[Jason Stoddard]

Or like so:

I know what that is, but that's too old even for me.

Thanks for keeping it on topic with the cats.

For those who are massively confused--that's a cat's-whisker-and-crystal crystal radio. You tune it by moving the cat whisker across the crystal. Yeah.

Do you also notice neither crystal radio has a power source? None needed.

Heads exploding yet?

 

[FrivolsListener]

Interesting to think that we may not have analog radio broadcasts for much longer. TV is all digital now—old TVs receive nothing.

I have a very dim view of current digital radio schemes, outside of Digital Radio Mondiale. They are more about licensing fees and less about providing quality.

 

[mrmoto050]

I believe the expression is an American colloquialism coined by steam locomotive engineers (the guys what drive the train...) because when the mechanical governor spins, the balls go outward, and the closer to the "wall" they get, the faster the train is going. I think "flat out" would be an analogue. This is one of the expressions I hear people use; they seem to know the meaning, but not the origin when asked. Most of the responses I have heard tended toward the vulgar side... My personal favorite definition is: "You need to come out of the throttle before the boiler explodes!"

LOL, is your middle name"Spock"

 

[Jason Stoddard]

And, as further proof that life is never dull, it looks like our FedEx account got hijacked and used for a whole lot of third-party shipments (something we don't do), and, as a result, has been shut down.

Like, shut down. No warning, no calls, no "hey, why are you guys sending all these wacky packages everywhere all of a sudden," they just sat on their asses for 3 weeks and let it happen, then shut us down. Again, without notification. This is a company that has no problem calling us when they think we're asking for too many envelopes or shipper pouches. Buttheads.

So, if you see UPS up on the site for a while, that's the reason why. We'll see if FedEx comes back or not.

Sorry to derail us further; I'm still interested in amplifier plan feedback, but the FedEx thing is something that will be causing Alex some pain in the near-term.

 

[Pandahead]

Bummer on the fedex. Our modern world!

Original thought was:

At least the old radio receivers helped maintain a high fiber diet!

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Thanks Jason for the update.
As I'm just a simple physician there's no way I can even remotely understand what you're writing.
Except for the resurrecting of the corpse of Henry XIII of course. That's easy peasy..

It's brought up earlier but my vote would be to give the Ragnarok v2 a new name as it is, in my mind, a different cookie.
As you describe it I would never switch it with my Ragnarok.
But that's also because I use it with an extremely efficient and super sounding speaker set and never as a HP amp.
And as an old cripple I still do not need a remote control.

Hope to get some news about another Schiitr sometime soon.
Is that still a thought waving trough the company?
You know my ideas about that.
And thank you for giving my friends the time and space on your thread to help me out with some very grave problems.
I's all in the family. Thanks for that.

 

[US Blues]

Nothing yet, I'm afraid. One of the new differential stages may be the solution I'm looking for, but I've been busy with a few other things.

There'll definitely be an additional Loki. The problem is feature set. I may do another long post about what-ifs on this one, but let's let the amp discussion run for a while.

Ah, but your research is providing necessary solutions for making Loki Maxi the best it can be. I am content. We'll talk amps for now.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hope to get some news about another Schiitr sometime soon.
Is that still a thought waving trough the company?
You know my ideas about that.
And thank you for giving my friends the time and space on your thread to help me out with some very grave problems.
I's all in the family. Thanks for that.

Yep, we're snailing through those plans, but they are still in the works. I'm bogged down with Sol at the moment, I expect we'll be able to talk Schiitr this summer.

 

[33na3rd]

*I am not a doctor, do not take my health advice on anything.

Too late!
Your mention of fasting in one of your posts got my wife and I to explore intermittent fasting. We both lost an amazing amount of weight and are now much healthier than we have been in decades! I will always be grateful to you for that!

So yes, I come here for diet advice and cat GIF's.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Yep, we're snailing through those plans, but they are still in the works. I'm bogged down with Sol at the moment, I expect we'll be able to talk Schiitr this summer.

I'll be there.

