Schiit Asgard: Unboxing and First Impressions - Page 104

Is there anything I should know on the Asgard being a 115v or 230v? Any differences? 

No difference other than you need the one that corresponds to your country's electrical system. US is 120 volt. Ukraine is 220v so I don't know what to tell you.

Thanks, I'm going to spend sometime with it in the states first and so definitely the 115v.

Is asgard and akg q701 a good combo? I only have the e9 right now

From what I've read, no, they are not a good match. Many have said the Schiit Lyr or the Heed CanAmp are excellent matches for the 701.

I have to say that I didn't find the asgard very amazing.  It drove my HE-500 very similarly to my little dot mkII believe it or not.  It had a slight edge over the LD, but I sold it because I'm getting a much more expensive amplifier anyway.  The LD is my stand in until my amp is built.  Clearly the LD does not drive the HE-500 to its full potential, but I expected the extra power to make much more of a difference.  It didn't.  This really changed the way I thought about power into headphones.  People really do exaggerate a lot about how much difference it makes, especially with a phone like the HE-500.  So what I'm saying is basically power isn't everything.  It's easy to get caught up in the hivemind of some outrageous claims on here.

 

The asgard is a very nice amp for its price still (and it looks good), but I find my LD to be more musical and  dynamic even if it loses in other technicalities.  There's a little too much hype around the asgard for my taste.  I believe there are many amps that compete quite easily in this price range.  I still have my bifrost though.  No complaints there.  Anyway, I know why little dot amps get so much respect around here.

 

Once again, if it's your thing, it's nice to give some money to a US company as well.  I personally do not care where my product comes from.

It's been discussed several times that amps, provided they have enough power, have very little influence over the sound produced by orthos, especially the HE-500. In that regard, your findings are not surprising at all. Also, tube amps are often more musical than their solid state counterparts due to harmonics and different imaging. Again, your findings are not surprising in those regards.

That is bad news for me about the HE-500, as I was seriously looking at getting a pair with my current setup.  With a 38Ω impedance, and the Asgard's apparent 1W into 50Ω, I figured there would be plenty of power for these cans.  What is the voltage output of the source you are using?  The specs on the LD MK II show only 100mW into 32Ω and 200mW into 120Ω, so I would have expected the Asgard to be much more powerful using the same source.  I know the sensitivity of the HE-500 is very low, so perhaps the issue is one of lacking voltage, as I assume that the current is more than adequate with the Asgard.

My source is the bifrost.  I use mullard ef92 with the little dot on the lowest gain setting, either that or +2db i can't remember.  Usually my volume is around 9 o clock, and the loudest I listen is 11.

 

The asgard is not bad by anymeans for the he-500 though.  The power just didn't make as much of a difference as I thought it was going to.  Volume is not an issue for me with the LD at all.

Edited by Llloyd - 3/17/12 at 2:36am

Hi

 

Just got my Schiit...and it's excellent.

 

My front end is a mac mini, fire wired HD with AIFF files, Sonos ZP90, Vertex AQ Aletheia Dac, Schiit Asgard, Ultrasone Pro900

 

very smooth, dynamic, lots of inner detail etc etc.... I love this Schiit. First headphone amp I have ever tried....bit of a headphone virgin here.. getting into it coz I will be without my speakers as one of the drive units went open circuit and it will be about 8weeks before it comes home..

 

Loving the great detail and general involvement headphones are giving me.. My Schiit is very quiet and not too hot.. put it vertical and it seems fine.. had it on for about 6 hours now.. so I am back to it people...

 

Best Regards

 

J

Hi there - 

 

I'm thinking of buying an Asgard which would mainly for use with the Sennheiser HD 800. Has anyone here (apart from Jude) heard that combo?

 

If I added the Asgard to my Lavry DA10 and HD 800 chain, would it affect the sound much or just be a very slight difference?

 

Thanks,

Windsor

It's my experience that the Asgard is pretty true to the source. Its changes to the sound chain are more subtractive than additive; the highs are slightly rolled off and there is a slight loss of the micro details. But as far as making the sound brighter or warmer, there is little worry about that. It's very neutral with a hint of smoothness. The smoothness is the result of the subtractive properties of the amp.

The Asgard might wind up being my first headphone amp.  Well, I do have a FiiO E7 + E9 on my PC, but at the moment I'm looking at putting together a second, headphones-only system made up of a CD player and an amp.

 

The price is just about perfect, and I like that it's made in the USA by a small group of people.

 

My headphone collection is all over the place-

 

Fun and affordable-  Sennheiser 201s (24ohm)

Audiophile- Grado 125 (32ohm)

Studio type- Shure 440s (44ohm)

 

And I just ordered my first pair of IEMs yesterday: Re-Zero (16ohm).

 

Sounds like the Asgard might be a good match for me.

The Asgard may not be a good match for IEMs.  It does have a fair bit of internal noise.
 

Hmm, interesting. What kind of noise is this, hodgjy? I've never noticed any noise with it. But I'm guessing you mean the noise would be exaggerated with IEMs due to their sensitivity?