[grokit]

Apologies in advance...

I love my new Ragnarok 2. But this one feature really bugs me, and was almost a dealbreaker.

I didn't read this past summer's discussion until now, so I've recapped.

One question -- why is the SE preamp output only enabled when the headphone output is enabled? This is the opposite of Rag 1.

The problem is that if one hooks up subwoofers to the Ragnarok 2 preouts, they will always be playing when headphones are playing...

The mode button cycles through three settings in this order:

1. Speakers on, Headphones & pre-outs off
2. Speakers off, Headphones & pre-outs on
3. Speakers on, Headphones & pre-outs on

The mute button is basically

4. Speakers off, Headphones & pre-outs off

How about this way:

1. Speakers only, pre-outs on (It's a speaker amp!)
2. Headphones only, pre-outs on (due to requests)
3. Speakers on, Headphones on, pre-outs off (more balanced power management, so no 'perceived penalty')

The microprocessor switch still gets to shut the pre-outs off, but somewhere that makes more sense.

And you cant run a subwoofer while your speakers are playing? Unless you have speakers and head phones both going.

Yep. Pre-outs are only on when the headphone light is on. No matter the other mode setting.

And no, the pre-outs are not muted automatically when headphones are plugged in; there's no way to sense whether a 4-pin headphone has been connected, so there's no automation. Same as for Mjolnir and Jotunheim. (Well, technically, Neutrik used to make 4-pin connectors that had integrated switches, but they don't seem to be a thing anymore, at least not in 4-pin. Yes, I looked.)

And as far as having the pre-outs only active when the headphone light is on, that was a specific request we've gotten many times, so that you can run subs with headphones. Yes, not kidding. So if you want the pre-outs active, select Headphones Only or Headphones and Speakers.

It's great that we now have the option to run subs with headphones, but this doesn't address why we can't run subwoofers in speaker-only mode. Or powered monitors for that matter.

If there is a small penalty then it seems odd to me that the most common usage of the pre-out (to drive a sub with speakers) would take a backseat to allowing sub usage in headphone mode (which seems uncommon to me but maybe I'm totally wrong).

The point of his post was to understand the rationale behind disabling pre-out in speaker only mode. I agree with him that most customers probably prefer pre-out to be active in speaker mode (e.g. for subwoofers). Why would Schiit disable it for this case?

There's no performance penalty.

Like I said, the only reason we did this is that we had a number of requests on the original Ragnarok to have the preamp outputs live with headphones. We retained this on Ragnarok 2, because you can turn either one on, both on, or all off. Use the mode that serves your needs, and you're set. Maybe it would have been better to have an LED and separately selectable preouts, but that's a lot of modes to step through...

You still haven't answered why you thought it was necessary to disable the pre-outs in speaker-only mode. On a speaker amp. It seems like an oversight to me as well.

Why not simply let the preamp output be always active (except mute)? It seems to me that speakers with preamp out should be a popular usage. It isn't intuitive that a customer would need to choose speaker+headphone mode instead.

I agree that making the preamp always active would be a far better solution, and would have made the Ragnarok 2 a real contender in the pre-amp and speaker amp categories.

If it were my choice to make I would put a toggle switch...
Jason answered my question directly in saying there is no performance penalty, so the answer for speaker and sub users is to just put their unit into speakers+headphones mode and enjoy.

One feature I've seen on other high-end amps, is a switch on the back that lets the user select between having pre-outs, or making them into a pass-through connection.
It's a nice feature, that facilitates adding more Schiit

I was making the following point:

Preamp out is enabled in headphone-only mode.
Preamp out is enabled in headphone+speakers mode.
Preamp out is disabled in speakers-only mode — why not simply enable it here as well?​

This is the only thing about my new amp that bugs me. I know there's no performance penalty, but it feels stupidly inefficient to have to unplug my headphones when using speakers, because there's no other way to have the speakers playing with the subwoofer. I love my new amp otherwise, I just kinda hate this part. Why even have a speaker-only mode, if you can't run the subs along side of them?

Sorry to derail, but I had to vent. Rant over, back to the music.

