[kesselrun]

Let me be totally clear: I have never seen an anodized part that was successfully stripped and re-anodized without (a) some very weird color shifts, (b) unacceptable grain, (c) super obvious visible problems--like the panels being actually thinner, or coined at the edges. Never. Nada. None. Doesn't happen. Once an anodized part is damaged, the only viable repair is powder coat. Which I happen to like. Which another principal at another large consumer electronics firm liked--to the point where he wondered why we didn't just do everything black. Which is also used by other companies on products that cost many multiples of ours. So there is that.

And unanodized parts? We never see those. We order parts finished, because anything else is madness, a forest of finger-pointing and recrimination. The problem we're having is that the mill-finish aluminum we use on the smaller products is getting impossible to find (at least the stuff without marks on it--yes, marks on virgin aluminum, yes, the world is not perfect, we are not all Apple with cities overseas dedicated to smelting/forging/machining/reusing scraps/perfecting whatever automated process they use to make MacBooks and such look almost all alike...but not quite, LOL). The non-mill-finish postgrained finish has been problematic since inception, and never quite matches in grain/color/shininess/etc due to the natural variation of clear anodize, the phase of the moon, the ambient temperature, whether or not the anodizer has sacrificed a chicken before starting the process, etc, etc.

So what does this all mean?

Black powder always works. Black always matches. Black can be refinished if we bone it up.

Grain and clear anodize is variable, painful, and subject to the vagaries of mills. And we haven't been able to make it consistent in 11 years.

So it's either gonna be:

a. perpetual backorder for silver, because we can't make as much as we like
b. price rise on silver, so if people still want it, it's worth it to make more
c. a sprayed silver finish that's acceptable, like black

To date, I have seen no silver I'm totally happy with. I have other samples, so we'll see. There have been no decisions made. But you can take black anodize off the table. We're looking at more consistent finishes, not less. And black anodize is worse than clear.

As I said, we'll see what happens. My personal preference is silver, so whatever solution we come up with has to make me happy. Which bodes well for the availability of brushed product--even if it ends up being more rare, or more expensive.

Chrome it all. Everything is chromer in Texas.

 

[artur9]

Chrome it all. Everything is chromer in Texas.

Is it that chrome the peels off after about a week or two? Or actual electro-plating?

Electro-plating would be cool....

 

[bboris77]

As long as they don't start calling the B-Stock stuff "relic'd" and charge more for it, I am good

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Drats. I thought you kept it to fire up the still for some good NC 'shine. Think I'll go visit @Roy G. Biv instead.

Come over anytime. Just give me a half-days heads up so I can get some brisket on the smoker.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Of course, that doesn't stop idiots consumers from complaining when finishes differ from piece to piece....

Yeah? Well, you know, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man.

 

[RickB]

Yeah? Well, you know, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man.

My eyesight is bad enough (and the light in my home is dim enough) that the differing finishes don't really bother me.

 

[OldRoadToad]

I know that on Schiit's Amp/Dac (with optional card slot) setups that I would very much appreciate the ability to buy a Toslink and Coaxial version for the digital output on my Grace Link (Coax) and for the Toslink output on the rest of my stuff.

This is the main reason I have not purchased either a Jotenheim or Asgard. I do not use a computer/tablet for listening unless I am away from home in a hotel (very rare) or visiting friends. Better still would be a card that combined both but that is probably too much for a toad to ask for. So, make mine coaxial. Or not. I can continue with what I have which is either Grace Link to Emotiva XDA via Coax or Grace Link to S.M.S.L. M100 to Valhalla 2. What comes out sounds like music to my (if I have one) soul.

Throw in a couple of nice, LED lit VU Meters and I would be doubly thrilled. I am not here to tell Jason and/or Mike how to run their company. I am here to read the thoughts of fellow enthusiasts (on a variety of topics!) and to make my desires for what I find useful and attractive in stereo equipment known.

ORT

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I've enjoyed the past week's discussion of finishes on audio gear. While sound quality should, IMO, be the most important factor, I don't see anything wrong with having personal taste regarding the appearance of one's gear. I worked with a guy a year ago who bought this system because he liked how it sounds but mostly because he loves how it looks. Good for him. And yeah, it looks cool to me, too.

I also like the look of mis-matched gear from various manufacturers. (Stole this pic from someone in this thread.)

I really, really like some of the DIY projects that @Paladin79 and others have posted.

I'm also a fan of some of the minimalist all-in-one boxes on the market.

And, of course, I like the look of Schiit gear whatever the finish.

Anyway, thanks to all who have contributed to the subject while doing so politely & respectfully.

 

[bcowen]

I've enjoyed the past week's discussion of finishes on audio gear. While sound quality should, IMO, be the most important factor, I don't see anything wrong with having personal taste regarding the appearance of one's gear. I worked with a guy a year ago who bought this system because he liked how it sounds but mostly because he loves how it looks. Good for him. And yeah, it looks cool to me, too.



I also like the look of mis-matched gear from various manufacturers. (Stole this pic from someone in this thread.)





I really, really like some of the DIY projects that @Paladin79 and others have posted.



I'm also a fan of some of the minimalist all-in-one boxes on the market.



And, of course, I like the look of Schiit gear whatever the finish.



Anyway, thanks to all who have contributed to the subject while doing so politely & respectfully.

I have black, brushed aluminum, and chrome. All bases covered.
(excepting Hello Kitty pink which won't ever happen)

 

[Roy G. Biv]

All bases covered now.

