[Derrick Swart]

I would add that proper grounding/earthing of your electrical system will go a long way to giving you the best sound. Work with your electrician to "over do" the grounding of the main breaker box, and any sub-b0x you may be using for dedicated audio and video circuits.

Thank you guys for the input! Decided to go for clean power: two seperate groups, grounding shall be taken of. To upgrade on the standard breakers and cable i purchased some GigaWatt breakers and cable, all with nice shielding, copper and contacts. Will let you know the outcome...still getting rid of the termites. Expecting room upgrade at the end of this summer

http://www.gigawatt.eu/products/accessories-2-2/

 

[Jason Stoddard]

@Jason Stoddard - hope everyone made it through the weekend OK.

Just picked up a Freya+ over the weekend, and have a couple of questions:
1) Is the top of the chassis used as a heatsink/dissipator (e.g. using a gap pad or something)? The top gets warm esp. with the tube section on (I'd estimate about 125°F in a 70°F room).
2) How does the preamp perform tube biasing for the specifically installed tubes? (Not looking for deep technical details, but more of a question of when tubes get biased if at all.)

Thanks,
ed

1. Yep, it runs hot. That's normal for tube gear.

2. The tubes are biased with a current source.

 

[judson_w]

I have a bit of a silly question. Since the Schiit headphone amps all have preamp outs, has anyone tried one with a Vidar or Aegir? I am amused at the thought of a Magni feeding a Vidar, but then I look at my Valhalla and wonder... I really do not need it, though I occasionally toy with pursuing a solid state option for the purposes of running something cooler (temperature) than tubes.

 

[Rensek]

I have a bit of a silly question. Since the Schiit headphone amps all have preamp outs, has anyone tried one with a Vidar or Aegir? I am amused at the thought of a Magni feeding a Vidar, but then I look at my Valhalla and wonder... I really do not need it, though I occasionally toy with pursuing a solid state option for the purposes of running something cooler (temperature) than tubes.

I fed my Vidar via Magni some this winter.

It worked well enough, nearfield listening, in my office. Magni has gain, so even at an early position on the pot, Vidar gets loud fast.

 

[438555]

I have a bit of a silly question. Since the Schiit headphone amps all have preamp outs, has anyone tried one with a Vidar or Aegir? I am amused at the thought of a Magni feeding a Vidar, but then I look at my Valhalla and wonder... I really do not need it, though I occasionally toy with pursuing a solid state option for the purposes of running something cooler (temperature) than tubes.

When I first got my Vidar, I used a Magni preouts to get more gain as I wasn’t getting enough with Saga, and it worked fine. Later I got another Vidar and used Jot to feed them until I got a Freya with LISST.

 

[PioBeer]

for pure sound quality how close does Magni 3 come to Freya w/LISST? (or Saga or freya in JFET mode)

 

[Robert Padgett]

I have a bit of a silly question. Since the Schiit headphone amps all have preamp outs, has anyone tried one with a Vidar or Aegir? I am amused at the thought of a Magni feeding a Vidar, but then I look at my Valhalla and wonder... I really do not need it, though I occasionally toy with pursuing a solid state option for the purposes of running something cooler (temperature) than tubes.

I have set-up a review of this, just awaiting the loaner Aegir from Schiit. I intend to use my Valhalla 2 as the Tube buffer/pre-amp and see if that will pair well on my Advents.

I dislike the concept of a Tube Hybrid Pre-amplifier either the Saga or Freya since I love the Pure Tube sound of my Valhalla.
We will see. If I get a GungnirMB or Yggdrasil, I would probably go with a Freya S as the pre-amp for a pair of Aegirs using Balanced from DAC to Freya and Balanced to the Monoblocks. I can use the SE outputs to the Valhalla 2 for Headphones.

 

[mp29k]

Any update on Sol and the CD transport? It feels like there has been a delay on Sol, was supposed to start shipping in March/April at initial estimate?

 

[judson_w]

Any update on Sol and the CD transport? It feels like there has been a delay on Sol, was supposed to start shipping in March/April at initial estimate?

Jason had provided three updates in May about the Sol. There were issues with the plinth and platter production. On May 28:

3. You should see Ragnarok 2 next week. I just held it back a bit so we could get the preamps going. Of course, that could slip another week, you know us...
4. We finally have usable platters for Sol, which completes the parts we need to build. Now we just need to wait for production of the usable platters, but you should definitely see Sols this summer.
5. Before Sol, you'll see a couple more new things...

I am not sure how long the production of usable platters takes and then the production time at Schiit to put together enough stock to launch, but the fact that we have not seen a couple other products yet means there is a little waiting still to go. (Other posts from Jason in May were May 8 where he talked about the plinth issues, and May 17 where he said plinths were good but platters were still bad)

 

[PioBeer]

What are the chances of a Schiit Cassette deck? I think would be seriously fun to record my vinyl onto some good evaporated metal cassettes. (and yes, I am being serious, lol)

 

[Robert Padgett]

What are the chances of a Schiit Cassette deck? I think would be seriously fun to record my vinyl onto some good evaporated metal cassettes. (and yes, I am being serious, lol)

I for one am holding out for the Schiit 8-track...and the Ultramax Loki with 16 bands...

 

[Derrick Swart]

What are the chances of a Schiit Cassette deck? I think would be seriously fun to record my vinyl onto some good evaporated metal cassettes. (and yes, I am being serious, lol)

Many good ones available on the interwebz for little or free pick-up

 

[EricDH]

What are the chances of a Schiit Cassette deck? I think would be seriously fun to record my vinyl onto some good evaporated metal cassettes. (and yes, I am being serious, lol)

Is there a DRAGON in Norse mythology? In that case we have the name already.

 

[EricDH]

It feels like there has been a delay on Sol, was supposed to start shipping in March/April at initial estimate?

There has also been a delay on Mike's health. And he being the father of Sol, I wouldn't be surprised if that had some impact.

 

[EricDH]

Many good ones available on the interwebz for little or free pick-up

Little or free? That's not true anymore, cassette decks are increasingly getting popular, and prices are skyrocketing. Try to find a decent secondhand Nakamichi, preferably a 3 head deck. NOT CHEAP!!! A donated my CR-4E to my son, and regretted it once I discovered what they cost nowadays.