[tafens]

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!

I do feel some sarcasm here, but anyway..
1) The muting relay won’t even connect the output until everything has stabilized to the point that it is safe to do so, and 2) tubes won’t be damaged by being connected in circuit cold - they just won’t conduct until the cathode is hot enough to let off electrons (however, even with an indirectly heated cathode that’s just seconds in most cases).

That said, the characteristics of all electronic components will drift a little bit with temperature until they have reached some sort of thermal equilibrium. Does that matter? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on the usage.

 

[BlairW]

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!

Cheers for the heads up! Never considered this! Gonna do some more research!

 

[ScotchNeat]

Today is looking to be a good day!

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

My Aegir:

JC

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Cheers for the heads up! Never considered this! Gonna do some more research!

Read the Valhalla 2 FAQ/manual. Jason addressed this issue. Cold tubes most “dangerous” with the hybrid amps. Schiit uses muting relays. All my hybrid amps use muting relays. Look at the original Lyr posts. Jason addresses the issue nicely.

I don’t hold much regard for his conclusions, but ASR measured several tube amps. Specifically, he addresses warm up and tube stability. It doesn’t take long for tubes to reach thermal stability.

I turn on my tube equipment a couple/few minutes prior to listening. Never blew out or damaged any transducers. I can’t hear a significant difference from thermal stability vs after an hour. However, there is no reliable way to test this. YMMV

 

[chronoso]

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

Hm, that goes along with the trend from all the people I know from the mitten state. I guess the scars of the Great Toledo War run deep.

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.

Okay...I guess I'm gonna have to obtain an HD800S to try with this amp. Way to twist my arm, everyone. Sheesh! I am super sad my time with the Meze Elite won't overlap with the Funklevangr, but that particular price tag is harder to rationalize.

 

[45longcolt]

Again, sorry, no. We have physics against us.

You're gonna let a little thing like fizzikx get in the way? I'm disappointed...

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!

Jason, are you a professional tease, or merely a gifted amateur?

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Jason, are you a professional tease, or merely a gifted amateur?

“Sadist” is the term you’re looking for.
But a benevolent one, as he will eventually reward us for the pain endured.

 

[45longcolt]

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

Oooohh, tube porn.
I bet AudioGal just fainted.
(And once revived, surfed immediately to Ebay.)

 

[Jason Stoddard]

You're gonna let a little thing like fizzikx get in the way? I'm disappointed...

Jason, are you a professional tease, or merely a gifted amateur?

I'm pretty sure "professional tease" could be an alternate name for "marketer." Considering my past, weeeeellllll.....

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

“Sadist” is the term you’re looking for.
But a benevolent one, as he will eventually reward us for the pain endured.

What I (and many other customers of this company) appreciate most about Jason and Mike is that they have made high quality audio equipment available to
your average music lover, and this equipment is both designed and manufactured in America. To my knowledge, Schitt is the first American audio company to
achieve this lofty goal. At the end of the day it's all about the music, and this company gets you there without having to take out a second mortgage on your home.

I wish more American companies would follow Schiit's business model. If they did, America might once again become the manufacturing power house that it was
when our parents were growing up.

 

[JLoud]

Quick first impressions of the Folkvangr. Jason was right, Grado headphones sound very good with it. Impedance multiplier on and low gain made my GS3000e absolutely sing. The best I’ve heard them. LCD4 also sounded pretty good as well. More detailed thoughts on the Folkvangr thread.

 

[OldRoadToad]

I'm pretty sure "professional tease" could be an alternate name for "marketer." Considering my past, weeeeellllll.....

When it comes to marketing, I would use the term, "Brofessional®" for obvious reasons...
Brofessionals are masters at typing up "fAd Copy". And never make the mistake of thinking that a sense of humor is part and parcel to fAd Copy. It takes passion to write, not type, with style.

ORT

 

[Pondoro]

My Marketing story: I am an engineer, I test big products in an industry which I will not name. Successful tests and getting the product “off the #@$* test stand!” is a big deal. Recently Marketing held a product several days so they could take a picture with the moon at a prettier phase.

 

[Barnstormer13]

What I (and many other customers of this company) appreciate most about Jason and Mike is that they have made high quality audio equipment available to
your average music lover, and this equipment is both designed and manufactured in America. To my knowledge, Schitt is the first American audio company to
achieve this lofty goal. At the end of the day it's all about the music, and this company gets you there without having to take out a second mortgage on your home.

I wish more American companies would follow Schiit's business model. If they did, America might once again become the manufacturing power house that it was
when our parents were growing up.

I think a lot of companies are re-thinking overseas manufacturing now. It makes them pretty vulnerable when international shipping / tariff / political / pandemic disruptions occur. The last 5 years have seen all of the above.