[azteca x]

  Don't forget that the Emotiva is made in China, hence the price. TBH, I never really liked Emotiva, they are kind of a generic brand like Oppo. They both focus on modern design but both outsource to China. They try to have a high end image but are really nothing special, IMHO. 

Emotiva is shifting production back to the US, actually.  It's only a few products now but they are in transition.
Oppo makes excellent products but I see them as a video company.  I have a 103 and love it, and it currently serves as my two-channel DAC, but the real story is it plays everything, is extremely adjustable and passes all video benchmarks.
 
Jason, I appreciated your chapter on the Ragnarok and can't wait to read about Yggy.  Your "statement" products are worthy of the name in the complexity and effort involved - and as you said, most would double or triple the price.  Can't wait for them to be out in the wild and hear feedback from people whose ears I trust.

 

[baronkatz]

  Emotiva is shifting production back to the US, actually.  It's only a few products now but they are in transition.
Oppo makes excellent products but I see them as a video company.  I have a 103 and love it, and it currently serves as my two-channel DAC, but the real story is it plays everything, is extremely adjustable and passes all video benchmarks.

It's probably only a few of their highest end products and that doesn't really say that they are shifting production to the US. "The majority of our products are made in China - just like an Apple® computer." is what's on their website. That's really like saying "Apple is shifting production back to the US" just because they are making the Mac Pro here now, but that's probably the easiest thing to "assemble" here anyways. I am sure that even those Emotiva products that are supposedly made in the US, are merely assembled here.
 
For me Emotiva and Oppo are kind of "Brand names" focused on design. Sure they may have some advanced chips and things, but they appeal more to consumer audio/video. Their designs are very similar and generically modern looking to me. It's the kind of stuff people buy when they don't want to research something better because it's somewhat affordable compared to the boutique US makers (of course at the cost of US jobs). They just look like cheap mass produced Chinese products that are supposed to look cool to most Americans. Not my cup of tea... 
 
Schiit on the other hand doesn't just "assemble" their products in the US. Everything from the chassis, to the boards, to the assembly, all goes on here. They hardly use any Chinese components in their products - those WIMA caps are made in Germany, Alps blue velvet pots are made in Japan, Dale resistors made in the USA, etc... On top of all this, the Schiit designs are modern/futuristic and very minimalist in nature. They are some of the most beautiful amps/dacs to behold and I don't think they will ever go out of style.
 
This is why I respect and admire Schiit so much. Even though their total production is in the US, and they use top components, and have excellent sound and build quality and design, they still keep prices low. As many have mentioned, they could charge more, but their goal is not to inflate prices. They are one of the few brands out there that really, truly care about their customers and about what they do more than about stuffing their wallets.

 

[htr2d2]

  This is why I respect and admire Schiit so much. Even though their total production is in the US, and they use top components, and have excellent sound and build quality and design, they still keep prices low. As many have mentioned, they could charge more, but their goal is not to inflate prices. They are one of the few brands out there that really, truly care about their customers and about what they do more than about stuffing their wallets.

I second baronkatz sentiments.
 
I am one of those Americans that will buy Chinese for the cost/merits of the products. In investing in a new DAC and AMP, I was initially suspicious and wary of purchasing Schiit Audio for it was so outside of my previous and inflated experience. I found head-fi and read the reviews, bought the Bifrost and Lyr 2, and have never been so damn happy with my audio setup.

 

[Ableza]

I suggest staring a different thread to discuss Emotiva, yes?

 

[Finjima]

Im kinda interested in hearing more about the back story here on raggy
 

And I’ve left out a ton of details in the saga above, details like:
 

1. 6 transformer changes, including splitting the circlotron output transformer and the input voltage gain transformer into to entities
2. Adventures in circlotron summing circuits, and the multiple meltdowns that occurred while figuring out the right ones
3. The insanity that is a circlotron, and the effects of nonsymmetrical loading on it
4. The crazy software just for volume control—it actually mutes the input between levels, to eliminate any popping or big glitches
5. Various blowups I’d rather forget

 
 
This amp sounds Very interesting in its conception and design and its history

 

[PyramidOfSound]

System. Design. Documents.
Or even better, System Requirements, and then Design Documents. That expensive blue smoke is the end of a large portion of programs that don't realize they're complex enough to need documentation before pounding in the code. I say that not to hate on anybody, just sharing my experiences with these things.
 
