[ev666il]

Man, now I have to go into money-saving mode until I can afford a Focal Clear... Thanks a lot..

If you don't mind EQ'ing, you could buy a lower-priced model like the Elegia (closed) or Elear (open), then use oratory1990's settings to match the Harman Target Curve.

With no EQ, the Clear match the curve more closely than the Elegia (would have to check for Elear) so it would have a higher "preference rating", as oratory1990 puts it.

 

[Les Strat]

I'm saving up for Freya+ now, it will be awhile before I can think about Yggy. Bifrost 2 is more doable for me. One day... Maybe when I win the lottery, wait I don't play it I still have trouble believing I actually have the Clear and the Jot

I bought a Freya S last week, direct from Schiit in US.
It meant I had to pay extra shipping costs and import duty, but there is no stock in the UK and I doubt that we will ever see any here again.
I was finally spurred into action when Jason confirmed that once all Freya S stock is sold , there won't be any more.
It has already happened to the Saga S.
I had thought about getting a Freya+, as on paper, it seems to give all that the Freya S does, as well as the option of tube output, for about £250 extra ( $300 difference on Schiit website).
However, on closer reading, I realised that the 4x gain stage option in the Freya+ only works with tubes- quite understandable really.
I previously tried an original Freya and didn't like the tube output at all. I liked the active buffer output the best. I also didn't like passive as it sounded 'flat' in my system.
So, I went for the 'buy now while stocks last' approach and got the Freya S.
I have now been using it for 5 days.
My initial impression, straight out of the box, was that I wasn't sure it was an improvement on having no preamp in my system, and suffered some momentary 'buyer's remorse' when I realised that if I wanted to return it to Schiit, I'd have to pay return shipping, suffer a 5% restocking fee, and have all the hassle of reclaiming VAT and import tax.
I persevered, listening late into the night and switching the Freya S in and out of the system and also trying all the three output options - Passive, 1x and 4x.
The verdict, after 5 days- I love it!
It definitely sounds better than having no preamp.
I really like having the two active output options of 1x and 4x.
Personally, I don't like passive, so I don't use it.
For most of my listening I use the 1x active gain stage.
On some poorer recordings, which I have always regarded as a bit 'flat' and lacking any dynamism, the 4x gain stage seems to inject a bit of life, maybe artificially, I don't know, but it means I can now enjoy some of my old albums again. They all sound great!
Many people love tubes, in which case the Freya + is a great option.
I am not going to make any recommendations, as choice of any audio kit it is a very personal decision, but for me, in my system, the Freya S, is perfect.
I don't know of another balanced preamp that gets any where near it, even at many times the price.
Hats off to Jason and the team at Schiit for another superb product.

 

[ralong]

rprised at how well the Sennheiser held up compared to the Clear. The HIFIMAN fell by the wayside early (a surprise for planars), sounded like maybe it was dr

Thank you for checking this, @ScubaMan2017 .

My chain is Audirvana > Bifrost 2 > Asgard 3 > Focal Elegia. I streamed the album lossless from Tidal and bought the Mastered for iTunes version in AAC as well, seeing as that one tops at 0 dbFS which is supposedly enough to avoid clipping (provided that one's DAC has enough headroom to handle inter-sample peaks, which I'd be surprised if the Bifrost 2 didn't.) In both cases, there is audible clipping distortion in many tracks. Title track "Dystopia" is a major offender, especially during the solos, which were seemingly recorded in a fast food cause that clipping distortion sure gives the illusion of frying oil in the background.

A shame, cause I really like the music on the album—but when it comes to sound quality, a first pressing of Peace Sells this is not. (But I mean, Trivium's latest album "What The Dead Men Say" is equally compressed and sounds leaps and bounds better.)

I listened Dystopia in tidal, and this sounds like a demo tape. Badly mixed, 90% that you hear are guitars, everything else is just hidden beneath them. Also I can hear It is distorted harsh and lacking any dynamism and body.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Thank you for checking this, @ScubaMan2017 .

My chain is Audirvana > Bifrost 2 > Asgard 3 > Focal Elegia. I streamed the album lossless from Tidal and bought the Mastered for iTunes version in AAC as well, seeing as that one tops at 0 dbFS which is supposedly enough to avoid clipping (provided that one's DAC has enough headroom to handle inter-sample peaks, which I'd be surprised if the Bifrost 2 didn't.) In both cases, there is audible clipping distortion in many tracks. Title track "Dystopia" is a major offender, especially during the solos, which were seemingly recorded in a fast food cause that clipping distortion sure gives the illusion of frying oil in the background.

A shame, cause I really like the music on the album—but when it comes to sound quality, a first pressing of Peace Sells this is not. (But I mean, Trivium's latest album "What The Dead Men Say" is equally compressed and sounds leaps and bounds better.)

10-4, ev666il . I was listening to a May 2020 podcast about mastering (what it is, benefits, limitations-and-issues [their interpretation of "Mastered For Apple"]). This topic came up. What a gloriously ridiculous hobby. I love it. But now... now, I have to go an finalise my report cards. Blech.

 

[yonson]

Folks have some queries on my gear and pardon me of stupid queries. I have recently moved from Old Kef Ref 203/2 (89dB) to New KEF Reference 1 and i have some thoughts to move into Schiit gear.

There is some time for me (another 6-8 months, Covid restrictions for travel) to pick up Vidars (2x) but very much interested in Aegirs (2x) and I read one part of review from JA's (Stereophile) measurements on power.
Link: https://www.stereophile.com/content/schiit-audio-aegir-power-amplifier-measurements -> Also Congratulations to Schiit for excellent review by many reviewers and its part of Steriophile Class-A equipment list. Not that their opinion matters, just a matter of news.

