[kumar402]

I got an answer from Lee C. Shelly
Our communications here under:
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Lee Shelly Photography
www.leeshellyphoto.com
610.724.6482
On Jun 13, 2019, at 4:48 PM, Zenfolio <noreply@zenfoliomail.com> wrote:
From: "Pietro Cozzi Tinin" <cozzi@casa-tinin.com>
Message:
Dear mister Shelly. On the Schiit website we can see your beautiful foto's of the new Schiit Ragnarok. One of those foto's pictures the Ragnarok on a wooden table next to a turn table. In between stand three little cubes on stilts made from various materials. Can you please tell me who the artist of that joyful art pieces is?
I hope you can tell me.
Thanks in advance,
Pietro Cozzi Tinin, Delft, The Netherlands
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Certainly.
The artist’s name is Dave Clark. Here’s his website: https://www.daverclarkdesigns.com/
He’s a great person and artist.
-Lee

Great team work in tracking it down

 

[xuan87]

just a possibly worthless comment from a schiit fan who is unlikely to buy a Ragnarok amp in the next decade (but I am loving my Jot and Modi Multibit)

I'm not sure how many potential Ragnarok buyers will actually find the Fully loaded option appealing. If you're in the market to buy a 4 digit amp, I'll assume that you'll already have a pretty expensive DAC (I hope to own the Yggy one day!) and if you do have a turntable, it'll likely be with a MC cartridge than a MM cartridge. A Fully Loaded Jot will make more sense but I understand it's probably quite impossible due to space limitations.

Still eagerly awaiting the Sol which might be the next piece of Schiit gear that I'll own.

 

[Snowpuppy77]

just a possibly worthless comment from a schiit fan who is unlikely to buy a Ragnarok amp in the next decade (but I am loving my Jot and Modi Multibit)

I'm not sure how many potential Ragnarok buyers will actually find the Fully loaded option appealing. If you're in the market to buy a 4 digit amp, I'll assume that you'll already have a pretty expensive DAC (I hope to own the Yggy one day!) and if you do have a turntable, it'll likely be with a MC cartridge than a MM cartridge. A Fully Loaded Jot will make more sense but I understand it's probably quite impossible due to space limitations.

Still eagerly awaiting the Sol which might be the next piece of Schiit gear that I'll own.

For me personally I agree with you. If I bought the fully loaded version I would not be using the internal phono stage or DAC. I already have a Yggy and there is no substitute for me. And I have outboard phono stage. However if I ever sold it down the road or handed it down to one of my kids those module could be a nice add for a future owner. May encourage someone to get a TT.

 

[EricDH]

just a possibly worthless comment from a schiit fan who is unlikely to buy a Ragnarok amp in the next decade (but I am loving my Jot and Modi Multibit)

I'm not sure how many potential Ragnarok buyers will actually find the Fully loaded option appealing. If you're in the market to buy a 4 digit amp, I'll assume that you'll already have a pretty expensive DAC (I hope to own the Yggy one day!) and if you do have a turntable, it'll likely be with a MC cartridge than a MM cartridge. A Fully Loaded Jot will make more sense but I understand it's probably quite impossible due to space limitations.

Still eagerly awaiting the Sol which might be the next piece of Schiit gear that I'll own.

In the old digital days we had only one digital source, the CD. Therefore, in almost all cases the DAC was together with the CD transport in the same housing, the CD-player. However, as most people have a multitude of digital sources today (often still the old CD, digital files on a computer or NAS, digital streaming service like Qobuz or Tidal, tv, etc.), that all have to be converted to analog + amplified before we can listen to it, many manufacturers have moved the DAC to the integrated amplifier. And this makes perfect sense (to me, at least). So it was more or less inevitable I think that also Schiit would go into this direction.

And about quality...... This is a MB DAC, not a cheap ass solution. I am pretty convinced that Schiit have ensured that the quality levels of the DAC part and amplification part within the Ragnarok match. It won't be Yggdrasil level, but that's not what the average Ragnarok customer wants/needs.

Obviously, the internal DAC in the Ragnarok won't be for everybody. It is not for you apparently. Not for me either, for that matter. In a two channel speaker set up I would also crave an Yggdrasil. But then, if you are not satisfied until you have the best (that's a bit the personality of many people who would go in the Yggdrasil direction, if we are really honest with ourselves), you also tend to look further than Ragnarok for amplification. Think Vidar, Aegir. Outside the Schiit portfolio, you could partner Yggdrasil with very fancy amplifiers and have a perfect match, I think. If it would be for myself, I can think of a dedicated listening room (with the right acoustics), and my set consisting of Yggdrasil, amplification from Chord Electronics, Spectral, Soulution or similar level, and matching Magico loudspeakers, and I would be eternally happy. But under other conditions (not the perfect room, other people in the room who might talk, etc.) I can also envisage a system of Ragnarok 2 with KEF LS50 (or similar level but more bass extension), and also be perfectly happy.

 

[EricDH]

Just delivered at the office. Glad that I don't have appointments tonight....

