[Roscoeiii]

Quote:

I really want to stress that the architecture is very interesting at the price point.
 
For example, lets compare to buying a similarly priced (US$280) Corda Swing, which is an OPAMP + BUF634. My techno junky juices aren't exactly flowing...... the BUF634 would melt at the quiescent current that the output FETs are running in the Asgard. And while I have absolutely nothing against OPAMPs, the discrete voltage amplification stage could be an improvement.
 
Or compare to the more expensive (CA$389) Kicas Caliente which appears to have a similar discrete architecture, but far less output power than the Asgard.
 
So if the sound quality of the Asgard can match the technical potential, it is really going to shake things up and will hopefully force existing manufacturers to improve the value of their products.

+1
 
It is the Class A discrete output that really gets me excited here too. Needed a high current amp that drives low impedence headphones like my HE-5LEs well, and *plop* the Schiit Asgard appears on the scene. 

 

[rhfactor1]

Sometimes I believe as Head-Fier's we "can't see the forest through the trees" so to speak. We want to have audio "Nirvana" or in this case audio "Valhalla" in the best and least expensive way possible, we are always looking for the best bang-for-the-buck-item possible. For the last two years I've been looking for a possile replacement headphone amp for what I have and something has always stopped me, usually just one or two negative comments about a certain product. We always want to "have our cake and eat it to"; maybe there will never be a perfect headphone amplifier for all applcations, but this will not stop us from trying to look for one. Until I have more info. on SQ the Asgard may not be the amplifier for me, the main concern I have would be the mechanical hum coming from the unit is rectified or explained away enough to my satisfaction  or I may take a chance and learn to live with it. There are so many things that are appealing in the Schiit products it's hard to put "excitement and emotion" on a back burner. Why shouldn't we be excited about a U.S.A. designed and manufactured product, we should be proud of a made in America product that may be essentially world beaters to their particular price points. For right now I'm going to keep an open mind and if there are any glaring so-called problems with the Schiit products they can be cleared up without to much problem, I really hope Schiit makes a go-of-it in a fiscal way because I believe their products to be very sound on an engineering, build quality and a  humorous level. Sorry if I rambled to much. Happy Listening.

.

 

[chesebert]

Will there be an international version? 110/220 switchable?
 
110V only Schitt is useless to me at this point.

 

[kwkarth]

My Asgard arrived this morning.  So far, I am impressed outright, on an absolute basis.  The packaging is more than adequate, very protective of the product, and yet not wasteful.
 
Product design is clean, straight forward and minimalist.  I like it.
 
I plugged the unit in, turned it on, and let it warm up for 30 minutes or so.
 
Now that it's been running for a couple of hours, it does run very warm.  Based upon chassis design and manufacturer's suggestion it seems to me that running it in the vertical orientation might provide slightly better convective cooling than running it horizontally, so I put the feet on the right side and have it standing with the volume knob to the bottom.  I can hear, as Jude did, a very slight 120hz lamination buzz from the power supply.  No biggie, ambient room noise completely obscures it.
 
Oh, you want to know about the sound?  First of all, let me say that the gain is more than sufficient to drive any cans I've tried, including a couple of orthos along with the LCD-2's.  Slightly louder than comfortable (most material) with the volume pot at 12 o'clock, there seems to be more than enough headroom.  Detail open, evident, and not *etched* in any artificial way.  Vocals are clear, full and natural.  Percussive slam is abundant when called for and completely unstrained.  Bass seems to be more than adequate and well controlled.  The resolving power of this amp is such that it's at least enough to resolve different sources and interconnects.  Imaging and soundstage seems to be very good, accurate.  With no input, output is silent, even at full gain.
 
At the start of this post, I mentioned that I was impressed on an absolute basis.  On a relative basis, I am floored.  At this price point, I've not heard any worthy competition.
 
Ok, so that's my 10 minute first impressions...  More to come later.

 

[reiserFS]

This amp seems like a gift send from god himself for starving students, thanks for the initial impressions kwkarth.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

My Asgard arrived this morning.  So far, I am impressed outright, on an absolute basis.  The packaging is more than adequate, very protective of the product, and yet not wasteful.
 
Product design is clean, straight forward and minimalist.  I like it.
 
I plugged the unit in, turned it on, and let it warm up for 30 minutes or so.
 
Now that it's been running for a couple of hours, it does run very warm.  Based upon chassis design and manufacturer's suggestion it seems to me that running it in the vertical orientation might provide slightly better convective cooling than running it horizontally, so I put the feet on the right side and have it standing with the volume knob to the bottom.  I can hear, as Jude did, a very slight 120hz lamination buzz from the power supply.  No biggie, ambient room noise completely obscures it.
 
