[Paladin79]

I thought that was the serious project ???????????

How about semi-serious?

 

[filthy mechanical]

Okay, hour or so in the Folkvangr one thought (no issues with DT 770 250 ohm btw) - if I ever missed the heat of the steel shop, I get a miniature, still not as hot replacement. Doesn't match 2800F+ refractory (black body radiation off that is neat at 30 feet, and it wasn't convection inside a pulpit through the window), but it certain heats the room.

Can't comment on the sound yet intelligently.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

I thought that was the serious project ???????????

What makes you think it wasn't?


JC

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Okay, hour or so in the Folkvangr one thought (no issues with DT 770 250 ohm btw) - if I ever missed the heat of the steel shop, I get a miniature, still not as hot replacement. Doesn't match 2800F+ refractory (black body radiation off that is neat at 30 feet, and it wasn't convection inside a pulpit through the window), but it certain heats the room.

Can't comment on the sound yet intelligently.

It's really quite something to sit 3' away from an amp...and feel the radiated heat. Like an IR sauna. A mild one. No health claims or benefits here.

That said, I'm thrilled you are enjoying Folkvangr. I'm certainly enjoying mine (at the same time as a new inexpensive solid-state experiment which may never see the light of day...sorry, get used to it, I have a pile of like 15 Magnis that would never work for various reasons.)

In light of some comments, I thought I'd answer a couple of implied questions:

If tube stocks improve, will this become unlimited production?

In short, no. This product has proven that yeah, you can do an OTL/OCL tube amp...at high cost, high heat, poor measurements (though to me it sounds fantastic.) This is a what-if, what-the-F amp, and it's done its job. (Crap, should have used What the F as a chapter title!)

How about a Folkvangr 2, still OTL/OCL with much higher efficiency?

Again, sorry, no. We have physics against us. The plate impedance of all practical tubes (that is, not water-cooled, not truly insane stuff) is very high, which limits their current output. We get Folkvangr's still-rather-pathetic output at the cost of many paralleled 6N6P (and the impedance multiplier if you use it). 6N6Ps still seem fairly gettable, but I'm not thrilled having a standard production amp that uses 8 of them. Or redesigning so it can use the JJ E99CC. Or redesigning so it could use, say, 2 6AS7s. Or 6C33C. Or other firey-hot, low-plate-impedance tubes that have a chance of driving headphones directly.

What's next? Are tubes goners? Should I even take the chance?

Stay tuned. Next week we have a tube-angst-soothing announcement, and we are introducing a couple of very interesting things at the Texas Audio Roundup. Not like Folkvangr, no...but at least one is even more insane.

And, oh yeah, even with those announcements, we haven't gotten to any of the really crazy ideas yet!

 

[chronoso]

[W]e are introducing a couple of very interesting things at the Texas Audio Roundup. Not like Folkvangr, no...but at least one is even more insane.

And, oh yeah, even with those announcements, we haven't gotten to any of the really crazy ideas yet!

 

[JLoud]

Okay, hour or so in the Folkvangr one thought (no issues with DT 770 250 ohm btw) - if I ever missed the heat of the steel shop, I get a miniature, still not as hot replacement. Doesn't match 2800F+ refractory (black body radiation off that is neat at 30 feet, and it wasn't convection inside a pulpit through the window), but it certain heats the room.

Can't comment on the sound yet intelligently.

I started my career in a foundary. If you have never worked with molten metal, you don't know what real heat is. I actually melted the soles off a pair of work boots working on some equipment near a furnace.

 

[pure5152]

The FV sounds great with the 6XX that's for sure! I find the 6XX are very amp dependant and can scale really well depending on what you are using. They become a bit more "ethereal" when run off the Folkvangr. Frequency extension is great, the spaciousness is great! The only thing that I have found with them and the FV is that the centre image is definitely a bit farther out to the sides, other than that it's a great pairing! I wouldn't buy the FV if your only planning on using it with 6XX's though, I think there are OTL tube amps for less that would do just as good a job with these cans. It seems a lot more flexible than i was expecting! Even the Pre-out takes a sterile clean signal and turns it into something completely new and exciting! The music just seems much better for relaxing listening compared to analytical listening without losing frequency extension! Exactly what I was hoping for, and to be honest Schiit has maintained their great bang for the buck theme with this one!

In terms of heating, its not really any longer than a standard non direct heated but I find it's more important to let it get there! I'd say you'd be super safe with 15-20 min but listening is enjoyable right away but turns into gold as it heats!

Wait wait, I would not listen to the amp immediately after turn-on! The electrons in the tubes need about 15 minutes to stabilize-- listening sooner can actually cause damage to the tubes. It's not like with solid state stuff where you can literally turn on and start listening cold. Be careful!

 

[StevePNW]

It's great reading about your new experiences with your new Schiit. I'm still enjoying all of mine. It's just minus the tubes. I thought I would post this photo but am concerned about how it will be perceived. I mean, the love of tubes is certainly rampant on this channel! I've been working for he last 3 months with my sisters moving our parents to senior living circumstances and doing all the things needed to prep their house for sale. Our dad has been a photographer and mechanical engineer for 65+ years. I grew up around Thorens turntables, Fischer and Heathkit amps, etc. In his photo darkroom (B&W & Color capable) I found this device. Now I've centered around solid state and find my bliss with my setups, but this might mean something to this crowd. Just a little bit of sexy tube stuff...Cheers

 

[artur9]

I loved it when I lived near Cleveland and ordered car parts from ECS Tuning. ECS is just outside Akron in Wadsworth OH. Any package would be picked up, go to Akron, go to Detroit, go to Cleveland adding a day every time. Never made sense that there was no Akron-Cleveland truck.

