[gefski]

Agreed - I tried my HD 650 with the Asgard 3 the other day and it's quite a nice-sounding combo.

650 at Hi Gain, 10 to 11 vol position, dynamics ebb and flow as the music requires, no shout or edge.

 

[genck]

I also use the 6XX (650) with the Asgard 3 on Hi gain, sounds great!

 

[Joey B.]

I realize they don't exactly need the power on tap, but, in addition to the 6XX, I find my MSR7b's sound great with my Agard 3-Modi 3 combo. I think some of the YouTubers tend to only focus on power instead of sound quality to be had with an amp. Is it the pinnacle of neutrality? I don't know. I am not producing, so enjoyment is more important.
These AT's get plenty of volume from almost any source, but they sure don't sound the same on everything. With the Asgard, they are pretty balanced and non-fatiguing to listen to for a long time. Not sure how much of the class A bias comes into play on these lower impedance headphones. For $200, the amp is a good deal.
If any of you can compare to the THX 789, that would be great. I hear how great it is because it is neutral, but I suppose I'd rather hear about synergy than neutrality. Currawong did a useful comparison, but more perspectives would be helpful to me.

 

[GearMe]

@GearMe @Jimmyblues1959 Do you run the Asgard 3 in high or low gain mode with the 6XX? I think the high gain mode makes the 6XX a bit shouty, could just be me though.

No shouty-ness on high gain

 

[Ultrainferno]

Matty aka @Mightygrey is back this week with a review of the Asgard 3:
https://www.headfonia.com/schiit-asgard3-review/

 

[CL14715]

Crazy noob question.... If I were to get the Asgard 3 with either the 4490 or multi-bit... could I use my Loki with it? If so, how? I question this as I'm staring at my Schiit stack and noting that my loki needs a signal in from modi to then output to the magni...

Thanks

 

[jnak00]

Crazy noob question.... If I were to get the Asgard 3 with either the 4490 or multi-bit... could I use my Loki with it? If so, how? I question this as I'm staring at my Schiit stack and noting that my loki needs a signal in from modi to then output to the magni...

Thanks

You can't use Loki with the built-in DAC. Loki goes between DAC/other source and amp.

 

[Sqmeyer]

Longtime lurker, first time poster. I recently swapped out my Vali 2 with an Asgard 3. Initial impressions is that it retains much of the warmth I enjoyed with the Vali but gives a bit more depth to the soundstage and more impact to the bass. Honestly, the main reason I made the change was to cure myself of the nervous tic that caused me to keep buying various tubes to see if I could dial in the sound just a little more. But I can say I enjoy the Asgard more than I did the Vali even with the variety of tubes I rolled through it. And ultimately its quite a bit less expensive when factoring in the tubes. For reference, I am using an Allo Digione for streaming SPDIF into a Mimby into the Asgard. I am currently using Focal Elears as my daily driver. I am very happy with this setup.

 

[bobo64]

Hi, I've been using Asgard 2 with Audeze LCD-X and LCD 2 for about four years. Now, I'm thinking of upgrading to Asgard 3. I've read this thread and nobody mentioned Audeze cans + Asgard 3 in terms of SQ details. I'm specially Interested in A3 + LCD-X combo. Any thoughts?

 

[Chastity]

Longtime lurker, first time poster. I recently swapped out my Vali 2 with an Asgard 3. Initial impressions is that it retains much of the warmth I enjoyed with the Vali but gives a bit more depth to the soundstage and more impact to the bass. Honestly, the main reason I made the change was to cure myself of the nervous tic that caused me to keep buying various tubes to see if I could dial in the sound just a little more. But I can say I enjoy the Asgard more than I did the Vali even with the variety of tubes I rolled through it. And ultimately its quite a bit less expensive when factoring in the tubes. For reference, I am using an Allo Digione for streaming SPDIF into a Mimby into the Asgard. I am currently using Focal Elears as my daily driver. I am very happy with this setup.

You can invest in a tube preamp, and play with your existing tube collection. Currently using Sylvania JAN CHS 6AK5 on a FX Audio TUBE-01 with my Asgard 3, and it makes my DT-1990 very happy. And being a preamp, you can disconnect it.

You can also use the preamp to tweak the line-out strength to optimize the dynamics of the Asgard 3 performance.

 

[gefski]

You can invest in a tube preamp, and play with your existing tube collection. Currently using Sylvania JAN CHS 6AK5 on a FX Audio TUBE-01 with my Asgard 3, and it makes my DT-1990 very happy. And being a preamp, you can disconnect it.

You can also use the preamp to tweak the line-out strength to optimize the dynamics of the Asgard 3 performance.

So a tube preamp + gain stage feeding an Asgard 3 with its preamp + gain stage. Rather than doubling up all this circuitry, I would sell the A3 (if I wasn't satisfied with it) and find a more expensive headphone amp that suited my tastes.

This is just my leaning always in the “KISS” direction, no offense to the above post intended.

 

[Chastity]

So a tube preamp + gain stage feeding an Asgard 3 with its preamp + gain stage. Rather than doubling up all this circuitry, I would sell the A3 (if I wasn't satisfied with it) and find a more expensive headphone amp that suited my tastes.

This is just my leaning always in the “KISS” direction, no offense to the above post intended.

I get what you are saying, but can you show me a better option for $250? Also having everything modular means I can remove portions and AB the setup to hear what changes.

 

[XERO1]

@GearMe @Jimmyblues1959 Do you run the Asgard 3 in high or low gain mode with the 6XX? I think the high gain mode makes the 6XX a bit shouty, could just be me though.

With some amps (like my LCX), the gain setting doesn't seem to make much of a differnce in SQ, but there is definitely a noticeable SQ difference between the Hi and Low gain settings on all of the Schiit amps that I've owned so far.

With Schiit amps, the Hi gain setting gives the amp a more up-front and vivid sonic presentation, while the Low gain setting gives the amp a more laid-back and slightly recessed sonic presentation.

So far, with the headphones I use, I have always prefered the sound of the Hi gain settting, but I can see how the Low gain setting might be preferable if you have an overly bright sounding headphone, and you want to try to tone it's character down a bit.

But there really is no right or wrong option here, it just comes down to your personal preference.

 

[Sqmeyer]

I get what you are saying, but can you show me a better option for $250? Also having everything modular means I can remove portions and AB the setup to hear what changes.

From my perspective, it seems that the difference in sound between tube and solid state gear has narrowed substantially since I began enjoying this hobby. Combining that with the rather massive spike in NOS tube prices in the last few years, I am thrilled to have found a solid state amp that makes me happy. That said, I might feel differently if I swapped out the cans or the dac.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

I think you nailed what makes the Asgard 3 such a great sounding amp, especially when it's compared to some of the more 'technical' sounding amps out there.

@XERO1 Can Asgard 3 with multibit dac board compete with Klipsch Heritage amp o Questyle CMA400i?
Asgard 3 has much power, but has it same o better quality at all?