Oh, you want to know about the sound?  First of all, let me say that the gain is more than sufficient to drive any cans I've tried, including a couple of orthos along with the LCD-2's.  Slightly louder than comfortable (most material) with the volume pot at 12 o'clock, there seems to be more than enough headroom.  Detail open, evident, and not *etched* in any artificial way.  Vocals are clear, full and natural.  Percussive slam is abundant when called for and completely unstrained.  Bass seems to be more than adequate and well controlled.  The resolving power of this amp is such that it's at least enough to resolve different sources and interconnects.  Imaging and soundstage seems to be very good, accurate.  With no input, output is silent, even at full gain.
 
At the start of this post, I mentioned that I was impressed on an absolute basis.  On a relative basis, I am floored.  At this price point, I've not heard any worthy competition.
 
Ok, so that's my 10 minute first impressions...  More to come later.

Great! sounds like a well-implemented single-ended class A amp with FET output device. 
 
To Schitt: are you going to make an international version with switchable voltage input any time soon?
 

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

This amp seems like a gift send from god himself for starving students, thanks for the initial impressions kwkarth.

This is a starving student's dream!

 

[nbourbaki]

Quote:

Oh, you want to know about the sound?  First of all, let me say that the gain is more than sufficient to drive any cans I've tried, including a couple of orthos along with the LCD-2's.  Slightly louder than comfortable (most material) with the volume pot at 12 o'clock, there seems to be more than enough headroom.  Detail open, evident, and not *etched* in any artificial way.  Vocals are clear, full and natural.  Percussive slam is abundant when called for and completely unstrained.  Bass seems to be more than adequate and well controlled.  The resolving power of this amp is such that it's at least enough to resolve different sources and interconnects.  Imaging and soundstage seems to be very good, accurate.  With no input, output is silent, even at full gain.

Ok, so that's my 10 minute first impressions...  More to come later.

Thanks for sharing your first impressions of the amp.  I was looking for your impressions using your LCD-2 HPs, so thank you for taking the time for your write-up.  It would be helpful if you could compare the amp with other amps you're familiar with, comparing it's strengths and weakness.

 

[NapalmK]

Awesome. It's going to be really hard to wait before more impressions come out as everything has been positive thus far. Kwkarth I'd love to hear how it stacks up to your other amps (once it's fully burned in of course). Thanks for the impressions!

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Thanks for sharing your first impressions of the amp.  I was looking for your impressions using your LCD-2 HPs, so thank you for taking the time for your write-up.  It would be helpful if you could compare the amp with other amps you're familiar with, comparing it's strengths and weakness.

That will come in time.

 

[Skylab]

Great info, KW.  I'm really keen to hear the Valhalla now!!!!!

 

[Dojomoto]

 I hope someone can compare the Asgard to a CKKIII, sometime in the (not too distant) future. I would be interested in upgrading in the next 6 months, and at this price point it's an easy justification. Well, to me. My wife on the other hand ....

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Quote:

My Asgard arrived this morning.  So far, I am impressed outright, on an absolute basis.  The packaging is more than adequate, very protective of the product, and yet not wasteful.
 
Product design is clean, straight forward and minimalist.  I like it.
 
I plugged the unit in, turned it on, and let it warm up for 30 minutes or so.
 
Now that it's been running for a couple of hours, it does run very warm.  Based upon chassis design and manufacturer's suggestion it seems to me that running it in the vertical orientation might provide slightly better convective cooling than running it horizontally, so I put the feet on the right side and have it standing with the volume knob to the bottom.  I can hear, as Jude did, a very slight 120hz lamination buzz from the power supply.  No biggie, ambient room noise completely obscures it.
 
Oh, you want to know about the sound?  First of all, let me say that the gain is more than sufficient to drive any cans I've tried, including a couple of orthos along with the LCD-2's.  Slightly louder than comfortable (most material) with the volume pot at 12 o'clock, there seems to be more than enough headroom.  Detail open, evident, and not *etched* in any artificial way.  Vocals are clear, full and natural.  Percussive slam is abundant when called for and completely unstrained.  Bass seems to be more than adequate and well controlled.  The resolving power of this amp is such that it's at least enough to resolve different sources and interconnects.  Imaging and soundstage seems to be very good, accurate.  With no input, output is silent, even at full gain.
 
At the start of this post, I mentioned that I was impressed on an absolute basis.  On a relative basis, I am floored.  At this price point, I've not heard any worthy competition.
 
Ok, so that's my 10 minute first impressions...  More to come later.

Thanks..the Asgard really couldn't have come at a better time. Mines should be arriving any day now. Can't wait to try it with the LCD2's. 

 

[sachu]

I am looking forward to listening to the Asgard..hopefully sometime tis week

 

[Br777]

OK, another genuine question here..
 
Why hasnt anyone ever been able to pull this off before?
I certainly know nothing of amp build technology, but it seems like people are saying that they arent reinventing the wheel here.. so...
What makes these guys so special?
is it their skill level?
have they made a breakthrough of some kind?
have they found a way to get parts cheaper than anyone else somehow?
all of the above?