[Rawrbington]

Any plans to get a remote going with the Ragnarok?

 

[FrivolsListener]

By definition anything that deviates from the original signal is either noise or distortion. I am an engineer and a well read audio enthusiast. I understand what goes on inside a DAC better than most. That doesn't change the fact that, whatever the internal architecture, anything that isn't part of the original encoded signal is either noise or distortion. It is what appears at the output that matters. If you want to say that there are forms of distortion that aren't measurable, OK. That seems to be the general audiophile hypothesis. The idea that measurements mean nearly nothing is wrong. If there are amp or DAC designers that don't measure their designs, they are charlatans and no one should buy their products. Why does Schiit measure their stuff and publish the measurements? The ADC conversion that produced your digital file is already an approximation. While I think Mike's MB DAC architecture is more elegant from an engineering perspective, it is far from a given that it is audibly superior. There are many revered D/S DAC's out there. It's OK to buy something because it is a cool design.

The thing is, you may not be measuring the right things. For example, no music resembles a sine wave, yet that's what equipment is tested with. The Gungnir Multibit shows its colors on things like cymbals and tambourines. Now, how do we turn that into a manageable, measurable, repeatable number?

Please, for the sake of Jason's thread (and it absolutely IS his), let's take this to some other forum.

 

[Robert Wortman]

RTFM as we say.

 

[Robert Wortman]

The thing is, you may not be measuring the right things. For example, no music resembles a sine wave, yet that's what equipment is tested with. The Gungnir Multibit shows its colors on things like cymbals and tambourines. Now, how do we turn that into a manageable, measurable, repeatable number?

Please, for the sake of Jason's thread (and it absolutely IS his), let's take this to some other forum.

Why post a reply and then say take it to another forum?

 

[sublime9]

Quick story about the new remote:

One of the things I'm doing this year is going through the products and making little tweaks, based on what we've learned by making several thousands of them. Most of these tweaks are relatively invisible, and are things like the Magni 3's stamped chassis. Some are more visible, like the Modi 2's aluminum top. Most are related to quality. This is no different than what any other smart manufacturer does over time, making changes to improve the product or the way it's made.

During the course of this process, one product stood out: the Saga/Freya remote. Sure, it was serviceable. Sure, it was reliable. Sure, it was made for us (overseas) by a reliable remote supplier (based in the USA). But it was a bit ass-y. As in, it looked and felt like ass.

So, I began wondering: what if we made our own remote? As in, what if we went ahead, tooled up, and did a real die-cast remote. I mean, after the tooling costs, we couldn't be looking at an absolute fortune, right?

In short, no. But the cost of tooling was such that we'd need to make ten thousand or so remotes in order to make the pain go away. Which, in the long run, was still fine.

But...

...but, in the process of looking into the die casting process, I found a reputable company already making aluminum remotes for audio gear...remotes that looked pretty good. They even had a neat magnetic-assembly trick for getting to the battery. So I figured, might as well contact them and get a quote. I drew up a quick sketch of our remote, based on their form factor, and asked if they could customize their product to fit our needs, and what the cost would be.

Long story short, they got back to me quickly, with a quote that was no more than the ass-y plastic remote we were already using!

Yes, that's right. No more money. Much better remote. No tooling cost.

Huh?

What was the catch? I decided to place an order and see if there was some kind of gotcha. The company sent along a sample for approval, which worked fine, and we received the first shipment in exactly the time they quoted, and they worked fine, too. So now we have new remotes...better remotes...for the same price as the old ones. Still made overseas, yep, but that's no different than the plastic ones. And I bet everyone likes the new aluminum ones better!

OK, I am buying a replacement remote for my SAGA that I do not need and I am going to get the aluminum one. Woohoo!

 

[AudioBear]

Look at it this way, sooner or later you will misplace the original and now you'll have a back-up.

 

[UNOE]

Why not a whole new name if its so different. Keep the gen two product around or kill it off completely name and all.

 

[mattking52]

RTFM as we say.

Easy, buddy. That manual page isn't currently posted anywhere, including the Freya PDF manual currently on the website, which still shows the old remote -- just like the hard copy that came with the vast majority of Freya units prior to some time in August, including mine.

