[aspenx]

I'd love too...
 
I would do that if my geographical location allowed.
 
We don't have access to so many amplifiers nor do we have such return policies where I'm living now.

 

[Br777]

my asgard just arrived.. and it works!  
 
these are very rough first few minute impressions, subject to change...
 
right off the bat when a/bing with the hifiman ef5 I am noticing its harder to distingush between the two than it was with the ef5 vs the decware
 
in other words, the asgard sounds better than the decware. (decware is a portable and retails for $375 shipped)
 
with asgard voices seem a bit more forward maybe
sound stage bigger with ef5?
vocals a little thinner with asgard?
 
definatley harder to tell.. i think my ears need a rest...

 

[Br777]

yeah the vocals are definately fuller and smoother on the ef5... cant say im surprised
 
overall the music sounds richer and fuller and bigger on the ef5
 
the asgard is more precise and sharp though, and the high and mids are a bit more prominent and clear
 
the ef5 sounds slightly dark and rounder compared to the asgard's brighter and sharper presentation
 
well, we'll give the tired ears a rest and burn the asgard a bit.... more impressions later

 

[Br777]

boy i wish i had a way to a/b with no lag time, its really tough to catch the subtlties between these two amps, but they are definately there...its just hard to pin down - there is a clear difference in the overall presentation of the music..

the asgard- more attack, more precision, tighter sound, and slightly more forward mids and highs, and slightly thinner sound

the ef5 - rounder, fuller sound due to more forward bass and low mids, but less prominent upper mids / highs.  overall sound is a bit more laid back - voices are fuller, clearer, more true to life and pure sounding.. liquid is a good word.  the ef5 definately wins the vocal presentation, but tubes will do that.

of course all of these assessments are still very early with less than an hour on the asgard.. also the fact that the ef5 is tube hybrid, and the asgard is solid state makes all the findings so far relatively on par with what is expected i suppose.

as far as overall sound quality I cant say i can make a distinction and say one sounds "better" than the other.  Even comeing to a conclusion regarding which one I prefer is going to be a challenge:

lets keep in mind that the asgard was $250 and the EF5 is $400
 
more later.. burn burn burn..

 

[Thaddy]

I'd be interested in hearing about the differences between the soon to be released Valhalla and the EF5 since they're closer in price range and both tube amps.  Well, not quite the same type of tube amp, but I'm sure the Valhalla will have a warmer sound than the Asgard.

 

[kite7]

What do you make of the soundstages of Asgard vs Ef5?

 

[Br777]

 
Quote:

I'd be interested in hearing about the differences between the soon to be released Valhalla and the EF5 since they're closer in price range and both tube amps.  Well, not quite the same type of tube amp, but I'm sure the Valhalla will have a warmer sound than the Asgard.

yes that would be interesting...I've never actually heard a full tube amp, but alas, im being told the valhalla wont play well with my thunderpants... say... is that maynard in your avatar photo? bet you never expected anyone to recognize that one eh?   i always liked that shot of him... if its not him, then you did a good job of replicating it, and looking like him

 

[Thaddy]

Well, you never know until you give it a listen!
 
And yes, it's Maynard.  He's been my avatar for the past 6 years

 

[Br777]

Quote:

What do you make of the soundstages of Asgard vs Ef5?

its so hard to say b/c by the time i have switched the wires.. be it only a matter of seconds, its really hard to get a proper A/B, but I am doing my best to assess that so ill let you know at some point
i suppose its this way with most amp comparisons, but if i didnt have these two here to A/B this would be impossible...  and just to be clear in case i havent been up to this point, the asgard sounds great! 
 
The thunderpants are the kind of headphones that simply NEED an amp... some people, especially beginning head-fiers get cans and when they get an amp, especially an entry level amp, they dont notice a difference, but with the TP's  the difference amp vs no amp is massive - just throwing that out there to give some more legitimacy to the comparison...

 

[Br777]

boy the more i burn in the asgard, and the more i compare, the harder this distinguishing is getting
 
the sound stages are very similar.. again hard to tell a real difference.
 
the slightly thinner sound of the asgard (basically the non tube sound)  may lend to the overall sound appearing a bit less full, but not really less wide, if that makes any sense.  as far as the overall bigness of the sound stages, i cant really say one sounds bigger than the other... or better or worse either.
 
I dont know that i have much more to add at this point..  I definately cant say one is better than the other.  though the allure of those tubey sounding mids is pretty hard to ignore
 
ill try more variety of music, and run some sine waves to see if i can gather any definitive frequency response info.    Compared to the ef5, I cant notice any rolloff in the bass on the asgard, and there certainly doesnt seem to be any in the highs... they seem to be fairing as equals in the extension department, just presenting the various frequencies at different volumes, forwardness, and intensities.

 

[Br777]

ive confirmed via sine wave that both amps seem to produce equal frequency response.. there is no noticable rolloff in either direction on either amp relative to the performance abilities of the Thunderpants
 
though its very difficult to say for sure, but it seems the asgard has warmed up a bit in its overall presentation since the first listen (FWIW im not a firm believer or disbeliever in burn in)
 
its definitely going to be very difficult to decide which amp to keep here.  Certainly a preference over performance decision.  I get the feeling that whichever amp i keep it will be for reasons that are more personal and not relative to comparing these two amps in any way..  given the fact that i like a bit of variety in my life i doubt id keep either one indefinitely anyway...
 
i get the feeling that there wont be any drastic changes in the asgard at this point.  ill give it its fair burn in time just to be sure, but i think my comments thus far stand pretty firm
 
the ef5 does seem to have more power, and im pretty sure its rated as such.. i have to turn the volume up more on the asgard than the ef5, but for me this means nothing...
 
There is a slight chance that i may get ahold of a cavalli CTH (another tube hybrid that is supposed to sound way better than its price of approx $200)
so this showdown may go mena-ja-4
 
so overall ill have to agree, a great amp for the money. 

 

[Br777]

BTW if anyone has any questions or anything they want me to comment on or try id be happy to abide as long as im capable...

 

[HK_sends]

Quote:

...i get the feeling that there wont be any drastic changes in the asgard at this point.  ill give it its fair burn in time just to be sure, but i think my comments thus far stand pretty firm

 
Someone posted in another thread that you needed about 40 hours burn-in to fully develop the sound of the Asgard.
 
Cheers!

-HK sends

 

 

[Br777]

yes im aware of that, and ive mentioned in this thread a few times that im going to do so

 

[francisdemarte]

Quote:

There is a slight chance that i may get ahold of a cavalli CTH (another tube hybrid that is supposed to sound way better than its price of approx $200)
so this showdown may go mena-ja-4
 
so overall ill have to agree, a great amp for the money. 

Should also consider the SOHA II then, suppose to be a step up from the CTH.