[DATDAMNGUY]

Hey guys! I’m looking to connect one Schiit Vidar, SR1A interface and use my Jotunheim as the pre-amp... any help in what order and what extra cables I will need? Currently have just the Jotunheim and SR1A... Vidar should be delivered this week.

 

[thomaskong78]

Funny thing happened.

While playing music loud, I noticed some smell out of Jot R.

I stopped playing and cooled it down.

But it had already been fried out.

Afraid of Sr1a also got damaged, I switched to Yamaha rx v557 surround amp ( 90 watts for stereo but 6 channel with enough power supply) connected from Freya.

Sr1a sounds fine even with Yamaha surround amp without clipping.

It did not get damaged.

Yamaha sound also musical fed by Freya with no apparent brightness.

While Jot R being repaired, I am forced to use Yamaha.

Crown Xls 2502 is being used to drive my subwoofer.

I also received "Bad Boy " version of Sylvania which I am testing on my Line Magnetic 508 amplifier.

It sound similar to RCA gray tube with warm sound while Sylvania vt 231 sounds more detailed.

It is not bad but the price seems to be overhyped.

My recommendation for Freya tube rolling still stands.

For overall neutral but refined sound over stock tube, Syl GTB will work.

If you want detailed sound, then go for Syl vt 231.

If you want warm sound go for RCA gray.


"Bad boy" cost more than 200$ per pair.

It does sound pleasant and balanced but maybe not up to the hype.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Any clue why the Jot-R got fried?

 

[thomaskong78]

Any clue why the Jot-R got fried?

No idea on the cause of Jot R failure.
It had been working fine for more than 3 months..

But I really like Freya+ with no tube noise.

It makes even Yamaha sound musical.

Dream for tube rolling.

By the way, it is also sensitive to good foot( or isolation on the bottom).

 

[dieslemat]

No idea on the cause of Jot R failure.
It had been working fine for more than 3 months..

But I really like Freya+ with no tube noise.

It makes even Yamaha sound musical.

Dream for tube rolling.

By the way, it is also sensitive to good foot( or isolation on the bottom).

Let us know the cause if you get any info about it.

 

[dieslemat]

I forgot to add, Jot R fried when the Freya was infront of it?

 

[thomaskong78]

I forgot to add, Jot R fried when the Freya was infront of it?

Yes Freya was in front of Jot R.

I will send it back to Schitt for repair today.

Unless they tell the cause of failure to me, I will have no idea.

I still believe that Schitt is making excellent products at reasonable price.

Especially I am fascinated by the sound out of Freya fitted with Nos tubes( stock tubes are also decent).

As I mentioned earlier, it makes sound out of Stax 009s and Hd 800s also more enjoyable.

 

[thomaskong78]

Updated list of 6sn7 that I have

1. Six Syl vt231
2. quad Syl GTB made in 1955
3. Two Amperex 6sn7 made in Canada
4. Six Rca gray glass
5. Two Tungsol 6snygt "Mouse ears"
6. Two Syl GT "Bad boy "
7. Two Melz 6n8s coming in May
8. Six Tungsol 6sn7gtb
9. Two CBS/Hytron 6ns7gt
10, Three red brown base Syl 6sn7wgt
11. Four RCA vt231 coming on next Monday
12. Two Kenrad vt231 coming on next Monday
13 Two Shuaguang Black treasure 181cvz


Considering that Schitt Freya +takes four 6Sn7, I now have decent collection of 6sn7.

With higher filament current, I am not going to use 181cvz in Freya+.

By the way Freya + give lot of bang for the money.

I connect Freya to my headphone amplifiers (Kgsshv Carbon and Schitt Jot R).

It makes sound out of Stax 009s, Raal Sr1a, Sennheiser HD 800s more enjoyable.


Pair of Tungsol roundplate are too expensive for me to afford.

Raytheon vt231 has a reputation of aggressive sound thus I am not ready to buy one.


After two days of listening, I am happy with "Bad boy" in Line Magnetic 508.

Compared with Syl vt231, it give fuller bass and sweeter but rather closed in treble.

In warm system or headphone, Syl vt231 may work better.



While I had enjoyed Syl vt231 for the last two years with transparent, excellent top extension and nice details, Bad boy appears to be better fit in my revealing two channel system with excellent treble extension out of plasma tweeter.

I just ordered one more "Bad boy" as reserve which I may try in gain stage of Freya.

I may get my Jot R back around the end of next week.

But in the meantime, Yamaha surround amp is working fine with Sr1a after leaving 24/7 on.

It is not as transparent as Jot R but with overall pleasing balance.

 

[Thenewguy007]

You really went all out with the tube rolling right out of the gate.

 

[thomaskong78]

You really went all out with the tube rolling right out of the gate.

I had been tube guy for more than 20 years.

It is really fun to do tube rolling while cable rolling cost more money and time with lesser effect ( no more fun).

Good Nos tube never lose its value.

I got Nos WE 300B made in 1940's at 3k$ 20 years ago.

But I have to pay 10K$ or more on the similar item now.

By the way,my Nos We300B is still working fine after 10K hours on it.

 

[thomaskong78]

This morning I had replaced Yamaha surround amp with Rogue Cronus Magnum II fitted with Nos Telefuken 12Ax7 and Amperex 12 Au7 to drive Sr1a.

