[nerone]

Thanks for all the input on the possibility of an Asgard 3!

I think that the thoughts here directly reflect my indecision--is it best to keep going on a "classic" line or move things forward? There are benefits to both. One thing that won't happen, though, is both. As in, we won't be bringing out more products that will stack on top of the current line. We already have too many. I could easily make a case for eliminating Valhalla 2* and doing a new Asgard 3, but I can't make a case for having Valhalla 2 and Asgard 2 and a new modular product that is an easier step-up from Magni/Modi than Jotunheim or Lyr 3.

But, don't panic. The reality is that we'll probably be sitting back and watching the sales of Asgard 2 and Valhalla 2 over the course of the year, and see how they do. If they do fine, then cool, if they don't, then we'll have to see where we go. If the availability of Valhalla 2 tubes becomes problematic, or if the price goes too high, that may also have an effect on our decision.

*Case: we're best at hybrids, not tube amps, plus the tubes are getting more expensive for Valhalla 2. How happy would you be with a Valhalla 2 at $399? $449? Those price points may have to be considered in the future.

I would just do an upgrade to Asgard 2 by including the modularity. Keep it class A.

 

[Padgett]

The first Yggy users reported 48 hours. I didn't do any testing or timing myself but that doesn't sound too far off. The lower bit depth of Bimby and Mimby will shorten that time but I haven't seen any reports on them. The important point here is to maintain that thermal stability once achieved to obtain the sound that you paid for.

JC

Cheers

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

@Jason Stoddard
Please make a dac card with optical!
Please please please!!!

Eh Mike hates optical, does it mostly for convenience. Would love to cut it and go straight to coax and Gen 5.

I almost never reply to posts like this, but the concept interested me...
Now that the Schiit product line has expanded so much, this concept may make sense.
Watch your pushes, dear Schiit lovers. Jason's marketing sense is stirring around.

Jason doesn't do deals or "buy one get ones."

I remember being told here a year or more ago after the introduction of Saga and Freya that the 6SN7 type was too noisy to make a good headphone amp?

I remember being told here that Mike couldn't make any multibit smaller than Mimby.

Also, do my eyes deceive me, or is Lyr 3 more powerful than Mjolnir 2?

 

[RickB]

I have nothing substantive to add to this discussion besides a thought after many years in product-oriented businesses. That thought is change is inevitable, and companies who wish to thrive must drive change in the direction they need it to go, not in the direction a fan base (or an installed base) wishes it would go. Consumers adapt.

​

But I just want a faster horse amp!

 

[Alcophone]

Also, do my eyes deceive me, or is Lyr 3 more powerful than Mjolnir 2?

For 300 ohms and above, apparently slightly so. But not below that.

(Maximum Power, Watts RMS per channel)
16 ohms: 9.0W (Lyr 3)
32 ohms: 6.0W (Lyr 3) / 8.0W (MJ2)
50 ohms: 4.0W (Lyr 3) / 5.0W (MJ2)
300 ohms: 900mW (Lyr 3) / 850mW (MJ2)
600 ohms: 450mW (Lyr 3) / 425mW (MJ2)

I'm now listening to Yggy balanced > Jot at high gain > balanced Ether C Flow. 9 o'clock is too loud :-D

 

[Pandahead]

Also, do my eyes deceive me, or is Lyr 3 more powerful than Mjolnir 2?

Yes they deceive you a tiny bit. Pretty much a dead heat till 50 ohms. At 32 ohms it's 8 watts to Lyr 3's 6. (Oops, as shown in previous post above) BUT, Mj2's output rating is for balanced. The Lyr 3 runs away with it single ended.(2 watts at 32 ohms in MJ2) Should be fun! Can't wait.

 

[hagenhays]

Schitt's most expensive product is Yggdrasil at $2400, which really isn't that much money in 2018. It's the same as $1000 in 1985 dollars. You really shouldn't need to finance that unless you're already up to your eyeballs in debt. You should be able to save that up in a month or two.

*if you are in this hobby and have a job that lets you participate in this hobby, then yes you should be able to save that up in a few months.....if not, you should really find a cheaper hobby, or be buying their modi or bifrost, not the yggy, that's just stupid. You should never finance a hobby you save up for hobbies. But being 40 allowed me to grow up and learn those values, you didn't live above your means. Kudos to the guys for not having credit.

 

[US Blues]

And there are reviews on every other type of amp that are competitive with various products Schiit builds. Schiit products all contribute to the marketplace by providing quality products at a variety of affordable price points.



