[potterma]

Quote:

The amber LEDs are actually used as a voltage reference in a lot of our designs--in the case of the Asgard 2, the front-end current source, and in the case of the Lyr, the front-end current source and the bias reference for the dynamically adaptive output stage.
 
Hmm, actually I think the only products we make without amber LEDs are Modi and Valhalla...
 
Why LEDs? Well, usually they're lower noise than zeners (usually), and, well...they look cool.

 Thanks for chiming in, Jason!  Nice to know they are functional as well as adding a very cool visual element to the Asgard II.
 
I can say, in my noob opinion, the Asgard II does an amazing job as a pre-amp into my mini-maggie system (!amazing! combo, if you ask me!)
 
Transformer hum is absolutely gone.  Dead silent!  Congrats to Team Schiit!  Great job, Jason and Crew!  THANK YOU for pushing HARD and getting this thing RIGHT!
ASGARD deserves it!  Awesome Amp! 
 
Only issue I've had is very bass heavy (O daiko drums) pieces into Yamaha HP-1 ortho's.   May have to order a Mjorlnir for low efficiency can duty...  Gotta get me more Schiit!

 

[MattTCG]

After about a week to evaluate, I decided to share a few comments on my comparison of the Schiit amps that I’ve owned. Asgard, Asgard 2 and lyr. Let me start with the A1 vs A2 as the A2 vs lyr gets much more complicated.
 
The A2 is a clear upgrade from the original Asgard. It’s cleaner, more resolving and seems to bring out the best in my hd650 and maddogs. Detail retrieval is better and this is a good thing for all of those who tend to use darker headphones. Bass presence is more punchy and accurate…not leaving me wanting for more from the bottom end at all. The original Asgard house sound is certainly there with a nice relaxed and natural presentation. And then the amp’s signature is improved across the board. I love the new flexibility built into the A2. The gain switch is a welcome improvement. I can now rock my orthos with authority and then flip the gain switch to get the most out of my pair of gr07’s. Now that’s covering your bases. The A2 still gets hot but not quite as hot as the A1 just using my very scientific feel test. Also I like knowing that I can add some powered monitored when I’m ready and the A2 is there for me with the pre-amp outs. For $250 you’ll be hard pressed to do any better for overall sound presentation and versatility.
 
The next question many will ask, I know that I did, is how close the A2 gets to the lyr. I did a comparison of the A1 to the lyr last year and found that the lyr clearly more gifted across the board. But it will always be difficult to compare the lyr to the A2 or any solid state amp due to fact that the lyr is a hybrid amp and sports tubes. This truly complicates any evaluation of the two. Some will love the ability to roll tubes and others will loathe it. I have lived with the lyr long enough to know what tubes I enjoy and feel no real need to “roll” lot’s of tubes.
 
Okay, so here’s the short answer to the lyr vs A2 comparison. Although the A2 closes the gap considerably, the lyr retains its superiority. With good tubes the visceral bass is improved and is tightened slightly. Vocals are a bit more forward and “sweeter” sounding. Maybe more lifelike is a better description of the mids on the lyr. Of course the improvement does come at a cost, almost twice the cost actually. Add the price of good tubes to the lyr and in fact you have spent twice as much than the A2. Although the improvements are there, it takes a careful ear to hear and appreciate them. The performance  is actually quite close.
 
There are drawbacks for owning the lyr. Obtaining good tubes is at the front of that list. Some tubes have micro phonic issues and will generate unwanted noise. I also feel compelled to turn the lyr off each time that I finished using it given the limited life of the tubes. Then to get back to an ideal listening environment you should let the tubes warm properly before listening again. This is a minor inconvenience but can still be aggravating.
 
At the end of the day I settled on the Asgard 2. The convenience, close performance and ability to drive just about anything were enough to win out over the lyr for me. I rolled my savings over into an uber upgrade board for the bifrost and couldn’t be happier. 

 

[zazex]

Thanks for an excellent comparison.
 
Concise, clear, and rich in content.

 

[markm1]

Quote:

 
The smallest Sonos thingie (the one that's only got a pre amp, and that goes into powered speakers or a proper stereo set up) has got digital audio out (can't remember if it's coax or optical). You just plug it into your DAC and you're set.
You don't need a DAC though, just plug your A2 into the analog output. This uses the onboard Sonos DAC, which isn't the best DAC ever, but it does what it's supposed to. A dedicated DAC like the Bifrost or Peach Tree DAC-It will bring the experience up another notch or two, and the Sonos > DAC > Asgard 2 should be equal in SQ to PC SPDIF/Toslink out > DAC > Asgard 2 (though the Sonos system can't do anything over 16bit 44.1kHz, so any hi-res you've got is scaled down to CD quality).

I wanted to revisit this thread-re: adding a an external DAC to a Sonos Connect. Do you use your Sonos connect as a source for HP listening?  If so, are you satisfied w/ the SQ? I'm about to pull the trigger on some Sonso products. My sense is that you would have to spend upwards of $1,000 to improve upon the DAC in the onboard Sonos and I'm not sure I would be willing to do that...

 

[M-13]

Quote:

 

Epic write up! Thanks!

