Schiit Asgard: Unboxing and First Impressions

[Br777]

my asgard came today... fat... sassy.. and... defective...SCHIIT!. explaination and satirical comments that followed in other Schiit thread...
 

 

[kite7]

Quote:

I'm eagerly awaiting your comparison between the Asgard and the HDP!

A better comparison will have to wait till the weekend.
 
However right now, I can say the HDP excels in two areas by a noticeable margin in some recordings. Going to let these amps burn-in more (has only about 14 hours on them so far) before I go in depth and specifics, still a tight contest for most parts.

 

[chesebert]

Here is what I actually heard:
 
1) rolled off on the top with better than expected extension. At least all the details are still there
2) the bass definition is fine for most jazz/chamber-type music. It lacks grab and punch with pop and symphonic scores
3) more dynamic than I had expected with great power reserve
4) midrange is very nice and organic although it had a little higher 2nd and 3rd order harmonic than I liked; but since it was pleasant I wasn't too concerned. It's not as transparent as my other amps, but more transparent than many amps I have heard in the past.
5) Yes, Mahler pretty much destroyed this little Schiit, which was expected.  The amp really started to drag its feet through some of the not even busy passages.  It's was not very resolving with Mahler's pieces.
6) It has enough power for most, but not some compositions.
7) The amp works well with 650, K501 and HF1/2.
8) I echo the enthusiasm displayed by Jude and Kwkarth thus far, if you have the ancillary equipments to back it up.

 
Preliminary Note:
1) I couldn't get good bass/HF response until I tried all of my sources.  So careful matching with source component is required.
2) Use it for jazz, predominately vocal songs, chamber music.
3) Yes it sounds much better than $250.  To reflect from Sanchu's comment about punching above its weight, it does sound better than some amps above $1k, albeit within its its somewhat limited genre.
 
Equipment used:
SD TP -> ECD-1 (XLR) -> AX-7e (tape out) -> Asgard
 
Everything is on virtual dynamics power cable running into PS Audio AC conditioner, and all from a pair of dedicated AC outlets with their own circuit box
 
Wire used are DNM and Grover Sc cables
 
I really didn't short-change Asgard with crappy associated equipments.
 
 
 
Quote:

This thread sounds more FOTM-like by the day.
 
To pull-back from some of the unrealistic expectations:
 
I expect the amp to sound (1) congested on the top with a lack of extension (2) loose on the bottom with a lack of definition (3) not very dynamic (4) compressed/busy during tough symphonic passages (Mahler 5); (5) warm through the midrange, but is not very transparent and (6) run out of power more easily than other amps.
 

I already know this amp runs extremely hot - I guess as hot if not hotter than Dynahi - and cannot be safely left on 24/7

 

[fishski13]

Mahler is a tough benchmark. 

 

[Clayton SF]

x2, yes.
Even live at Davies Symphony Hall with MTT & SFS it was a tad exhausting but invigorating nevertheless.

 

[AtomikPi]

@Cheesebert, you do realize that if you expect to hear those characteristics, you're much more likely to hear them, whether they actually exist or not, right?
 

 

[chesebert]

Reasonable expectations come from experience.  Asgard's circuit is simple enough that I pretty much knew how it would sound before I heard it. Of course, provided that Schiit didn't drop the ball on their implementation, which they didn't. 
 
I am also verifying my understanding of Asgard with my other amps.  It's not a difficult comparison to make.  Single pair MOSFET output biased (pretty deeply) into class A in single-ended mode with zero feedback has certain sonic characteristics, much like how you can easily articulate the sound of a well-implemented SET from a push-pull without actually hearing one.

 
 
Quote:

@Cheesebert, you do realize that if you expect to hear those characteristics, you're much more likely to hear them, whether they actually exist or not, right?
 

 

[chesebert]

I have left the Asgard on for 2 days now playing music at average volume.  The underside of the amp is about 65-75C, based on the time I can hold my finger (trained over the years from OCing processors).  I believe this is within the tolerance of the MOSFET, which I am guessing has a junction temp about 115-125C and a max temp about 170Cish?

 

[Nebby]

Your finger is close, but it probably needs to be brought in for recalibration <---in case it's not obvious, I kid I kid.
 
My Asgard has been on for about the same amount of time, 2 days playing music at slightly louder than avg volume. Measurement with an infrared thermometer shows 46-53C on the bottom right side which is the hottest part.

 

[chesebert]

I guess these fingers are getting tenderer
 
I have the Asgard set on top of my CDP, so maybe I need to add few degrees on top of your figure.
 
What's your ambient temp?  It's 82F in the room.
Quote:

Your finger is close, but it probably needs to be brought in for recalibration <---in case it's not obvious, I kid I kid.
 
My Asgard has been on for about the same amount of time, 2 days playing music at slightly louder than avg volume. Measurement with an infrared thermometer shows 46-53C on the bottom right side which is the hottest part.

 

[Nebby]

I don't actually have a proper room thermometer, but scanning with my IR thermometer, my room is about 77F/25C.

 

[kite7]

Quote:

The underside of the amp is about 65-75C, based on the time I can hold my finger (trained over the years from OCing processors). 

OT: So you overclock cpus passively with no fan on the heatsink while watching the motherboard bios hardware monitor temperature for the cpu to heat up? Unless you have no heatsink and you're just touching the IHS of the cpu then it would be hot

. With a fan on the heatsink there's no way the heatsink would be blazing hot if it reads 75c for the cpu. I find it quite interesting you mentioned that. I would rather touch the northbridge heatsink under heavy load because that would be hot to touch, not the cpu heatsink being cooled by a fan.
 
The Asgard's bottom right edges are too hot for me to keep my fingers on it for more than 3-4 seconds with firm contact.My room temperature is the same if not a bit cooler than Nebby's so my Asgard is probably around the same temperature as Nebby's. Good thing there is 5 years warranty. Still a lot of burning-in to do
 

 

[fishski13]

i wouldn't worry about the heat you guys/gals - just don't stack anything on top of it or set it on a blanket.  i'm sure Mr. Stoddard knows how to calculate the juction temp and has designed the chassis to accommodate a safe operating range for the MOSFETs.  at $250, Schiit can't afford to have these coming back for repairs because of bad thermal management design.       

 

[cooperpwc]

Hmmm... the "it's inexpensive and therefore you can trust that it won't fail" argument.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

I've been running the asgard for most of the last couple of days and it has really started to open up. I can hear details and textures coming out that I hadn't before. I'm guessing it has around 30+ hours on it right now. I am really impressed with how it sounds with the HF-2, I think they make an excellent match. Bass goes deep, big powerful sound, great punch/slam. Nice organic mids, texture, and soundstage. I think this amp is sort of on the warmer side. There's a kind of haze to the sound that makes it almost tubey but not quite and yet clear like a ss amp should sound. Compared to the m902, I think the m902 sounds clearer and slightly more detailed, defined. I wish I still had the HD650/600 to test it with.
 
I still don't know if I'll be keeping it though..I originally bought it strictly to drive the LCD-2's as I already have enough amps (I might just wait for the next ortho amp

). I will have to give it a few more days to make my decision. I'm still quite struck how good it sounds with the HF-2 though. It's definitely a great amp for anyone who's just starting out. It easily competes with other mid-priced amps out there, don't be fooled by its price tag.