Plus it looks nice on top of my Schiit stack...

Dude, no Loki (EQ)?

 

[OldRoadToad]

Based solely on reviews there seem to be a number of otl amplifiers that are competitive with Valhalla. It's nice to have Valhalla in the line, but what does it contribute to the marketplace?

edit: I did not mean to suggest that the Valhalla does not contribute to the marketplace. I have only heard one amp and am not in a position to do so. Based on my reading it appears that Valhalla is the weakest of Schitt's products in relationship to what else is out there. Nearly every other Schitt product that they produce seems to be a consensus bargain at it's price point. So if Schitt is considering trimming the line, I simply think that in addition to considering Valhalla's value as the only pure tube amp they sell, it is helpful to consider where it stands in relationship to the market.

If tubes are going to be increasingly expensive, Valhalla becomes even less of a great value. Especially imo because two of the included tubes (which I have one of in my Vali 2) are subpar.

My VN² or as I some times refer to it, Valhalla Noir² contributes to my well being. It comes as close to doing so as any thing made or not made by Schiit. That I bought one (in Schwartz) shows I have faith in the company and in my sense of aesthetics.

Yes, there are times when I question my sanity. But now when it replies, it asks simply for Patsy Cline via my Valhalla Noir². Sweet dreams indeed...

ORT

 

[OldRoadToad]

For those that say change is inevitable I proffer this from my mother: "Anyone can change, my son. It's change for the better that's needed."

All too often it is the diaper of our mind, i.e., the ego, that needs changing. That is a diaper best left to it's owner to tend to. My self included.

I am very much enjoying the VN² as is my older brother his Vali². I look forward to future offerings from Schiit. The Lyr³ would be much nicer in Schwarz with optical in puts in both coaxial and toslink varieties to go along with the USB. I have all ready compromised with both my Schiit and Emotiva products and have no buyer's remorse with either. Whether or not I do so again is my choice. But for now I am listening to Patsy Cline via the Valhalla Noir² so it can be said I have chosen wisely twice.

ORT

 

[433521]

At what point would the owners prefer we not order Schitt if we're less likely than to keep it than not? 50-50?

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

One happy byproduct of the current lineup is that, if you are content to stay single ended, Schiit does a good job of putting a ceiling on what you could pay if you wanted to. Bimby and Lyr 3 are $1100—Vali/Mimby are much less—and I expect Lyr 3 would drive my K1000 like a champ.

I echo Jason's instinct to kill Valhalla. As the tubes get rarer, it will make less and less sense as a product. Add to that the fact that its biggest clients—the Sennheiser lineup—are ably driven by the Vali series, indeed by Magni 3, and Schiit's differentiating factor shrinks further. Steve Jobs counseled companies to do what they do best, and what nobody else can do. People have a lot of options for OTL, and the people who fret about OTL generally are willing to pay the 2x or 3x or whatever Woo wants over Schiit prices. Asgard's low price may allow it to hobble along, but the Class A junkies again have an array of options, and people so fixated on one box on a spec sheet being checked perhaps suffer from too much nervosa, and exist in insufficient numbers, to represent Schiit's mainstream consumer. Magni, Vali, Jotunheim, and Lyr are just too good for Asgard and Valhalla. They are a better value proposition, more versatile, more functional, and fewer square inches on the desk.

Now, if there were a way for MJ3 to be class A...

 

[jimmers]

Dude, no Loki (EQ)?

Maybe he's waiting for one that's the right size?

 

[JoeKickass]

Continuity, the constant transconductance output stage, you’re not going to find anywhere else. John Broskie actually brought Bob Cordell to Schiit’s room at RMAF 2017, where we talked about constant transconductance output stages (Bob will probably have lots more to say about these in the near future, though it’s not my place to say what). When I mentioned “Oh yeah, we’re introducing something like that, in early 2018,” he was visibly startled. Nobody expects anything like Continuity out there.

Done and done, I bought a Lyr 3 and am looking forward to comparing it with the Jotunheim, I love your cutting-edge circuit designs! I do wish Lyr 3 was balanced and USB gen 5, I know they won't fit but a man can dream right?

That said, I use a Mimby as DAC, an Eitr for USB gen 5 and I have a feeling I won't notice the loss of the balanced signal, so I'm really expecting the Lyr 3 to give the Jot a run for it's money!

I thought the Jotunheim board was packed... but the Lyr 3 board is on another level, my HD 600 are in for a treat!

 

[MWSVette]

Dude, no Loki (EQ)?

They have been on backorder, Give me a minute....