Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[watchnerd]

I'm saving up for a Yggy for my speaker system, which will also have the Jotunheim installed via Freya. 

 
What, mixing medium and big cases sizes?

 

[GrouchoMarx1933]

What, mixing medium and big cases sizes?

It's all going on a rack anyway.

 

[earnmyturns]

I'm saving up for a Yggy for my speaker system, which will also have the Jotunheim installed via Freya. I currently have a Mimby in there that will return to the desktop secondary system when I get the Yggy, so thinking of getting a Vali 2 again to pair with that (I gifted the first one I had to a friend).

Just from today's listening, the Yggy opens wide the gate between the original recording and the amp and speakers. When I bought my speakers, I demoed them with a Bel Canto C7R. When I bought my new Hegel amp, I demoed it with its internal DAC and good speakers, comparable to my KEF Reference 1s. Both demos were in well laid out listening rooms. With the Yggy, in my large but not especially tuned living room, both amp and speakers are sounding fuller than in the demos. A very good recording (Kaija Saariaho's Trios on Ondine, PCM 96/24) with great dynamics and timbral variety glows like nothing I've ever experienced at home or in a listening room. I've been a Schiit fan since my first Schiit, but even with all the praise here and elsewhere, the Yggy surpasses. And this is before full break in. So, once you get your Yggy, take your time to develop your system downstream, as the Yggy won't hold back the analog components.

 

[aamefford]

  Schiit arms race
 
 My first Schiit was Bifrost Uber>Asgard 2 feeding MrSpeakers Alpha Primes. Engaging, but did not throw any shade on my living room Bel Canto C7R feeding KEF Reference 1s. Then upgraded to Bimby. Quite a bit better, but living room still better. Next, Asgard 2 and Alpha Primes were replaced by Jotunheim balanced into Ether C Flows. Now, the headphone system started putting the living room to shame. Finally, living room gets Yggy + Hegel H360 to replace the C7R. Living room back on top, by a mile. I fear what may be coming to the headphone system 

Hah!  I passed through that rig as well.  Your speaker rig puts mine to shame though.

 

[tulz43]

Anyone know the chassis size of the Freya?

 

[Oklahoma]

Anyone know the chassis size of the Freya?

Saga is same as bimby and Freya is same as gumby.

 

[GrouchoMarx1933]

Just from today's listening, the Yggy opens wide the gate between the original recording and the amp and speakers. When I bought my speakers, I demoed them with a Bel Canto C7R. When I bought my new Hegel amp, I demoed it with its internal DAC and good speakers, comparable to my KEF Reference 1s. Both demos were in well laid out listening rooms. With the Yggy, in my large but not especially tuned living room, both amp and speakers are sounding fuller than in the demos. A very good recording (Kaija Saariaho's Trios on Ondine, PCM 96/24) with great dynamics and timbral variety glows like nothing I've ever experienced at home or in a listening room. I've been a Schiit fan since my first Schiit, but even with all the praise here and elsewhere, the Yggy surpasses. And this is before full break in. So, once you get your Yggy, take your time to develop your system downstream, as the Yggy won't hold back the analog components.

Thanks! I've got a pair of Blumenstein Orcas on order and am saving up for a SET or other tube amp to pair with it. I currently have a Fleawatt SS amp to power things for now.

 

[zabzaf]

Why would I want a VPI turntable from Shinola instead of a VPI turntable from VPI?

To me, this sounds like VPI is trying to reach the Urban Outfitters sell-a-turntable-in-a-clothing-store crowd, currently dominated by Crosley.

Example:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=40189078&category=A-GREEN

If so, it will be built for looks to a particular price point, sonics being a 3rd order criteria.

I haven't heard this table yet as it hasn't yet been released but I do have two comments:

1. Partnering with VPI, check who the driving force behind Shinola Audio is...none other than Alex Rosson. Founder of Audeze. They make pretty good stuff, dontcha think?

2. This discussion is probably not best suited for his thread.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[hornytoad]

Saga is same as bimby and Freya is same as gumby.

Does anyone know the weight of the Saga and Freya ?

 

[franzdom]

Does anyone know the weight of the Saga and Freya ?

 
Somebody does but in the meantime I am going to guess 6 lb & 13 lb.

 

[FrivolsListener]

On another tangent, I just found out today that an internet acquaintance's high school aged son has a Schiit stack for his audio.
 
Reasonably priced, affordable Schiit.  What a concept!

 

[Odin412]

Yesterday I had the chance to spend a bit of time with the Saga and Vidar. The Saga is about the same size as the Jotunheim and has the same L-shaped aluminum lid chassis construction. It has the same sturdy construction quality as other Schiit components and looks very good with the tube on top. The remote control is plasticky and flimsy but it gets the job done. It reminds me of the remotes that Pro-Ject use for their small components. I have a Pro-Ject CD player and the remote for that looks much the same. Hopefully Schiit will make an optional metal remote available - I'd pay extra for that. I remember that Bang&Olufsen used to make some really nice aluminum remotes - maybe a possible source of design inspiration for the Schiit team? The stepped attenuator is way cool - especially using the remote. Click-click-click-click! The Vidar is about the same width as the Saga, but of course much deeper and taller. It has a cutout in the center of the amp (the Schiit a***ole?) where the heat sinks are located. It also has a very sturdy build quality. I am completely unfamiliar with the speakers that the amps were hooked up to - it looked like a DIY setup using a horn for the midrange/treble. Anyway, the sound was really good! Clean and smooth with good vocal presence. I played some Florence & The Machine and the sound was smooth and full-bodied and not at all harsh as it can be with some equipment. I was very excited to see these units in real life (they look great and sound good) and I look forward to more listening sessions in the future.

 

[45longcolt]

  The whole USA made thing is their shtick and there's no such thing as a made in the USA mechanical watch moment.  At least for now...

Are there any made-in-USA quartz movements? Would guess not. Shinola seems the opposite of Schiit in that they are consciously boutique, charging you a premium for assembling domestically. So while the new VPI-sourced table is good-looking (IMO) and will probably be at least good-sounding, it's highly unlikely to be a good deal when compared to the VPI brand. Whereas Schiit manages to build in the People's Republic of California and still deliver exceptional value and great sound.
 
But, hey, it's OK to be shallow...

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Newsflash: Saga boards have arrived in quantity, so shipping is only a few days off.
 
I will have a chapter on Vidar shortly. Vidar is a saga in itself...

 

[Ableza]

  Vidar is a saga in itself...

So... it's an integrated amp? 

 Just kidding.