[ev666il]

Finally took delivery of my Asgard 3 with Multibit card today. It was a tough couple of weeks seeing it sit in the Netherlands, just waiting for the DAC module, but now it's here. [...] I must say I was surprised how far I had to turn the dial on Low Gain - I could easily get to 3 or 4 o'clock without getting too loud.

Likewise on both accounts. I run a pair of Focal Elegia, which are 32 ohm cans with 105db sensitivity, and on dynamic masters I can easily turn the knob to the max on Lo gain. Then again, I'm using EQ with a -6db preamp gain and like to listen to music loud, so there's that.

My Asgard 3 hisses on Lo gain when I'm close to max volume; on Hi gain, it starts hissing shortly after 12 o'clock. I'll probably purchase a USB ground loop isolator in hope it makes it dead silent.

 

[chann3l]

I received my Asgard 3 with 4490 card this week and I'm absolutely blown away. I'm not necessarily an audiophile but I produce music so details are incredibly important. I've previously owned the first version of the Schiit stack but have mostly experienced < $300 audio Interfaces so I don't have many proper DACs and amps to compare this with. It is definitely a huge step up from the original Magni/modi combo, focusrite scarlet, Roland rubix, and any other audio interface I've owned. I've had a ton of different headphones but I was most disappointed with the AKG M220. They were always too quiet and seemed to lack any bass response. Up until this week they have sat on a shelf since I bought them as I preferred the sound of the Shure SRH 840. I've now completely changed my tune (pun intended), the Asgard 3 brought the m220 to life. They go nice and loud and I'm actually able to feel the sub frequencies. In contrast, the SRH 840 now sounds muddy and crowded to my ears. I've now bought a pair of Austrian made q701 cans from a fellow Head-Fi member and I can't wait to see how they sound with the Asgard 3. The only issue I've come across is related to Asio and has nothing to do with Schiit. Being so used to an audio interface, I forgot that I would need to use a generic ASIO driver. I also didn't realize that ASIO4ALL is not multi client. I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't load up YouTube while working on a track. Sometimes it's super helpful to bring up a tutorial, or reference track for inspiration. In case anyone else has this issue, Image Line has their own multi client ASIO driver that works with other DAWs including Ableton. Simply download the trial of FL Studio which will also install the FLASIO driver. Then uninstall FL, and the driver will remain, ready for use in your DAW of choice.

I think I've rambled on long enough, but I think Schiit have made a great product, and the 5 year warranty is icing on the cake.

 

[HumdrumPenguin]

I received my Asgard 3 with 4490 card this week and I'm absolutely blown away. I'm not necessarily an audiophile but I produce music so details are incredibly important. I've previously owned the first version of the Schiit stack but have mostly experienced < $300 audio Interfaces so I don't have many proper DACs and amps to compare this with. It is definitely a huge step up from the original Magni/modi combo, focusrite scarlet, Roland rubix, and any other audio interface I've owned. I've had a ton of different headphones but I was most disappointed with the AKG M220. They were always too quiet and seemed to lack any bass response. Up until this week they have sat on a shelf since I bought them as I preferred the sound of the Shure SRH 840. I've now completely changed my tune (pun intended), the Asgard 3 brought the m220 to life. They go nice and loud and I'm actually able to feel the sub frequencies. In contrast, the SRH 840 now sounds muddy and crowded to my ears. I've now bought a pair of Austrian made q701 cans from a fellow Head-Fi member and I can't wait to see how they sound with the Asgard 3. The only issue I've come across is related to Asio and has nothing to do with Schiit. Being so used to an audio interface, I forgot that I would need to use a generic ASIO driver. I also didn't realize that ASIO4ALL is not multi client. I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't load up YouTube while working on a track. Sometimes it's super helpful to bring up a tutorial, or reference track for inspiration. In case anyone else has this issue, Image Line has their own multi client ASIO driver that works with other DAWs including Ableton. Simply download the trial of FL Studio which will also install the FLASIO driver. Then uninstall FL, and the driver will remain, ready for use in your DAW of choice.

I think I've rambled on long enough, but I think Schiit have made a great product, and the 5 year warranty is icing on the cake.

Not quite sure if I get it, but did you download Asio drivers to use the 4490 dac within the Asgard 3? Just asking because I have the same, and didn't see any mention of drivers anywhere, and I have no problem using the combo as a headphone amp and pre-amp to speakers.

 

[chann3l]

Not quite sure if I get it, but did you download Asio drivers to use the 4490 dac within the Asgard 3? Just asking because I have the same, and didn't see any mention of drivers anywhere, and I have no problem using the combo as a headphone amp and pre-amp to speakers.

Ya there is no issue just using it without drivers, but you need to use ASIO in a DAW if you don't want massive latency. If you aren't using a DAW you don't need anything. Schiit doesn't have ASIO drivers, typically only Audio Interfaces have their own Asio driver. So you need to use a generic driver. If you use ASIO4ALL, it requires exclusive access so it will not allow you to use the DAC for any other software so long as you are using your DAW or whatever application is using ASIO. FLASIO is multi client, so you can have sound coming through your DAW and another source like YouTube, Spotify, etc.

 

[HumdrumPenguin]

Ya there is no issue just using it without drivers, but you need to use ASIO in a DAW if you don't want massive latency. If you aren't using a DAW you don't need anything. Schiit doesn't have ASIO drivers, typically only Audio Interfaces have their own Asio driver. So you need to use a generic driver. If you use ASIO4ALL, it requires exclusive access so it will not allow you to use the DAC for any other software so long as you are using your DAW or whatever application is using ASIO. FLASIO is multi client, so you can have sound coming through your DAW and another source like YouTube, Spotify, etc.

