[Tim van der Leeuw]

Beautiful cat! Looks terribly un-content though.

He wasn't as uncontent as he appears. I wanted to insert another picture where he looks happier but somehow that was upside down after uploading...

Don't know why it does that, it shows properly on the screen before uploading.

There. Managed to fix it.

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Ok.

@Jason Stoddard, we really need an affordable, decent silver disc transport.

From Stereophile today:

The Vivaldi—the four-box flagship product from digital audio specialists dCS—is, in my opinion, misnamed. Vivaldi the composer was an asthmatic priest who worked in an orphanage for 30 years and died in poverty. The Vivaldi stack dedicates four separate products to converting into music digital code stored on silver discs (although you can play music—very well I am sure—on just one box, the Vivaldi DAC, footnote 1). Together, those boxes weigh about 148lb and cost some $115,000. The most expensive is the CD/SACD transport; leave that off and you can save 51lb and $42,000.​

Forty. Two. Thousand. Dollars.

To play a CD.

One hundred and fifteen to do it "right."

Help.

Please.
.

If you realy want an answer this post should be on Mike's thread.
As Jason stated thousands of times.
Mike is the one doing all digital work.

 

[yonson]

And perhaps this one as well.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-3035#post-14875708

Thanks, I knew there was another one I was missing...

 

[liquidsmote]

Looks like a good time for you Americans to invest in single malt Scotch and French wine



and one or two other things ...
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/file...U_Large_Civil_Aircraft_Final_Product_List.pdf

thought you would be most interested in the booze though.

NO!!!! Not Irish! And cheese too!!!

 

[liquidsmote]

Blood oath I haven’t cracked yet, love the Willet, both the rye and the pot still bourbon! Angels Envy Rye is one of my all time favorites also. Stranahans is interesting, very dark fruit cake flavor, it is growing on me, I had a similar debate with it at that price point...but I tend to go for things I haven’t had yet though =)

Corsair Barrel aged Gin I got that from their distillery in Kentucky, it is very unique, reminds me of Christmas! Jefferson ocean is one of my favorites, but it is not the most “robust” flavor and I can see where people might think it is boring. I don’t think it is worth the price of the bottle to be honest, as like I said it is relatively mild, you do get the salted caramel flavor from it but it is quick to melt away. I’m not sure I would pick up another bottle, as you are mostly paying for the idea of the bottle, and regular Jefferson is much cheaper and just as good, though slightly different flavor profile, at least in my opinion. Also I have ties to the ocean, so I am a sucker for this type of marketing, and may have either the regular or cask strength ocean in my cabinet for as long as they keep producing them.

The green spot bottle is an infinity bottle of Irish whiskey, and the Elijah Craig is an infinity bottle of pretty much bourbon and ryes....kind of wish I kept the rye separate, as it can over power the bourbon...so now I have just been putting bourbon in it as I get to the bottom of the bottles. At one point it was very delicious, but then I put a higher proof rye into it and it got too “alcohol” burn profile...been trying to smooth it out again with bourbons, mostly use it as a mixer...or occasional dram on the rocks to let the fireworks of flavor explode in .... err...the multitude of flavors cascade over my pallete...yeah that is less awkward of a statement...lol.

currently also, on a sipping rum kick...which is a nice offset to the whiskey.

My current plan is to try and finish off the bottles I have open and not have a multitude of open bottles slowly losing their luster in my cabinet. Then focus in on only 1-3 open bottles at a time to imbibe.

I just started an infinity bottle this year ... it's a total hodgepodge (aka absolute sweet mess) though, as I didn't dedicate to a single type. I might have to do so next time around

Thank's for the notes on the Jefferson's Ocean ... I might just wait to see if I can try a dram somewhere but I have yet to run into it at a bar!

 

[liquidsmote]

Schiit Bifrost 2
Initial Impressions Update

I received my replacement Bifrost 2 this week. I have to once again point out the excellence of Schiit support.

• All emails answered same day
• Return label generated and sent on day one of issue
• Replacement unit shipping label generated the very same day I dropped off the defective unit
• Replacement unit shipped exactly 1 week from the day I dropped off the defective unit
• Clear and honest communication from Schiit support throughout the process

Impressions Day 1:

• Immediate improvement over Modi Multibit
• Wider sound stage
• Better centered stereo image
• Better definition of individual instruments
• Voices veiled and a little buried
• Noticeably softer, warmer, more rounded presentation

Impressions Day 2+:

• Even greater improvement over Modi Multibit
• Even wider and now deeper sound stage
• Better centered stereo image
• Better definition of individual instruments
• Voices clear and distinct with natural timbre
• Presentation "opened up" with more air and sparkle, but still "rounder" and less "etched" than the Modi Multibit

Verdict:

• Sounds like WOW!

EDIT (NOTE): I was leery that the larger sound stage of the Bifrost 2 was a psychosomatic response to the Bifrost 2 being a physically larger device than the Modi MB. However, my wife commented that the system sounded "bigger" upon coming home from work, and she's pretty good at perceiving the differences of my tube rolls and gear changes.

 

[eyrepm]

Aegir First Impressions
My Aegir arrived last week, so my playback chain is now laptop with J River MC25 – Modi Multibit – Saga – Aegir – Zu Omen Dirty Weekend.

I’ve been following the development and launch of the Aegir with great interest both on this and other sites and decided it was time to jump in. The great review + Class A component listing in Stereophile didn’t hurt either. I was uncertain how the Aegir – Omen DW combo would work; Zu Audio makes great speakers, but they’re picky with power amps and can sound a bit hard and harsh when the pairing doesn’t work.

