Schiit Asgard X (Mini-Mjolnir 3?)

[Sonic Defender]

Using my HD600 I'm going back and forth between SE and XLR and I'm not really hearing a difference. It could be very slight but it's certainly not night and day.

Not surprised. It is refreshing to read a post without the usual and expected gushing about the obvious difference.

 

[DACattack]

@velemar1 There's nothing at all wrong or deficient with the SE, but I'm finding that I like the 4.4 Halo output better. It's hard for me to explain why, but when I go back-and-forth between them the music is more engaging on the Pentaconn jack. It'd be really interesting to hear from folks who have the Midgard if they experience something similar with their XLR halo output versus SE. Again, one person's opinion, and YMMV.

 

[pure5152]

I posted this in Jason's thread. I apologize for the duplication; but in case there are folks here that aren't following the other thread, here's what I said there. Please take this as an initial impression because it is so early on, and simply one person's initial impression, but here's my take after 3 days of rather extensive listening.

I've been a little reluctant to post too much about the Asgard X given how it's only been a very short time that I've had to listen to it. That said, I have to share how much I'm enjoying it already.

Currently I'm enjoying Fourplay's Elixir on my Bokeh Closed via Asgard X tonight (thanks for the recommendation @Ripper2860). This is a really excellent pairing of headphone and amp (via the Mesh DAC using the 4.4mm Pentaconn jack). The bass is exquisite and there is plenty of that Class A sound and warmth. There is delightful detail and nuance, and I can hear Ritenour's fingers subtly plucking the strings on his acoustic guitar on "Why Can't It Wait Till Morning" as if he were in the room with me.

The sound of this Asgard X is definitely its own thing, not simply an improved version of 2, and it's better than the 3 to my ears in pretty much every aspect, tuned more to that Class A sound I enjoy. It won't make me forsake any of my tube amps, but it is an excellent companion to them, dynamic, precise, yet not at all fatiguing.

Once more, well done, Jason.

If you don't have a 4.4mm Pentaconn termination for your headphone cord, I'd recommend one if you buy an X, because I believe the Halo output is pretty special.

Happy listening all. Looking forward to reading other's impressions of this amp. Schiit is definitely on a roll this year with Mimir, Valhalla 3, and now Asgard X.

Thank you so much for these impressions! really glad to hear the asgard X seems to excel in dynamics without being fatiguing-- super excited to get mine (still hasn't shipped yet, I'm expecting it to arrive next week and the anticipation is killing me!)

How would you say the overall sound character is like? You mention it having a "Class A sound and warmth", and I was wondering if the amp leaned more warm in general (like the asgard 3 was known to be) or if it is more neutral. One particular worry I have is I've heard that the mjolnir 3 is a little rolled-off in the treble, and I am wondering if the Asgard X's treble is also rolled at all or if it's still extended and airy.

Any comments/impressions about the overall sound character/frequency response would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jsabini1]

I'll be very interested to hear from anyone who has a Pietus Maximus who also gets an Asgard X, and compares the 2 of them. Especially since Jason said he thought about making Pmax the "Asgard 4" before letting Christian take its design for Nitsch. I have a Pietus which I like a lot, it does a lot of things really well and punches above its weight for price/performance, though the price increase on it since launch makes it a bit harder to justify. Not Christian's fault though, between component price increases and low production volume.

I still have my Asgard 2 kicking around in the living room, connected to MMB 1. Kinda tempted to get Asgard X to complete the family, but i can't really justify it!

 

[velemar1]

Ordered mine in silver last night (no module, as I'll be pairing mine with my Bifrost 2 OG in my B-stack). Been a gap in my B-setup since I sold my Lyr 3 MB. Looking forward to trying class A for the first time. Will be able to compare with Jotunheim 2.

 

[sacd lover]

Everyone has their own opinion on the .4.4mm Pentaconn termination vs SE. There is no proven consensus for either.

