Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up
May 29, 2019 at 8:09 PM Post #46,996 of 145,767
I've got a "Saga Classic" and Vidar arriving tomorrow to push my LS50s. I am re-doing my living room setup and wondering where to put the Loki. I curently have my turntable --> Mani --> Loki --> Denon AVR. I have my raspberry pi --> Gumby --> Denon AVR, and all my video sources HDMI into AVR. I have the HDMI side of the house figured out for my new setup, but I was wondering if I can place the Loki between the Saga and Vidar so it can be one EQ to rule them all. Anyone know if that would work, or would it start to distort/be less than ideal after the signal has already been pre-amped? I think I can, if it was a guitar amp it would be like dropping in an effects loop is my logic, but I figured I'd poll the villagers.
I’m interested to hear your impressions of your new purchases with the LS50s, and how they compare to your current set up. I’ve contemplated the same (Saga and Vidar) with my pair, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Now with the release of the Freya S it gives me even more to consider.
 
May 29, 2019 at 9:22 PM Post #46,998 of 145,767
I’m interested to hear your impressions of your new purchases with the LS50s, and how they compare to your current set up. I’ve contemplated the same (Saga and Vidar) with my pair, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Now with the release of the Freya S it gives me even more to consider.

I'm excited to hear the difference myself. I pulled the trigger for 2 reasons. First, there was a great deal on bstock sagas. Second, I went to a new local hifi shop here in the pacific nw. I demoed the klipsch forte iii's followed by a nice set of wharfdales. I was stunned by the volume dropoff going to the low efficiency wharfdales from the high efficiency klipsches. It made me think about how power starved my kefs must be. That made me ponder about how much better they could sound with good power.

On another note, I had read great things about the klipsch forte iii's (mostly the new Steve Guttenberg write up). I strongly disliked them. The wharfdales got me back in the english sounding comfort zone similar to my B&Ws and KEFs. There was just so. Much. Bass. The mids and treble were there, but the bass was just the lion in the room trying to eat you, so I couldn't appreciate anything else. My 2 cents FWIW.
 
May 29, 2019 at 9:24 PM Post #46,999 of 145,767
any graph to show output impedance at different volume level. Since there is gain of +12 DB in tube mode so i guess i have to dial down the volume knob for my amplifier and hence need to see hat is the worst case OI of preamp.
 
May 29, 2019 at 9:31 PM Post #47,000 of 145,767
May 29, 2019 at 11:10 PM Post #47,001 of 145,767
I've got a "Saga Classic" and Vidar arriving tomorrow to push my LS50s. I am re-doing my living room setup and wondering where to put the Loki. I curently have my turntable --> Mani --> Loki --> Denon AVR. I have my raspberry pi --> Gumby --> Denon AVR, and all my video sources HDMI into AVR. I have the HDMI side of the house figured out for my new setup, but I was wondering if I can place the Loki between the Saga and Vidar so it can be one EQ to rule them all. Anyone know if that would work, or would it start to distort/be less than ideal after the signal has already been pre-amped? I think I can, if it was a guitar amp it would be like dropping in an effects loop is my logic, but I figured I'd poll the villagers.

When in doubt, read the directions (or RTFM if you will).

Loki Mini Owner's Manual (Page 2)
Where to put Loki? You can connect Loki either
in-between your source and preamp (if you have
a single source) or between the preamp and
power amp (so it can be used with all sources.)
 
May 29, 2019 at 11:12 PM Post #47,002 of 145,767
Oh, and BTW, when can we have EITR available in Europe ?
I thought Eitr was on its way out of the lineup. If you really need a USB>S/PDIF converter, it was excellent value, but with Unison on its way in, it is almost obsolete.
 
May 29, 2019 at 11:26 PM Post #47,003 of 145,767
Wow, schiit is making gear decisions very difficult. Was waiting for the gsx mini to be released but the more I look into the rag2 the more apprehensive I get. The Rag2 is a complete desktop solution, and by most accounts should be very close in sound...Rag2+tube preamp might be the"smarter" choice.
I currently own 4 headphone amps, in ascending cost order: Lyr 3 and Apex Peak, both 6SN7 tube-solid state hybrids, Neurochrome HP-1 and and Phonitor XE, solid state. For the tube amps, I've played with a variety of NOS and new tubes, both currently with Psvane tubes. I prefer the tube hybrids for solo or small-ensemble music, the Neurochrome or the Phonitor XE for big orchestral works. Between Lyr 3 and Apex Peak, the differences are not huge, and in fact Lyr 3 is better for low-impedance headphones like the Æon Closed. For very well recorded small-ensemble material, I definitely prefer the Peak (I better, with its Volcano LPS, its cost new was 2.5x the Lyr 3). But if you are using headphones only, I can't imagine circumstances where Rag2+tube pre would be a first choice, rather than getting a Lyr 3, doing a bit of tube rolling, and taking your time to ponder next steps. If you want tubes in the mix, Lyr 3 really grows with DAC and headphones, you need to go a lot more expensive to detect any improvement over it.
 