 

[Rensek]

One feature I've seen on other high-end amps, is a switch on the back that lets the user select between having pre-outs, or making them into a pass-through connection.

+1 on this feature. Schiit likes having toggle switches in back, I think this would be a nice rolling change. I hate to be a killjoy, but the current preamp function seems be controversial. I have at least two friends from this hobby that were excited about the amp, until the preamp functionality was revealed. Their joy was killed by it. Thankfully, for me, Aegir and Bifrost 2 have taken my gaze from Ragnarok 2.

 

[hearditontheX]

My boxes of joy from Schiit have arrived. Will be the perfect Thanksgiving project.

 

[bcowen]

My boxes of joy from Schiit have arrived. Will be the perfect Thanksgiving project.

Coolness!! What be hidden inside that cardboard?

 

[grokit]

+1 on this feature. Schiit likes having toggle switches in back, I think this would be a nice rolling change. I hate to be a killjoy, but the current preamp function seems be controversial. I have at least two friends from this hobby that were excited about the amp, until the preamp functionality was revealed. Their joy was killed by it. Thankfully, for me, Aegir and Bifrost 2 have taken my gaze from Ragnarok 2.

I was interested in Aegirs, but they weren't available. Then I liked the flexibility of adding SE inputs (my system is all balanced) and outputs, so I could run a sub, which tipped the scaled to the Ragnarok 2. D'oh!

The Aegir/Vidar amplifiers would be perfect places for straight up pass-throughs IMO.

 

[hearditontheX]

Coolness!! What be hidden inside that cardboard?

Aegir and Saga+

 

[Brubacca]

Aegir and Saga+

Can't wait for a report on Sunday night!

 

[hearditontheX]

Can't wait for a report on Sunday night!

I’ll see what I can do. Be prepared for an underwhelmingly descriptive review. I will only be able to compare the sound to my that of my current amplifier, so I will be bringing a Schiit gatling gun to a Marantz knife fight.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

My boxes of joy from Schiit have arrived. Will be the perfect Thanksgiving project.

Nice! Why are you posting pics instead of getting it up and running? GO! This is what you've been waiting for lol

 

[valiant66]

Wait for the transport (disc spinner)....

LOL!!
.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

I’ll see what I can do. Be prepared for an underwhelmingly descriptive review. I will only be able to compare the sound to my that of my current amplifier, so I will be bringing a Schiit gatling gun to a Marantz knife fight.

And what did the missus buy for herself?

 

[hearditontheX]

Nice! Why are you posting pics instead of getting it up and running? GO! This is what you've been waiting for lol

I did not want to do this at the end of a work day. Playing loud music at night will not get me any wife points. I also want to take my time and savor the experience.

And what did the missus buy for herself?

She did not request anything from the Schiit catalogue.

 

[bcowen]

I’ll see what I can do. Be prepared for an underwhelmingly descriptive review. I will only be able to compare the sound to my that of my current amplifier, so I will be bringing a Schiit gatling gun to a Marantz knife fight.

I assume you're pairing up the Aegir with the Salks (very nice speakers, BTW)? Be quite interested to hear how the 20 watts of the Aegir drive the 3A's.

 

[yonson]

Another Major Major Major (there's a Catch 22 in there) factor is how long any transport will likely be available. Option 1 is to buy a slew of them, and hope you guess the right quantity. Option 2 is to look at your crystal ball, um, your carbon fibre ion crystal ball, and try to make an educated guess that this company is solvent, and will likely keep making them for many years.

After the fall of Oppo (I don't think anyone saw that coming, luckily I was able to pick up a 2nd 205 from the 2nd batch for a spare) this is quite true however I don't see Schiit going anywhere anytime soon especially with their work ethic...

 

[US Blues]

I did not want to do this at the end of a work day. Playing loud music at night will not get me any wife points. I also want to take my time and savor the experience.


She did not request anything from the Schiit catalogue.

You need to get those bad boys plugged in a warming up for break in! Waste no time in getting upgraded fuses and power cords installed, and don't forget to sprinkle them with Unicorn Dandruff! And be sure to place them lovingly on anti-resonance shelves made of the finest Unobtanium!

j/k

Enjoy your new gear.