I didn't have much time to listen, and the new DAC is obviously still burning in. But I can say that I am already very happy with the MB upgrade to my little Jotunheim. It is as I have always perceived the differences. Multibit is just more real than delta-sigma. We have all different ears and different preferences of course. But what for me always stands out as one of the big advantages of MB is the (much) more real presentation of the recording venue with its acoustics, and the place of the individual instruments in that room. We can argue that this is more important with a 2 channel speaker set-up than with headphones. But also with my headphones I hear the difference. Anyway, that is just highlighting one aspect. The overall thing is, it is more real.

I went for the MB upgrade because from experience I know it is better. But the funny thing is, when I listened to my original Jotunheim, there was not a specific thing in the sound I could point to that was wrong. Or specify what I was missing. And I wasn't at all unhappy with the sound. The only thing was a certain listening fatigue at some point. But then, when you hear the MB DAC, it is just so more real. Difficult to explain (that's why I am not an audio reviewer). The only way I can try to explain is....
Say that there is a famous painting that you really love (for example Rembrandt's Night Watch). All your life you have seen it in many (sometimes high quality) reproductions. You studied it in art class. You know the specific qualities of it, you absolutely love it every time you see it. You really understand the work. That's what you think. But then you go to Amsterdam and visit the Rijksmuseum. For the first time of your life you stand in front of the painting you love so much. And only then you see the real vibrance in the colors, for the first time you "feel" the painting. And then you understand what you have been missing all that time. That's multibit folks, at least for me.

 

[Mike-WI]

I didn't have much time to listen, and the new DAC is obviously still burning in. But I can say that I am already very happy with the MB upgrade to my little Jotunheim. It is as I have always perceived the differences. Multibit is just more real than delta-sigma. We have all different ears and different preferences of course. But what for me always stands out as one of the big advantages of MB is the (much) more real presentation of the recording venue with its acoustics, and the place of the individual instruments in that room. We can argue that this is more important with a 2 channel speaker set-up than with headphones. But also with my headphones I hear the difference. Anyway, that is just highlighting one aspect. The overall thing is, it is more real.

I went for the MB upgrade because from experience I know it is better. But the funny thing is, when I listened to my original Jotunheim, there was not a specific thing in the sound I could point to that was wrong. Or specify what I was missing. And I wasn't at all unhappy with the sound. The only thing was a certain listening fatigue at some point. But then, when you hear the MB DAC, it is just so more real. Difficult to explain (that's why I am not an audio reviewer). The only way I can try to explain is....
Say that there is a famous painting that you really love (for example Rembrandt's Night Watch). All your life you have seen it in many (sometimes high quality) reproductions. You studied it in art class. You know the specific qualities of it, you absolutely love it every time you see it. You really understand the work. That's what you think. But then you go to Amsterdam and visit the Rijksmuseum. For the first time of your life you stand in front of the painting you love so much. And only then you see the real vibrance in the colors, for the first time you "feel" the painting. And then you understand what you have been missing all that time. That's multibit folks, at least for me.

Great post.

FYI for people

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-night-watch/eQEojRwTdypUKA?hl=en

• Title: The Night Watch
• Creator: Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn
• Date Created: 1642
• Location Created: Amsterdam
• Style: Northern Netherlands School
• Provenance: On loan from the City of Amsterdam
• Physical Dimensions: w4370 x h3630 mm
• Original Title: Officierenen andere schutters van wijk II in Amsterdam onder leiding van kaptitein FransBanninck Cocq en luitenant Willem van Ruytenburch, bekend als de 'Nachtwacht'
• Additional Viewing Notes: The names of the eighteen militiamen portrayed in the painting are on a shield above the gate. A company comprised more members, but only those who paid were included in the group portrait. The drummer was hired and was therefore allowed to be in the painting for free. Rembrandt added the others to enliven the painting. Three people on the left of the picture disappeared in the eighteenth century when part of the canvas was cut off. We are now only able to match a few names to the faces in the portrait.
• Type: Painting
• External Link: See more on the Rijksmuseum website
• Medium: Oil on canvas

 

[EricDH]

I didn't have much time to listen, and the new DAC is obviously still burning in. But I can say that I am already very happy with the MB upgrade to my little Jotunheim. It is as I have always perceived the differences. Multibit is just more real than delta-sigma. We have all different ears and different preferences of course. But what for me always stands out as one of the big advantages of MB is the (much) more real presentation of the recording venue with its acoustics, and the place of the individual instruments in that room. We can argue that this is more important with a 2 channel speaker set-up than with headphones. But also with my headphones I hear the difference. Anyway, that is just highlighting one aspect. The overall thing is, it is more real.