Last edited:
May 30, 2019 at 12:35 AM Post #47,004 of 145,767
You guys really need to learn the origins of the "English" language. Its origin is Germanic (Frisian, specifically). So England hardly "owns" the language..
Old English is a first cousin to Old Frisian (from the Germanic branch of Indo-European), the subject was Modern English, and it had changed quite a bit from Old English.
Vide.
Old English:
Fyrst forð gewát flota wæs on ýðum bát under beorge beornas gearwe on stefn stigon ...
Modern English:
Time passed by; the ship was on the waves, the boat under the cliffs; the ready warriors stepped up into the prow

translation from http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html

edit: In short, I think probably England did own Modern English, at least until it was inherited by its colonies. :slight_smile:
 
Last edited:
May 30, 2019 at 2:10 AM Post #47,005 of 145,767
I'm excited to hear the difference myself. I pulled the trigger for 2 reasons. First, there was a great deal on bstock sagas. Second, I went to a new local hifi shop here in the pacific nw. I demoed the klipsch forte iii's followed by a nice set of wharfdales. I was stunned by the volume dropoff going to the low efficiency wharfdales from the high efficiency klipsches. It made me think about how power starved my kefs must be. That made me ponder about how much better they could sound with good power.

On another note, I had read great things about the klipsch forte iii's (mostly the new Steve Guttenberg write up). I strongly disliked them. The wharfdales got me back in the english sounding comfort zone similar to my B&Ws and KEFs. There was just so. Much. Bass. The mids and treble were there, but the bass was just the lion in the room trying to eat you, so I couldn't appreciate anything else. My 2 cents FWIW.
Your observations about the high efficiency/Klipsch vs English speakers are interesting. I read Steve Guttenberg’s material as well and he seems very up on Klipsch at the moment, so I’ve been curious about them as well. I own a few pairs of KEFs, but the LS50s are my highest-end pair. I’m running them through a CXA60 currently, but also wonder how they would sound if fed more power, hence the interest in the Saga/Vidar pairing. I have a number of Schiit DACs and headphone amps in my stable already, which I’m very pleased with, so their two channel offerings seem like a logical next step.
 
May 30, 2019 at 2:31 AM Post #47,006 of 145,767
I thought Eitr was on its way out of the lineup. If you really need a USB>S/PDIF converter, it was excellent value, but with Unison on its way in, it is almost obsolete.

Yes, I appreciate UNISON is on the way. However, I understand that this may not find its way into a stand-alone unit, like EITR, any time soon ... if ever .. IIRC Jason's post on the subject.
 
May 30, 2019 at 2:41 AM Post #47,007 of 145,767
Just trying a beer from a local craft brewer here in Ballarat called Red Duck
Great Name, and very nice beer
IMG_4669.jpg
 
May 30, 2019 at 3:17 AM Post #47,008 of 145,767
Interesting the Bifrost Multibit isn't back in stock yet.

I wonder if that means this is going to be the first DAC that will have the Unison USB or some other kind of update. Mike posted elsewhere that the cheaper upgradeable DACs will see Unison first I believe.

Either way something new is probably coming in tbe pipeline for the Bifrost Multibit.
 
May 30, 2019 at 4:10 AM Post #47,009 of 145,767
Interesting the Bifrost Multibit isn't back in stock yet.

I wonder if that means this is going to be the first DAC that will have the Unison USB or some other kind of update. Mike posted elsewhere that the cheaper upgradeable DACs will see Unison first I believe.

Either way something new is probably coming in tbe pipeline for the Bifrost Multibit.
But the website says "in stock"?

And if it were backordered, it could in fact simply be backordered. You're reading a lot into it and Jason keeps cautioning against conspiracy theories.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top