 

[ch1525i]

I'll be very interested to hear from anyone who has a Pietus Maximus who also gets an Asgard X, and compares the 2 of them. Especially since Jason said he thought about making Pmax the "Asgard 4" before letting Christian take its design for Nitsch. I have a Pietus which I like a lot, it does a lot of things really well and punches above its weight for price/performance, though the price increase on it since launch makes it a bit harder to justify. Not Christian's fault though, between component price increases and low production volume.

I still have my Asgard 2 kicking around in the living room, connected to MMB 1. Kinda tempted to get Asgard X to complete the family, but i can't really justify it!

I have a PMax as well and I'm considering the Mesh DAC card for it instead of the MultiBit currently installed.

 

[velemar1]

Everyone has their own opinion on the .4.4mm Pentaconn termination vs SE. There is no proven consensus for either.

Seems everyone (so far) prefers the 4.4. Thankfully I already have a 4.4 to female xlr adapter to work with my existing headphone cables.

 

[MacMan31]

Everyone has their own opinion on the .4.4mm Pentaconn termination vs SE. There is no proven consensus for either.

I have no issues with SE. but I prefer 4.4mm over 4 pin XLR.

 

[DACattack]

Thank you so much for these impressions! really glad to hear the asgard X seems to excel in dynamics without being fatiguing-- super excited to get mine (still hasn't shipped yet, I'm expecting it to arrive next week and the anticipation is killing me!)

How would you say the overall sound character is like? You mention it having a "Class A sound and warmth", and I was wondering if the amp leaned more warm in general (like the asgard 3 was known to be) or if it is more neutral. One particular worry I have is I've heard that the mjolnir 3 is a little rolled-off in the treble, and I am wondering if the Asgard X's treble is also rolled at all or if it's still extended and airy.

Any comments/impressions about the overall sound character/frequency response would be greatly appreciated!

Congrats! I really hope you enjoy it too.

Again, the caveat that it's still very early, and it could be possible that the sound signature of the X, or more accurately my impressions of it, may evolve.

That said, here's what I hear on Day 4. The Asgard X is warm, but not overtly so. Class A on solid state, when done properly, is really clean and articulate to me. I haven't heard Mjolnir 3 yet, but some have said it has quite a smooth presentation, but I've never heard it characterized as "rolled-off" before. That's not my impression of the Asgard X. Mine likely leans warmer than the baseline because I've listened exclusively paired with my ZMF Bokeh Closed headphones so far, and they have a very warm sound signature. The two of them together indeed create a warm presentation with pronounced bass but I don't hear any deficiencies in the treble. Note: I'm a little treble sensitive so I try to tailor the sound away from anything overtly bright.

I've heard one person tell me who owns both that the Pietus Maximus is warmer than Asgard X (which probably isn't surprising given its Programmable Output Stage), but since I've not heard the PM I can't make that comparison myself.

I'll try it out with other headphones, likely with a more neutral set, to see how that changes the equation, but I likely won't have much time to do that until this coming weekend.

Once yours arrives and you have a little time to acclimate to it, do share your impressions as well. I'm curious how it'll work for you in your setup with your headphones.

Happy listening!

 

[MindBreak]

Congrats! I really hope you enjoy it too.

Again, the caveat that it's still very early, and it could be possible that the sound signature of the X, or more accurately my impressions of it, may evolve.

That said, here's what I hear on Day 4. The Asgard X is warm, but not overtly so. Class A on solid state, when done properly, is really clean and articulate to me. I haven't heard Mjolnir 3 yet, but some have said it has quite a smooth presentation, but I've never heard it characterized as "rolled-off" before. That's not my impression of the Asgard X. Mine likely leans warmer than the baseline because I've listened exclusively paired with my ZMF Bokeh Closed headphones so far, and they have a very warm sound signature. The two of them together indeed create a warm presentation with pronounced bass but I don't hear any deficiencies in the treble. Note: I'm a little treble sensitive so I try to tailor the sound away from anything overtly bright.

I've heard one person tell me who owns both that the Pietus Maximus is warmer than Asgard X (which probably isn't surprising given its Programmable Output Stage), but since I've not heard the PM I can't make that comparison myself.

