Conclusions
While the two versions of Schiit Yggdrasil produce the best performance I have seen from a Schiit DAC, they unfortunately point to performance problems that should not be there. Even if we put them aside, what I measured is simply not competitive. High-end audiophiles like to play high-resolution content and this is a DAC that struggles with 16-bit content let alone higher bit-depth.

I am sure we will be told that these two DACs are broken and that they need to go to service. Instead of creating work for me and their owners, manufacturer needs to replicate my tests and show that there are no problems.

For now, if you have done the Gen 2 analog board upgrade, I would contact Schiit and ask them whether they verified frequency response output before shipping it to you and if so, they can send you paperwork for that. This kind of thing better be part of the "pass/fail" testing of DACs before shipping.

And yes, I am aware of other measurements of Schiit Yggdrasil showing other performance. My answer to that is that Schiit is on record as saying that they make changes to their designs without notifying customers or changing model number/revision. So these errors could be recent. Don't quote me on this but I think the unit with just the Gen 5 USB is only 6 months old and the other one with analog upgrade ever newer as far as the DAC board is concerned.

Coming on the heels of the poor measurements of Schiit BiFrost Multibit DAC this is a much better offering. So if you are a fan of Schiit products and multibit technology, the Yggdrasil would be the way to go. But do not get the upgraded Gen 2 board or a new DAC with it without confirmation of frequency response error not being there. After all, that is an audible problem whereas the other improvements may very well not be.

Bottom line, I can NOT recommend the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC in old or new incarnations even though improvements are noted and appreciated over lower cost offerings from them.