New Balanced Schiit Amps? The information and anticipation thread.

[Hero Kid]

Apparently the price of the statement amp will be $750, give or take a few dollars.
More realistic pricing bellow.
 
Bump for good measure.

 

[Rebel975]

Oh man- my life is getting expensive. Do want, though.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Apparently the price of the statement amp will be $750, give or take a few dollars.
 
Bump for good measure.

Hmm, Shiit Statement vs. HiFiMAN EF6, should be good.

 

[dyl1dyl]

Quote:

Apparently the price of the statement amp will be $750, give or take a few dollars.
 
Bump for good measure.

I strongly suspect this is a miscommunication, perhaps they were referring to the upcoming minimalist amp instead as imo, $750 for their statement product (less than twice the lyr) is too low and it will make it impossible for their statement amp to compete with the current flagships like the Woo Wa22, Liquid Fire, Dark Star, etc.
 

 

[grokit]

That's probably for the middle amp, the balanced one.

 

[koonhua90]

Emailed Schiit Audio and got a reply from Jason himself, statement amp will run $1200 to $1500. The $750 one will be mid tier.
 
Should be out by Q1 2012, but there is no guarantee.

 

[Edoardo]

I'd be glad if Jason himself could reply this, I'm very curious about:
 
- Whether the mid-tier will have that "special" circuit topology Jason spoke about (  our balanced topology is not simply another amp stage running an inverted signal. )
 
- Vacuum tubes implementation in the reference amp, and the reason for the tube choice.
I've always thought vacuum tube + balanced circuits to be an "electric" nonsense when put together, but tubes work so well and transparently in certain top-notch pro gear ... So... I'm just very very curious.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hey guys,
 
We're trying not to announce any more details until the amps are available, but I can confirm the following:
 
1. The prices stated above are at least in the ballpark. We have to finalize the BOM before we can set final prices, so don't be surprised if it changes.
 
2. Both balanced amps will indeed use the same topology.
 
I probably won't be able to answer many more questions, I'm afraid.
 
All the best,
Jason

 

[Edoardo]

Thank you very much Jason! So fast 

 

[Rebel975]

$1,200-$1,500 might be beyond me. I might just have to settle for the middle tier of amp/DAC.We'll see.

 

[marcelo61]

hey Jason,can you tell us what tube gonna be use in the statement amp. try to get stock up some tubes first,since all the tubes price going up so crazy.
thank you 

 

[bmoura]

Quote:

 
Hmm, Shiit Statement vs. HiFiMAN EF6, should be good.

That would be an interesting comparison/shoot-out !

 

[dyl1dyl]

Quote:

hey Jason,can you tell us what tube gonna be use in the statement amp. try to get stock up some tubes first,since all the tubes price going up so crazy.
thank you 

 
Haha, dont think Jason can reveal that kind of information yet, so far from the statement's launch date. Perhaps more info on the balanced/minimalist amp and DAC first.

 

[Edoardo]

Well, a balanced amp which promises to use a revolutionary topology and a DAC that will have a couple of new tricks that I guarantee you haven't seen before on other DACs on the market don't sound mid-tierish nor minimalist, if not for the (promised) price range in which these guys will put them.
 
Up to now, the reference balanced amp seem to be just the "tubey" alternative to the mid-tier, as the Valhalla was to the Asgard, kind of.
Or at least, this is what Jason wants us and his competitors to think.
Tube stuff doesn't need to sound tubey. (As for example, certain pro tube preamps sound just OMG, very far from tube hi-fi stuff)
It depends on what Shiit is looking for. 
 
Exception for the reference DAC which promises to be redefining. I'm thinking about so many, so many, so many things... And maybe my dreams and guesses will be met, or surpassed... who knows

 

[dyl1dyl]

Quote:

Up to now, the reference balanced amp seem to be just the "tubey" alternative to the mid-tier, as the Valhalla was to the Asgard, kind of.
Or at least, this is what Jason wants us and his competitors to think. 
 
Exception for the reference DAC which promises to be redefining. I'm thinking about so many, so many, so many things... And maybe my dreams and guesses will be met, or surpassed... who knows

Sorry, I'm not dissing your point but I think that the Statement is going to be more like the lyr than the valhalla since its going to be a hybrid. Im totally with you about the Statement DAC though, very very excited