 

[RCBinTN]

I'm late to the party, and I'm going to back-track to the earlier complaints about the thread going "off topic." First of all, your complaint posts are also off topic, and far less interesting than gifs of cats doing crazy Schiit. Secondly, posting complaints is simply your way of Schiiting in the thread, we'll call a Whambulance next time. Third, and far more importantly:

The camaraderie that has been built on this thread allowed for some people here to pitch-in and buy a new bicycle for the Baron Dr. Pietro Cozzi Tinin, who was in need of new transportation after his last bike was stolen. The fact that this random thread on the internet of music/audio gear nuts came together in support of someone we may never meet is far more important in many ways than the gear we play our music with. So the next time you're concerned about cat gifs or the lack of news from Jason, think about what is REALLY important in this world.

And, you got a surprise update too.

+10,000 Right on, brother @US Blues!
And thanks for your support of the Pietro Rides Again project!

 

[RCBinTN]

I must be old. I've made a crystal radio.

Interesting to think that we may not have analog radio broadcasts for much longer. TV is all digital now—old TVs receive nothing.

My Dad assembled a Heathkit stereo system. Most complex Schiit that I ever saw. There had to be 10,000 pieces. It worked, and sounded decent!

 

[winders]

I'm still interested in amplifier plan feedback...

Jason,

I still think the Class A amp at 20 to 30 watts per channel into 8 Ohms (x2 for 4 ohms) is a great idea. But, it needs to be a great sounding amp too. I have played with several vintage solid state Class A amps within that power range and a few sound incredibly good (e.g., Pioneer M-22) and many don't. They all had similar specs. It's one thing to design the amp with the specs you want. But how do you insure that it is going to sound great too? If you built this amp, I would buy one to check out. But it would need sound really good for me to actually keep it or recommend it to others.

 

[Rtg97229]

"How do you explain to someone that a 20W amp costs more than your 100W amp? Even though it’s in the same basic packaging, differences in the chassis and feature set would put if about $100 more than a Vidar."

With something that makes it different enough to consumers that they can justify the expense. Sometimes different is a different output device than what most products use such as tubes used in a Russian Jet or VFETs that will never be made again. I think you have something more sustainable with Continuity™ because it does not limit your production quantity. Scarcity of companies possessing a given technology is better than scarcity of available parts. If you make the class A bias too high most people will never utilize Continuity™ so I would make it a 25W/50W/100W amplifier and market the hell out of the advantages of Continuity™. Just one persons opinion though.

 

[NoahFence]

Class A power amp Schiit possibilities
A 50 watt class A power amp: absolutely up to $2K
A 40 watt class A power amp: surely up to $2K

A 20 watt class A power amp: ... maybe If at $1k I could buy 2 as monoblocks, then sure. I think that might be you market

OK, some background. I have a 50 watt class A power amp that I love. What I want for listening to (classical, sorry) chamber music or orchestral music is that full timbre, bloom that I hear live (row M for orchestra, 1st or 2nd row in the balcony preferred). My Forte Model 1 does a marvelous job of this. (For technical reasons related to the Thiel 3.0 speaker, the Vidar will not work in this system, so I have not direct comparison.) This is in a fairly small room so 40 watts class A is OK, though 50 watts would be better.

I also do a lot of listening with headphones, ranging from Massdrop HiFiMann 4xx at under $200 to the Focal Elear. For that I use a Schiit multibit DAC. At the low end I love the Vali 2 HP/pre-amp and higher up the price chain the MJ2 (stock tubes, which I need to upgrade). However neither of these delivers the musical quality class A HP/pre-amp I have from some years back. (See below) In contrast I find the other Schiit pre-amps too “lean”, they just do not provide the richness of tone that I hear live and with my class A HP/pre-amp. (I have not tried Freya.)

I was hoping the new Lyr (tung-sol) would fill that gap, but no. The new topology is an improvement, but to my ear, in current form, does not get one to class A quality sound. For the price it is very good and has found a place in one of my systems, yet it does not give richness of tone I want in my best system. So the HP/pre-amp I will use with Yggy2 is my trusty class A unit of old. (I have not heard the Asgard 2.)

I am an ardent fan of SET and Class A amplification, not on ‘ideological’ grounds, but on the basis of the sound quality I hear. So keep working with that idea!

My ‘trusty’ class A HP/pre-amp is the Headroom Desktop DAC-amp, maxed out version, used only as as a headphone/pre-amp. I’m guessing the amplifier part of this unit would come about $1k, so it is twice as expensive as the Lyr (3).

All the best, keep up the wonderful work
NF