my headphones and speakers seem much nicer. It was a huge win. Except for two things...

1. For years, there's been a trend to make music seem louder by reducing the dynamic range. This is sometimes referred to as "the loundness war". Essentially, they turn up the quiet parts of the song so that a whisper is almost as loud as a scream. This "flattens" the sound in a way that sounds better if you're in a car listening to the song while driving down the highway. However, it makes the sound worse in a quiet environment. The Fulla 2 makes this flatness much more obvious. With music on shuffle, when one of these songs comes on, it's like going from a concert hall to a transistor radio. It's... jarring.
2. There's a similar effect that you see with some songs made in the last 20 years or so where they seem to be mastered assuming that they'll be turned into MP3. There are weird artefacts with the FLAC version that disappear with compressed versions. This is particularly pronounced in songs with a lot of bass. For example, Thunder by Imagine Dragons just descends into splattering bass noise with the FLAC version. It still happens with the built-in DAC, but significantly, it's not nearly as bad on either DAC with a compressed version (like the Youtube link above). Because it also sounds weird with the built-in DAC, I can't fully blame the Fulla 2 for this, but it's more pronounced with the Fulla 2, and it does come up a lot with more dance-oriented modern music.

I'd summarise both of these problems as "bringing out more detail -- even bad detail". This leads to another occasional problem -- with more detail, music becomes more distracting. Instead of music fading into the background while I work, I find myself noticing nuances that I've never heard before, which is pretty distracting. I assume that I'll acclimate to the new sound and it will go away. But it's a pleasant distraction, and I can make it go away by listening to lower quality compressed, streaming audio.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with this purchase. It has me considering the next step up -- Schiit's Magni and Modi combo. For now, I'm happy with the sound that I have, and I'll stick with it for a while. If you're thinking that your computer could sound a bit better, and your headphones or speakers are adequate, the Fulla 2 is a nice upgrade, and it's cheaper than some of the alternatives.