 

[dhcarquinez]

Just a tip for any newcomers to the thread, but once you have your Schiit DAC plugged into your Windows 10 PC, don't forget to go Control Panel, select Hardware and Sound, and then under Sound, select Manage audio devices. On the Playback tab, select your Schiit DAC, click on Properties, then on the Advanced tab, and in the Default format, click on the drop down and select 32 bit, 19200 Hz (Studio Quality). This provides a noticeable improvement from the default setting.

<snip>

But maybe you prefer Windows upsampling stuff to 192 kHz, and then the DAC upsampling it to 384 kHz. In that case you do you!

With the Modi Multibit and the old Bifrost 192 kHz means no additional oversampling in the DAC ("NOS").
With Schiit's delta sigma DACs I don't think custom filters are employed (happy to stand corrected), so maybe the upsampling in Windows does a better job than what the DAC does, but I try to avoid multiple resampling steps when I can.

Which Schiit DACs have you tried so that you can proclaim that it sounds better with all of them?

<snip>

I know this is addressed elsewhere on the web in general, and I'm sure on head-fi as well, but I'm a little surprised no one else has responded to the above comments regarding Windows 10 audio settings. I thought when playing digital audio from any PC that the goal was to keep the OS out of it, avoid upsampling, and stream "bit perfect" to the DAC. Windows doesn't make that easy to do, so I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[ScottFree]

Let me be totally clear: I have never seen an anodized part that was successfully stripped and re-anodized without (a) some very weird color shifts, (b) unacceptable grain, (c) super obvious visible problems--like the panels being actually thinner, or coined at the edges. Never. Nada. None. Doesn't happen. Once an anodized part is damaged, the only viable repair is powder coat. Which I happen to like. Which another principal at another large consumer electronics firm liked--to the point where he wondered why we didn't just do everything black. Which is also used by other companies on products that cost many multiples of ours. So there is that.

And unanodized parts? We never see those. We order parts finished, because anything else is madness, a forest of finger-pointing and recrimination. The problem we're having is that the mill-finish aluminum we use on the smaller products is getting impossible to find (at least the stuff without marks on it--yes, marks on virgin aluminum, yes, the world is not perfect, we are not all Apple with cities overseas dedicated to smelting/forging/machining/reusing scraps/perfecting whatever automated process they use to make MacBooks and such look almost all alike...but not quite, LOL). The non-mill-finish postgrained finish has been problematic since inception, and never quite matches in grain/color/shininess/etc due to the natural variation of clear anodize, the phase of the moon, the ambient temperature, whether or not the anodizer has sacrificed a chicken before starting the process, etc, etc.

So what does this all mean?

Black powder always works. Black always matches. Black can be refinished if we bone it up.

Grain and clear anodize is variable, painful, and subject to the vagaries of mills. And we haven't been able to make it consistent in 11 years.

So it's either gonna be:

a. perpetual backorder for silver, because we can't make as much as we like
b. price rise on silver, so if people still want it, it's worth it to make more
c. a sprayed silver finish that's acceptable, like black

To date, I have seen no silver I'm totally happy with. I have other samples, so we'll see. There have been no decisions made. But you can take black anodize off the table. We're looking at more consistent finishes, not less. And black anodize is worse than clear.

As I said, we'll see what happens. My personal preference is silver, so whatever solution we come up with has to make me happy. Which bodes well for the availability of brushed product--even if it ends up being more rare, or more expensive.

Any way to position it as like wood grain, every piece unique?

Of course, that doesn't stop idiots consumers from complaining when finishes differ from piece to piece....

Yeah? Well, you know, that's just, like, uh, your opinion, man.

Personally, when it comes to audio gear at least, I don't really much care what the damn things look like or the quality of the grain/aesthetics at all. Never have I don't care about whether this color matches with my décor, or whether this color increases the Feng Shui of the room. I care about the sound and the price/performance ratio and that's irrespective of how much the damn things cost or whether the finish differs between each individual amp and DAC. Sure there's the minute or so after unboxing where you ooh and aah about having a new piece of gear, But then I connect it up and that's it. Now If I really, really cared about looks I would have a Chord Mojo on my desk, Or one of the Chord Hugo's if I was particularly well-heeled at the time.

Care about what you can control, and leave about what you can't and stop bitchin. If you want to buy a Schiit product and are able to pay extra to get a product you're happy with then do so. If you can't then there are plenty more fish in the sea. So how about we

 

[Rensek]

Re: Finishes

In full daylight I can tell the differences, where they exist, between my various components. In most cases I'm not looking at my gear during full daylight hours.

During the evenings when I am paying attention to my gear, the lights are low enough where it all looks the same.

A thought for Schiit on custom finishes. How much does a hobbyist or small scale powder coating oven cost? It would be cool to order covers in different colors for our schiit. Make it a purely extra accessory, with appropriate up charge. Schiit in pure powder coated white would be pretty striking. Make it so that if a person orders a custom color they get the custom color, AND still have the unit ship with black or silver. Customer self installs the new cover. This way no extra manufacturing or case swapping occurs. Its just an extra thing to ship.

Or maybe partner with Fat Head or Skin It or some such company to get some self install skins that are custom designed and cut to fit on your product, buy em wholesale and sell them from schiit.com

 

[zstokes]

I just want to say.....
Listening to Mike and Jason talk together on the YouTube channel is one if the big reasons I love this company and why I'm buying their stuff. They're very smart designers and engineers, and I like their product offerings. Having said that, hearing Mike talk about mosquito farts in regards to noise is just right for me.
I appreciate their sensibilities.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

A though for schiit on custom finishes.

A custom finish on the bulk of the chassis shouldn't be too hard or price prohibitive.
But what about the labels for the buttons, selected input etc.? That's where the idea falls apart IMO.