 

[Aerocraft67]

Quote:

I settled on the Asgard 2. The convenience, close performance and ability to drive just about anything were enough to win out over the lyr for me. I rolled my savings over into an uber upgrade board for the bifrost and couldn’t be happier. 

 
Nice review. Confirms with listening what I had deduced on paper, that the A2 is a very good value, even within Schiit's own line. So good, that it makes the Bifrost look a little expensive as a DAC pairing for A2. Not that Bifrost is overpriced, or that it completely outclasses A2; clearly Schiit intends for them to pair, and the A2 would seem to outclass the Modi by a greater difference. Still, the Uber Bifrost with USB at $520 presents more than a 2:1 DAC:amp price ratio, whereas 1:1 or even a bit lower seems more balanced, and even the base Bifrost is 40% more than that, yet seems a bit wanting in that configuration. There are good $175-$300 DAC choices that would seem to pair well with A2.
 
Not that there are any hard-and-fast rules about budget proportions, or that a "DAC heavy" allocation is a bad thing. To the extent there's a question here, do you think A2 does the Uber Bifrost justice? It appears you do, but if you (or anyone else) care to elaborate, please do.

 

[MattTCG]

Price doesn't always correlate to performance. I feel that I'm getting every bit of performance from the BF with uber and it's matches very well with the A2. I paid $230 used for the BF and $70 self  installed on the uber board.
 
So $250 plus $300 for a total of $550 is a heck of a bargain for what I'm hearing from this setup. 

 

[markm1]

Quote:

 
Nice review. Confirms with listening what I had deduced on paper, that the A2 is a very good value, even within Schiit's own line. So good, that it makes the Bifrost look a little expensive as a DAC pairing for A2. Not that Bifrost is overpriced, or that it completely outclasses A2; clearly Schiit intends for them to pair, and the A2 would seem to outclass the Modi by a greater difference. Still, the Uber Bifrost with USB at $520 presents more than a 2:1 DAC:amp price ratio, whereas 1:1 or even a bit lower seems more balanced, and even the base Bifrost is 40% more than that, yet seems a bit wanting in that configuration. There are good $175-$300 DAC choices that would seem to pair well with A2.
 
Not that there are any hard-and-fast rules about budget proportions, or that a "DAC heavy" allocation is a bad thing. To the extent there's a question here, do you think A2 does the Uber Bifrost justice? It appears you do, but if you (or anyone else) care to elaborate, please do.

I've  had the same thought. I've ordered a Sonos Connect which will allow me to stream and play my digital music files from my wifi network stored on a NAS through my speaker system. per HP set up,I can feed my A2 through the Sonos Connect. For pure convenience, I think I'll want to plug into Sonos rather than my PC.   If the Bifrost w/o USB would be an upgrade from the Sonos DAC, I might go for it. But, I could also get something like the Peachtree Dac-it which is well reviewed for this application at about $450 that would be albe to handle USB as well as optical and coax. I'd love to hear from anyone that has feed a Bifrost through a Sonos to compare w/ the PT Dac-it.

 

[cjc]

Still haven't received my A2 that I ordered over a month ago. I have already started losing my "excitement" about it.... may just cancel order.

 

[thegunner100]

Quote:

Still haven't received my A2 that I ordered over a month ago. I have already started losing my "excitement" about it.... may just cancel order.

Has it shipped out at least? I placed my order last Monday and I received my Asgard 2 today (NYC).

 

[markm1]

Quote:

Still haven't received my A2 that I ordered over a month ago. I have already started losing my "excitement" about it.... may just cancel order.

I would at least send Jason an email. I placed my order and waited a couple of months and finally emailed Jason...turned out that my order was canceled on their end for some unknown reason. As as soon as Jason got my email, he shipped it-like the same day. Maybe a computer glitch or something. For $250, It's a rockin' good amp. I'm using it right now. Mark Lanegan band-Blues Funeral...great album. I would send him a quick note.Unless you want to spend, like twice the money

 

[amimartian]

I would at least send Jason an email. I placed my order and waited a couple of months and finally emailed Jason...turned out that my order was canceled on their end for some unknown reason. As as soon as Jason got my email, he shipped it-like the same day. Maybe a computer glitch or something. For $250, It's a rockin' good amp. I'm using it right now. Mark Lanegan band-Blues Funeral...great album. I would send him a quick note.Unless you want to spend, like twice the money

Definitely write an email. I have received mine a couple of days ago. Placed the order on the 5th of April + It took 2 weeks to deliver it to New Zealand. The amp is very good, though I am waiting for the PyST to pair it with my DAC.

 

[Chawanwit]

How long does it usually ships, it have been 4-5 days since my bro in USA ordered the A2 for me and he said the status is still not shipped. He will fly back to Thailand this weekend, so if I doesnt deliver on time it will be disaster. 

 

[flargosa]

To those who bothered burning in the amp, what changed in the sound?  Out of the box, the bass seems to lack some resolution and the top end seems a bit rounded instead of extended.  The mids are great.

 

[thegunner100]

Quote:

To those who bothered burning in the amp, what changed in the sound?  Out of the box, the bass seems to lack some resolution and the top end seems a bit rounded instead of extended.  The mids are great.

Pretty sure solid states don't need burn in.