[pearljam50000]

What I meant was, that every new model of an amp offers better SQ than the previous generations.
And because the"Asgard 2" is a pretty old model, the Asgard 3 should come out sometime soon, and I don't to buy the Asgard 2 just to find out that the Asgard 3 is being released 3 months after I bought the Asgard 2 , and offers better SQ for the same price.

 

[KLJTech]

What I meant was, that every new model of an amp offers better SQ than the previous generations.
And because the"Asgard 2" is a pretty old model, the Asgard 3 should come out sometime soon, and I don't to buy the Asgard 2 just to find out that the Asgard 3 is being released 3 months after I bought the Asgard 2 , and offers better SQ for the same price.

 
You shouldn't let the fact that a newer version will be available at some point keep you from buying an amp that you'll enjoy for years.
 
A buddy of mine got into home audio about the same time I did (mid-80's) and we will often share gear so that we get to try out more stuff than we'd be able to on our own. Long story short, we compared his new $800 solid-state headphone amp to the Asgard 2 and in each of our systems we both preferred the $250 Asgard 2. His amp sounds just fine, but the A2 sounds a bit more dynamic and spacious plus the A2 has a High and Low Gain switch that his amp lacks. The Gain switch comes in handy if you want to use IEM's or portable HP's with the Asgard. 

 

[pearljam50000]

Thanks!
What headphones did you use?

 

[StanD]

What I meant was, that every new model of an amp offers better SQ than the previous generations.
And because the"Asgard 2" is a pretty old model, the Asgard 3 should come out sometime soon, and I don't to buy the Asgard 2 just to find out that the Asgard 3 is being released 3 months after I bought the Asgard 2 , and offers better SQ for the same price.

And what can be dne to improve the SQ? The distortion of the Asgard to is already far better than humanly possible to perceive. Perhaps doubling the power (+3 dB) might be OK, however, it's already good enough for most purposes.

 

[KLJTech]

Thanks!
What headphones did you use?

 
I used HE-400 & 500's, B&W P7's, Sennheiser HD 600's, AKG K701's and Westone W40 IEM's. He used Audeze LCD-2's, Sennheiser HD 650's and a pair of open back Audio-Technica's...can't recall the model but they're one or two steps up from the AD700's. He also tried a few pair of IEM's, but I'm not sure what they were. I know he has a couple pair of Shure IEM's but I don't know which models. 
 
He had the Asgard 2 at his house for a couple weeks and then we listened to it at my office with the Gungnir as the source component. I had his headphone amp for the same length of time. If Schiit Audio charged more for the A2 I think it would be taken more seriously...which is a shame. 

 

[reddog]

My Asgard 2 rocks, its small.so I can use it on the road. And more importantly it sounds great with a very natural/ transparent sound signature. I have used the A2 to run all of my headphones ( ATH-M50x, Beyerdynamic DT 880 600 ohm, MrSpeaker's Alpha Primes, to great success. And now I am using the A2 to burn in my HE1K. The HE1K sounds ok, and I have the A2 on high gain and the volume at 2 a clock, for the HE1K's to sound nice. The A2 is a very nice amp and its sad that its not taken seriously, because its priced too low. I find its a great bargain and I use it as a work horse, to burn in headphones. That way I can make the tubes for my lyr 2 to last longer.

 

[KLJTech]

Don't get me wrong, I hope they keep it at that incredibly low price, but you know that some will never consider it because of its low price point. Oh well, their loss. 

 

[TMRaven]

Asgard2 isn't that old, and we're not talking computer electronics here, where something 3+ years old is quick to become obsolete.  The improvements made in audio are subtle and much more slow.
 
Most of the improvements in Schiit gear comes from trickle-down technology from higher end products.  Bifrost users should look forward to trickle-down tech from Yggy.

 

[pearljam50000]

I read in several posts, that is kind of dark sounding, but I like neutral sound, others are saying it is too bright with the HD800 , which got me confused

 

[wahsmoh]

   
I used HE-400 & 500's, B&W P7's, Sennheiser HD 600's, AKG K701's and Westone W40 IEM's. He used Audeze LCD-2's, Sennheiser HD 650's and a pair of open back Audio-Technica's...can't recall the model but they're one or two steps up from the AD700's. He also tried a few pair of IEM's, but I'm not sure what they were. I know he has a couple pair of Shure IEM's but I don't know which models. 
 