I remember Jason talking before about not creating 12,000 page design documents. I agree. That is overkill. Covering your bases, though, by writing down the important things like bias requirements, failure modes, transition requirements for state machines, timing for outputs will save many many hours of staring at a board with the resin burned in those white, crazy lines.
 
Let me clarify, I hate documenting stuff before writing code. But I have come to realize over the years that it is a necessary evil. It makes the job almost boring, with a lot of the catastrophes avoided on paper. Fewer fires, no more standing behind a wall using a broom to turn on the power, and most importantly, much less blue smoke.

 

[mithrandir38]

It's probably only a few of their highest end products and that doesn't really say that they are shifting production to the US. "The majority of our products are made in China - just like an Apple® computer." is what's on their website. That's really like saying "Apple is shifting production back to the US" just because they are making the Mac Pro here now, but that's probably the easiest thing to "assemble" here anyways. I am sure that even those Emotiva products that are supposedly made in the US, are merely assembled here.

For me Emotiva and Oppo are kind of "Brand names" focused on design. Sure they may have some advanced chips and things, but they appeal more to consumer audio/video. Their designs are very similar and generically modern looking to me. It's the kind of stuff people buy when they don't want to research something better because it's somewhat affordable compared to the boutique US makers (of course at the cost of US jobs). They just look like cheap mass produced Chinese products that are supposed to look cool to most Americans. Not my cup of tea... 

Schiit on the other hand doesn't just "assemble" their products in the US. Everything from the chassis, to the boards, to the assembly, all goes on here. They hardly use any Chinese components in their products - those WIMA caps are made in Germany, Alps blue velvet pots are made in Japan, Dale resistors made in the USA, etc... On top of all this, the Schiit designs are modern/futuristic and very minimalist in nature. They are some of the most beautiful amps/dacs to behold and I don't think they will ever go out of style.

This is why I respect and admire Schiit so much. Even though their total production is in the US, and they use top components, and have excellent sound and build quality and design, they still keep prices low. As many have mentioned, they could charge more, but their goal is not to inflate prices. They are one of the few brands out there that really, truly care about their customers and about what they do more than about stuffing their wallets.

all that being said, and aesthetic preferences aside, my emotiva Airmotiv 5's are insanely good sounding monitors for $450.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Jason, a suggested name for the Schiit "Music Server", since the ideal unit would tie the desktop together. "Hlidskialf", Odin's great throne from which he ruled Midgard, the earth and men!

 

[htr2d2]

Jason, a suggested name for the Schiit "Music Server", since the ideal unit would tie the desktop together. "Hlidskialf", Odin's great throne from which he ruled Midgard, the earth and men!

Music server? What post? Did a hunt but..
 
We talking a Schiit Audio cloud offer with streaming audio like Ampache or an application for use at home and utilizing DNLA?

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Music server? What post? Did a hunt but..

We talking a Schiit Audio cloud offer with streaming audio like Ampache or an application for use at home and utilizing DNLA?

Sorry, blue sky, potential Schiit Music Server !

 

[Ableza]

Wasn't that a Midnight Oil song? 

 

[BournePerfect]

I just came in to suggest that Schiit bring out a music server this year lol. I'd say there's a market for one-especially in the sub-$800 range, and considering Squeezebox is no more. I'm not sure if this is up their alley per se, but it would sure help round out the Schiit portfolio imo. Of course-they'd have to put an LCD screen on it. ;P
 
-Daniel

 

[BournePerfect]

  Chapter 26:
Finally, the $99 Solution
 
 
 
And, to this day, the best comment I think we ever got on the launch was amongst the chatter about the Schiit statement products (yeah, people were talking about them even back then, the as-yet-unnamed Ragnarok and Yggdrasil.)
 
The comment was:
 
“Now, this is the real statement.”
 
Exactly. Thank you. Making another pricey product—no matter how advanced and innovative—is cool and all, and makes for good ego fodder (that is, at least when you can ship the darn things.) But making a good, solid product that almost anyone can afford, that’s a whole ‘nother thing entirely. It’s wayyyy more important for the Magni and Modi to exist than Ragnarok and Yggdrasil.
 
 

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/640774/this-schiit-is-bananas-99-schiit-magni-amp-and-99-modi-dac#post_8949869
 

 

[Jason Stoddard]

   
http://www.head-fi.org/t/640774/this-schiit-is-bananas-99-schiit-magni-amp-and-99-modi-dac#post_8949869
 

 
And there we go!

 

[BournePerfect]

*pats back, retires in schiitinfamy*