Border dispute? Growing up there I recall only Parma being on the receiving end of such animosity

 

[JLoud]

Border dispute? I'm from Michigan, I prefer to avoid the state to the south (the one that shall not be named).

 

[artur9]

Poking around on the schiit site, pretending to spend money I don't have I ended up with two questions.

I have an AudioEngine N22 headphone and speaker amp. Seems like the most comparable Schiit product is the Ragnarok?

Have all the phono cards been upgraded to Mani2 tech?

 

[Barnstormer13]

I loved it when I lived near Cleveland and ordered car parts from ECS Tuning. ECS is just outside Akron in Wadsworth OH. Any package would be picked up, go to Akron, go to Detroit, go to Cleveland adding a day every time. Never made sense that there was no Akron-Cleveland truck.

Yep, starting up a new manufacturing site and my department alone was supposed to have all 4 salaried hired by April 2021. The second salaried started April 2022. I can say I was The Mech Eng for a billion dollar project during basic and detail engineering, and I am the only technical signature on more than 100 million USD of equipment contracts (including install, 65 million in equipment and counting) but it has been horrible.

Good news though, Folkvangr arrived today and will be able to be setup this evening.

Geez one mechanical on a billion dollar project? In my industry I would consider any 100 million mechanical scope way under staffed with less than 10 engineers, and depending on the nature of the project, up to 20.

 

[GenEricOne]

Initial Folkvangr impressions a few pages earlier: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...most-improbable-start-up.701900/post-17036602

More Folkvangr impressions with more headphones:

HEDDphone (high-gain, multiplier on): okay, not great. Seemed to have enough power (which I wasn't expecting), but HEDDphone's strengths of detail, speed, and non-bass impact (sounds weird, it's notable) are somewhat dampened by the Folkvangr. FV's ability to spatially immerse can't overcome HEDDphone's inability to do that.

AB-1266 Phi TC (high-gain, multiplier on): not enough power and the TC's incredible bass is lacking. It was a looong shot to compete against my Freya+ w/ dual Aegir 'headphone amp' config and it just doesn't. Freya+ (with tube gain) w/ dual Aegirs works so well with the TCs, emphasizing the incredible bass, expansive staging, insane detail, and everything good about the TCs that anything else is an unfair comparison (and the tube stage helps with the weaker timbre from the TCs). Also prefer the Formula S to the FV on the TCs.

DCA Aeon 2 Noire (high-gain, multiplier on): shockingly good. I didn't know closed backs could sound like this. I've only ever really been 'happy' with the amount of staging and separation from three headphones: HD700, HD800S and AB-1266 Phi TC. Everything else was in a distant tier (including the Anandas, which are supposed to have very good staging and imaging), where I could often tell them apart from each other, but they were never close to the best 3 for me. FV + Noires gets in a middle tier that I just didn't think was possible, let alone with closed backs. Staging/separation/imaging aside, the rest of it all sounds so good. I love this pairing--biggest problem is my Noires are my 'just throw them on' headphones and FV is not an amp to just leave running all the time.

Modded TH-X00 Purpleheart (high-gain, multiplier on): really fun combo, though I don't really remember what these sound like on other amps as they haven't gotten much ear time in the last few months.

HD800S (high-gain, multiplier off): fantastic combo. My brain has zero recollection of what these sound like for music on other amps so hard for me to compare, but my favorite open back combo I've tried so far. Just needs more sub-bass (which I generally think with the HD800S--the Lokius in my gaming setup has just one dial tweaked, 20Hz to the moon). Sofi Tukker's "Forgive Me" pulls some emotional strings that it didn't even an hour ago on the Noires (which I thought sounded great), and hasn't since the first few times I heard it. Their whole "Wet Tennis" album sounds fantastic, especially her vocals. It's likely the HD800S are back in the music rotation to go with the Folkvangr.

Overall, Folkvangr is really enjoyable amp. It's elevated a few of my headphones and it's especially great for getting lost in the music. It's not suited for all headphones. Unfortunately for me, the two headphones I enjoyed it with the most are already 'dedicated' to other tasks (HD800S on the gaming setup, Noires on a solid state amp to 'throw on at any time'). Really tempted to see how it pairs with other high-end, high-impedance headphones like the LCD-4 and Atrium.

 

[Barnstormer13]

Well my FV has shipped. For those tracking such things I ordered it around 8:02 AM on 6-27-22. Looking forward to hearing it hopefully Friday.

 

[Barnstormer13]

I notice the ship time for the Folkvangr is now 1-2 weeks. That suggests demand is starting to outpace production. Lots of possible reasons why.

One possible reason is demand for the FV is picking up, It is also possible production rate has dropped, or some combination of both.

No way to know of course, but I’d say the possibility they’ll sell out fairly quickly is real. If Schiit is building 10 units a day 5 days a week (a kilowatt of room heat from the burn rack), that would mean Schiit took orders for approx 30 in the first 1/2 hour, 20-40 over the next 24 hours, 7 per day from 6/28/22 til 7/5/22, and is now taking more than 7 orders per day.

It would also mean that Schiit sold 113-140 units already. That’s probably way high, but it’s possible.

More likely though, Schiit has moved to
Some sort of batch production mode where they’re not building FVs every day instead building up a week of orders before making bunch.