[ZianC]

@the post about the chemical industry
 
Oh dear. Part of my desperately hopes the local affected fire departments know exactly which locations and companies you're talking about.
 
The more cynical part of me is guessing that compliance and safety people were the first to go.

 

[DigitalFrontEnd]

Well, it has been a Schiity year so far....and more to come...

 

[valiant66]

 

   
I'm curious as to why you don't think the free-standing Mani is good enough? Or that people that wanted a preamp with a built-in phono stage wouldn't just buy the Jotenheim with the phono module?
.

Actually it has nothing to do with good enough or not. I know a lot of folks who want one box for all preamplification. No extra cables, and power supplies. 

 
And by the same logic, onboard DAC as well.
 
I seem to recall Jason going on record as saying he prefers single-purpose boxes. And they combine that with a preference for upgradability wherever possible. Jotunheim is a bit of an edge case - but it is upgradable - and the DAC and phono preamp are optional.
.

 

[Sam Lord]

I am not sure if this notion has been floated..but a cool idea would be to offer an optional Mani board for the Freya.
That would be cool for some people. 

It works but it's not a good choice. Phono amps need to be physically close to the turntable for best performance: the signals are tiny, so the combined capacitance of the lead wires + interconnects to the phono amp needs to be very low, even while shielding or differential geometry is solid, ergo short wires. This is basic good phono practice. Of course the non-remote-controlled preamps like the Jotunheim may be schiitiated next to your turntable and have long line-level runs to your amps. And so it was written, the Jot possesseth the phono board option.

 

[DigitalFrontEnd]

It works but it's not a good choice. Phono amps need to be physically close to the turntable for best performance: the signals are tiny, so the combined capacitance of the lead wires + interconnects to the phono amp needs to be very low, even while shielding or differential geometry is solid, ergo short wires. This is basic good phono practice. Of course the non-remote-controlled preamps like the Jotunheim may be schiitiated next to your turntable and have long line-level runs to your amps. And so it was written, the Jot possesseth the phono board option.

And so it is written..and so it shall be! 

 

[franzdom]

This is really good information. My turntable is on the other end of a large room and goes right into Mani then a 25' RCA to Jot. I was thinking about simplifying the lineup by having Jot-phono combo but it looks like what I would be happier with Mani next to TT. So much great info here, never know when you will come across some of it!

 

[watchnerd]

  This is really good information. My turntable is on the other end of a large room and goes right into Mani then a 25' RCA to Jot. I was thinking about simplifying the lineup by having Jot-phono combo but it looks like what I would be happier with Mani next to TT. So much great info here, never know when you will come across some of it!

 
Are you headphone only?
 
If not, having the Jot phono combo near the TT, then using balanced XLR out of Jot to go to speaker amps, has less noise over long runs than RCA cables.
 
In ranked order:
 
1. TT - short RCA - Jot/phono - long XLR out
2. TT - short RCA - Mani - long RCA out
3. Something else

 

[Brubacca]

Question if I am allowed: is Vidar done and now we are in that 12 week window that Jason laid out a couple of weeks ago?

Also how good is this amp going to be? I don't understand the technical side. Is this a world class amp in the way Yggy is a world class DAC?

 

[valiant66]

Are you headphone only?  
If not, having the Jot phono combo near the TT, then using balanced XLR out of Jot to go to speaker amps, has less noise over long runs than RCA cables.
 
In ranked order:
 
1. TT - short RCA - Jot/phono - long XLR out
2. TT - short RCA - Mani - long RCA out
3. Something else

 
XLR is primarily used in commercial settings, where a long run is considered 50 m or more (think the sound booth situated in the middle  of the crowd at a festival), or with low-level "fragile" signals, such as from a microphone to an amp, where there may be dozens of them on stage criss-crossing each other and wiggling around in real time during performance. In domestic settings noise abatement is not really the reason to consider balanced XLR cables unless you have REALLY bad electrical problems in your house. And your RCA cables seldom wiggle around once you've set them up.
 
Domestically, there may be reasons to prefer balanced over single-ended, but over short runs of around 10 m or less noise isn't one of them. Balanced delivers approximately twice the voltage, for one thing, so may play "louder". Personally, I prefer SE, but that's just me.
.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

Question if I am allowed: is Vidar done and now we are in that 12 week window that Jason laid out a couple of weeks ago?

Also how good is this amp going to be? I don't understand the technical side. Is this a world class amp in the way Yggy is a world class DAC?

I think one of them is going to be a very good amp. Two of them will be extraordinary.

 

[Sam Lord]

Question if I am allowed: is Vidar done and now we are in that 12 week window that Jason laid out a couple of weeks ago?

Also how good is this amp going to be? I don't understand the technical side. Is this a world class amp in the way Yggy is a world class DAC?

@watchnerd Seconded

Last I heard was that Vidar would strain to make shipping by the end of the quarter. I'm sure Jason will give us an update when he has more clarity on this, I'll bet within a couple weeks per his pattern.

Given the insane sound-quality/price ratio of existing Schiit devices and Jason's achievements in amp design, I bet The Vidar will be outstanding.

I could mention some very low cost, moderate amps or digital receivers that would hold you over and then be perfect for secondary use, but this is not the forum for alternatives.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Vidar is in the 12-week limbo now, yes. Just started last week. Could be a little longer based on how successful the stamped thermal clip is. Could be a little longer if metal slips. Could be a little longer if we screw up. Could be a little longer if we are taken over by evil aliens in the meantime. 
 
You get the picture. 

 

[watchnerd]

 
 
Domestically, there may be reasons to prefer balanced over single-ended, but over short runs of around 10 m or less noise isn't one of them.
 

 
He said it was 25 feet.  At that distance, I'd go with XLR over RCA just for the extra insurance.
 
Plus, Jotunheim has the feature, so might as well use it.  

 

[franzdom]

   
Are you headphone only?
 
If not, having the Jot phono combo near the TT, then using balanced XLR out of Jot to go to speaker amps, has less noise over long runs than RCA cables.
 
In ranked order:
 
1. TT - short RCA - Jot/phono - long XLR out
2. TT - short RCA - Mani - long RCA out
3. Something else

 
Headphone & speakers (and all other sources) are near Jot which I am using for volume control, so it is a no go. Anyway, I am happy with Mani > 25' RCA > Jot.

 

[Brubacca]

@watchnerd Seconded

Last I heard was that Vidar would strain to make shipping by the end of the quarter. I'm sure Jason will give us an update when he has more clarity on this, I'll bet within a couple weeks per his pattern.

Given the insane sound-quality/price ratio of existing Schiit devices and Jason's achievements in amp design, I bet The Vidar will be outstanding.

I could mention some very low cost, moderate amps or digital receivers that would hold you over and then be perfect for secondary use, but this is not the forum for alternatives.

I'm good on the amp side for now. I am thinking of a Vidar as a possible addition when I get new speakers. I'm trying to save up for a pair of Song 3. My existing amp is 30W. A 50W amp from the same company is twice the cost of a Vidar.

I'm just very curious about the progress of Vidar. I have a friend who is waiting to pull the trigger.