[Robert Padgett]

I ordered a Modi MB form bstock and just set it up. It replaced a regular Modi, paired with a Vali 2 and I can';t believe the difference between the regular and the MB. If you are pondering, I would say that it's not even a close contest.

Happy!

Cheers

I am assuming they shipped the Modi MB with the latest firmware upgrade, and I can echo your impressions. My Modi MB was in for a repair, and they swapped boards. When I plugged it in, I was thinking "Hmmm, Gumby Jr.?"

I am so well pleased with the Modi MB that I paired it with my new Valhalla 2 and could not be any happier. I even pulled the Wyrd out and started feeding the Modi MB with a decrapified USB, instead of SPDIF. In my set-up, with the RasPi as an endpoint and a HiFiBerry transport, I could not hear any difference at all between the USB from the Wyrd, or the Toslink SPDIF.

Simplicity dictated that a Custom USB cable from Cablesforless.Com was the best, easiest and best sounding route from server to the system. No need for a RasPi being fed from the Ethernet, when my Modi MB is less than a meter from the NUC server.

Whatever is packed in the upgraded firmware has hit a home-run outta the ballpark.

 

[radicus]

 

[RCBinTN]

And should I feel the need to upgrade/sidegrade after a while, Schiit will be there for me, with a Schiit upgrade for just my product. No need to go to another manufacturer and spend money there.

I at first owned the Gungnir DAC, then upgraded to Gumby, then to Gumby + Gen5 USB.
Tremendous improvement with each step, a glorious idea by Schiit Audio

 

[RCBinTN]

I ordered a Modi MB form bstock and just set it up. It replaced a regular Modi, paired with a Vali 2 and I can';t believe the difference between the regular and the MB. If you are pondering, I would say that it's not even a close contest.

Cheers

Decent, and I agree ... their MB technology are the best DACs out there ... very realistic, analogue sound.

 

[scclimber]

My first piece of Schiit was a Modi Multibit so I guess I am spoiled not knowing the inferior products I could have started with.

 

[ashirin]

I couldn't make it to the SchiitrMeet last Friday, but I stopped by the Schiitr on Sunday to have a listen.

Almost all of my time (over an hour) was in the speaker room listening to the Magenpan 1.7s through dual Aegirs running in mono, fed through a Freya, hooked up to Yggdrasil. I used my phone as a source streaming some "Hifi" and some "master" quality tracks from Tidal.

Overall, I was pretty impressed. The setup worked great with some music, and not great with some, though surprisingly the distinctions weren't clear across genres. This was actually my first experience spending any quality time with Maggies, so a lot was new. The shortcomings, as one might expect, were in respect to bass output. With some music, the Maggies just sounded a bit thin. With other songs, they were clear and open. I started out listening with a single Aegir but quickly switched over to dual mono because there clearly wasn't enough power (in my opinion). There was no Vidar in the room at the time for me to do a comparison. With two Aegirs, the Maggies definitely seemed a little happier, though I'm still not sure if that's an ideal setup. For reference, the volume pot on Freya spent almost all of it's time at or past 2/3rd of the way to max, and I certainly wasn't listening at very loud volumes. Another things I noted about the Maggies is that they didn't seem to preserve dynamics well at lower volumes, though I don't know if that would improve with a more powerful amplifier.

However, when I was listening a littler louder (thought still not "loud") with music that clicked with the system, I did feel quite drawn into the music. Whether it was with Folk or EDM, there were multiple instances when I felt engrossed in the sound. It was a great listening session, but alas, it left me with more questions than answers. How loud could the system I was listening to have gone if it was pushed, and how good would it sound then? How would the Maggies sound with Vidar, or a pair of Vidars? How difficult and how satisfying would it be to pair Maggies with subwoofers to fill out the low end? (I did turn on the small Kef sub in the Schiitr for some of my listening and with certain songs it helped a bit, but I got the feeling they weren't what I would buy alongside 1.7s). How would the Aegirs sound with more efficient speakers (like Tektons or Zus)? The world (or more specifically I) may never know. But it was still lots of fun.

I brought a non-audiophile friend along with me and he seemed impressed, so hopefully I'm indoctrinating someone new into this hobby. In the meantime, I hope Schiit releases a new Bifrost soon so I can throw some money at them.

 

[ZoNtO]

You were just experiencing the same tradeoffs everyone else does/should with Maggies. They are best with real instruments and genres like acoustic, folk, jazz, and smaller classical ensembles. Anything like electronic, rap and rock is hit or miss given the paltry low bass output and lack of kick you get from dynamic drivers in a box. Their strengths are soundstage width and height, transparency, and the realism of actual instruments.

For reference, in my room (~12 x 15ft) I’m usually around 3PM on the volume knob on high gain on my Ragnarok. Ragnarok and Vidar gain is 26dB, whereas Aegir is 22dB.

 

[Mike-WI]

I may have missed it, but has Schiit noted what gear they will have at AXPONA 2019? I assume Sol and Aegir. What about Ragnarok 2 ?

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

I couldn't make it to the SchiitrMeet last Friday, but I stopped by the Schiitr on Sunday to have a listen.

Almost all of my time (over an hour) was in the speaker room listening to the Magenpan 1.7s through dual Aegirs running in mono, fed through a Freya, hooked up to Yggdrasil. I used my phone as a source streaming some "Hifi" and some "master" quality tracks from Tidal.

