Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[docBliny]

Fwiw, just tested and when I turn my Freya to passive it goes away. I have the LISST in he Freya so could be a culprit. Still, the mono thing is odd.

Do you have other gear plugged into the Freya? Especially if that gear isn't turned on?

Edit. Sorry, was thinking of this point in the Kara manual:

 

[Orange5o]

Will test the advised ideas (after the Cavs game) and turn back to regular programming here out of respect for Jason's aversion to troubleshooting in thread. Thank you all!

 

[rkw]

How utterly and completely insane is it that we have recordings of one of the most legendary pianists to have ever existed playing some of the most legendary piano music ever written.

Listen through the tape hiss -- this is 1930 after all (!!!)

Actually 1930 predates magnetic tape recording, which didn't come into commercial use until after WWII. Rachmaninoff's performance would have been cut directly on wax master discs, from which stampers would be made to produce shellac records for sale. "Direct To Disc" is not a modern audiophile LP concept! Back in the day, it was the only way to make recordings.
History of sound recording (Wikipedia)

 

[Verde And Black]

New member, long post ahead, feel free to skip… tl;dr what to buy…

This set-up is probably 60% streaming, 35% vinyl, 5% CD…

So, a couple of years ago, I asked this community which I should upgrade, my Modi 3e to MB2 or add Mani 2 in place of the onboard phono stage in my integrated tube amp.

I ended up going with the Mani 2 (and added the MB2 later), but on a flight today, thinking deep thoughts, I was struck by how much more vinyl we listen to since we added the Mani 2. Those ratios are closer to 60-40 vinyl to streaming now, and we play vinyl just about everyday we’re home.

What a great piece of kit for the price of a dinner for two at a crappy chain restaurant (with a couple drinks).

The upgrade bug is biting me hard right now, I recently got a nearly free, substantial speaker upgrade, and it’s probably a good thing that uncertain medical expenses (we’re fine, mostly) are holding me back, but now I’m pondering, Bifrost or Skoll, (and I know there’s a price variance there), when and if I have the cash to do it…

But man, shout out to @Jason Stoddard and the Schiit team for giving me access to products that I can afford and that have brought me some serious pleasure and that help me understand the difference between want and need.

 

[corndog71]

So, a couple of years ago, I asked this community which I should upgrade, my Modi 3e to MB2 or add Mani 2 in place of the onboard phono stage in my integrated tube amp.

I ended up going with the Mani 2 (and added the MB2 later), but on a flight today, thinking deep thoughts, I was struck by how much more vinyl we listen to since we added the Mani 2. Those ratios are closer to 60-40 vinyl to streaming now, and we play vinyl just about everyday we’re home.

What a great piece of kit for the price of a dinner for two at a crappy chain restaurant (with a couple drinks).

The upgrade bug is biting me hard right now, I recently got a nearly free, substantial speaker upgrade, and it’s probably a good thing that uncertain medical expenses (we’re fine, mostly) are holding me back, but now I’m pondering, Bifrost or Skoll, (and I know there’s a price variance there), when and if I have the cash to do it…

But man, shout out to @Jason Stoddard and the Schiit team for giving me access to products that I can afford and that have brought me some serious pleasure and that help me understand the difference between want and need.

While I haven’t heard Bifrost, Skoll is a very nice jump from Mani.

 

[Verde And Black]

While I haven’t heard Bifrost, Skoll is a very nice jump from Mani.

But so many variables, tone arm, cartridge, etc…

Where with the digital, the inputs to the DAC are stable…

Because my primary amp is low powered (~10wpc to 8 ohms), I need sensitive speakers, and the happily mostly free speaker upgrade is about as much as I can hope for/afford without a massive cost increase. The next upgrade, if any, will be a source, but it remains nice to understand want/need and budget accordingly!

 

[OldRoadToad]

How utterly and completely insane is it that we have recordings of one of the most legendary pianists to have ever existed playing some of the most legendary piano music ever written.

Listen through the tape hiss -- this is 1930 after all (!!!) -- and hear a true maestro at his craft. Sublime hardly begins to describe it. This is Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, the one with the famous funeral March.

Thank you! I just brought it up (in Amazon Music Unlimited) and am playing it now via my Denon HEOS setup. This will be my listening session for the rest of the evening. Huzzah!

ORT

 

[sgtwillard]

While I haven’t heard Bifrost, Skoll is a very nice jump from Mani.

I was really wondering about this. Noted.

So, a couple of years ago, I asked this community which I should upgrade, my Modi 3e to MB2 or add Mani 2 in place of the onboard phono stage in my integrated tube amp.

