[tincanear]

Question? I have an Asgard gen 1 that I purchased years ago, when they first came out. I wanted to compare it to the Asgard 3…..well, I took it out the other day for the first time in about 5yrs., and I can’t get it to turn on! I plugged it in and nothing happens. Any ideas what I can do to fix it? I’m sure it’s easy to do, but I’m not mechanically inclined!

try swapping the power cord with the one from Asgard 3. make sure the power cord IEC plug is fully seated in the amplifier's AC socket. try toggling the power switch on and off a few times.

otherwise, best to send it back to Schiit for service if under warranty (5yrs + any applicable extended warranty from purchase with a credit card), else sell it as "non-functional, for parts or repair only". Asgard 1 and Asgard 2 (in the U chassis) can be a bit tricky to disassemble / re-assemble. No user serviceable parts inside (unless you are an electronics tech or engineer).

 

[cdacosta]

Bingo, Thanks man. I had a total mind freeze and didn't even think of trying that, Worked perfect.

My pleasure. FYI, if you ever want to take the cover off the Asgard 3… the knob is first removed, then there is a nut on the Alps volume pot shaft (behind the volume knob) that needs to be removed, then remove the 4 bolts on top of the cover. Then the cover comes off.

 

[MacMan31]

It's funny, the silver color of my Asgard 3 has a slightly different hue than on the Bifrost and Lokius. It's more of a slightly golden hue that's hard to capture on camera, but you can kind of see the difference in the photo below. I don't mind the difference at all - actually I think that the golden hue looks kind of cool.

What is your take on the Lokius paired with the Asgard 3 and Bifrost 2? I have both of those along with a Valhalla 2 but I am very curious about the Lokius. I have the HD6XX and ZMF Aeolus for headphones. Right now I use EQ within iTunes but if I turn EQ off then music sounds dull or perhaps even a bit bright. EQ adds a level of warmth and body to the music so it sounds more natural.

 

[Odin412]

What is your take on the Lokius paired with the Asgard 3 and Bifrost 2? I have both of those along with a Valhalla 2 but I am very curious about the Lokius. I have the HD6XX and ZMF Aeolus for headphones. Right now I use EQ within iTunes but if I turn EQ off then music sounds dull or perhaps even a bit bright. EQ adds a level of warmth and body to the music so it sounds more natural.

I have the Lokius and I highly recommend it. My playback chain is Bifrost Multibit (original, not V2) - Lokius - distribution amp - various headphone amps, including Asgard 3 and Jotunheim 2. The Lokius is great. If you're not using the EQ you can just use the bypass switch and it bypasses the whole EQ circuit. I mostly use the 6 kHz button as a sibilance control and the two bass buttons to increase the bass on bass-light headphones. Neither the Aeolus nor the HD 650 need any EQ to sound good to my ears but YMMV, of course.

 

[MacMan31]

I have the Lokius and I highly recommend it. My playback chain is Bifrost Multibit (original, not V2) - Lokius - distribution amp - various headphone amps, including Asgard 3 and Jotunheim 2. The Lokius is great. If you're not using the EQ you can just use the bypass switch and it bypasses the whole EQ circuit. I mostly use the 6 kHz button as a sibilance control and the two bass buttons to increase the bass on bass-light headphones. Neither the Aeolus nor the HD 650 need any EQ to sound good to my ears but YMMV, of course.

True that the Aeolus and HD6XX can sound good "out of the box". But as I mentioned when I turn off EQ in iTunes seems dull or lifeless but perhaps also a bit bright or harsh in the highs. Perhaps I'm just not used to having no EQ.

 

[Neweymatt]

True that the Aeolus and HD6XX can sound good "out of the box". But as I mentioned when I turn off EQ in iTunes seems dull or lifeless but perhaps also a bit bright or harsh in the highs. Perhaps I'm just not used to having no EQ.

When you say iTunes, assume you are using a Mac? SoundSource is a fantastic audio management utility to get for macOS.

You can tweak EQ with very fine control, create multiple PEQ profiles for different headphones, redirect apps' sound output to different destinations while mixing each app's output volume. I work from home a lot now, being able to keep Tidal on low volume in the background of Teams or Zoom etc is a godsend.

