Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up
Feb 22, 2019 at 7:58 PM Post #44,251 of 145,697
What is USB Unison and why would it be better than USB 2 for audio?
It doesn't really have anything to do with Unison vs USB 2, but Unison will only work with USB Audio class 2 (won't need drivers for > 96k), USB Audio class 2 is now in Windows 10 (has been in Mac and Linux for a while)

Mike and Jason talk about the new USB receiver implementation, Unison, with Darko at 24:06
 
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Feb 22, 2019 at 8:03 PM Post #44,252 of 145,697
a DAC, Integrated Amp, a turntable and “any new headphone amp”... there is nothing in stock you need?!

Well i didnt asked for a Dac, and they dont have any turntable in stock yet as i know.
I wanted Ragnarok, or Vidar, but if they will launch new Ragnarok 2 and Aegir soon, i think i prefer wait, makes sense for me at least.

About any new headphone amp question, is just curiosity, wanted buy valhalla 2 for my son, but at schiit europe is sold out for so long....

Cheers
 
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Feb 22, 2019 at 8:20 PM Post #44,253 of 145,697
Well i didnt asked for a Dac, and they dont have any turntable in stock yet as i know.
I wanted Ragnarok, or Vidar, but if they will launch new Ragnarok 2 and Aegir soon, i think i prefer wait, makes sense for me at least.

About any new headphone amp question, is just curiosity, wanted buy valhalla 2 for my son, but at schiit europe is sold out for so long....

Cheers
I’m excited for Aegir and Sol too. I think Sol will be worth the wait. Seems highly likely to be disruptive to the $500-$2500 turntable market.
 
Feb 22, 2019 at 8:35 PM Post #44,254 of 145,697
In case you guys are wondering why we suddenly seem to have more time, it's because things are getting worked out. We're a profoundly different company than a year ago. Hell, I just got an alert today from our support team that Nvidia drivers are causing hell with many USB DACs (not just ours) and WASAPI, and they're working to find a solution. If it can be worked. It may be an Nvidia-fix-thing. Not sure yet.

But suffice to say, everything is operating at a higher level. Support is really on it now, and they are now working together to solve problems, rather than shut doors. Production and test are operating much more proactively, and helping to find fixes to glitches that have been bothering us for a long time. Engineering has largely been unloaded from the Nightmare That Is USB. When you consider that Unison USB chewed up thousands of person-hours, and involved us becoming a USB signatory and figuring out stuff that the microprocessor manufacturer said was impossible, plus overseeing a fairly large beta test, plus internal testing, and you see what we've been dealing with. I can finally get Nexus into production and complete the analog IP push I've been working on for a long time (Continuity and Nexus are the two big things, plus Coherence on the tube side.)

So, if you've had issues with us in the past, I'd say: don't try us again now. Wait for a year. Or two. And see how we do now that things are really meshing.
It's absolutely outstanding the time and effort you and the gang put out as well as with the constant introspection and improvement. Thanks again, it's refreshing in this day and age. Just remember not to burn yourselves out.
 
Feb 22, 2019 at 8:57 PM Post #44,255 of 145,697
Feb 22, 2019 at 9:04 PM Post #44,256 of 145,697
However with Unison USB, he actually feels it’s better than those now. That’s probably about as much detail you’re likely to get on sound quality from these guys.
It's also what beta testers have reported.
 
Feb 22, 2019 at 9:11 PM Post #44,257 of 145,697
Glad to hear you’re planning to include speakers in your upgrade path. I’m not saying you won’t get a step up in sound quality on your current speakers with Vidar and Saga - you will for sure. But they will certainly be a significant limiting factor in your system. However once you do find the speakers you want, you’ll definitely have the chain behind it to show you their true sound, that’s for sure. There’s no perfect path with this stuff.

