[Darksyde]

I've glanced over this entire thread and I pleased to say that the bunch of you Asgard folks (as well as the happy consumers) seem like well-natured and fun people.  I'm tempted to pay for this Schiit just so that I can associate myself with you guys (not to mention that I'm not allowed a toaster oven in my room, so I'm going to have to improvise.
 
The widely-acclaimed sound quality is the bonus!
 
Will look into this when I finally manage to get my wallet out of the bear-trap I laid for it (the sucker walked right into the darned contraption when I preordered my Hifiman 602!).

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Hey, if if anyone is really interested that is really likes their Asgard, and is wondering about the other amps in it's price-point, I would be willing to do a one or two week trade for an amp of mine, so that we can compare. Most of my amps are more, but it opens an opportunity to try different strokes. I have a Raptor, or an Amphora, or a HR Desktop. They all cost more, but they can really solidify, whether or not the Asgard was a good decision. 
 
I recently did a swap for the LCD-2 with the HE-5LE w/ kwkarth, and sans meet conditions, you can really have some good, quiet time with something you might have been
wondering about. It's really one of the finer points of being a trusted HF member.
 
I am really looking forward to getting a Valhalla from Jason, which should come the end of August.

 
If I didn't live so far away, I'd take you up on this offer.  It's times like these I wish I lived in the USA.
 
I'm almost tempted to pick up one of these just for something different since I sold my last interesting amp, the Audiovalve RKV.  That amp proved that you don't need balanced for great performance necessarily.
 

 

[HK_sends]

 
Quote:

I've glanced over this entire thread and I pleased to say that the bunch of you Asgard folks (as well as the happy consumers) seem like well-natured and fun people.  I'm tempted to pay for this Schiit just so that I can associate myself with you guys (not to mention that I'm not allowed a toaster oven in my room, so I'm going to have to improvise.
 
The widely-acclaimed sound quality is the bonus!
 
Will look into this when I finally manage to get my wallet out of the bear-trap I laid for it (the sucker walked right into the darned contraption when I preordered my Hifiman 602!).

Who in their right mind would think we're good-natured or fun?

  This is serious business!

Just make sure you've got your Schiit together... 
Cheers!

-HK sends

 

 

[cpetkus]

Getting our Schiit a little closer to on topic... I need some opinions from those of you who have the experience...
 
My budget has significantly changed (for the worse) for many reasons but basically I need a new system strategy.
 
I will be building one piece at a time, instead of buying a few pieces to start, and starting out with less $$$ per piece.
 
I am thinking Grado 60i's now instead of 325i's.  I should be able to run these through my PC or AVR for now, until I can afford my next piece... on to the question.

Which piece should I plan on next and why?
a) a DAC to use through my AVR (and eventually Schiit amp)
b) an Amp (I am still pining for one of the Schiit units which is why I'm posting here... I plan a auditioning both and picking one)
 
My impression is that quality amplification would probably provide the biggest leap in performance, but if my source isn't of high quality it may not matter as much as it would with a great source first...
 
The chicken or the egg...

 

[SP Wild]

If your AVR can output its internal dac via a true line-out, I'd get the Asgard first.  Otherswise you do need a dac to input into the Asgard first.  Actually you can output the PS3 output into the Asgard - do this first - you might like it, then upgrade the source later - if you don't like it.

 

[cpetkus]

Quote:

If your AVR can output its internal dac via a true line-out, I'd get the Asgard first.  Otherswise you do need a dac to input into the Asgard first.  Actually you can output the PS3 output into the Asgard - do this first - you might like it, then upgrade the source later - if you don't like it.

Great points.  Thanks.  I guess I should have thought of this first since it is sort of how I am doing things now.  I will see if I can get bit perfect audio over the network, through my PS3, to the DAC in my (very old) AVR using 'Source Direct' and the headphone stage there... next I will evaluate the DAC's that I am considering through my local dealer (which I can audition at home for a couple days) to see the effects on the system before deciding on my next move amp / DAC wise.  Cheers!

 

[charliex]

I may have missed it, but has anyone tried the Schitt Asgard with LCD-2's?
Also wondering about pairing with the HF-1 and/or HF-2
Looking for reviews of the above.

 

[Darksyde]

Quote:

I may have missed it, but has anyone tried the Schitt Asgard with LCD-2's?
Also wondering about pairing with the HF-1 and/or HF-2
Looking for reviews of the above.

If you can hold out for a while I know a certain individual who will be getting both the HF2's and LCD-2's in the near future (he already has the Asgard). 
 
From what I've read, there is supposed to be great synergy between both the aforementioned 'phones and amp.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

I may have missed it, but has anyone tried the Schitt Asgard with LCD-2's?

Yes, and I like it very much.

 

[sampson_smith]

Lookee here!:
 
http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_schiit_amp?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+(Wired%3A+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))
 
Glad to see that a top-tier techie mag' like WIRED is interested (and impressed) with this amp.  Not that we are dealing with a 'most-expert audiophile' review, or anything ("Makes for a subtly better listening experience, by staying fuzz-free on even the most complex music"; "Not enough of an improvement for all but the most-expert audiophile." - ??). But I am sure that it represents welcome coverage of Schiit and our esoteric 'little' hobby, as well.

 

[sampson_smith]

Odd that the 'Dailyator' appears to have the exact same article: http://dailyator.com/want-your-music-to-sound-like-schiit-actually-yes-you-do/36431/

 

[Maxvla]

I can't tell if that was a positive review or not... the people on Wired's staff certainly didn't seem to be qualified to know the difference between a megaphone and an Orpheus.

 

[Darksyde]

Quote:

Odd that the 'Dailyator' appears to have the exact same article: http://dailyator.com/want-your-music-to-sound-like-schiit-actually-yes-you-do/36431/

The author of the article says he is not an audiophile, yet in the next sentence mentions that he listens to a pair of RS1s...
 
Also, never listen to the man with the Sonys!

 

[Yikes]

The author of the article says he is not an audiophile, yet in the next sentence mentions that he listens to a pair of RS1s...
 
Also, never listen to the man with the Sonys!

1st) Not all, or even most people who use good headphones are Audiophiles. An Audiophile is someone for whom part of the fun is the pursuit of better sound. Many people choose a product because it sounded better while they were shopping, and then use it for years without ever thinking about whether there is something better.

2nd) Sony R10's, Quaila's, or SA5000's are all legitimate high performance headphones. Sony does manufacture a bunch O Crap, but everything that is/was built by Sony is not crap.

 

[sampson_smith]

Here, here! Some very good points, Yikes. To some audiophiles, R10's are the best headphones ever made. Qualias, maybe less so, but highly coveted nonetheless.
 
I would imagine that the Wired review, albeit written by someone not qualified enough to properly assess the amp's merits, is still reasonably positive. It would have been a better test to pop some higher-impedance cans on there. RS-1's are some of the easiest cans to drive (even among Grados). Still, for a $250 'boutique item' to rate a respectable '8' while only providing subtle improvements (to the reviewer), is plenty positive. I wonder if Wired has done a proper review of other amps, DAC's and hi-fi cans, before. (I somewhat recall a glowing review of a pair of SR-325is's, but that may have been in Stuff Magazine.)