[Jason Stoddard]

No offence taken. Always good to check, but yes the speaker leads are on the 2 top posts for balanced use. Sorry, no easy fix .

You're having some very bizarre problems. 120 steps = about 5dB down from full output, full output = 2V, this will drive Vidar into clipping. If Vidar is running cool into the load and not going into protection, then it's not getting enough input signal. Which means either the cables from DAC to preamp or preamp to Vidar are wired incorrectly, or there's a volume control being applied in software, or there's something else wrong.

Start with basic troubleshooting--different cables, running ONE Vidar, looking for volume control on the player software, etc. This is all on our website under schiit.com/faq/system-problems, by the way, If you have problems beyond that, contact the distributor you purchased the Vidars from, or us, if you purchased directly, contact tech@schiit.com.

 

[Jnan]

You need a pair of Bob Carver Ravens at 350W into 8 ohms with 6 KT120's. A teensy bit more expensive than the Vidars. One more thing, they do get kinda hot. Hotter than a bridged Vidar.

Ha ha ha i dont have that kind of monies ... anyways its stuck in my mind that Mono has to be pure mono and not to be used in dual-mono/bridged-mono. I will continue to look for good Higher powered Class-AB amp either from Schiit or Parasound (close to my budget). I do have Wyred4sound STI 250 for now.

 

[Ableza]

Ha ha ha i dont have that kind of monies ... anyways its stuck in my mind that Mono has to be pure mono and not to be used in dual-mono/bridged-mono. I will continue to look for good Higher powered Class-AB amp either from Schiit or Parasound (close to my budget). I do have Wyred4sound STI 250 for now.

Your ideas about amplifier topology are simply not correct. But whatever makes you happy, go for it.

 

[Pandahead]

I think there is, or might be, or possibly a perception that designers put their best efforts and quality into their mono blocks as statement pieces. One thing is true in that they are more flexible in their placement. Either way, choice is good. Just an observation.

 

[yonson]

@Pietro Cozzi Tinin The sound and finesse is great. The power is very disappointing in conjunction with the ESL 63's.
I play at step 120-128 of the 128 steps attenuator of the Freya in JFET mode to get 80 dB.

Wow, that's definitely not my experience with Vidar. What is the distance of your listening position?

Ha ha ha i dont have that kind of monies ... anyways its stuck in my mind that Mono has to be pure mono and not to be used in dual-mono/bridged-mono. I will continue to look for good Higher powered Class-AB amp either from Schiit or Parasound (close to my budget). I do have Wyred4sound STI 250 for now.

I have a pair of Parasound JC1's as well as a pair of Vidar, and I personally can not tell a difference between them during blind listening, Vidar are GREAT amplifiers IMHO...

The only real complaint I could make about Vidar is that when you push them HARD they can run quite warm, however I have yet to push them into protection...

 

[JoeKickass]

...I m not looking to use in bridged/dual Mono mode where technically the Voltages/current added/multiplied to get more power. I m told elsewhere that this will make them (amps) heated up and recommended to avoid.

Vidar is essentially a dual-mono amp, this is from Jason's chapter:

...In addition to its separate supply for the voltage gain and drivers, Vidar also employs a “dual mono back to the transformer” design for the main high-current (+/-52V) rails. Four separate transformer secondaries are tied to 4 separate bridges, with 4 separate capacitors providing final filtering. Two each are used per channel to create the rails.

Why such a bizarre arrangement? For precision current measurement. More on this later. But the big deal is that each channel of Vidar has its own high-current power supply that goes all the way back to the transformer. Each channel has its own separate transformer windings. And so, where it’s most critical—where the power supply is bouncing around due to high current draw into difficult loads—neither channel can influence the other. Except for using a single transformer, it’s very close to a dual mono design...

I bet a single Vidar would be fine, be plenty loud with any speaker, would even satisfy your dual mono criteria! (Schiit has the 30 day trial period too!)

As for the heat, it's basically a non-issue with regards to sound quality.
All amps that aren't class D will get hot, often nothing happens to the sound, but sometimes the sound of an amp will change with the temp so for those it's best to let them warm-up and stabilize.

Honestly, I bet if you got a single Vidar your ears would break before you could send it into thermal protection...

 

[Ableza]

re: amps and heat. My old Phase Linear 400 sounded best when it was right at "fry an egg on it" temperature.

 

[FLTWS]

re: amps and heat. My old Phase Linear 400 sounded best when it was right at "fry an egg on it" temperature.

LOL, I remember it well.

 

[GearMe]

re: amps and heat. My old Phase Linear 400 sounded best when it was right at "fry an egg on it" temperature.

AND...it had VU Meters!

You never forget your first amp.

 

[AudioBear]

k

re: amps and heat. My old Phase Linear 400 sounded best when it was right at "fry an egg on it" temperature.

I really liked the look and sound of old PL 400. I set it up in an entertainment center with a closed glass door, and ran it for an evening watching those beautiful meters. When I opened the door to turn it off it was so hot that I was afraid the enamel interior was peeling. I removed the door.

 

[Domiran]

Hm.

@Jason Stoddard, what kind of questions can we send to info@schiit.com? I sent maybe a slightly-off-topic-question-but-still-related-to-Schiit-gear question a week ago and never heard back. Or should it be tech@schiit.com? The website's Contact page says "info" but the links you've given in this thread are all "tech".

 

[Domiran]

re: amps and heat. My old Phase Linear 400 sounded best when it was right at "fry an egg on it" temperature.

Can you explain this? I'd assume an amp would sound the same at any temperature but then again I don't know a whole lot about amplifiers.

 

[wingsounds13]

Not nearly so simple. Most solid state devices change characteristics significantly with temperature changes. It is remarkable that most amps change so little with temperature changes.

J.P.

 

[Ableza]

Can you explain this? I'd assume an amp would sound the same at any temperature but then again I don't know a whole lot about amplifiers.

It was a joke aimed at those who were complaining about amplifier heat, and at other old guys like me who remember the PL400.

 

[artur9]

Would the Vidar be a good subwoofer amp? Assuming I have external DSP for crossover, phase, etc..