Thanks for the tip. I'm not using a DAW, but I suppose it's always good to know stuff

 

[chann3l]

No problem! Lol. I probably should have prefaced my comment with the fact that it's only relevant if you are using a DAW. I wasted the better part of a production session searching for a driver or solution for Multi client ASIO operation and figured someone here might not want to waste time googling haha.

 

[KukoCL]

Likewise on both accounts. I run a pair of Focal Elegia, which are 32 ohm cans with 105db sensitivity, and on dynamic masters I can easily turn the knob to the max on Lo gain. Then again, I'm using EQ with a -6db preamp gain and like to listen to music loud, so there's that.

My Asgard 3 hisses on Lo gain when I'm close to max volume; on Hi gain, it starts hissing shortly after 12 o'clock. I'll probably purchase a USB ground loop isolator in hope it makes it dead silent.

It will probably silence it, because I don't hear any hiss at any volume, but my headphones are 150ohm.

 

[senorx12562]

I have never had a ground loop present as hiss. It is usually more like a humming noise in my experience, so I am dubious about a ground loop isolator solving a noise problem that presents as hiss. Good luck though @ev666il.

 

[ev666il]

My Asgard 3 produces two types of background noise at present. A hiss, which I can only hear from with the volume knob above 3 o'clock on Lo gain (12 o'clock on Hi gain), and a persistent hum that I can hear at about the same levels but seems to vary in intensity depending on my computer's load. The humming disappears if I disconnect the USB cable from the Asgard 3, whereas the hiss persists. My hope is that an isolator such as the iFi Defender 3.0 will get rid of the humming noise. The hiss is more subdued and doesn't seem to increase if I'm, say, gaming—so I can live with it (though I would prefer the amp to be dead silent on Lo gain even at max volume.)

 

[airwhale]

My impressions of the Asgard 3, multibit

Coming from a line of smaller, mostly portable DAC/amp combos, I am now set up with the Asgard 3 with the muti-bit DAC card.

My main driver for the last year and a half has been the Audioquest Dragonfly Red, and I mostly stream from Tidal HiFi to a pair of AKG Q701s.

The immediate thing that jumped out at me is how much and how detailed bass these cans can deliver when properly amped. That was probably the biggest surprise. Where the Dragonfly struggled a bit, the A3 is driving the Q701s effortlessly and produces a more relaxed and open sound.

The added power of the amp can also produce the same level of audio quality at lower volume levels, which is very nice at times.

As I still have the Dragonfly, I did a little bit of A-B testing to identify any difference between the DAC implementations. I need to preface this by stressing that the differences are quite minor, and I would be hard pressed to confidently tell them apart in a blind test. However, I do prefer the multibit over the Dragonfly for the following reasons:

• beautiful brilliant highs, cymbals sound fantastic
• less sibliance than in the Dragonfly
• improved definition of soundstage and separation of instruments, resolving even more details

That said, I am holding on to the Dragonfly for my portable rig along with the AKG N40 IEMs. It has no problem whatsoever driving those.

My main takeaway from this experience is how important the AMP part can be. Earlier, I was ascribing most of the sound improvements to a better DAC, but I am now realizing that was only one part to the story.

As for humming or hissing, my Asgard has none of these -or- my ears are too old to register it

I recon this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

 

[sehnsucht]

 

[KukoCL]

I need to preface this by stressing that the differences are quite minor, and I would be hard pressed to confidently tell them apart in a blind test. However, I do prefer the multibit over the Dragonfly for the following reasons:

• beautiful brilliant highs, cymbals sound fantastic
• less sibliance than in the Dragonfly
• improved definition of soundstage and separation of instruments, resolving even more details

I feel it exactly the same as you. I got the A3 with Multibit, and the differences are subtle compared to my Creative Soundblaster RX PC card. My soundblaster is a bit sibilant and after 20 minutes of usage I start to feel fatigue, while in the A3 this never happens (I'm using a pair of HD660S).

The A3 also has a better resolve and slightly more bass, but as you said, I could fail telling which one I'm listening to if I run a blind test.

But overall, even if the differences are not so big, I'm liking it a lot, because it gives me a pretty nice audio experience without any fatigue or sibilance in music and gaming.

I also connected it to my powered speakers and I had to move down the volume of the subwoofer due to a high amount of bass from the A3, I don't know if you have the same powerfully bass on the A3's pre outs, but I'm ok with it because my subwoofer has a volume knob on the sub woofer speaker, so I can set it.

Oh, and if anyone cares about, I can connect my Android smartphone directly to the multibit card using an USB cable and my S9+ always detects it immediately.

 

[tafens]

Oh, and if anyone cares about, I can connect my Android smartphone directly to the multibit card using an USB cable and my S9+ always detects it immediately.

I have found that it works with iPhone/iPad as well. And also for the Modi multibit.

With these the phones only need to supply the usb input circuit with power, which, I suppose, is why it works.

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

I have found that it works with iPhone/iPad as well. And also for the Modi multibit.

With these the phones only need to supply the usb input circuit with power, which, I suppose, is why it works.

What kind of connector do you use from iPhone (which has lightning connector) to the amp (which has USB B connector)?

 

[tafens]

What kind of connector do you use from iPhone (which has lightning connector) to the amp (which has USB B connector)?

I use the lightning-to-usb camera adapter dongle that gives the iPhone a USB-A port (works for everything, not just cameras):
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD821AM/A/lightning-to-usb-camera-adapter