I ended up going with the Mani 2 (and added the MB2 later), but on a flight today, thinking deep thoughts, I was struck by how much more vinyl we listen to since we added the Mani 2. Those ratios are closer to 60-40 vinyl to streaming now, and we play vinyl just about everyday we’re home.

What a great piece of kit for the price of a dinner for two at a crappy chain restaurant (with a couple drinks).

The upgrade bug is biting me hard right now, I recently got a nearly free, substantial speaker upgrade, and it’s probably a good thing that uncertain medical expenses (we’re fine, mostly) are holding me back, but now I’m pondering, Bifrost or Skoll, (and I know there’s a price variance there), when and if I have the cash to do it…

But man, shout out to @Jason Stoddard and the Schiit team for giving me access to products that I can afford and that have brought me some serious pleasure and that help me understand the difference between want and need.

I'm starting to more and more as well. Interestingly enough finding CDs wasn't so easy so now I have all the SLIFT albums on vinyl as of today. My dad's old Sony automatic TT is hooked into the Rag2 but I need to use the Mani 2 I have so I can split feed my Syn+Kraken as well. Unless Skoll+Bifrost+Preamp call to me uuugh.

 

[tincanear]

But so many variables, tone arm, cartridge, etc…

Where with the digital, the inputs to the DAC are stable…

Because my primary amp is low powered (~10wpc to 8 ohms), I need sensitive speakers, and the happily mostly free speaker upgrade is about as much as I can hope for/afford without a massive cost increase. The next upgrade, if any, will be a source, but it remains nice to understand want/need and budget accordingly!

glad to hear that you resolved the TT hum issue, and are enjoying your system (with mostly-free upgraded speakers) as it is now.

for a DAC, I would wait for a few more Mimir reviews & comparisons vs (now-discontinued, last-call) MMB2 and Bifrost 2. or look for a second-hand Skoll as others replace it with Stjarna. also a Forkbeard-capable Bifrost is in the early planning stages (maybe 25Q4, maybe sometime in 2026, with Jason's rule in effect here) but likely to remain in the $799 or so price tier.

 

[Lavcat]

Rather than a fixed 8Ω, it may be interesting to use speaker impedance or EPDR instead, if that number is handy.
My speakers are rated at 4Ω nominal so I'd need to double the number.
Their minimal EDPR is only 1.5Ω so that would be 5 1/3 the number.

Using your voltages, @Lavcat , I'd need 12.5-33 1/3 W "normal" and 344-917 1/3 W.

Darn! the amps I'm getting only go to 800W peak ...


My research and home experimentations suggest that the sweet spot for CD is between 1989-1996?

Why?

In 1989 (maybe '90), the 24b ADC was introduced and my home experiments suggest that 16b doesn't record some instruments correctly (horns, in my tests) and cymbals (which produce sounds with details 16b doesn't capture).

1996 is the beginning of the loudness wars, which go on to 2003?

With the above in mind, I look for CDs remastered post-1990 or recordings with a provenance of analog higher rated ADC (24b/48Khz).

I'd never heard of EPDR, interesting. My speakers are nominally 8 ohm, but here is the actual impedance curve I measured...

http://tribade.org/audio/B&W 801 Impedance 09172012.pdf

 

[docBliny]

This evening's tunes.

 

[Paladin79]

Will need to check again.

Rega turntable so no ground wire.

“Rega turntables ground themselves through the RCA cable that connects the turntable to the phono preamp or receiver. The ground wire is typically integrated into the left channel audio cable. Rega's design philosophy avoids a separate ground wire, believing the audio cable ground provides optimal performance. If a hum persists, you may need to consider additional grounding solutions.”

 

[artur9]

Will need to check again.

Rega turntable so no ground wire.

“Rega turntables ground themselves through the RCA cable that connects the turntable to the phono preamp or receiver. The ground wire is typically integrated into the left channel audio cable. Rega's design philosophy avoids a separate ground wire, believing the audio cable ground provides optimal performance. If a hum persists, you may need to consider additional grounding solutions.”

I have a weird power cord that came with a used DAC that had a ground wire added to it. If the turntable has a detachable power cord, you're welcome to it...

 

[theeclone]

(after the Cavs game)

More like the Pacers game, amirite?

 

[33na3rd]

Skoll is a very nice jump from Mani.

+1

I had an unscheduled electrostatic discharge that permanently disabled my Mani 2.
Skoll F helped me get over my loss quickly.

Skoll F is as good as, if not better, than my Avid Pellar. There's a big price difference between those two.