[Ableza]

[
2020 Vision (Yes, I Went There, Barf)

I am looking forward to your vision thing

 

[seandatie]

I really can't say more, because most of the list is pretty provisional. Hell, I'm waiting for prototype boards to come in on two of them, so I may be crazy, and it may not go anywhere.

There's not much story to the Bifrost 2 blind test. I think that some of us just had some sources mixed up. Once we did a proper blind test, the outcome was clear.

Hi Jason. Do we place an order of Jotunheim R on the Schiit product website or through email? Thanks.

 

[NewSchiithead]

Just a brief note to announce that I, too, have joined the dark side of the Schiit. I had been reading for a while various reviews mentioning this "Schiit" outfit (always favorably) and finally noticed that I could just drive there to Newhall and listen to their stuff in person. After carefully looking over their lineup it was clear that the Lyr 3 multi-bit would be a perfect upgrade for my office system if it sounded as good as the reviewers thought. And it sounded VERY good in person playing through the Grado GS3000e headphones I brought along. But of course RIGHT NEXT TO IT was the Bifrost 2 stacked with the Valhalla 2, so it was trivial to compare the two. I hardly had to move. Playing exactly the same music. And... they were better. Significantly better. Of course, not very practical for an office system, what with all the heat and exposed tubes. But they beat the Lyr up and took its lunch money. Not sure if it was the Unisom, or if the Bifrost 2 was just better than the multibit card in the Lyr, or maybe the Valhalla is truly a lovely sounding little amp. Probably it's all three together. But they sounded GREAT. And, oh look, the store had both in stock...

So here we are two weeks later, with the Bifrost 2 / Valhalla 2 installed in my office streaming Amazon HD and Tidal. Connected to a Lenovo Windows 10 laptop, of all things. And it sounds GLORIOUS. With flipping standard 16/44, so Jason and Mike are once again proven correct that you don't need exotic formats for good sound. What an amazing pair of units! What incredible values! There was an unexpected downside of a parade of office tourists wondering what the glowy bits were, and I kid you not, using my shiny new amp as a hand warmer, but it sounds great regardless. (Schiit specifically disapproves use of the Vahalla as a coffee or burger warmer, but says nothing about hands so I guess this is an approved use.) But it sounds so wonderful that I think my home computer audio system needs another Bifrost 2 paired with the Jotunheim (I generally leave the sound system on all the time, so solid-state seems the way to go) as an upgrade to ITS current system. And, oh look, they're both in stock....

It's actually a bit terrifying to think about what else these guys will come up with in the next year.

 

[johnjen]

Are there any headphones that reproduce 16Hz? I often see specs that say 20-20k hz, but I don't really know how authentic 20Hz from headphones would sound/feel.
.

Yes, the original HD800 spec called for a "Transmission Range" of 6Hz to 51KHz (-10dB) and 14Hz to 44.1KHz (-3dB) and a "Frequency Response" of 8Hz - 50KHz.

It is one of the reasons I spent the time modding my 800's in the first place, because it had a range of "response" well below 10Hz.

JJ

 

[US Blues]

Hey Jason,

Thanks for the end of the Gregorian Calendar year news.

One thing you left out of the report, and the most important: How is Mike doing?

 

[JamminVMI]

I'm gonna guess that this is a total SWAG!!



Hifiman Arya -- Pretty flat down to 20Hz, but not sure how much output there truly is at 8Hz.

Sundara specs say down to 6Hz as well. That remains untested on my end... I like the bass output, but will try to pay attn to the sub-bass end from now on.

 

[judson_w]

Excellent chapter, and excellent year!


I'm sure that's a statement dressed up like a question, but just in case:

1. Must have full gain capabilities. No fair stopping with gain for high output cartridges only -- gotta have enough to make a .25 mv moving coil sing
2. Must have tubes (duh). I'm OK with step-up trannies to get into low output cartridge territory, although if you want to do it all with tubes I'll buy the first one.
3. A high quality rotary switch with at least 6 loading values. DIP switches would be secondarily OK, but they have to be easily accessible. Add user-changeable values and I'll grovel at your feet.
4. A front-mounted mute switch, or alternatively a remote with mute capability. A must have, IMO.
5. A front mounted mono switch, please and pretty please?
6. A switchable 20 Hz brick-wall rumble filter. Maybe make a 15 Hz option for @johnjen
   
7. An absolute phase switch would be cool, but not a show stopper if absent.
8. Make it sound like Schiit. I mean that in the nice way -- I've heard too many phono stages that attempt to make an LP sound like a CD. No thanks. (not maligning CD's, but if I want to listen to one I have plenty).

I would add variable impedance for MC carts. I have the Pro-Ject DS2 Tube Box and it has a knob for continuous 10-1000 ohm impedance selection that can be adjusted while on so you can fine tune what sounds best.

