ashirin
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2016
- Posts
- 130
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- 466
I know the discussion has moved on to be about the new products announced today but I've been away from head-fi for a little while and I wanted to share my experience discovering Schiit, and now seems an appropriate time given my story.
I always loved good audio but hadn't bought into it because the costs were high. I discovered Steve Guttenberg's Audiophiliac blog and loved it mainly because of how often he would cover affordable audio gear. Two of the reviews that stood out to me were for the original Magni/Modi combo and the first generation Hifiman He-400.
During my first year at university, I faced a lot of academic challenges. At the end of that year I dropped out and took time off to figure out what I really wanted to do. Until then, I was mostly just doing what was expected of me. The two years that followed were transformative. I worked for a while, and took classes at a junior college to pursue my passion (philosophy) and fullfill the requirements necessary to transfer into a new university and start over. But it also required leaving all my friends, feeling like a failure, and spending lots of time by myself. It was a pretty difficult time overall.
Right around the first Christmas then, the He-400 went on sale for $300. I had money saved up from work so I got bought pair along with the Magni/Modi combo. I hadn't heard any of them when I made the purchase, but I loved every piece. I would usually come home pretty depressed, put on my headphones and listen to music. I discovered a lot of albums, and the catharsis it brought cemented my appreciation for audio.
I actually didn't buy more Schiit gear for a long time because my interest in two channel audio grew tremendously, and at the time Schiit didn't have any two channel gear. When I finally transferred to my new university (UCLA, go Bruins!), I put together my first (super cheap but respectable) two channel system (Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers and a <$100 Sherwood receiver). I would use the same Modi from my headphone rig for music. Even the 1.5V output was actually too "hot" for that receiver and I would have to use digital volume attenuation on my computer to avoid significant clipping.
After I graduated, I took time away to focus on losing a significant amount of weight (about half my body weight) before taking my next professional steps. This was probably the most difficult time in my life. So as you can imagine, I needed a new audio system. Schiit had finally released some proper 2 channel gear, and I went all-in. I bought Saga and Vidar to power a new pair of KEF LS50s. It felt strange spending that amount of money but I had it to spend since I continued working throughout my time at UCLA. I have never once regretted the purchase, because I use it pretty much every single day and I love it. I used a couple different DACs but always cheap ones while waiting to get a Bifrost. By the time I had the money to spend on Bifrost though (about a year ago), I figured I'd wait for an update. I also bought a Modi 3 (which I absolutely love) to hold me over.
During the time I was losing weight, I also figured out what my calling was and applied to graduate school. I wanted to get Bifrost as a back-to-school gift for myself. Yesterday was my first day of class. So, Jason missed it by 24 hours; But, I've been following Schiit long enough to know that making deadlines isn't their specialty. The Bifrost is the last major piece in this system that has literally been coming together for a few years, and I'm excited to have it as I start another new chapter in my life.
The Modi and Magni are still on my nightstand next to the He-400.
I always loved good audio but hadn't bought into it because the costs were high. I discovered Steve Guttenberg's Audiophiliac blog and loved it mainly because of how often he would cover affordable audio gear. Two of the reviews that stood out to me were for the original Magni/Modi combo and the first generation Hifiman He-400.
During my first year at university, I faced a lot of academic challenges. At the end of that year I dropped out and took time off to figure out what I really wanted to do. Until then, I was mostly just doing what was expected of me. The two years that followed were transformative. I worked for a while, and took classes at a junior college to pursue my passion (philosophy) and fullfill the requirements necessary to transfer into a new university and start over. But it also required leaving all my friends, feeling like a failure, and spending lots of time by myself. It was a pretty difficult time overall.
Right around the first Christmas then, the He-400 went on sale for $300. I had money saved up from work so I got bought pair along with the Magni/Modi combo. I hadn't heard any of them when I made the purchase, but I loved every piece. I would usually come home pretty depressed, put on my headphones and listen to music. I discovered a lot of albums, and the catharsis it brought cemented my appreciation for audio.
I actually didn't buy more Schiit gear for a long time because my interest in two channel audio grew tremendously, and at the time Schiit didn't have any two channel gear. When I finally transferred to my new university (UCLA, go Bruins!), I put together my first (super cheap but respectable) two channel system (Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers and a <$100 Sherwood receiver). I would use the same Modi from my headphone rig for music. Even the 1.5V output was actually too "hot" for that receiver and I would have to use digital volume attenuation on my computer to avoid significant clipping.
After I graduated, I took time away to focus on losing a significant amount of weight (about half my body weight) before taking my next professional steps. This was probably the most difficult time in my life. So as you can imagine, I needed a new audio system. Schiit had finally released some proper 2 channel gear, and I went all-in. I bought Saga and Vidar to power a new pair of KEF LS50s. It felt strange spending that amount of money but I had it to spend since I continued working throughout my time at UCLA. I have never once regretted the purchase, because I use it pretty much every single day and I love it. I used a couple different DACs but always cheap ones while waiting to get a Bifrost. By the time I had the money to spend on Bifrost though (about a year ago), I figured I'd wait for an update. I also bought a Modi 3 (which I absolutely love) to hold me over.
During the time I was losing weight, I also figured out what my calling was and applied to graduate school. I wanted to get Bifrost as a back-to-school gift for myself. Yesterday was my first day of class. So, Jason missed it by 24 hours; But, I've been following Schiit long enough to know that making deadlines isn't their specialty. The Bifrost is the last major piece in this system that has literally been coming together for a few years, and I'm excited to have it as I start another new chapter in my life.
The Modi and Magni are still on my nightstand next to the He-400.
