[madwolfa]

The b&w 683 was another that I was looking at, but a little big for my space.

Look at the KEF too. I'm very happy with my Q700.

 

[FLTWS]

[QUOTE="bosiemoncrieff, ...

Separately, are banana plugs the preferred connectors in the two channel realm? Are there costs and benefits to them?

Thanks ~[/QUOTE]

A tight, clean connection is all that matters. Bananas are convenient and typically quick and easy to insert and remove. Some of the "gilded" variety have a set screw on the end/rear which expands the banana for a tight fit as opposed to a compression fit with several bands versus a solid pin. I always preferred U-shaped spade or best, complete donut hole spades, (if the knurled knob can be backed off all the way), more fiddly to install/remove but they won't come loose. Just don't crank on them until the mounting assembly on the speaker falls apart. A bare properly solder tinned wire works fine as well but oxidation of the copper and any back and forth stress can break the strands (unlikely but...).

 

[DamageInc77]

I asked the UK store when the Vidar and Eitr will be available and this was the answer.

 

[MASantos]

Thanks I just learned where the rectifiers are

If I have understood what I have read, the power supply on Vidar is regulated. That makes Vidars power supply a little bit more complicated than the simplest amps out there. So here comes a question and request, related to regulation. Can some one show me, what are the parts in the picture that make the power supply regulated?

I would also appreciate if Jason could tell, why they chose to use regulated power supply, instead of more simple unregulated power supply. What was achieved and gained by using more complicated design?

There are 4 different power supplies in the Vidar as far as I can tell.

2 unregulated supplies (one for each of the output channels of the amplifier), 1 for the input and driver stages of the amplifier and one for the microprocessor that run the whole thing.
So lets break them down but first we must understand how the power amplifier is designed.

Most power amps in the market consist of 3 stages:
-Input stage, responsible for receiving the low level signal from the previous equipment in the chain (most often a preamp) and giving it enough strength to feed the VAS properly.
-VAS (voltage amplification stage) which is responsible for most if not all of the voltage amplification of the power amp and drive the output stage properly.
-Output stage, responsible most of the current output of the amplifier. This is where the big power consumption of the amp normally is located.

-Normally the first 2 stages are more sensible to interferences and noise in the power supply rails because the audio signal is still somewhat small and "fragile". The smaller the audio signal the more prone to noise and interference.
-The objective of a regulated power supply is to smooth and clean the power being feed to the the amp stages. However regulating the output stage is normally not done because it requires more heat sinking area, large transistors and adjoining circuitry and some people report that it slows down the power supply capacity to deliver large amounts of current to the output stage when peak demand occurs ( such as kick drums from a percussion set). Regulating the supplies for the input and VAS channels is easier since the power consumption is usually low and therefore cheaper to implement.
-Running the input and VAS stages from a separated PSU also removes any influence from such demand peaks to the more fragile signals being handled in those stages and allows for higher voltages being used which has its benefits.
-Using separate supplies for each output channel means there is (almost) no influence of one channel on the other. Imagine that if a stereo recording has the drums on one of the channels there will be more demand from that channel because of the high transients from a high hat or kick drum.
-The separate supply for the digital microprocessor also means that any digital noise doesn't intrude in the amplifying stages.

This post turned somewhat more confusing then I hoped but it should help.

 

[DigitalFrontEnd]

I am going to purchase a Vidar, but I want to wait a few months to see how it does in the field,
and to see if Jason's clever design choices pan out. I have no doubts about the sound quality
if the Saga and Freya are any indication.

 

[Charente]

I asked the UK store when the Vidar and Eitr will be available and this was the answer.

Thanks for finding out @DamageInc77 ... EITR for me !

 

[outawata]

Just wondering what section of Head-Fi forums the Vidar impressions thread will fit in? Summit-Fi? A new section for stereo/speaker gear?

 

[45longcolt]

*WARNING - Tale of Woe follows, read at your own risk*

So I sit down to order a Vidar or two, 'cause Praise Odin it's available in my preferred BLACK! (See, ORT, keep asking for meters. You never know, maybe Mike will cajole Jason into allowing a little gingerbread and bling into his Amish Audio products...)

