[rhythmdevils]

I don't think the Asgard mates very well with my K340 or 600 ohm Sextetts.  It just sounds a bit lifeless.  But it seems that could be expected.  It sounds pretty good with my HD600.

 

[Bullseye]

Let me show some skepticism 

 

 

 
Quote:

Hey all, here's an update on Frank I's ex-Asgard (now owned by Shiaulou.) 
 
As promised, we took it back and ran it through the full suite of instrument and listening tests. The bottom line is that the instrument tests were all well within spec: channel balance, max output, THD+N, etc. Square wave response looked fine, no ringing or anything strange like that. 
 
But--it did sound a bit off. Our listening tech, who has listened to hundreds of Asgards, said, "Yeah, there's something odd here." So, we tore it down and took a deeper look. We only found one thing wrong with it. The thermal pads on the MOSFET regulators were installed backwards, so they were only insulating the tabs. This in itself shouldn't make the amp sound funny, but "shouldn't" and "doesn't" in audio are two different things sometimes.
 
We fixed the pads, and touched up a couple of solder joints that didn't look so hot (maybe due to all the shipping--you should have seen the box when it arrived, this amp has had something like 3 or 4 owners) and burned it in for a day. The result is that Shiaulou's Asgard now sounds like an Asgard should. I wish I could be more definitive as to *why* it sounds better, but there you go.
 
We'll see what Shiaulou says when he gets it back--that's what really matters!
 

 

[budgetboy]

When will someone make a headphone amp with a built-in EQ. Then you could just have one amp, and change the EQ to accommodate different headphone sound signatures. No distortion, just "coloration". It could be pretty great. No more "pairs great with Sennheisers", how about "pairs great with everything"?

 

[monkuboy]

Quote:

When will someone make a headphone amp with a built-in EQ. Then you could just have one amp, and change the EQ to accommodate different headphone sound signatures. No distortion, just "coloration". It could be pretty great. No more "pairs great with Sennheisers", how about "pairs great with everything"?

Yes, but then everything would sound the same. I think part of the "fun" is using different headphones depending on what sound signature you want to hear that day.  I do see the point that there should be no sound signature and we should just hear exactly what was recorded but then that gets into the area of having recordings that vary wildly with their own sound signatures. Personally I think you need more than one set of headphones because of how recordings vary.
 

 

[Clayton SF]

Quote:

Yes, but then everything would sound the same. I think part of the "fun" is using different headphones depending on what sound signature you want to hear that day.  I do see the point that there should be no sound signature and we should just hear exactly what was recorded but then that gets into the area of having recordings that vary wildly with their own sound signatures. Personally I think you need more than one set of headphones because of how recordings vary.
 

True. True. I also think that it would be great if the sound engineers and musicians would offer suggestions on what equipment to use to listen to their works of art.
 

 

[budgetboy]

Well I don't have a ton of money, so I'd prefer to have an EQ to have different sound signatures rather than buying a bunch of different headphones. But then, of course, there's a lot of differences between headphones that don't have to do with frequency response. I see your point.

 

[SP Wild]

IMO there should be DACs with built in EQs and crossfeeds - these should all be done digitally with powerful DSPs.  IMO the amp should merely amplify the analogue signals with minimal interference.

 

[budgetboy]

Exactly. Pure amplification, with your choice of sound enhancements. I hope Jason's listening lol

 

[budgetboy]

I have HD650s coming in the mail, and i'm planning on getting the Asgard to amp it. Is this pretty much the ultimate budget setup?

 

[Jason Stoddard]

 
Quote:

Exactly. Pure amplification, with your choice of sound enhancements. I hope Jason's listening lol

 
We're definitely listening . . . though I can't promise anything!
 
As always, we're here to answer any questions you might have.
 

 

 

[vitzijak]

For kicks, I hooked up my Asgard as a preamp through a Bryston/Magnepan 1.7, and it performed very well.
 
Also I know both the HD 650 and HE 5LE pair well, but was wondering if some one could describe the difference/superiority between the sounds

 

[giedrys]

I saw in OP's first post that he used Asgard with HF-2's. How good this combination is?

 

[budgetboy]

Okay Jason, I have a question. I've heard that the Asgard's exterior eventually develops white fingerprint marks from the oils in your skin.
This is totally understandable, given the price. I'm glad the budget decisions affected the externals rather than the internals.
 
Could you provide information on what the outside is made of (some say brushed aluminum, but you know for sure),
and also what product could we use to finish the metal exterior as a DIY project, in order to keep it looking pristine?
I understand that this would probably void the warranty, but I want the Asgard, without the prints. And if I know the material used, I can find something on my own if you can't give any recommendations. 
 
Thanks

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Quote:

Okay Jason, I have a question. I've heard that the Asgard's exterior eventually develops white fingerprint marks from the oils in your skin.
This is totally understandable, given the price. I'm glad the budget decisions affected the externals rather than the internals.
 
Could you provide information on what the outside is made of (some say brushed aluminum, but you know for sure),
and also what product could we use to finish the metal exterior as a DIY project, in order to keep it looking pristine?
I understand that this would probably void the warranty, but I want the Asgard, without the prints. And if I know the material used, I can find something on my own if you can't give any recommendations. 
 
Thanks

 
Cool, thanks for asking!
 
The short answer is that we've heard about a few Asgards developing marks, but they are usually removable with strong solvent (think lacquer thinner.) It's nearly impossible to hurt the anodized, brushed aluminum finish, though solvents will eventually remove the silkscreened logo and lettering on the front--so stay away from those!
 
We're puzzled by why the marks appear, but we suspect it's related to the anodizing process used on that run. However, we've now changed the anodizing process, and the currently shipping amps are flawless. Like, freakishly flawless. Like, I want to raise the price flawless (kidding, of course.) They also seem impervious to fingerprints and grease over the long term. We have a couple of them on continuous duty here.
 
That said, if someone has some non-removable marks, contact me directly and we'll take care of you.
 

 

[Sophonax]

I'll share my experiences regarding the fingerprints on the Schiit amps:
 
I purchased an Asgard earlier this summer when they were still relatively new (well-before the Valhalla came out).  At first I didn't have any problems with fingerprints, but I noticed that when the amp was warm after using it for a while, handling it would result in the white fingerprints that people have been mentioning.  It's almost as though there was some kind of residue on the outside of the amp that would soften when the amp was warm -- and handling would leave fingerprints behind in this softened residue.  When the amp cools, the residue solidifies again, making it very difficult to clean off the fingerprints using only a cloth.  As Jason suggested, using a solvent might work, but I haven't tried this myself.
 
I also recently purchased a Valhalla.  As Jason said, it appears that Schiit has changed something about the way they make the amp cases -- I haven't had the same problems with fingerprints on the new Valhalla as I did with the old Asgard.