 

[MacMan31]

When you say iTunes, assume you are using a Mac? SoundSource is a fantastic audio management utility to get for macOS.

You can tweak EQ with very fine control, create multiple PEQ profiles for different headphones, redirect apps' sound output to different destinations while mixing each app's output volume. I work from home a lot now, being able to keep Tidal on low volume in the background of Teams or Zoom etc is a godsend.

Yes. This is the EQ in iTunes. There are many selectable preset options. Or I can customize my own. Perhaps I will check out that SoundSource app.

 

[lpd2]

Not sure if it has been covered already on this forum, but is the low voltage issue with the 4490 DACs covered under warranty? I have been using another DAC but will be getting rid of it and don't want to get rid of the Asgard anytime soon. Will they swap out for another module with 2v?

 

[tincanear]

IMO, the output voltage of the internal 4490 DAC module being 1.4V instead of 2.0V doesn't make any difference, since the volume control sits between the DAC module's output and the A3's gain stage. If you have a situation where you are running the A3 in high gain and the volume control is literally maxxed out full CW (not noon, not 2:00, not 3:00 etc.) then it might make sense for a module with 2.0Vrms FS output, or look at a variant of the HP with a lower impedance (e.g. 150 instead of 600 ohms) but with same efficiency (dB/mW) yielding a higher voltage sensitivity for the load (dB/V) and therefore more SPL for a given position of the volume knob.

 

[lpd2]

IMO, the output voltage of the internal 4490 DAC module being 1.4V instead of 2.0V doesn't make any difference, since the volume control sits between the DAC module's output and the A3's gain stage. If you have a situation where you are running the A3 in high gain and the volume control is literally maxxed out full CW (not noon, not 2:00, not 3:00 etc.) then it might make sense for a module with 2.0Vrms FS output, or look at a variant of the HP with a lower impedance (e.g. 150 instead of 600 ohms) but with same efficiency (dB/mW) yielding a higher voltage sensitivity for the load (dB/V) and therefore more SPL for a given position of the volume knob.

He6sev2 on the way is part of the backstory here, also rather use usb on board rather than spdif outboard (for resolution^ and gl avoidance). I'm not trying to get a variant of my headphones to match my dac/ amp. It made a certain difference adding an external dac fortunately/unfortunately. Volume position was about 2-3 oclock for my 600ohm beyers now like 12. Subjectively, they sound a lot fuller a lot better. My elegia were just strange sounding using the installed dac but 1770 pro just fine (so right in a way but also wrong in a way). Love the amp (on all HP's) with a proper dac but I'd like the desk clutter gone, and an all-in-one makes sense esp feeding usb, travel, using amp as a coffee️ warmer etc. Thanks for answering though. I'll email them to see if its covered. Glad they switched to a different DAC to solve the problem first with the 4490 second version and now an ESS. I bought mine early on with the first version 4490 dac. People considering the unit don't need to worry, its a great deal and a clean amp. Probably better to buy with an installed ess dac for those folks ordering now actually now that its been cleared up. Yeah just wondering if anybody had theres replaced under warranty and if so how long it took.

 

[Stevko]

So the new card output 2V now?

 

[lpd2]

So the new card output 2V now?

Yes. Both options. Usb-c now also https://www.schiit.com/products/asgard
Specs and scroll down. Damn good deal.

 

[Chastity]

I find the Asgard 3 benefits from some gain to the Line Out. I can keep it at 2V, and no matter the volume setting, there's a touch of loss on the impact of the music. Give it about +10-15% gain, and now cymbals have smack, trumpets blare properly, etc even at low volume. This is why I won't use a AIO unit, since separates allow for in-line options, like a tube buffer preamp.

 

[tglodjo]

Yes. Both options. Usb-c now also https://www.schiit.com/products/asgard
Specs and scroll down. Damn good deal.

Any idea how difficult it is to install if bought separately?

 

[tincanear]

for DAC module installation, see this post by @AndreYew

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-5404#post-16529582