Anyhow, Paypal bounces back to Schiit three times before it pops up a message that my card was declined. Well, *%!#@*, I just transferred funds into the account. So log into online banking, and there are all these charges I didn't make. By Loki, I've been hacked!

Fortunately, my ever-alert credit union had already frozen my card. So hopefully I'll be covered. But no Vidar for me, until I get a new card. And by that time all the black ones will no doubt be sold. (BTW, are the black ones Daarth Vidars? Just wondering...) Unless I want to drive 150 miles to the Schiitr with cash in hand.

Oh, well, first world problems...

 

[captkirk]

Unless I want to drive 150 miles to the Schiitr with cash in hand.

Dude...drive the miles. Not only will you get instant gratification, but you'd get to chill-out and experience the Schiitr.

Take a pic next to the macho gorilla.

 

[FLTWS]

I'd make the drive after calling and reserving a black pair. I just checked my 32 lb Ragnarok invoice and shipping was $50.00 (to the East coast). 2 Vidars would be around $100.00 shipping costs to me or a 3,000 mile drive. I'd take the day off (if I wasn't yet retired and lived as close as you do), get an early start and make it a Shiity kinda day. That's instant gratification with a cherry on top.

 

[Pandahead]

*WARNING - Tale of Woe follows, read at your own risk*

So I sit down to order a Vidar or two, 'cause Praise Odin it's available in my preferred BLACK! (See, ORT, keep asking for meters. You never know, maybe Mike will cajole Jason into allowing a little gingerbread and bling into his Amish Audio products...)

Anyhow, Paypal bounces back to Schiit three times before it pops up a message that my card was declined. Well, *%!#@*, I just transferred funds into the account. So log into online banking, and there are all these charges I didn't make. By Loki, I've been hacked!

Fortunately, my ever-alert credit union had already frozen my card. So hopefully I'll be covered. But no Vidar for me, until I get a new card. And by that time all the black ones will no doubt be sold. (BTW, are the black ones Daarth Vidars? Just wondering...) Unless I want to drive 150 miles to the Schiitr with cash in hand.

Oh, well, first world problems...

Yes do the drive, you might be able to combine it with the Schiitr Double/Triple Flusher Show. 8 billion people on the planet and how many get the option to do that?

 

[garbulky]

Just so Jason knows, the link to the Eitr chapter is not working. it goes to the Vidar chapter part 2 instead.

I noticed that for Monoblock mode the measurements for 4 ohm output is not given including the damping factor for monoblock mode in 8 ohm mode. With a damping factor already at a 100 for 8 ohms, it's probably going to be even lower in monoblock mode. Does this mean the Vidar is not optimized to be a monoblock (into the low impedances) but simply a bridged amp? For me the draw of this amp is a good monoblock capability but it doesn't look like it's really meant to work with 4 ohm speakers.
There's not a ton of 8 ohm speakers out there. So I wish they had a separate monoblock option on the website - like an optimized monoblock for 4 ohm impedances. I bet there would be a lot of buyers because of the compact size. Congrats on your release.

 

[Odin412]

I'm looking forward to hearing impressions of Vidar with different speakers. This is a very interesting product that should shake up the status quo for power amps. I read earlier in the thread that the Vidar makes the lights blink when you turn it on - very cool. I had a Sony ES power amp in the early 90s that did the same thing and was built like a tank.

 

[wingsounds13]

Very few bridgeable stereo amps are rated for mono into four ohms. For some, they may not be stable into that low impedance. For most (including Vidar) they are not able to deliver their full power into that load without shutting down. I think that usually this is a heat limit as it appears to be for Vidar.

As has been said before, and at least hinted at by Jason, running Vidar in monoblock mode into a four ohm load is safe, but if you play at a very high volume the amp may run into a protective shutdown. If this happens, you just have to power cycle it to reset it. If you are not one who tends to play as loud as the system will go then there should be no problem using Vidar in monoblock mode into four ohm speakers.

J.P.

 

[KoshNaranek]

Dude...drive the miles. Not only will you get instant gratification, but you'd get to chill-out and experience the Schiitr.

Take a pic next to the macho gorilla.

I want my own Macho Gorilla!

Please Jason, can I have a Schiit Art download page? It is free advertising for you.