I also had Freya fitted with Sylvania GTB made 1995 in buffer stage and Nos RCA gray bottle in gain stage in front of Rogue Cronus Magnum.

Wow Sr1a driven by tube pre and tube int sound very transparent and relaxed with amazing 3D stage.

It sounds relaxed as 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon Amp.

With moderate volume, I did not notice clipping either.


As I mentioned earlier, I had been excited with Sr1a driven by Jot R for the first two months.

But after that, it get aggressive depending on music.

Violin out of Sr1a driven by Jot R showed some metallic edge while 009s give pure tone of violin.


After having Freya fitted with Nos tube in front of Jot R, the aggression got reduced by 70%.

Excited with Freya, I had listened to music at much higher volume, then Jot R got fried out.

USPS had given me alert that they had tried to deliver the unit to Schitt today but nobody in on Saturday.

They will deliver it next Monday.


I may get Jot R back by the end of next week or the following week depending how fast they repair my Jot R.


Sr1a driven by Rogue Cronus and Freya give pure tone of violin as well as Stax 009s.

It also give lot of sparkle and amazing air but without brightness as Jot R.

This combination sound musical and exciting if you play it at moderate volume.

The only hitch is that it may not sound as fast as being driven by Jot R, but still fast enough to be faster than 009s.


I may go back and forth between Rogue and Jot R (after being repaired) depending on music or my mood.


Another choice is to get higher power monoblock tube amplifier to drive Sr1a which could be best option to drive Sr1a.

 

[Jon L]

Nemal4pin4 by drjlo2, on Flickr

I had emailed Nemal support to ask if their 4-pin female adapter shell was openable, and they actually emailed me back! It is sealed with epoxy, but they were willing to build me a custom adapter with the Raal pinout at the same price! Big kudos to Nemal.
So I ordered one, and I got notified that it will be built and shipped in next 3-4 days.
Those who do not want to build their own adapters may want to order one now so they can build them all together at the same time.

Product Link: https://nemal.com/products/nemal-xlr-4-pin-female-female-adapter
Just write in the "Note" section during ordering the following:
"Raal Pinout"
Label Amp End

Headphone end --> Amp end 4-pin
4-pin female XLR female XLR
Pin 3--> pin 1
Pin 4-->pin 2
Pin 1-->pin 4
Pin 2-->pin 3

Belated posting of the actual adapter that arrived. Extremely well-built, solid unit!

0501201735 by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[dieslemat]

This morning I had replaced Yamaha surround amp with Rogue Cronus Magnum II fitted with Nos Telefuken 12Ax7 and Amperex 12 Au7 to drive Sr1a.

I also had Freya fitted with Sylvania GTB made 1995 in buffer stage and Nos RCA gray bottle in gain stage in front of Rogue Cronus Magnum.

Wow Sr1a driven by tube pre and tube int sound very transparent and relaxed with amazing 3D stage.

It sounds relaxed as 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon Amp.

With moderate volume, I did not notice clipping either.


As I mentioned earlier, I had been excited with Sr1a driven by Jot R for the first two months.

But after that, it get aggressive depending on music.

Violin out of Sr1a driven by Jot R showed some metallic edge while 009s give pure tone of violin.


After having Freya fitted with Nos tube in front of Jot R, the aggression got reduced by 70%.

Excited with Freya, I had listened to music at much higher volume, then Jot R got fried out.

USPS had given me alert that they had tried to deliver the unit to Schitt today but nobody in on Saturday.

They will deliver it next Monday.


I may get Jot R back by the end of next week or the following week depending how fast they repair my Jot R.


Sr1a driven by Rogue Cronus and Freya give pure tone of violin as well as Stax 009s.

It also give lot of sparkle and amazing air but without brightness as Jot R.

This combination sound musical and exciting if you play it at moderate volume.

The only hitch is that it may not sound as fast as being driven by Jot R, but still fast enough to be faster than 009s.


I may go back and forth between Rogue and Jot R (after being repaired) depending on music or my mood.


Another choice is to get higher power monoblock tube amplifier to drive Sr1a which could be best option to drive Sr1a.

What’s your thoughts on the cronus magnum driving the sr1a alone?

 

[thomaskong78]

What’s your thoughts on the cronus magnum driving the sr1a alone?

It depends on how loud you play.

I had been listening to it for last 3 hours.

It seems to work well for 95% of music at moderate volume.

I was not very impressed.with it (not bad either with sweet sound ) when I had tried it without Freya about three months ago using 4m headphone extending cable connected to Dave headphone output.

But with Freya connected to Dave through 4 m balanced cable, Rogue really sings with more microdynamics and nuanced details.

Some of the difference could be due to superiority of 4 m Purist audio design balanced cable over 4 m Grado headphone extension cable

There must be Rogue dealer in Singapore.

You may bring Sr1a and interface to try Rogue yourself not just Magnum but also monoblocks if available.

 

[thomaskong78]

After 8 hours of listening to Sr1a through Freya and Rogue Cronus Magnum II, I really enjoy its sweet and gentle sound.

Another nice thing is I can tune the sound by changing 6sn7 tubes in Freya.

But I may miss exciting and fast sound out of Sria driven by Freya and Jot R from time to time.

Thus it may be best to go back and forth between Rogue and Jot R (after being repaired) depending on music or my mood.