As far as Aegir vs Vidar, the general idea with Aegir is that it’s lower powered amp, which means, in general, it will match better with higher efficiency/sensitivity speakers. I would say 90dB sensitivity or higher the better. Most bookshelf sized speakers will not achieve this, if that’s what you’re considering in the future. Vidar is a more versatile amp because of its high power output, it can power just about anything except maybe the really power hungry speakers like bigger Maggies (but as monoblocks I’m sure they could). And it sounds terrific, I love mine.

While i agree that sensibility matters ... i think the equation for an "easy to drive" speaker also includes impedance and phase angles. In a small to medium room and without listening to ear bleeding volume a speaker with no high sensibility can work well.

But ... If the impedance drops below 4ohm (forget "nominal" impedance, it's the curve on frequency that matters) or the phase angles are very dynamic ... you're in trouble ... even with a 90 dB dpeaker.

Then you will hear that little distortion or blurred sound when the music goes more complex ... and the heat on the amplifier.

Ok, just an opinion, as any other.
 
Feb 22, 2019 at 9:18 PM Post #44,258 of 145,697
What is USB Unison and why would it be better than USB 2 for audio?
Schiit Unison USB is a USB receiver card for Schiit DACs that is claimed to improve on previous hardware for connecting the DAC to a digital source. The reason this is useful is that USB, S/PDIF coax, and AES are electrical connections that can carry electrical noise into the delicate innards of the DAC. Experience shows that earlier, off-the-shelf USB receiver parts are less good at isolating the DAC from that noise than S/PDIF or AES, not just for Schiit DACs but also for many others. Schiit's Gen 5 USB addressed the issue in part, but arguably Gen 5 USB is still not as good as AES from a good source. But Unison USB might actually bridge the gap or even supplant S/PDIF and AES, at least to judge from the reports of beta testers. Note that all of the USB cards we are talking about here work with the same USB Audio Class 2 protocol, the differences are in how the electrical signals are managed to minimize noise and timing issues on the synchronous connection between the USB card and the DAC circuitry.
 
Feb 22, 2019 at 9:19 PM Post #44,259 of 145,697
It's also what beta testers have reported.

How can I be a beta tester also?
Maybe USBs work differently on my side of the world. (Kidding)
 
Feb 22, 2019 at 10:39 PM Post #44,260 of 145,697
How can I be a beta tester also?
Maybe USBs work differently on my side of the world. (Kidding)
I don't know how testers were selected. But they seem to have generated a lot of useful feedback.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 12:09 AM Post #44,261 of 145,697
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 12:27 AM Post #44,262 of 145,697
I don't know how testers were selected. But they seem to have generated a lot of useful feedback.


I see. Thanks for the info. Can i trouble you to share the links to the feedbacks you read. I tried searching here and also at the other forum but not much useful results.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 12:45 AM Post #44,263 of 145,697
I misread Aegir specs, thought they were 35 WPC into 8 ohms. Gonna go Vidar for sure then. 20 WPC is more than enough to make sound in my speakers, but I want to have power reserves with this second amp. My current one is a 8.5 WPC tube SET amp.

Makes sense. You and I are coming at our next purchase from opposite directions. My power amp is 190 X 2, so the Aejir option might be a nice addition. I have 4 of those Paradigm Sudio 100s, so I plan to have eveything hooked up all the time.

For you, the Vidar would be a nice addition to your SET amp.

I love the Freya. I expect you will too.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 1:07 AM Post #44,264 of 145,697
Makes sense. You and I are coming at our next purchase from opposite directions. My power amp is 190 X 2, so the Aejir option might be a nice addition. I have 4 of those Paradigm Sudio 100s, so I plan to have eveything hooked up all the time.

For you, the Vidar would be a nice addition to your SET amp.

I love the Freya. I expect you will too.
Saga, not Freya for me.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 4:43 AM Post #44,265 of 145,697
I just updated my Schiit stack (new layout). The only thing missing in the picture is Magni3, which is on loan to a friend to evaluate.
The Mani phone pre-amp is tugged away behind the Yggy. So that makes a total of 8 pieces of Schiit.

IMG_20190223_103719.jpg
 

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