[kwkarth]

A few more thoughts and observations on the Asgard,  (Shouldn't it be spelled Asgaard?  My brain keeps wanting me to use two "a's" in the spelling)
 
However it should be spelled...  
 
I did a little subjective comparison between the Asgard and the Dared D5 / JV5 and the Meier Audio Corda Aria, all of them driving the LCD-2s.
 
The more I listen to the Asgard, the more I am coming to appreciate it for its honesty.  
 
Subjectively comparing it to the D5 / JV5, which sounds real nice in it's own right, the D5 has a little more presence, a very little more bump in the bottom, and a little etch and grain in the top.  The Asgard does not have the bottom bump, does not have the slightly added presence, nor the etched top end.  
 
At first blush, the Asgard is boring by comparison.  
 
With extended listening, however, the Asgard's smoothness, freedom from grain, and overall accuracy throughout the spectrum is a welcome sanctuary from "Hi-Fi" and an appreciated return to reality.  When the program calls for bump, it bumps, when the program calls for thunder, it thunders, when the program calls for a little twinkle, it twinkles.  It does precisely what it is told to do, nothing more, nothing less.  I can't believe I'm hearing and saying these things about a $250.00, made in the USA, amp!
 
The Meier Audio Aria is a little more honest than the JV5, but doesn't have anywhere near the headroom that the Asgard does.  It's a little smoother than the JV5, but does have a gentle bump at the bottom.  In most cases, the Aria would drive the LCD-2s quite well, but there's no room left overhead.
 
I did not listen critically for extreme extension to any of the amps in this session.  I already know the Asgard easily goes all the way to the basement, and the JV5, in previous sessions, does not have much to offer below 35Hz or so.
 
In summation, I don't know what's going on with this Asgard, but I'm beginning to sound like a fanboy all over again.  I swear it's not the dreaded FOTM syndrome.  I was skeptical about this amp, and it's certainly not a "perfect" amp, but, darn!  Sonically, it's really sweet, and it seems really accurate and clean.  More to come, as time passes and Schiit happens...
 

 

[mmayer167]

Thanks for the impressions kw! I agree, as I listen more and more I'm really appreciating this amp. I think I'm going to budget some hd600's to see how much they differ with the Asgard compared to my k601's.  cheers, mm

 

[Br777]

To the various people who seemed confident that the Thunderpants would sound better on the asgard than the valhalla -
how did you know?
im always lost when people seem to know what amps will work well with what cans, especially when they either havent heard the amp, or the cans. 
are there some basic concepts that yall could share to help shed some light on this subject?
 
if the manufacturer, or the specs say - best with xx ohm cans, or dont use with xx ohm cans - fine easy enough, but beyond that people say things like oh such and such dont do well with an OTL amp, or the thunderpants will definately work better with the valhalla.. my brain just sort blows a fuse.
 
help please

 
thanks

 

[achristilaw]

It's complicated in that the relationship of (V) Voltage and (I) current have an inverse relationship (think opposite of each other). So when you think of tube think (V) Voltage. And when you hear discrete transistor, think (I) current. Your Thunder-Britches would be better from an "I" source typically as they are lower in impedance AND resistive in nature. The closer and impedance reaches toward "0", the more current it will gobble. It "see's" and "seams" closer toward a "short" because less of the X/L and X/C variants are in the way, and the "current" river flows more freely!
 
Transformer coupled or no, tubes have less available current (typically), and run into trouble more easily when the current demand is higher...like Ortho use!
 
VERY OVERSIMPLIFIED! (for instructional use only!) 

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

To the various people who seemed confident that the Thunderpants would sound better on the asgard than the valhalla -
how did you know?
im always lost when people seem to know what amps will work well with what cans, especially when they either havent heard the amp, or the cans. 
are there some basic concepts that yall could share to help shed some light on this subject?
 
if the manufacturer, or the specs say - best with xx ohm cans, or dont use with xx ohm cans - fine easy enough, but beyond that people say things like oh such and such dont do well with an OTL amp, or the thunderpants will definately work better with the valhalla.. my brain just sort blows a fuse.
 
help please

 
thanks

The TP's are about the same overall efficiency as the LCD-2s and have an impedance that is nominally 50 ohms which is purely resistive.  They are primarily current driven devices.  The Asgard is designed primarily to drive lower impedance headphones.
 