It also seems clear that a good number of people on this thread weren't even aware of a new remote until today.

But yeah, I had wondered what the little hole was for on the back! Now we know.

 

[FastAndClean]

That being said, this is amazing price point... now if they could just get me a Modi 3 at $79 to match the Massdrop SDAC in quality, which first reviews are saying sounds a touch, just a touch, nicer than Modi 2 Uber. gimme schiit stack 3 and don't make me wait plez

Stop drinking, is bad for your brain

 

[Zojokkeli]

Stop drinking, is bad for your brain

No need to stop, just drink moderately.

 

[Nick-s-f]

It's good the new M3 has the old Magni 2 volume knob. I found the indicator dot on the Magni 2 Uber to be indistinct (except in bright or low lighting) and not as nice in appearance.

 

[Robert Wortman]

Easy, buddy. That manual page isn't currently posted anywhere, including the Freya PDF manual currently on the website, which still shows the old remote -- just like the hard copy that came with the vast majority of Freya units prior to some time in August, including mine.

It also seems clear that a good number of people on this thread weren't even aware of a new remote until today.

But yeah, I had wondered what the little hole was for on the back! Now we know.

Sorry. I assumed they would ship some instructions with the new remote.

 

[Puma Cat]

Congrats, Jason on Magni 3. What a great story and write-up! I read the new product development chapters with great interest.

What's next? How about a sweet little 35 Wpc EL-34 based tube power amp to go with Saga/Freya? Something with all that EL-34 midrange magic to go with Harbeth 30.1s or P3ESr's or KEF LS50s, Sony SP-BS22-LRs, etc? (hint, hint..)

I'd love to see your take on a Dyna ST-70...

Code name: Thialfi....

 

[Letmebefrank]

@Jason Stoddard I've heard rumblings that there was a running change to Jotunheim to address the early versions edginess. Is this true and if so how long ago was the revision made?

 

[rlow]

Quick story about the new remote:

One of the things I'm doing this year is going through the products and making little tweaks, based on what we've learned by making several thousands of them. Most of these tweaks are relatively invisible, and are things like the Magni 3's stamped chassis. Some are more visible, like the Modi 2's aluminum top. Most are related to quality. This is no different than what any other smart manufacturer does over time, making changes to improve the product or the way it's made.

During the course of this process, one product stood out: the Saga/Freya remote. Sure, it was serviceable. Sure, it was reliable. Sure, it was made for us (overseas) by a reliable remote supplier (based in the USA). But it was a bit ass-y. As in, it looked and felt like ass.

So, I began wondering: what if we made our own remote? As in, what if we went ahead, tooled up, and did a real die-cast remote. I mean, after the tooling costs, we couldn't be looking at an absolute fortune, right?

In short, no. But the cost of tooling was such that we'd need to make ten thousand or so remotes in order to make the pain go away. Which, in the long run, was still fine.

But...

...but, in the process of looking into the die casting process, I found a reputable company already making aluminum remotes for audio gear...remotes that looked pretty good. They even had a neat magnetic-assembly trick for getting to the battery. So I figured, might as well contact them and get a quote. I drew up a quick sketch of our remote, based on their form factor, and asked if they could customize their product to fit our needs, and what the cost would be.

Long story short, they got back to me quickly, with a quote that was no more than the ass-y plastic remote we were already using!

Yes, that's right. No more money. Much better remote. No tooling cost.

Huh?

What was the catch? I decided to place an order and see if there was some kind of gotcha. The company sent along a sample for approval, which worked fine, and we received the first shipment in exactly the time they quoted, and they worked fine, too. So now we have new remotes...better remotes...for the same price as the old ones. Still made overseas, yep, but that's no different than the plastic ones. And I bet everyone likes the new aluminum ones better!

That's pretty teriffic. Sure it's only a remote, but it contributes to the overall experience with the product. This remote is a vast improvement in look and operation (tactile click from the buttons is way better than previous) and obviously ties in well to your other designs. And that it costs the same as previous one is mind-boggling.
That battery removal feature is quite cool too - I assumed the hole was for an electronic reset switch.