[Derrick Swart]

Interesting points. If the TI chips are less expensive than the Analog Devices chips, why would Schiit not move the entire product line of less expensive multibit DACs to TI?

Maybe a multibit Gugnir could be had for $999?

Too close to a Bifrost.

 

[Ripper2860]

So you're saying they should replace Bifrost with a 'less is more' Bifrost at $599 before introducing the $999 'less is more' Gumby?

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

There must be a market between 700 and 2200 dollar DACs, especially if it is about 15% less than the median of 700 plus 2200 and slimmer looks. The fact that it is still there and one of the oldest schiit alive means to me that they will make a Bifrost with proper balanced out, not cheap ass balanced out (not my words; also because I never heard a Bifrost) at some point.

But it still wouldn't have Gungnir's power supply or clock. There's a lot more $$ there than in balanced out connections.

JC

 

[GumbyDammit223]

My concern is how to replace burnt-out LASER readers. Eventually, I'll need to figure out other archiving options.

Laser diodes have MTBFs of hundreds of thousands of hours unless you do something silly like hit them with a static electricity spike. I'd be more concerned about the mechanics - moving parts. Either getting gummed up from lack of use - you burn a few CDs maybe every few months/years, or wearing out. Or, the optics get dusty/coated with grime so the photodiode can't read the data anymore.

 

[Luckyleo]

Aren't the Yggy's run in for a day or three at the shop? I would think that takes care of any physical changes the electrical components might enjoy, but I am not sure how that works ... can electrical drift into or out of spec?

Yes sir!

 

[rick88]

I started a thread in the headphone amp section yesterday but haven't gotten any replies/answers so I'll ask my question here for anyone that owns the IEMagni.

Is the volume pot dead silent or is there scratchiness through your headphones when turning the knob? I tried and returned a Magni Heresy last fall due to this issue because it is totally unacceptable to me and I don't want to go through the hassle again, but I'd like to have a matching stack with my Modi 3. I am also not willing to have to spray the pot with contact cleaner on a brand new product as again that is unacceptable to me. I also tried rotating the knob on the Heresy back and forth several times but it didn't go away.

 

[Luckyleo]

For those of you who have a streaming sub, I HIGHLY recommend Lady Blackbird's 'Black Acid Soul' album. Or you could just buy it!

Played this on Qobuz. Thanks for the recommendation, great mastering, and sound, but the music just isn't my thing...........

 

[golfbravobravo]

Pre-COVID I used to do a lot of those from the West Coast, and sometimes from the East Coast. Lufthansa/Swiss (they are the same airline under different labels) were the best. United varied from great to terrible, in part depending what plane they were flying. British meh. All business or first, the rest of my ambulatory live is too short for economy. I miss the upper decks on the 747 and A340. When I hit a certain big decade, I decided I would never fly economy over 3 hours again: I estimated the cost of all flights I might take, personal or business, for the rest of my travel life, and concluded that I could handle the extra cost, or if not, I would be too poor to travel anyway. I don't miss jetlag since I stopped traveling after Feb 2020, but I miss Zürich, Berlin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, as well as the Alps, the Norwegian fjords, the Patagonian and Hokkaido volcanos, and "nearby" interior British Columbia.

You are pining for the fjords????

 

[dhcarquinez]

For those of you who have a streaming sub, I HIGHLY recommend Lady Blackbird's 'Black Acid Soul' album. Or you could just buy it!

Thanks for the tip! Reminds me of The Girl In The Other Room - Diana Krall.

 

[Stevko]

I started a thread in the headphone amp section yesterday but haven't gotten any replies/answers so I'll ask my question here for anyone that owns the IEMagni.

Is the volume pot dead silent or is there scratchiness through your headphones when turning the knob? I tried and returned a Magni Heresy last fall due to this issue because it is totally unacceptable to me and I don't want to go through the hassle again, but I'd like to have a matching stack with my Modi 3. I am also not willing to have to spray the pot with contact cleaner on a brand new product as again that is unacceptable to me. I also tried rotating the knob on the Heresy back and forth several times but it didn't go away.

Same pot. Same issue.

 

[filthy mechanical]

You are pining for the fjords????

Probably nailed to his seat for the flight, too.

 

[rick88]

I started a thread in the headphone amp section yesterday but haven't gotten any replies/answers so I'll ask my question here for anyone that owns the IEMagni.

