[A Jedi]

am constantly debating with myself between the two Sagas and two Freyas.

I have a Saga + and Freya S. I would say if you prefer signal purity, the S versions are better. If you want a little extra spaciousness, go with a +. To me the difference between Saga and Freya is that Freya is a tad more revealing. They're both fine pres and I have no regrets buying either. Whichever of the 4 you decide on, you've made the right decision.

 

[Pedro Janeiro]

I'm running mono Vidars w/ Harbeth P3 40th's. They are 6 ohms & sensitivity of 83.5dB. This combo works great.

Nice to know @SuperRoo !
Im thinking about buy the exact same speakers
Did you already tried the P3esr with just 1 Vidar? Im wondering if one unit is enought to power them at decent levels in a 4 x 4 m2 room. If i decide towards Aegir sure i will need 2 right?

Cheers

PJ

 

[myquealer]

What speakers do you have? Vidar is definitely more forgiving with 4 ohm mono than Aegir is!

At the moment I have some old Kef Q100s, but I got the Vidar for the Magnepan LRS I have on order. They take a few months to arrive, and coronavirus probably isn't helping that timeline.

I'm leaning towards sticking with a single Vidar and getting a Saga S. I'll probably forget to turn it off fairly often and the Saga + keeps the tube on all the time. That is an advantage of the Freya +, but triple the price is hard to swallow if I'm not running it balanced. I can always swap in my Vali 2 when I want that tube sound. Another advantage of going with the Saga S is I can upgrade to monoblock Vidars and a Freya + (or whatever the current best balanced preamp is at the time) and I won't be out as much money if I'd gone with a Saga + or Freya S.

 

[Gazny]

I like my tubes, but it makes it difficult to stack gear ontop of it, My setup would be ideal with Bifrost, Saga s, Valhalla 2 into my Beyer 880 600 ohms.

 

[Kiet Teoh]

dear all schiit members,

I purchased my yddg 4years ago with analog 1 so my series number start with Axxxxxx, however I upgraded to analog 2, may I know anyway I can know my board is anolog 2? my windows 10 system showing Yggdrasil gen 5 but not showing analog 1 or 2.... thanks for your kind advise.....

 

[tincanear]

dear all schiit members,

I purchased my yddg 4years ago with analog 1 so my series number start with Axxxxxx, however I upgraded to analog 2, may I know anyway I can know my board is anolog 2? my windows 10 system showing Yggdrasil gen 5 but not showing analog 1 or 2.... thanks for your kind advise.....

looking from Windows 10 only shows the USB module revision, not analog board version as far as I know. latest Analog 2 production units shipping since early this year with Unison USB, but earlier ones had gen 5 USB.

possible ways to tell about the Analog 2 upgrade..
1) sticker added to the back showing "Analog 2"
2) if you purchased it from another individual or dealer, contact Schiit with your serial number and ask to confirm that it was upgraded to analog 2
3) carefully remove the screws on the top cover (be careful not to damage the heads / threading / or lose them) and look at silkscreen writing on your analog boards, should v2.0 or v2 (their website shows pics of the silkscreen on the Analog 2 boards). there are some videos on disassembly on the Yggdrasil impressions thread.

 

[Les Strat]

Listening to Physical Graffiti on the Sol with the Lebowski mod tonight ("Caucasian" with Stoli). Let's roll, indeed.

This Sol is one fine table. Especially like it after upgrading the stylus to the ML model.

Hope all are well. (If one must shelter in place this is a palatable way to do so.)

Great to hear your experience with the Sol DACattack.
I remember buying PG when it came out and then seeing the band live in London in '75!
Fantastic album.
I have various CD versions of PG, but haven't listened to my vinyl version for over 20 years as I no longer have vinyl playback.
Am I missing out....?

 

[DACattack]

I have various CD versions of PG, but haven't listened to my vinyl version for over 20 years as I no longer have vinyl playback.
Am I missing out....?

One of the things I love about the digital age of music is the ridiculously easy convenience of having a huge music library on my home network, paired with the impossibly vast amount of music to be had via streaming services. With Qobuz the fidelity is wonderful (I never liked any of the lossless services other than to quickly sample things, not for any serious listening). The amount of music available is nearly overwhelming.

That said, there is something wonderful (and strangely comforting) with the ritual of playing vinyl: cleaning the record, setting it up to play on the turntable, sitting back with the album cover and listening to a side, rinse and repeat. Oddly, I find that I'm more focused on the music when playing a record, perhaps in part because it is a bite-sized chunk, around 20 minutes, and there is more involved with actually playing the music. (Often, with digital, I have tunes shuffling on my library in the background while doing other things.)

