Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up
Nov 27, 2016 at 10:35 PM Post #14,296 of 144,020
  With the KEF LS50s, moving from a Naim UnitiQute (30W/pc into 8 ohm) to a Bel Canto C7R (75W/pc 8 ohm) made a big positive difference in dynamics and accuracy. Similarly, moving from the C7R to Hegel H360 (250W/pc 8 ohm) with KEF Reference 1 speakers made a big difference. Of course other things changed too (DACs, amp design) but the H360's big power reserve seems to help drive these low-sensitivity speakers more accurately.

 
A friend of mine has the LS50's, driven by a McIntosh MC252 power amp (250 watts into 8 ohms), and those KEF's sponge up all that power. They sound great doing so.
 
Nov 27, 2016 at 10:39 PM Post #14,297 of 144,020
Nov 27, 2016 at 10:42 PM Post #14,298 of 144,020
  I must be behind. I will check that out now asap!!!

 
It's not for sale just yet, but you might find this useful http://www.theaudiobeat.com/rmaf2016/rmaf2016_schiit.htm
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 12:37 AM Post #14,299 of 144,020
   
It's not for sale just yet, but you might find this useful http://www.theaudiobeat.com/rmaf2016/rmaf2016_schiit.htm

Nice! I am sure this has been discussed many times, but I wish anodized black came as a standard Schiit option. I may have to wait till I see a black B-stock Freya which may never happen if Schiit has streamlined production and QC to such a high degree now.
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 12:42 AM Post #14,300 of 144,020
Nice! I am sure this has been discussed many times, but I wish anodized black came as a standard Schiit option. I may have to wait till I see a black B-stock Freya which may never happen if Schiit has streamlined production and QC to such a high degree now.


Did you read chapter 33 of the first book in this thread? :p
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 1:11 AM Post #14,301 of 144,020
Did you read chapter 33 of the first book in this thread? :p

It's actually here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-improbable-start-up/13620#post_12963529
 
I understand what they mean though and customization would raise the price of their other products since it would mean slowdown of all production in general or a new team of payed employees to handle the painting.. Me thinks that it is something they will offer down the road if their company booms in the stereo market and they feel inclined to sell more product.
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 11:09 AM Post #14,304 of 144,020
 I may have to wait till I see a black B-stock Freya which may never happen if Schiit has streamlined production and QC to such a high degree now.


I'm betting that there will be black Freyas (and Sagas and Vidars,) because Schiit always seems to release a few licorice units not long after introduction. This despite Jason's long-standing assertion that going multi-hue would bankrupt the company by making for too many SKUs, with all the accompanying hassle and expense. That argument made sense when the company was run out of the Stoddard garage. But Schiit is all grown up now and is capable of dealing with variations on a theme.
 
Still, I suppose we'll get black as a standard option about the same time we get power switches on the front...
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 11:29 AM Post #14,305 of 144,020
i might have missed it but any photos of the saga remote?  i checked the gallery on this thread back to the keyboard segue but didn't see one.  i read it was black plastic and credit card sized.  just curious what it really looks like.  thanks
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 11:50 AM Post #14,306 of 144,020
  2016, Chapter 9:
The Elephant in the Room
 
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
 
 
<snip>
 
 
So What Do We Do About This?
 
Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? We need to take up arms and storm the castle!
 
Except, well, there is no castle, and there is really no need for a violent revolution. The end-game of high-end is plain for all to see—ever-increasing prices for an ever-shrinking market, until the elephant crashes all the way through the dance floor.
 
What we need to do, as manufacturers, is keep our wits. The siren call of higher prices is a huge temptation. As the super-high-end hyperinflates, the sensible high end will want to raise prices, too. Hell, they’ll be called on to raise prices.
 
Think I’m kidding? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told that we should raise prices because we won’t be taken seriously if we don’t.
 
Well, here’s my response: **** you.
 
I give exactly zero ****s about being taken seriously. I care about only one thing: bringing high-end within reach of as many people as possible and building the ranks of audiophiles, so that when the ultra-high-end implosion comes, there’s plenty of sensible music-lovers out there.
 
And that’s what manufacturers can do: resist the temptation to inflate up, as the ultra-high-end bubble spirals out of control. Remember how to make an inexpensive, attractive chassis. Remember old production methods like sheet metal and casting. Remember that higher production numbers will reduce your costs. Remember to pass that along to the buyer. And consider—if you’re not already there—going direct. That’s the biggest benefit to the buyer, really, since it effectively cuts prices in half.
 
So what can you do, individually? You can, of course, choose less-expensive components. Like, well, duh. You can also be more pointed in your questioning—ask manufacturers where the cost goes. What percentage of that high price tag is the chassis versus the electronics? Hint: if it’s fancy, it’s a lot. What unique technology are they bringing to the table? If it’s off-the-shelf chips and implementation, how do they justify the cost? Hint: R&D on unique tech is a lot higher than a datasheet implementation, so R&D amortization really doesn’t fly there.
 
But there’s more. I want to do more at Schiit. So consider this our manifesto: we will continue to bring the highest-value products, at the fairest-possible margins, in the largest-quantity runs (for even lower cost) to assure that as many people can enjoy high-end audio as possible, and to grow the audience for the future. And we’ll continue to do this both in personal and desktop audio, and in the world of speaker amps, preamps, and other gear, as we can. You’ll see our 2-channel products this fall, and, if the reaction of various industry people is to be believed, they may have an even bigger impact on that market than we have on the desktop.
 
Because, you know what? We need to do more than talk about the elephant. Talking is only the start. What we really need to do is get the thing out of the room, entirely.
 
Here’s to a sane, affordable, and high-end future!

 
Yeah, I don't think we need to do anything at all.
 
The model isn't sustainable.  It will come crashing down on itself eventually.  All we as educated customers need to do is to do what we have always done.   Buythe product that best suits our needs within our budgets, and the rest will take care of itself, especially since there are sane alternatives like Schiit out there :p
 
Nov 28, 2016 at 3:16 PM Post #14,310 of 144,020
  2016, Chapter 13:
Into the 2-Channel World: The Saga of Saga
(and, um, Freya too)
 


Aside: haven't tried your Multibit DAC on speakers? Have speakers? Do it. Trust me.

 

 
I can definitely vouch for this.
 
Even my awful Logitech z623 2.1 PC speakers plugged into the pre-amp outs on my Lyr 2 sounded notably improved once I started using a Modi Multibit.
 
I was expecting improved headphone sounds, but I was convinced that those terrible speakers were muddy enough that I'd never hear the difference, but I was positively surprised.   Enough so that I think I uttered a Keanu Reeves-like "whoah" out loud.
 

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