Comments from JA Copied here : In mono output mode, Schiit says that the Aegir will deliver 80W into 8 ohms (19dBW). With a balanced, bridged output, the maximum voltage swing is twice that of each individual stage, meaning that the potential maximum power is increased by a factor of four. However, when I measured the maximum power delivery in mono mode, the Aegir's protection circuitry cut off the output at 49Wpc into 8 ohms
Any thoughts here ? is this fixed or cannot be fixed in Mono mode?

My Keen Request and willing to wait little longer / $$+ : Dedicated Aegir Mono blocks with higher power capable coming up, maybe 80W or 100W ?

Alternatively :
(1) Will Vidar 2x in bridge mono work out well too
(2) Bi-Amp : Aegir for High/Mid and use Vidar for Low ports + Freya (Is this possible and how ?) Like DAC to Freya and Freya driving both Vidar and Aegir?

Speakers: KEF Reference 1 (with 85dB sensitivity)
Room : Small (16' x 16') -> But keep moving to lossy room too.
DAC: Using MODI-MB as back up plan, but moving to better DAC ( BIFROST, Gumby MB)

Quite a while back (pre-Covid) Jason had hinted that a more powerful (and quite a bit more expensive) Continuity amp "could" be on the horizon. Who knows what that means now, I know that I am still looking forward to this "Beast" and hopefully it can drive 4 ohm mono loads without going into over-current so easily like Aegir does...

A pair of Vidar would work no problem, most likely even a single would be fine, I run a pair in my main system that is in a little bigger than your room, but in a similar size room I run a single Vidar on 87 dB speakers and it is all they need and will push them way louder than I care to go...

 

[strider1007]

Quite a while back (pre-Covid) Jason had hinted that a more powerful (and quite a bit more expensive) Continuity amp "could" be on the horizon. Who knows what that means now, I know that I am still looking forward to this "Beast" and hopefully it can drive 4 ohm mono loads without going into over-current so easily like Aegir does...

The Odin !

Wouldn't that be a great name.. Or Ampzilla, but that has already been used by someone else..

 

[RCBinTN]

Nice Work you have been in many awesome places and photograph them very well!
contratulations

Cool new avatar!

 

[Les Strat]

@StevePNW Those photographs are fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
You even have one featuring one of my favourite places on Earth- Loch Etive!

Edit: and Castle Stalker, Mull, Eilean Donan, and many more…….
Wow!

 

[Pedro Janeiro]

Cool new avatar!

Yeah, usually im always in the other side of the lens, but that day, a friend of mine, did this picture at Sun Studio that i really like.
To be honest, he did many, that i like when we did a kind of, 40 days coast to coast, in US, few years ago.
Really love US landscapes and small towns, awesome places for photography.

 

[DJ1421]

The Odin !

Wouldn't that be a great name.. Or Ampzilla... Oh wait, he already used that one in his SUMO days..

Those were the days!

 

[Jnan]

Freya can drive both Aegir and Vidar at the same time, but problem is the gains are different (Aegir Av=12, Vidar Av=22) so almost 6dB difference if trying to bi-amp. I recommend trying 2x Aegir in monoblock mode for this speaker and seeing how it sounds. For DAC, I recommend Bifrost 2 or better instead of Modi Multibit, especially if using USB source connection.

Thanks for the feedback!. Modi Upgrade to something much better -> YES!
2x Aegir: I dont have luxury to try it on my system and then return within 15days (not possible for me. I m waiting for travel relaxation post covid) Hence if it is working then 2x is fine for me, however I m not sure about it yet.

I some how dont like my own option-2 (Freya driving Aegir + Vidar ) -> I m not expert in matching and figuring out.

 

[StimpyWan]

Those were the days!

I had the privilege of meeting James Bongiorno at CES 2004. A complete pleasure, and as usual, Jim was in a Zoot Suit...!

 

[Jnan]

Quite a while back (pre-Covid) Jason had hinted that a more powerful (and quite a bit more expensive) Continuity amp "could" be on the horizon. Who knows what that means now, I know that I am still looking forward to this "Beast" and hopefully it can drive 4 ohm mono loads without going into over-current so easily like Aegir does...

A pair of Vidar would work no problem, most likely even a single would be fine, I run a pair in my main system that is in a little bigger than your room, but in a similar size room I run a single Vidar on 87 dB speakers and it is all they need and will push them way louder than I care to go...

Thanks for the update on the "Quite a while back (pre-Covid) Jason had hinted that a more powerful " and on Vidars

 

[tincanear]

10-4, ev666il . I was listening to a May 2020 podcast about mastering (what it is, benefits, limitations-and-issues [their interpretation of "Mastered For Apple"]). This topic came up. What a gloriously ridiculous hobby. I love it. But now... now, I have to go an finalise my report cards. Blech.

just randomly assign grades, claim its the result of applying the Heisenberg uncertainty principle

 

[33na3rd]

Speakers: KEF Reference 1 (with 85dB sensitivity)

Your (very nice) speakers dip down to 3.2 ohms.

This might put a strain on either Aegir or Vidar in Mono mode. Neither Aegir or Vidar are rated into a 4 ohm load in Mono mode.

A single Vidar in stereo mode would have no problem with that load, but I don't know if it would it would produce the volume levels that you are looking for.

My Virgo 2's, 88.5dB 3.7 ohms, work great with a single Vidar in my small room.