From 2013 (holy smokes) here is the Schiit Bifrost. I love this thing. It was a big time birthday present to myself and was my "reference" DAC for about 5 years. I can't estimate power-on time, but it was generally only on when I was actively listening to music, so certainly not 24/7 as some...

Purchased waaaay back in 2015, here is the Schiit Asgard 2. Very lightly used, perhaps 100 or so hours, not because I don't like it, but because I played a lot of Borderlands 2 with a USB headset and didn't want to be in phones afterward. Then it was in storage Then I caught the balanced bug...

  Yes, as far as I understand it.   However! FWIW, I have moved my DAC and amp to the same pool of outlets and did not notice a difference. I believe if you have gear with well-designed and built power supplies, noise will not be an issue.   AFAIK, the "digital" sockets are meant to prevent...

  It is! I've since moved to a new place, and it survived the relocation.   I've also added an Asgard 2 to the Bifrost with a set of Sony MDR-7506. The noise floor is absolutely non-existent. I credit most of that to the amp, but again, the strip does nothing to harm the overall quality.  ...

The lack of significant volume control in my loudspeaker system drives me bonkers. My space is pretty small, and my ears are pretty sensitive; with the gain in stuff I seem to go directly from channel imbalance to too loud without any range. On some older albums it's less of an issue, but it...

No problem. I hoped it would be a good start to somebody's weekend.   I laughed when the carrier dropped off the box, it was 8 x 16 x 26 inches. I've been chuckling about it ever since.

TL;DR: No voodoo, just power. Quite large, heavier than I was expecting.   --   It was early at the warehouse, but Jerry liked to get started before the rest of the crew rolled in. He pulled his packing list and retrieved his favorite cart: a yellow-and-black plastic, caster wheeled jobber he'd...

Perfect! Thanks. My hearing is crazy sensitive, so I'm always looking for volume controls that don't add a lot of gain.   I'm excited for the 3 settings on Ragnarok+speaker outs, but my upcoming roommate change will require me to go back to headphones w/occasional monitor use. A2 is my top...

I'm curious on its use as preamp as well, specifically if the gain switch affects the pre-out.   My search-fu is failing me, sorry if this has been covered.

The one in my dining area (apartment) emits a slight glow even when switched off, but doesn't emit any noise from the switch unless it's turned on. So, ymmv, depending on the switch and what circuit it's on.   The wiring in my place is fairly dodgy anyway. When the upstairs neighbor uses the...

On ground loop-style hum; my common culprits have been CCFL light bulbs and cheap dimmer switches.

  Where is my optical cable!?!?!

Bifrost showed up today! I'm pretty much beside myself while I wait to get home and try it out...

I'd second checking your cables against another set.    My Magni drove a set of Mad Dogs to painful levels before 12 o'clock unless I backed off on the digital volume. It certainly has the grunt factor. Admittedly, the impedance on those is low, so regardless of their sensitivity the Magni was...

I just got a set with the Alpha pads yesterday (7/1). Stupid fast turn-around, I ordered on Thursday morning (6/27), so a big thanks to Dan, et al. for that.   I settled in for a bit with them and got to hear the complete bass line on Georgio... on the new Daft Punk for the first...

Anybody need a kidney?   I've got a spare!

Just chiming in, sorry if this has been discussed in depth elsewhere:   I received Modi a few days ago and am using it to feed a pair of Audioengine A2. The A2s are fun, if a little fat in the low-end for my taste.   Magni tightened everything up, so the extended bass is still very...

Of course I saw this thread today. >.<   Jason, you guys will get some of my money eventually.

  Quote: Agreed!  

Just got my Mixamp yesterday. I watched an episode of Firefly and ran around in Borderlands for a bit with my Senn HD497.  Cool piece of kit; smooth damping action on the knobs, a click-stop at 50/50 on the mix knob, decent sound so far and plenty of drive for my 497s (32 ohm/112 db).   I...

Bummer.   If it's an interference issue and it isn't coming from inside your pc, then it might be a ground loop problem, or there might be something running near the amp causing it.  Fluorescent lights, dimmer switches in the house, your fridge, etc. can sometimes cause RF.   If you...

No problem.  Don't forget to check the for sale forums here, you should be able to get something to try for a good deal.   Enjoy your tubes!

My money is on the card picking up some interference inside your PC.   I've been chasing this problem around since I started hearing my mouse wheel through my Cambridge PC Works speakers back in '03.   Common solutions include usb-based dacs and soundcards, or using an optical connection...

Thanks guys, I'm finding I still have a lot of research (and listening) to do, so please consider this thread closed. I'll repost in the suggestion thread if I don't figure out a combo I like.   That's a great suggestion--I had missed the Bottlehead stuff during my initial research.  ...

Of course, I just saw this thread.   Apologies for my noobness.