 

[johnjen]

Excellent chapter, and excellent year!


I'm sure that's a statement dressed up like a question, but just in case:

1. Must have full gain capabilities. No fair stopping with gain for high output cartridges only -- gotta have enough to make a .25 mv moving coil sing
2. Must have tubes (duh). I'm OK with step-up trannies to get into low output cartridge territory, although if you want to do it all with tubes I'll buy the first one.
3. A high quality rotary switch with at least 6 loading values. DIP switches would be secondarily OK, but they have to be easily accessible. Add user-changeable values and I'll grovel at your feet.
4. A front-mounted mute switch, or alternatively a remote with mute capability. A must have, IMO.
5. A front mounted mono switch, please and pretty please?
6. A switchable 20 Hz brick-wall rumble filter. Maybe make a 15 Hz option for @johnjen
   
7. An absolute phase switch would be cool, but not a show stopper if absent.
8. Make it sound like Schiit. I mean that in the nice way -- I've heard too many phono stages that attempt to make an LP sound like a CD. No thanks. (not maligning CD's, but if I want to listen to one I have plenty).

That would be my list as well.
But make it matched gain and volume control.
And that brickwall filter at 15-20Hz, simply must not be allowed to reach upwards into the audio bandwidth.
This is a tall order no matter how you cut it.
And realistically LP's only rarely DON'T use the low freq rolloff and sum to mono for the bottom end.
This of course means all that musical gudness in the sub-basement is mostly absent without permission, at least by me… hahahahahahaha

And since I'm embarking upon building a 26 (DHT) based line level pre-amp, this would be relegated in my system to being a phono pre-amp (hint-hint), assuming of course this functionality can/will be accommodated.

And I'd take that, "I'll grovel at your feet" seriously.
Or at least as seriously as he is close to Schiit Global Hdqtrs. hahahahahahahahahaha
And even then make sure the eye bleach is readily available, because seeing a grown Audiophool grovel, is not a sight you can ever UN-see,
Oh the horror…
hahahahahahahahahahahaha

JJ

 

[scanspeakman1]

Just two things on my wish list:

1) remote control for Yggy; I love the DAC but I found out I really really really miss the option to select inputs by remote. My significant other always struggles to figure which input to select and remote control opens the possibility to control it with an Logitech smart remote.

2) for DAC’s in general; please make inputs modular so you can choose what you actually need. I don’t use some of the inputs (AES, USB) and on the other hand could use an additional optical and coax input to connect a blu ray player, tv etc.

Looking forward to more amazing products in 2020!

Scanspeakman

 

[valiant66]

Yes, the original HD800 spec called for a "Transmission Range" of 6Hz to 51KHz (-10dB) and 14Hz to 44.1KHz (-3dB) and a "Frequency Response" of 8Hz - 50KHz.

It is one of the reasons I spent the time modding my 800's in the first place, because it had a range of "response" well below 10Hz.

JJ

What mods did you find necessary for the HD800?
.

 

[johnjen]

Here is the link to the 3rd part of my mods with links to parts 1 & 2
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-diyrs-cookbook.781268/page-90#post-14608836

JJ

 

[Alexnova]

I don't know why you guys want a remote control so bad with a Yggdrasil. It's not like it would see as much use as a preamp or volume control. I'd rather see Schiit spend more of their R&D on things like improving the analog boards or DSP or whatever. Stuff that has an audible improvement.

 

[bcowen]

And that brickwall filter at 15-20Hz, simply must not be allowed to reach upwards into the audio bandwidth.

Ergo "brick wall." Or 20 Hz and below period, not having some slowly increasing negative dB value above 20.

And I'd take that, "I'll grovel at your feet" seriously.
Or at least as seriously as he is close to Schiit Global Hdqtrs. hahahahahahahahahaha
And even then make sure the eye bleach is readily available, because seeing a grown Audiophool grovel, is not a sight you can ever UN-see,
Oh the horror…

A simple (or even extended) grovel could be well worth it for certain things if it helped bring them to fruition. I am not above becoming a spectacle for audio toys. LOL!

 

[bcowen]

I would add variable impedance for MC carts. I have the Pro-Ject DS2 Tube Box and it has a knob for continuous 10-1000 ohm impedance selection that can be adjusted while on so you can fine tune what sounds best.

Variable impedance (or loading) would be even better than discrete values, but would require a *very* high quality pot that tracks perfectly between channels at any setting and doesn't otherwise muck up the very low signal level at that point. But this is a wish list, so I'm totally with you.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Re: Our cult-leader’s 2019 Roundup... (good, bad, ugly/interesting)...an *if* on the Sol product!? Damn! Alrighty then. For 2020, a tricked-out, Gadget-Pi, streamer-CD-transport?