He had the Asgard 2 at his house for a couple weeks and then we listened to it at my office with the Gungnir as the source component. I had his headphone amp for the same length of time. If Schiit Audio charged more for the A2 I think it would be taken more seriously...which is a shame. 

 
Asgard 2 w/ Mike Moffat Theta Pro Progeny. It is better than the Bifrost Uber.. I will hang on to the Uber until upgrades eventually roll out

 

[RickB]

  And what can be dne to improve the SQ? The distortion of the Asgard to is already far better than humanly possible to perceive. Perhaps doubling the power (+3 dB) might be OK, however, it's already good enough for most purposes.

I suspect that what people mean by "improve the sound quality" is color the sound in some way. Make it more "tubey" or euphonic or something.

 

[KLJTech]

I read in several posts, that is kind of dark sounding, but I like neutral sound, others are saying it is too bright with the HD800 , which got me confused

 
I've never found the Asgard 2 to sound "dark" with any headphone I've used with it. In fact, I find it to be extremely clean/neutral sounding. The A2 also makes a wonderful single source preamp and the High/Low gain switch makes it easy to achieve the right amount of voltage output for your powered speakers or stereo speaker amp. In my office system, I use the A2 as a headphone amp/preamp to my Parasound Halo A23 speaker amp. The pair work wonderful together and it's difficult to find true "Class A" preamp/headphone amp for only $250.
 
I've never heard the HD800's, but I have read that "some" find that it can sound a tad too bright with solid state amps. If you do a search here for the "best type of amp for the HD800's" you'll see some owners say that the HD800's can sound "too bright & analytical" (not my words) and that you're better off driving it with a tube amp. That may or may not be true, but that has zero to do with the quality of the Asgard 2, simply that it doesn't sound like a tube amp. If you're looking to drive the HD800's I would do a search here for amps that work best with those headphones, it's possible that a tube amp would serve you better with those headphones.
 
Good luck with whatever you decide! 

 

[520RanchBro]

   
I've never found the Asgard 2 to sound "dark" with any headphone I've used with it. In fact, I find it to be extremely clean/neutral sounding. The A2 also makes a wonderful single source preamp and the High/Low gain switch makes it easy to achieve the right amount of voltage output for your powered speakers or stereo speaker amp. In my office system, I use the A2 as a headphone amp/preamp to my Parasound Halo A23 speaker amp. The pair work wonderful together and it's difficult to find true "Class A" preamp/headphone amp for only $250.
 
I've never heard the HD800's, but I have read that "some" find that it can sound a tad too bright with solid state amps. If you do a search here for the "best type of amp for the HD800's" you'll see some owners say that the HD800's can sound "too bright & analytical" (not my words) and that you're better off driving it with a tube amp. That may or may not be true, but that has zero to do with the quality of the Asgard 2, simply that it doesn't sound like a tube amp. If you're looking to drive the HD800's I would do a search here for amps that work best with those headphones, it's possible that a tube amp would serve you better with those headphones.
 
Good luck with whatever you decide! 

Yep, gotta echo this. Asgard 2 seems to really just let the headphones and source shine. I use it with IEMs and full sized headphones and it's the preamp for my Kanto YU5 powered speakers. Every headphone sounds a fair amount different and the amp does not seem to impose any specific sound signature.

 

[TMRaven]

I read in several posts, that is kind of dark sounding, but I like neutral sound, others are saying it is too bright with the HD800 , which got me confused

It doesn't sound bright at all to me with the HD800.  I'd categorize the Asgard2 as very even-handed with its sound-- very close to neutral.  I pair it with the Uberfrost, which is very creamy and maybe slightly on the warmer side, but who knows.
 
The pairing of uberfrost/asgard2 with the HD800 is not bright at all.  In fact, I prefer the Asgard2 over the Valhalla2 with the HD800.  I find Valhalla2 slightly brighter and thinner sounding.

 

[Koolpep]

   
May I point your attention to this?


Of it that isn't enough, maybe this?

Yes.
 
It is amazing how you Schiit stuff manages this. On a meet last year I was swapping between Lyr2, Mjolnir and Ragnarok and each delivered a different sound - I didn't listen enough decide what I liked the most but the Ragnarok is a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
 
I was expecting the Schiit house sound from all of them, but they distinctly had differences with my cans. 
 
The Asgard2 is definitively a great amp - I enjoyed my Asgard (1) for a few years and was very pleased with it.
 
Cheers,
K