Thanks for sharing! I'll readily agree with ZoNtO regarding initial impressions listening to planar speakers. If you consider the sheer size of the transducer vs: room size - speakers such as Maggies (or Duettas) begin to approach a line source vs a point source (obviously neither near perfect).

Attenuation with distance from a line source (think vibrating cylinder) is 3db / unit of distance; a point source (think vibrating sphere) 6db / unit of distance.

If you think about this, the *overall* "field of sound" in a given room is going to be higher with a line source (-3b), opposed to a point source (-6db) (hence your impression of the Aegir in Stereo vs 2 Aegirs in mono). Some noticeable differences will be a bigger sweet spot (image) along with less "perceived" volume. Another aspect, especially in smaller rooms is loss of perceived low end - its there, but cancelled out. In larger rooms, planars can easily be overbearing on low end, requiring careful placement of speakers from rear wall.

What I *most* appreciate is the simple fact you were captivated by your first experience with planars! I was as well

 

[zztopps]

My first piece of Schiit was a Modi Multibit so I guess I am spoiled not knowing the inferior products I could have started with.

Don’t be too hard on Schiit’s delta-sigma devices. I still have an original Modi that still surprises me with how good it sounds.

 

[jimmers]

... Attenuation with distance from a line source (think vibrating cylinder) is 3db / unit of distance; a point source (think vibrating sphere) 6db / unit of distance. ...

Or ...,
corrected. - Attenuation with distance from a line source (think vibrating cylinder) is 3db / doubling of distance; a point source (think vibrating sphere) 6db / doubling of distance

 

[Leopold Nenning]

I believe that ultimately it is only important how a product sounds, not what circuitry it uses.

Since Schiit does highlight Aegir’s Continuity™ circuit, allow me to nevertheless pose some curious questions in that direction. It may be that the answers can be found in @Jason Stoddard 's posts, on the Schiit website or elsewhere. I just don’t know much about electronic circuit design in general and Continuity™ in particular, so I could not find them.

If I digested what I read on Schiits website correctly, with Aegir, Class A-like performance has been achieved, outside actual Class A operation. So Continuity™ would seem another biasing method.

Does it also introduce another mode of operation (as in single-ended or push-pull)? Aegir seems to have at least two complementary gain stages. Which to my understanding typically would indicate push-pull operation. Unless Continuity™ is a hybrid class topology operating as a single-ended Class A until it reaches a certain set current, beyond which it continues as a push-pull circuit?

Of what type are the gain devices? Bipolar, MOSFET, JFET, LOWFAT? MOSFET are not specifically mentioned anywhere in the Aegir literature, unless I missed it. Transconductance droop in MOSFET however, is very specifically discussed by Bob R. Cordell. Makes me wonder …

Finally, how many of those gain devices are used?

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

Or ...,
corrected. - Attenuation with distance from a line source (think vibrating cylinder) is 3db / doubling of distance; a point source (think vibrating sphere) 6db / doubling of distance

thanks!

 

[PolarBehr]

I believe that ultimately it is only important how a product sounds, not what circuitry it uses.

Since Schiit does highlight Aegir’s Continuity™ circuit, allow me to nevertheless pose some curious questions in that direction. It may be that the answers can be found in @Jason Stoddard’s posts, on the Schiit website or elsewhere. I just don’t know much about electronic circuit design in general and Continuity™ in particular, so I could not find them.

If I digested what I read on Schiits website correctly, with Aegir, Class A-like performance has been achieved, outside actual Class A operation. So Continuity™ would seem another biasing method.

Does it also introduce another mode of operation (as in single-ended or push-pull)? Aegir seems to have at least two complementary gain stages. Which to my understanding typically would indicate push-pull operation. Unless Continuity™ is a hybrid class topology operating as a single-ended Class A until it reaches a certain set current, beyond which it continues as a push-pull circuit?

Of what type are the gain devices? Bipolar, MOSFET, JFET, LOWFAT? MOSFET are not specifically mentioned anywhere in the Aegir literature, unlessI missed it. Transconductance droop in MOSFET however, is very specifically discussed by Bob R. Cordell. Makes me wonder …

Finally, how many of those gain devices are used?

Design and implementation of the circuitry have a sound.

Class A amplifiers typically have a “family” similar sound that is different from class AB.

Tube amplifiers typically have a different ‘family” sound than solid state.

MOSFET amplifiers typically have a different “family” sound than BJTs.

Do all class A amps sound the same - no.

Not all tube amps sound the same, just like not all MOSFET amplifiers sound the same. —- BUT —-

If you know you typically favour tube sound over solid state, MOSFET over BJT, or class A over AB, it can help you narrow down what amps to consider buying.

In my area I do not have the opportunity to listen to a lot of different amps before purchasing. I do not have the budget to keep buying and trying different amps until I find the one I like best right now.

I typically like class A sound over class AB, but not the budget for class A. I typically prefer solid state over tube.

A pair of Aegir’s are on my list to purchase (with the 15 day trial) when the funds become available even if I haven’t heard Continuity yet or heard reviews or opinions yet. Yes I will still be watching for Aegir opinions and reviews as well as other amps while I wait to save the disposable income for the amp purchase.

Jason in a previous post had said he was using BJTs in Aegir but it might have changed.

 

[dieslemat]

Anyone got their Aegirs yet? Also anyone who is not in the US who had ordered the Aegir?