I went for the MB upgrade because from experience I know it is better. But the funny thing is, when I listened to my original Jotunheim, there was not a specific thing in the sound I could point to that was wrong. Or specify what I was missing. And I wasn't at all unhappy with the sound. The only thing was a certain listening fatigue at some point. But then, when you hear the MB DAC, it is just so more real. Difficult to explain (that's why I am not an audio reviewer). The only way I can try to explain is....
Say that there is a famous painting that you really love (for example Rembrandt's Night Watch). All your life you have seen it in many (sometimes high quality) reproductions. You studied it in art class. You know the specific qualities of it, you absolutely love it every time you see it. You really understand the work. That's what you think. But then you go to Amsterdam and visit the Rijksmuseum. For the first time of your life you stand in front of the painting you love so much. And only then you see the real vibrance in the colors, for the first time you "feel" the painting. And then you understand what you have been missing all that time. That's multibit folks, at least for me.

BTW, I didn't mean to say that ALL multibit DAC designs sound good. All early CD-players were MB, and clearly not all sounded good. So, to be more precise, it is cleverly designed and well implemented multibit DACs, with proper attention to the time domain in addition to the frequency domain. Mike (with his company Theta Digital) was one of the pioneers, Wadia was another. This "attention to the time domain" explains the more realistic sense of space (and the location of instruments in that space) I described above.

See also this old (1992) interview with Mike:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/mike-moffat-re-creating-musical-event

 

[Odin412]

Congratulations on the launch of Ragnarok 2! Now we have three choices for speaker amps: Vidar, Aegir and Ragnarok 2. I'm interested in learning how each of them sound. Perhaps an idea for a future event at the Schiitr would be to have a side-by-side comparison of the three contenders to compare the sound? Hopefully some publications will perform the same comparison too.

 

[33na3rd]

A quote from the Ragnarok 2 owners manual,

Wow, I have to turn this WAY up to get the volume level I want!

Yes. The volume control on Ragnarok 2 is perfectly linear. It still has 40dB of gain from 12:00 on the volume knob. It’s perfectly normal torun it at 3-4 o’clock. Again, it won’t hurt anything.

@Jason Stoddard, do the new preamps share the linear volume control from the Ragnarok 2?

 

[RCBinTN]

See also this old (1992) interview with Mike:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/mike-moffat-re-creating-musical-event

That is very cool ... thanks

 

[GearMe]

I got an answer from Lee C. Shelly - [snip]
Dear mister Shelly. On the Schiit website we can see your beautiful foto's of the new Schiit Ragnarok. One of those foto's pictures the Ragnarok on a wooden table next to a turn table. In between stand three little cubes on stilts made from various materials. Can you please tell me who the artist of that joyful art pieces is? I hope you can tell me.
Thanks in advance, Pietro Cozzi Tinin, Delft, The Netherlands
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certainly. The artist’s name is Dave Clark. Here’s his website: https://www.daverclarkdesigns.com/ He’s a great person and artist.
-Lee

Wow...that Dave Clark is truly a Renaissance Guy!

 

[Rensek]

A quote from the Ragnarok 2 owners manual,



@Jason Stoddard, do the new preamps share the linear volume control from the Ragnarok 2?

Couple that feature with three gain settings and you have a TON of volume control. Very cool.

 

[audio philestine]

Wow...truly a Renaissance Guy

He also makes some nice aviation headsets:

https://www.davidclarkcompany.com/

 

[bluebanshee76]

Just to let you know: Rag 2 is now available in Europe mainland from schiit-europe.com for 1.579€ (Just an amp) and 1879€ (Fully Loaded). And a few minutes ago I bought just an amp.

So, @Jason Stoddard , are some of those pretty Rags already on their way to the old world?

 

[438555]

Yep!

A couple of notes:

1. As usual, our internal photos are lagging. With any luck, I'll get them up today.
2. Full AP test reports are also lagging, but they'll most likely go up today or tomorrow. A rather hilarious firmware glitch had me thinking I'd blown up a Ragnarok 2 on the test bench, which delayed things a bit. More on that later.
3. By "later," I mean next week, when I should have a chapter up on The Ragnarok That Is (as a counterpoint to the earlier chapter, The Ragnaroks That Weren't), which will also compare and contrast Nexus and other differential topologies.

One unexpected result of testing: Ragnarok 2 puts out (ahem) a bit more power than I expected into headphone loads. I'd been rating it at 15 watts into 32 ohms, like the old one. The AP testing pegged it at 28 watts RMS into 32 ohms, both channels driven, at 1% THD. So I've upped the power rating a bit, to 24 watts. Single-ended numbers, are, as you would expect, 1/4 of the balanced, so 6W out of the single-ended headphone jack. I think this may help explain why you might want to think twice before using it with IEMs.

Bonus pic; Ragnarok 2, mid gain, unloaded and with 32 ohm loads. Giant amp laughs at your puny headphone!



But hey, that's kinda the point. As I said before, Ragnarok 2 is much more a speaker amp than a headphone amp. Be careful our there, and don't hurt your ears. Unlike headphones, they can't be replaced!

Must... stop... self... from ordering headphone amp that will power headphones I don't have yet...
Using this to replace my OG Freya and feed the 2xVidar would be handy though to have so I could use headphones or speakers with Gumby seamlessly.
I've found weirdness with splitting the XLR output of Gumby to feed both Freya and Jotunheim. When the Freya is connected, the level I hear in Jot drops noticeably, which I assumed is due to input impedance differences between Jot and Freya..