The Valhalla is primarily designed to most efficiently drive higher impedance headphones, such as the BeyerDynamic T1 whose nominal impedance is 600 ohms.  It should also do well with the Sennheiser 300 ohm cans such as the HD-580/600/650.
 
That is not to say that the Asgard cannot drive T1s or that the Valhalla cannot drive an AKG @ 52 ohms.  It is just what the respective amps will be most efficient at driving according to the specs that were published at their web site a week ago.  
 
I see now that the specific output capacity is no longer being qualified so it would seem that their spec is being revised.
 

 

[Br777]

Quote:

It's complicated in that the relationship of (V) Voltage and (I) current have an inverse relationship (think opposite of each other). So when you think of tube think (V) Voltage. And when you hear discrete transistor, think (I) current. Your Thunder-Britches would be better from an "I" source typically as they are lower in impedance AND resistive in nature. The closer and impedance reaches toward "0", the more current it will gobble. It "see's" and "seams" closer toward a "short" because less of the X/L and X/C variants are in the way, and the "current" river flows more freely!
 
Transformer coupled or no, tubes have less available current (typically), and run into trouble more easily when the current demand is higher...like Ortho use!
 
VERY OVERSIMPLIFIED! (for instructional use only!) 

 
you lost me at It's...
 
Thanks for trying .. looks like its ignorant bliss for me. 

 

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

you lost me at It's...
Thanks for trying .. looks like its ignorant bliss for me. 

 

It was clear a week ago that the Asgard would have theoretically worked better for the LCD-2, however, Shiit seems to be slightly revising the published spec for the Valhalla, so when it comes out, it would be worth trying both amps and let your ears be the judge.
 

 

[Asr]

I ordered one on Tuesday and it got here today (Friday). I really like these guys at Schiit Audio, they even throw in a power cord, an RCA-mini interconnect, the manual (which is hilarious), and 4 stick-on rubber feet. I foresee the stick-on rubber feet being useless though, if the amp gets as hot as reported. I intend to find out how hot the amp gets first and depending on the heat I might not bother with the rubber feet and will probably get something to elevate the amp instead, like maybe a set of those anti-vibration cones.
 

 

 

[grokit]

Any chance we could look forward to a Schiitty balanced amp?

 

[achristilaw]

That's a nice chunk of an amp!

 

[achristilaw]

Quote:

It was clear a week ago that the Asgard would have theoretically worked better for the LCD-2, however, Shiit seems to be slightly revising the published spec for the Valhalla, so when it comes out, it would be worth trying both amps and let your ears be the judge.
 

He has a pair of Thunderpants I think....not the LCD-2....Your gonna have to buy one and get back to us regarding synergy between the Valhalla and Audez'e.

 

 

[brendon]

Um, I dunno if anyone asked this before, but do they ship internationally ? I would love to buy a reliable USA made amp than a Chinese made tube amp.

 

[kite7]

Quote:

Um, I dunno if anyone asked this before, but do they ship internationally ? I would love to buy a reliable USA made amp than a Chinese made tube amp.

They do. As far as I know, they will ship anywhere as long as you pay for the cost.
 
http://schiit.com/schiit-faq/international/

 

[aqsw]

In other words, The asgaard would be the better amp for me(Shure SRH750DJs). I really wanted to try tubes!!
I'm a real Noob and appreciate all the wisdom on these forums.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

It's complicated in that the relationship of (V) Voltage and (I) current have an inverse relationship (think opposite of each other). So when you think of tube think (V) Voltage. And when you hear discrete transistor, think (I) current. Your Thunder-Britches would be better from an "I" source typically as they are lower in impedance AND resistive in nature. The closer and impedance reaches toward "0", the more current it will gobble. It "see's" and "seams" closer toward a "short" because less of the X/L and X/C variants are in the way, and the "current" river flows more freely!
 
Transformer coupled or no, tubes have less available current (typically), and run into trouble more easily when the current demand is higher...like Ortho use!
 
VERY OVERSIMPLIFIED! (for instructional use only!) 

 
So what's stopping designers from doing parallel output devices?  Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds - tube's warmth, harmonics + SS current drive?
 
Disclaimer: I know nothing about tube-based circuits.  So if the question is obvious/noobish, please bear with me.