Is the volume pot dead silent or is there scratchiness through your headphones when turning the knob? I tried and returned a Magni Heresy last fall due to this issue because it is totally unacceptable to me and I don't want to go through the hassle again, but I'd like to have a matching stack with my Modi 3. I am also not willing to have to spray the pot with contact cleaner on a brand new product as again that is unacceptable to me. I also tried rotating the knob on the Heresy back and forth several times but it didn't go away.

Same pot. Same issue.

Thank you for confirming.

 

[Timster]

Very well done! I am guessing OPPO PM1 or PM2 and HD6xx. I have the PM1 and finally donated the Senns to someone just starting out with headphone amps.

Thanks! Yup, the PM-2. Couldn't justify the extra spend for the PM-1 at the time. Have the PM-3 as well, which is great for commuting as it's sealed.

 

[cschock]

Freya S and Aegir are in the house and warming up! Ordered Tuesday evening, arrived first thing Friday. Well done Schiit and FedEx.

Some background:

Over the last year and a half or so I have been on a journey to replace my 30+ year old vintage 2 channel audio system with new components. My old system consisted of a Hafler 945 preamp, Hafler 9180 amplifier and Advent 2002 loudspeakers. I had been happy with the system for a long time, none of it was overly expensive, more mid-fi in some respects than audiophile grade "Hi-Fi" since it was mass marketed and I could afford it more or less straight out of college (or in college in the case of the Advents.) But... the Advents finally needed new foam surrounds and the crossover was a bit flakey in one of them so rather than spend more than I paid for them to maybe get them working well again I decided to buy new speakers for the first time in more than 30 years.

So, about a year ago I scored a pair of the Zu Omen Dirty Weekend loudspeakers with the Clarity Cap upgrade. I really loved both their classic good looks as well as the sound, though they did point out to me that my amplifier more than likely needed new capacitors among other things!

Thus began phase two of my upgrade, a new preamp and amp. Last week I got in a Schiit Freya S and Schiit Aegir. This will be a summary of my thoughts on the completed system.

System under test:

Roon (core on Windows PC with internal SSD) > Sonos Port > Schiit Bifrost 2 > Schiit Freya S > Schiit Aegir (stereo) > Zu Omen Dirty Weekend (with Clarity Cap upgrade.)

I listened uncritically for the first two days, playing music in the background just to let the system warm up and settle in, not paying too much attention for the most part. Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time listening to a 100 song playlist of songs I know very well and have heard many times on my old system (and in other contexts, including on a decent desktop system, in the car, etc.) All tracks played were ripped from my own personal CDs using Exact Audio Copy into lossless FLAC. If anyone is interested I can provide a list of songs, but they are all rock or rock-adjacent from the 1960's through the 2000's with an emphasis on music from the 1980's.

Observations:

- This system does not have the base slam that my old system had in its prime. The Advents were well known for being bass forward and the beefy 105 wpc of the Hafler amp really made this aspect shine. While the bass is very solid with this pairing, I would say it is more polite and refined but lacking in raw impact.
- The midrange with this combination is quite lovely. Detailed, expressive and very, very revealing of the quality of the recording.
- Highs were so, so, so much better than my old system. There is really no comparison. I'd describe them as effervescent at times. Crystal clear, precise, but no hint of harshness or those qualities that can lead to listening fatigue.
- This combination excels at reproducing acoustic guitar. Holy cow, it sounds like you are sitting in the room.
- The Freya S in 1x or 5x coupled with a single Aegir in stereo configuration was more than capable of driving the Zu Omen's to more than needed volume levels. My listening room is our living room, about 16 x 20. The speakers are along the shorter wall, with listening position on the couch about 8 feet away. I never set the volume on the Freya S past 1 o'clock in 5x gain mode (80 db or so typical.)

TLDR:

I really like this new combination and I expect it will be enjoyable for many, many years to come. Considering the total cost of all components (preamp, amp and loudspeakers) was under $3000, I think this is a remarkably good sounding system.

 

[Paladin79]

Thanks! Yup, the PM-2. Couldn't justify the extra spend for the PM-1 at the time. Have the PM-3 as well, which is great for commuting as it's sealed.

I use the PM-1 with DAP’s because its low impedance does not match up well with many of my amps.