[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Not an issue with a headphone attached. Damn good amp, but the fact remains the same.

If the amp was functioning properly, there should be no difference whether the headphone's attached or not.
 
If there was indeed a significant difference with a headphone attached, it could be a sign of instability when the amp's not loaded.
 
Have you brought this up to Jason?
 
se
 

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Is it fine with phones attached but nothing playing?
 

Yes it is.


 
Quote:

If the amp was functioning properly, there should be no difference whether the headphone's attached or not.
 
If there was indeed a significant difference with a headphone attached, it could be a sign of instability when the amp's not loaded.
 
Have you brought this up to Jason?
 
se
 

He knows. The amp was Yikes'.
 

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hey guys,
 
More on the heat "issue?"
 
Bottom line, there is no issue. The amp is properly engineered and designed to sail through 5 years without any problem at the temperature it runs. Consider this is backed by a manufacturer with two veteran audio engineers who have sold tens of thousands of units between us, that we're manufacturing in the USA, that we have a 5-year warranty and that we have stated, from the start, that our products run hot. We've run amps much harder in the past, and there are current (speaker) amps which run much hotter.
 
The difference is that we're using the entire case as a heatsink, so there may be more apparent heat. Bottom line, Asgard cases run 45-55 degrees C, depending on the ambient temperature. That's what they're designed to run at.
 
It doesn't matter if there's a headphone connected or not; the output MOSFETs are biased with a current source. As far as what may or may not have happened at the show to make the one Asgard run (reportedly) hotter, I have no idea. Hot room? Sitting on another component? 135V AC line? 
 
If you want an amp that runs cool, there are plenty of other options out there. Like I said, we don't claim to be a universal panacea. 
 

 

[immtbiker]

Jason. Just for the record, I was not putting down the amp. In fact I thought it was incredible for the price and sounds great. It seems like you are taking this a bit personally. Please don't. Yes, it was a 98 degree day and the hotel air conditioning was not keeping up with the climate extreme.
But the volume control was in fact, untouchable without a headphone attached. Perhaps a Delrin shaft attached to the knob so there will be no heat transfer.
Your products are wonderful and I am in dire anticipation waiting for your Valhalla. This was not an attack on Schitt, just voiced as an opportunity to make a consideration for less than perfect environments. I know my Garden apartment is close to 80 degrees F in the winter.
I have to keep my ceiling fan on when running my blue Hawaii. A mod was done to substitute the stainless rod for a Delrin one and the problem was easily solved. 

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Thank you for the clarification. I'm not taking it personally, just setting the record straight. Our amps run hot, yes. They are also properly engineered for their thermal conditions.
 
As far as headphone/no headphone, there's no reason the amp should run any different with or without a load. The output MOSFETs are set at a constant current by the current source. We've noted no difference, loaded or unloaded, in our testing. The power supply is well-bypassed; there's no indication of oscillation or instability (which I've seen plenty of in the Sumo days when we were using the Hawksford transconductance linearization technique on multiple paralleled MOSFET outputs.) 
 
I think the ambient temperature, and possibly high line voltage, had much more to do with the heat at the show than anything.

 

[Caphead78]

Well my Asgard just shipped (!) and I will be sure to report back if it burns down my dorm 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Any thoughts on the Asgard and K340?  I tried to look through these pages, but could only find someone else asking the same question...

 

[mkygod]

Regarding the amp running cooler with a headphone attached; is the same true if you just have a 1/4 adapter in it instead of headphones plugged in?

 

[kwkarth]

Headphone attached/not attached...makes no difference.

 

[Denys]

I have mine for over a month now..... I use it when I know I will not listen music for a long period of time (less than one hour), cause I don't want to warm up the tubes on my other amp.
 
Heat ??? It's not a problem believe me. It's a Classe A amp, so it MUST be hot....by definition...
 
In any case, I live in Canada, so I just need to open the window for a minute, and the heat is gone !!!

 Just kidding, it's really not an issue.
 
All to say, it's a surprisingly good SS headphone amp for the price.... I am more than happy with it...
 
It's too bad I have three other headphone amp, because I'd probably try the Valhalla too !!!
 
Denys

 

[sampson_smith]

Just out of curiosity, Denys, how much was shipping of the Asgard up to these parts? Did they happen to use another carrier than USPS? I sure hope that I am able to avoid duty and brokerage fees...

 

[Denys]

 
Quote:

Just out of curiosity, Denys, how much was shipping of the Asgard up to these parts? Did they happen to use another carrier than USPS? I sure hope that I am able to avoid duty and brokerage fees...

" width="1" />" class="bbcode_smiley" height="1" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//http://hfimage.head-fi.org/smilies/wink.gif" title="

" class="bbcode_smiley" height="1" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//http://hfimage.head-fi.org/smilies/wink.gif" title="

" width="1" />" width="1" />

Hi,
 
You won't believe it !!! In the month of May, I ordered a Woo Audio WA6SE with extra tubes, etc.... Almost $1,500 CAD total. One morning i was working from home, the door rings and the mailman says: Mr. Denys, here's a package for you, please sign here.... I did not pay a single penny !!!!
 
Last month....the door rings again....Mr Denys, here's a package for you, but you're gonna have to pay $31 to get it !!!! Of course I said "crap " !!!

 
End result is the duty fee was $10 and the $21 was taxes.... It's not so bad. The mailman said I was lucky the first time... But $ 31 seems reasonable to me....I did not ask Jason if he could lower the price put on the package, and I do not know if they would be willing to do so. In any case, I believe it's worth the price...
 
They do use USPS.....just confirm with them they still do so....it's the cheapest way...
 
Good luck
 
Denys

 

[sampson_smith]

Thanks very much for the above. Encouraging news! Enjoy your amps!!!

 

[Yoga Flame]

Sometimes when I import things to Canada from a large supplier in the US, they come with a NAFTA form like this:
http://www.ups-scs.ca/Documents/Certificate_Origin_NAFTA_US-A.pdf
 
It would be filled in and signed of course. And I do not get charged duties on the specific items that appear in the form.
 
Could Schiit do something like that too to help save their Canadian and Mexican customers a bit of cash? Or is there some barrier that prevents smaller made-in-the-USA companies from doing this?

 

[sampson_smith]

Interesting, Yoga Flame. I may just bring this up with them, if I remember to do so once I have enough scratch for an Asgard.