[madwolfa]

My old X-CAN V3 had "Class A" written on its back, but it was dead cold compared to my Asgard 2 (well, maybe slightly warm). Output transistors didn't even have radiators on them. Makes me wonder...

 

[jeremy205100]

To add to the volume pot question above, I am now listening to my computer through my DAC and it's only at like 9 o'clock. So the CD player is definitely peculiar.

 

[StanD]

   
The only full Class A amps I've heard in my system were headphone amps...Class A speaker amps are like space heaters, are usually very heavy and very expensive. Both of my speaker amps are from Parasound, the A21 and A23 and they're both high bias Class A/AB designs. The first X amount of watts are Class A and then they slide into AB. There's no doubt at all that a Class AB amp can sound great...it comes down to design, parts quality and execution. 
 
I only meant that so many amps are called "Class A" yet they're cool/slightly warm to the touch. I've been at this since the mid 80's and Class A has always meant "to me" that the amp will run very warm to hot. I don't care if my amps are powered by hamsters running on a belt as long as they sound good to me. The Asgard 2 sounds very nice to me...without the use of hamsters. (to the best of my knowledge)

The reason you can't see the hamsters is due to technological improvements, they've been miniaturized. Intel is planning their use in the next generation of CPU's. I've heard that Apple has already incorporated them in the new 64 bit chip used in the latest iPhone. I believe you will soon see a new slogan, instead of "Intel Inside," it'll be "Hamsters Inside."

 

[gefski]

The reason you can't see the hamsters is due to technological improvements, they've been miniaturized. Intel is planning their use in the next generation of CPU's. I've heard that Apple has already incorporated them in the new 64 bit chip used in the latest iPhone. I believe you will soon see a new slogan, instead of "Intel Inside," it'll be "Hamsters Inside."

There's already an upgrade coming for the belt rollers--polished titanium shafts with teflon bushings.

 

[terance]

You really have to get the carbon fiber or Kevlar shafts.

I think the titanium shafts sounds far too bright and you might even get sibilence after that upgrade.

Tell us what you think though.

 

[OkawaiiO]

After using the Lyr for 2 week im back to using Asgard 2. I realized how close the asgard 2 is to the lyr in terms of sound quality. the Lyr does sound a bit better, but I wouldn't mind with either and without A/B i wouldn't always beable to tell the difference.

 

[markm1]

  After using the Lyr for 2 week im back to using Asgard 2. I realized how close the asgard 2 is to the lyr in terms of sound quality. the Lyr does sound a bit better, but I wouldn't mind with either and without A/B i wouldn't always beable to tell the difference.

Interesting...good to hear.

 

[StanD]

You really have to get the carbon fiber or Kevlar shafts.

I think the titanium shafts sounds far too bright and you might even get sibilence after that upgrade.

Tell us what you think though.

I wonder which is best for overclocking. I wouldn't to overheat the hamster, give it a heart attack and burn out his Schiit.

 

[KLJTech]

  I wonder which is best for overclocking. I wouldn't to overheat the hamster, give it a heart attack and burn out his Schiit.

 
Don't be ridiculous, when's the last time you heard that an amps hamster had suffered a heart attack? I guess its "possible" that if you were to block the air holes atop the amp that the hamster could/would have difficulty breathing yet I haven't heard of any issues yet. 

 

[StanD]

Don't be ridiculous, when's the last time you heard that an amps hamster had suffered a heart attack? I guess its "possible" that if you were to block the air holes atop the amp that the hamster could/would have difficulty breathing yet I haven't heard of any issues yet. 

You might be right, it's more likely to get heatstroke in an Asgard 2.

I wonder which is best for overclocking. I wouldn't to overheat the hamster, give it a heart attack and burn out his Schiit.

 

[madwolfa]

So I just realized that the Asgard 2 is the best measured single-ended amplifier in a whole Schiit lineup.. It also has a lot of power and very low output impedance. So it's the most versatile too.
What else to wish for if you're not up for some tube romance? I've also heard some controversy about using the headphones in balanced mode... For me the A2 remains the endgame solution.

 

[hodgjy]

Couple thoughts:
 
Output impedance is an important spec, but I think it's slightly overrated.  Yes, I know all about damping factor.  But, just because something is a better technical match, it doesn't mean it always sounds the best to the user.  My TEAC HA-501 has variable output impedance (0.4 ohm to 5 ohm), and I've found that both my high impedance Sennheisers and low impedance SHures sound the best to me when using mid or high output impedance.  It's slightly more euphonic.
 
Balanced headphone amps offer more power and slightly lower noise.  That's about it.  I've seen arguments both pro and con about how balanced supposedly sounds different than single-ended, but there's really no objective consensus.  I think it comes down to this: if you need more power, for say orthos, balanced -can provide that.  Other than that, single-ended will satisfy most of the users out there, and I'm guessing most people would fail a volume matched double blind study when using an amp that provides both single-ended and balanced output.

 

[madwolfa]

  Balanced headphone amps offer more power and slightly lower noise.

 
Well, regarding the noise... I've heard quite the opposite. Take a look at this post:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/576339/balanced-vs-single-ended-poll#post_7830520
 
And more power is not inherent perk of the balanced topology (just higher gain/voltage), it's just balanced amps tend to have more power by design...
 
But I'm just speculating here as an amateur. Maybe someone like StanD has better understanding.

 

[pfurey89]

Never had an issue with noise on any of my unbalanced amps, ever.

 

[madwolfa]

  Never had an issue with noise on any of my unbalanced amps, ever.

 
You'd have to run 1 mile of interconnects to start noticing it (figuratively speaking).