[PioBeer]

+1 on a higher end tube phono preamp giant killer that makes all the snobby MC analog guys weep in the corner sucking their own thumbs because they just spent 5k on a phono preamp that's not as good.

 

[ScottFree]

Jason.

Great, Great, Great to hear that Sol is now in production ), but I was wondering.Do you still have enough space at the Schiitbox or will you soon have to plan another move, or a expansion of your current base.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Jason.

Great to hear that Sol is now in production (Great News), but I was wondering.Do you still have enough space at the Schiitbox or will you soon have to plan another move?

So far, so good.

It'll depend highly on demand for Sol and other large products (Aegir and Vidar, which are both accelerating, and Ragnarok 2 and Yggdrasil, which are holding steady.) But I think we're good for a while. Of course, if Sol sales are 10x what we expect, we'll be looking to move Sol production to a different building in a big hurry. It's easiest to segment that product, since it's so unlike everything else.

 

[callumrd1]

Hi Jason,

Speaking of sales volumes, can you shed any light on how the black versus silver color options sell on products where both are offered? I've long been curious if it's been a vocal minority clamoring for black or if it really does sell as well or better than the silver. (The most interesting case study, I would think, would be initial sales of Bifrost 2 and Asgard 3 which have had both colors available from launch.)

Thanks!

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hi Jason,

Speaking of sales volumes, can you shed any light on how the black versus silver color options sell on products where both are offered? I've long been curious if it's been a vocal minority clamoring for black or if it really does sell as well or better than the silver. (The most interesting case study, I would think, would be initial sales of Bifrost 2 and Asgard 3 which have had both colors available from launch.)

Thanks!

Black is a vocal minority, but the percentage of black is growing. Bifrost 2 and Asgard 3 are probably running 1/3 black vs 2/3 silver. Maybe 40/60.

 

[omegaorgun]

@Jason Stoddard would schiit ever entertain the idea of a Jotunheim like amp that uses opamps for opamp rollers?

 

[Jason Stoddard]

@Jason Stoddard would schiit ever entertain the idea of a Jotunheim like amp that uses opamps for opamp rollers?

Never anything with socketed op-amps, sorry. That way lies madness. At least for us.

We do offer one amp product that uses op-amps: Fulla 2. But they're surface-mount.

 

[Rensek]

Black is a vocal minority, but the percentage of black is growing. Bifrost 2 and Asgard 3 are probably running 1/3 black vs 2/3 silver. Maybe 40/60.

With black sales picking up, is their any chance on seeing black volume knobs?

 

[Jason Stoddard]

With black sales picking up, is their any chance on seeing black volume knobs?

No plans for this, though all black products already get a custom knob or button (matte finished, rather than shiny like the silver products.) Except on Hel. But that's black and red. You'll see that at RMAF soon. Oh yeah, and it has op-amp outputs too. Not socketed, surface-mount. But it does 1W RMS per channel, a whole lot more than Fulla.

 

[basstrombone]

Cool. When you find a Canadian distributor that doesn’t want to mark up US prices 150%, send them our way so we can talk to them. The reality is that nobody has stepped forward and has been willing to sell at a rational markup. If such a distributor exists, I’d be happy to meet them.

First, congratulations on all the new products, especially Mike's labour of love, the Sol. I'm in Vancouver Canada. I've just ordered a Sol, and it shipped today - hooray!
I normally ship to Point Roberts in Washington state which is a half-hour drive from my house but I also investigated FedEx shipping to Canada. The FedEx shipping to Canada was about ninety dollars. FedEx to Washington State was about thirty dollars and the $60 Washington State sales tax brought the total up to about ninety dollars. In both cases in Canada we'll be paying our local Federal and Provincial taxes on top of the landed price so, at least in this case there would be no advantage to Schiit or to Canadians to have a Canadian distributor. Any margin the distributor charged would increase the price to Canadians. The more likely scenario would be that Canadian customers would compare the new, higher and improved Canadian price to the well-known US price. They would then complain about the Canadian distributor's pricing and attempt to "buy around" directly from the US. Alternatively Schiit could discount the price to the distributor but that ends up messing with the economic advantages of the direct sales model which works so well for Schiit and Schiit's customers.

 

[A Jedi]

@Jason Stoddard I'm curious about your choice to offer bridging of your amps ONLY via XLR. I would expect sales left on the table from customers who would like to bridge but don't have XLR outputs on their preamps. This may also work in reverse by killing Saga sales due to the inability to bridge your amps with it.

 

[Rensek]

Except on Hel. But that's black and red. You'll see that at RMAF soon. Oh yeah, and it has op-amp outputs too. Not socketed, surface-mount. But it does 1W RMS per channel, a whole lot more than Fulla.

That sounds awesome.

I mentioned last week I had a used Bifrost coming to me. By all appearances it's a first edition Bifrost with no upgrades, no USB. I'll have to open it to find out.

My first impressions of this item is that it's pretty awesome. I really like the presentation so far. Comparing to a modi 3 and modi multibit. If this is a gen 1 article with no upgrades, I can't wait to hear what Bifrost 2 sounds like.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

@Jason Stoddard I'm curious about your choice to offer bridging of your amps ONLY via XLR. I would expect sales left on the table from customers who would like to bridge but don't have XLR outputs on their preamps. This may also work in reverse by killing Saga sales due to the inability to bridge your amps with it.

This is covered in the various amp chapters, and (I think) in the FAQ and manuals for the amps.

In short, it's not "bridging." It's driving the amp with a differential signal to create a differential output. If you have anything (not just Freya, heck Jotunheim is just fine) that provides a true balanced differential output, you can use it to run our amps differentially for higher power output.

We left the balanced outputs off of Saga for cost and space reasons. Saga is perfect for use with a single Vidar or Aegir, with no neuroses about "adding" another amp. Freya gives you more flexibility (and neurosis) at higher cost. Maybe we're wrong, but I think the Saga saga still needs to play out a bit before we count it out yet.

 

[PioBeer]

Wait, there's a new Fulla coming out, too? The Audio gods are pleased today...

 

[Exidrion]

I've long since forgone the headphone world in favour of a Marantz receiver and speakers/subs, but I have to admit I do miss 2 channel stuff. I was checking out all the new stuff lately (holy moly what a year and a half for Schiit), and I stumbled upon the guides on Schiit for the preamps saying "Integration with home theater via true bypass capability."

I'm curious as to what this means exactly?