I'll try it out with other headphones, likely with a more neutral set, to see how that changes the equation, but I likely won't have much time to do that until this coming weekend.

Once yours arrives and you have a little time to acclimate to it, do share your impressions as well. I'm curious how it'll work for you in your setup with your headphones.

Happy listening!

Hifiman Planar headphones seem to pair really well with Mjolnir 3, so I would assume the Asgard X will pair similarly well with them. You might want to try your HE4xx next.

 

[hiImGrant]

I'll be very interested to hear from anyone who has a Pietus Maximus who also gets an Asgard X, and compares the 2 of them. Especially since Jason said he thought about making Pmax the "Asgard 4" before letting Christian take its design for Nitsch. I have a Pietus which I like a lot, it does a lot of things really well and punches above its weight for price/performance, though the price increase on it since launch makes it a bit harder to justify. Not Christian's fault though, between component price increases and low production volume.

I still have my Asgard 2 kicking around in the living room, connected to MMB 1. Kinda tempted to get Asgard X to complete the family, but i can't really justify it!

I have PMax and the Asgard X just arrived. The Pietus Maximus strikes me as a bit warmer but I’ll need more time and running them from the same dac to completely sus out what I’m hearing. My initial impression of pmax was stronger than what I’m getting from ax, so I do suspect it’s a little more colored.

One thing to note about the pmax is that it runs ice cold. Like produces no physical heat which is awesome. I might just throw a mesh card in it and call it the summer solution.

So far the 4.4 is louder.

Edit:
Well I’ve now got everything hooked up through gungnir2 and will have some time later this week to listen a bit. Off the bat I put them all fairly close to one another.

 

[SchwizzelKick66]

If someone is looking to upgrade from Magni/Modi stack, there are so many offerings now from Schiit that its a bit confusing.

Midgard? Asgard X? Jotunheim 2? Integrated DAC or separates?

For example, if I were to look at the Midgard, whats the right DAC to pair with it?

For Asgard X, does taking the integrated DAC make the most sense?

 

[DACattack]

If someone is looking to upgrade from Magni/Modi stack, there are so many offerings now from Schiit that its a bit confusing.

Midgard? Asgard X? Jotunheim 2? Integrated DAC or separates?

For example, if I were to look at the Midgard, whats the right DAC to pair with it?

For Asgard X, does taking the integrated DAC make the most sense?

It's a lot of choices, true, but not necessarily confusing, in that each have their niche within Schiit's solid state space.

Midgard has power galore and Halo, but runs off a wall-wart (which may or may not be an issue), and requires an external DAC. Modius is still on the product page as its recommended DAC, but that's been replaced by Mimir (which by all reports is a solid upgrade).

Asgard's power supply is internal (no wall-wart) and it can take an internal DAC, so it can be an all-in-one and doesn't need a separate DAC (unless you want one), and it gives you pure Class A but has less power than Midgard if that's important. It has Halo as well, but uses a 4.4mm Pentaconn jack for that.

Jotunheim 2 gives you balanced connections, if that's your thing, and can take an expansion card as well, and has plenty of power.

So, what's your budget? Do you want a second component or an AIO instead? Is Halo important to you? Is power the most important attribute? Or do you require true balanced in/outs? That'll help guide your final decision among them. The good thing is that there isn't a bad choice here. Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

 

[MacMan31]

If someone is looking to upgrade from Magni/Modi stack, there are so many offerings now from Schiit that its a bit confusing.

Midgard? Asgard X? Jotunheim 2? Integrated DAC or separates?

For example, if I were to look at the Midgard, whats the right DAC to pair with it?

For Asgard X, does taking the integrated DAC make the most sense?

I have the Midgard and Bifrost 2/64 stack and it's very good. I'm very tempted on the Asgard X but I can certainly be content with what I have now. The only "downside" to the Midgard is the wall wart which another poster mentioned. Not a fan of the plug going into the amp. Otherwise no issues.