[kwkarth]

Quote:

After listening to the Asgard some more, I think kwkarth was right about the bass with the K701s...I still think the bass becomes a little more recessed, but the change is very subtle, and it's not nearly as pronounced as it originally seemed to me.  I don't know about that 300-500 Hz bump -- it might be the case.  No matter what the problem is, I still say that the pairing is not a good one.

I dragged out my K501s today and listened to them again along with the K701s.  I no longer hear the bump at 300-500Hz that I heard when I first listened to the Asgard with the 701s.  It must have still been burning in because whatever I heard before is not there now.  The 501s to the 701s are still relatively where they were in the old days with respect to one another, it's just that the Asgard seems to be able to drive them with more authority than I've heard before.
 

 

[kite7]

In other words, less is more

. I'll agree with you on Audio-gd, they use a lot of parts. Some people may think more parts = better but I haven't heard a Audio-gd so I can't testify to that.
Quote:

It's a testament to the idea that good sound is achieved through superior holistic circuit design and not through the sole use of premium parts, or the sheer number of parts (Audio-gd being one of the worst offenders).
 
 

 

[rhfactor1]

I need to preface this thread by saying that I have been looking to purchasing a new Headphone Amplifier for litttle over a year, I was first looking to possibly buying an inexpensive tube or tube hybrid. But as time has gone by I am becoming more enamored of buying a Shiit Asgard.
 
I was looking for an amp to possibily replace or accompany my Rega Ear, the source is my stalwart Toshiba SD-3960 DVD/CD player. The reasons behind this was the Rega has a very old school SS SQ to me which is very dry and unforgiving which is not bad for some HP's-I think it sounds very good with my vintage Beyer DT-990 600 ohm, the Denon D-1001 and my Philips HP-910, but I think it sounds awful with my Grado SR-125-not very good synergy (way to stringent in the mid's and high's).
 
Then I thought I may purchase something more than just an amp, maybe an Amp/Dac combo that could be used with my Dell CPU as a source (about 5 yrs. old installed with a very so-so soundcard). This is when I discovered by way of purchase through e-bay the Fournier SDAC-1 Headphone Amp and USB Dac,
 
The decsion between the two have pros and cons: the Shiit seems to be the best FOTM amp available for the money and I would really like to purchase one before the price goes up (and we all know it will-hopefully later than sooner). But there has also been a few issues show up as far as QC (one received DOA, silkscreen labeling, and not very good synergy with some headphones), also haven't heard any comments about synergy with lower priced Grado's. The big question on the Shiit is should I just go ahead and purchase it and then probably get a good inexpensive DAC for computer listening at a later date? Then the Fournier SDAC-1 comes along that seems to be very good for the money that has a DAC included and even quite a bit less expensive than the Shiit. But with the Fournier there is a big glaring problem-there is no info. on SQ, ease of use, synergy with any headphones-nothing.
 
The main reson that both of these amplifiers intrigue me so much is that they are both U.S.A. made with a very good parts list, both are very attractive to me, and both seem to be designed very well by the people that designed them. And they would both give me a very different type of SS SQ than what I am receiving now.
 
Or should I just cut-my-loses-now and wait till the next great inexpensive FOTM Amplifier comes along.
 
Any insights, comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
Happy Listening.

 

[Herb3]

Absolutely right!
Look at http://www.by-rutgers.nl/HeadPhoneAmp.html
Success!

 

[Br777]

The three amp showdown has begun...
 

 

[rhfactor1]

Bump

 

[ConGrUenCy]

Yeah, I'm in the same predacament. Either the Schiit Asgard or the Matrix M Stage. Both are of a similar price range, and both are equally reputed around here.

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

...the silk-screening of the logos / labels seems sketchy to me.  It doesn't look like it would take much to rub some of it off.
 

 
I thought that I'd share some pictures of the silkscreen image of the Schiit logo.
To the left of the Asgard is the Fi Yph Phone stage.
To the right it's the WooAudio 2.


Above: Schiit Audio Ascard along side the Woo Audio 22. Happy together.
 

 

[kwkarth]

Nice pics Clayton!

 

[Maxvla]

Not to sound unappreciative, but do you have any pics with a bit more perspective and a bit less extreme angle?

 

[alphaphoenix]

Clayton.  Your pictures are identicle to mine.  The letters "r" and "d" is partially missing.  I'm guesing most look like this.  No matter, the sound they help produce is phenomonal for the admission price. 

 

[Maxvla]

I don't see it as missing, but a stylistic cue of the font used. The 'missing' areas are both perfect squares.

 

[kite7]

Quote:

Clayton.  Your pictures are identicle to mine.  The letters "r" and "d" is partially missing.  I'm guesing most look like this.  No matter, the sound they help produce is phenomonal for the admission price. 

It's intentional and it's just the pixelated font style; there are no round edges.

 

[Canuck57]

 
Quote:

It's intentional and it's just the pixelated font style; there are no round edges.

 
 Agreed, portions of the R & D are missing on the pics on Schiit's website. I'd prefer a different font with "solid" letters as it looks like the R & D are partially rubbed off. However, it's no big deal.
 

 

[Clayton SF]

Thanks for the compliments.

 
Quote:

Not to sound unappreciative, but do you have any pics with a bit more perspective and a bit less extreme angle?

Sure. Glad to oblige; consider it done. I had to back up a little bit to included the CD jewel case as reference. You can't see the details of the logo but you can now get an idea of the Asgard's size next to the jewel case.