Is it better than digital? I wouldn't say that, but there are SQ differences, especially on well-mastered records. It's cliche to say it, but the musical experience is warmer, more inviting, if that makes any sense at all. It's hard to describe. Drums and bass sound, well, more real, and acoustic instruments shine. It's hard to explain, and perhaps it is all in my head. I try not to overanalyze it. I will say, that Physical Graffiti on vinyl is a real treat. The slide on "In My Time of Dyin'" gave me shivers ...

Going down the vinyl rabbit-hole isn't for the faint of heart, but I love it, and happy to have ventured back into that world. It won't be my main mode of listening, but there are few things nicer than ending the evening with a favorite record and beverage. Are you missing out? Only if the ritual is something you enjoy and you have neglected records handy. The Sol and Mani combo certainly make high quality playback affordable -- and with the v2 re-release of Sol much easier to setup.

 

[DACattack]

Did you do a comparison of the 2 styli? I'm curious of the differences but not enough to drop the $$$ on one right now... Still waiting for my "E" to come in...

The EN stylus is excellent, but I experience a greater dynamic range and wider soundstage with the ML on my setup. Honestly, though, I'd be happy with either, and maybe it's a better investment to pick up some more records instead. That said, though, I'm glad I upgraded. I listened to both styli at a friend's (who has the whole damn line - ha!) and of the three higher end choices, I liked the microlinear best on his system, and now on mine.

I sold my record collection years ago so most of my small collection is new (in prep for the Sol re-release I bought a few new records every payday over the winter). I did buy a few cherished used ones. If I find that I'm buying more and more used records, I may have to look at picking up an "E" to play them. Let me know how that works for you?

 

[SuperRoo]

Nice to know @SuperRoo !
Im thinking about buy the exact same speakers
Did you already tried the P3esr with just 1 Vidar? Im wondering if one unit is enought to power them at decent levels in a 4 x 4 m2 room. If i decide towards Aegir sure i will need 2 right?

Cheers

PJ

I have not run one in stereo. I bet it will work fine. There is a lot of headroom with 2 Vidars.

 

[33na3rd]

If I find that I'm buying more and more used records, I may have to look at picking up an "E" to play them.

Quite often, a ML stylus will play a used LP better/quieter than an elliptical. The ML can track a portion of the groove that was not worn (or even abused) by the previous owner's cartridge. Sometimes a conical will play used vinyl best. A lot of collectors will switch between a ML (or another advanced stylus type) and a conical, completely skipping an elliptical.

Horses for courses.

For those just getting into or returning to vinyl, Vinyl Engine is a great resource.

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/?sid=cb636d7b2969ed16e00c7276d93b6cc6

 

[ScubaMan2017]

dear all schiit members,

I purchased my yddg 4years ago with analog 1 so my series number start with Axxxxxx, however I upgraded to analog 2, may I know anyway I can know my board is anolog 2? my windows 10 system showing Yggdrasil gen 5 but not showing analog 1 or 2.... thanks for your kind advise.....

Welcome to the thread, @Kiet Teoh . Did @tincanear answer your question? @bcowen and @yonson are old-salts on this thread... and if they up-vote an answer, I tend to trust the data. If you need clarification, send a note to info@schiit.com . Their service desk is A1. Stay healthy, eh.

 

[dieslemat]

To me the difference between Saga and Freya is that Freya is a tad more revealing.

Hello, can you elaborate more on “a tad more revealin?”

which is more warmer given the same stock tubes?

I have the Freya+ in my two channel setup. I am thinking either the Saga+ or the Freya+ for my study (using ribbon headphones).


would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

 

[saddleup]

I have not run one in stereo. I bet it will work fine. There is a lot of headroom with 2 Vidars.

It's all about the headroom.. I'm not sure why people automatically equate more power with more volume. It's about transients, dynamics and attack. As they say in the auto world 'there's no substitute for cubic inches'. YMMV.

 

[PolarBehr]

It's all about the headroom.. I'm not sure why people automatically equate more power with more volume. It's about transients, dynamics and attack. As they say in the auto world 'there's no substitute for cubic inches'. YMMV.

For me it is more about the quality of the Watts and not just the big number (headroom), particularly the quality of the first few watts that you use all the time.

I have 2 Aegir’s running mono blocks into Paradigm Studio 20’s (about 85 dB efficient) and do not detect any issues with transients, dynamics or attack.

I have heard a lot of very high powered amps over my days that sound pretty bad and lifeless (70’s) that had fabulous measurements.

I chose the Aegir’s over the Vidar’s and am very happy with my choice.

There may not be a “replacement for displacement“ but if you prefer a Porsche 911 over a Ford F-350 the Porsche is a better choice for you even with less than half the cubic inches.

It would be nice to have a pair of Pass Labs Xs 300’s (or even XA200.8’s) and have both quality and power but my budget only goes so far and I have to prioritize what is most important to me.