The Aegir is surprisingly small in person, but it’s quite heavy and seems very well-built. The LEDs are a bit less bright than on my other Schiit components. The amp runs quite hot – it doesn’t quite burn your fingers when you touch the top of it, but it’s close. I was hoping that maybe I could place the Saga on top of it, but that’s clearly not an option. Fortunately, the design of the Aegir looks very nice IMHO.

So, what about the sound? My wife said it best after we listened to Radka Toneffs ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’ (which was a widely used demo track during my college days and is still a great song): This sounds smoother than the previous one. (The previous amp was an Audioengine N21.) That’s the one word that stands out to me: The Aegir is a very smooth-sounding amp: The bass is good but not over-emphasized, the midrange is wonderful and expressive, and the treble is smooth and non-fatiguing. Pianos sound especially captivating on the Aegir – my wife remarked after we listened to a Kevin Kern piece that the piano sounded real. You can really hear the meaty, velvety sound of a Steinway Concert Grand through the Aegir/Zu combo – wonderful!

So far, I really like the Aegir and what it’s doing with my Zu Omen DW speakers. Congratulations to the Schiit team for another great product!

How are you liking it now, after a couple of weeks? I'm considering this exact set up. I have the Omens, but also a Ragnarok 2. Been reading around, and I think I want the same thing as you: smoother and more laidback experience.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Ok.

@Jason Stoddard, we really need an affordable, decent silver disc transport.

From Stereophile today:

The Vivaldi—the four-box flagship product from digital audio specialists dCS—is, in my opinion, misnamed. Vivaldi the composer was an asthmatic priest who worked in an orphanage for 30 years and died in poverty. The Vivaldi stack dedicates four separate products to converting into music digital code stored on silver discs (although you can play music—very well I am sure—on just one box, the Vivaldi DAC, footnote 1). Together, those boxes weigh about 148lb and cost some $115,000. The most expensive is the CD/SACD transport; leave that off and you can save 51lb and $42,000.​

Forty. Two. Thousand. Dollars.

To play a CD.

One hundred and fifteen to do it "right."

Help.

Please.
.

These people be crazeeeee.

No idea yet what our transport will cost, but it won't be five figures. Or four.

Jason ... can you give an update on the SOL beta testing progress?
Thanks in advance, I know you're busy

"Lots of waiting for parts," is the short summary. We've identified the issues and are sending some parts (arms and pivot cups), but these are just in advance of an arm with a new headshell. If everything goes well, we may be shipping again in November. If you're in the beta program, you're getting weekly updates.

Beyond that, things are calming down here. Looks like we're going to be blind A-Bing delta-sigma and True Multibit this coming week at the Schiitrmeet; expect some more details when I have them, but the basics are as usual--second Thursday of the month at 6-10PM.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hi @Jason Stoddard - I have a question that’s more about process than product: “voicing” of electronics. I’ve heard “audio people” use the term to describe the tweaking of the sound of a close-to-final product as a step toward making the final product.

My question in multiple parts is:
- Does Schiit do it or is it a bunch of hooey?
- If so, in general terms what does it entail (e.g. swapping specific components? Adjusting power supply voltages?, etc?)
- how do you know what to change when voicing something?

Not asking for you to reveal trade secrets (unless you really want to), just curious.

Thanks!
Ed

Short answer: it's largely BS, but with some surprises.

I covered this in the Asgard 3 chapter, and in the Bifrost 2 chapter. I was surprised at the effect a power supply change had on the sound. I was also super-surprised how different Unison USB sounded from other USB solutions. Both of these are not really measurable phenomena. And there are still days when I think I'm just fooling myself.

The only thing we do that would fall under the uber-pretentious term "voicing" would be in the tweaking of Continuity, which has a dramatic effect on the sound and on the measurements. I can make something sound more or less tubey by changing a few resistors with Continuity. But once that's set, that's set.

Beyond that, sure, we change things if it sounds like butt during development. And I like that term a lot better than "voicing." De-ass-ifying is a more accurate description of what we do.

 

[mkozlows]

the tweaking of Continuity, which has a dramatic effect on the sound and on the measurements. I can make something sound more or less tubey by changing a few resistors with Continuity.

Which measurements change along with that tubey sound quality?

 

[Ableza]

Yep, when something sounds like ass, de-ass-ifying is the only answer, but sometimes it's difficult to find the ass-generating culprit - and some companies let them escape into the wild.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Which measurements change along with that tubey sound quality?

Performance outside the Class A envelope. I can make it behave more like a square-law device (that is, a tube) with more second-order distortion, or more like a linear device (that is, more like an amp still operating in Class A.)

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Yep, when something sounds like ass, de-ass-ifying is the only answer, but sometimes it's difficult to find the ass-generating culprit - and some companies let them escape into the wild.

LOL, yeah, we've been playing with something recently that sounds really good balanced, but super ass-y single-ended, and have tried a bunch of tricks to de-ass it, including changing the power supply significantly, and it's still pretty ass-y. That one probably won't make it out the door. Unless we find the ass.

 

[Ableza]

LOL, yeah, we've been playing with something recently that sounds really good balanced, but super ass-y single-ended, and have tried a bunch of tricks to de-ass it, including changing the power supply significantly, and it's still pretty ass-y. That one probably won't make it out the door. Unless we find the ass.

Be sure you're using both hands...

 

[Jason Stoddard]

And my 3D printer is back!!!!! Holy hell, of course it croaks right at the moment it would be great to have around to make prototypes for Sol. I didn't know how much we relied on that thing.

(It's been a very reliable printer, but anything that uses liquid resin is bound to have some issues. We had a leak. And that fogged the mirrors. And that was about the end of that.)

Anyway, just a report from the engineering trenches.