[darkarn]

Yeah, I know, maybe they don't think of Amazon as competition. More as a cultural artifact.

Now that I got coffee in my system, I think I can respond to this better

I get that since I mean, technically speaking Amazon isn't an audio company per se and as a consumer, that product looks interesting. I mean, when was the last time we saw an amp that have a balance knob and that many outputs for a reasonable price? Makes you want to know how good it is e.t.c. right? Even I am intrigued too now that I took a closer look at it

But here's the thing about asking just Jason about this:
1. It will be a PR nightmare, imagine audiophile forums having headlines like "[insert company name]'s CEO calls [insert another company's product] Obsolete". It won't look good on either companies. I mean, we did see what happened back then right?
2. Schiit sells stuff (and not to mention, the book about this very thread) on Amazon too. It won't be a wise move to critique its products; it can end up as a bridge-burning move
3. It's just simply professionalism; you don't win by dissing others (yes I know, commenting on stuff doesn't always mean dissing on that stuff but follow my thoughts for a bit) but you win by simply focusing on your own stuff, which is part of Schiit's principles.
4. Erm, this is gonna sound more forward than any headphones with high trebles, but I rather have the Schiit team focus on actually making sure its products reach on time and in good quality than testing/commenting on others' products, especially in these trying times and the upcoming holiday season where things are going to be hectic
5. And anyway, it makes more sense to start a separate thread in Head-Fi (or any other audio forums, pick your poison) since this means getting many more persons' input and thus more data points for you to see from. Heck, maybe you can also get opinions from those who have actually listened to it too, which I think is the most important

So yes, it is alright to talk about other products here (but it's more preferable to open new thread) since we may have some opinions that we prefer to share here with other Schiit consumers but I won't expect a direct comment from Schiit about these products here/elsewhere due to these considerations

 

[rkw]

Hey @Jason Stoddard any random thoughts just looking at the design of the Amazon Basics 80w x2 class D integrated amp? Inside looks like a lot of stuff in there.

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...ref=psdc_537344_t1_B0896YXRSM#customerReviews

Why do you find this product interesting and worthy of comment? It's a generic amplifier like you'd find on AliExpress, and it received very average reviews.

"Inside looks like a lot of stuff in there."​

Huh? There's a lot of empty space, the power supply takes up a good part of it, and the amplifier board doesn't have a lot of electronics.

 

[FLTWS]

Question to my peeps: I picked up a cheap (~$15 CAD) 2 metre extension cable for my Ether C Flow... and am driving it with my Vali 2. After an evening of listening, I noticed that the Vali’s chasis was noticeably cooler (than when run with the stock cable or with other cans). Does the longer headphone cable, with its increased overall in overall resistance (Ohm’s Law) affect how the Vali operates? Or is my mighty little toaster acting like an Asgard 2?

I’m so used to my Schiit amps spewng off heat. And now my Vali runs cool. What!?

That is curious. With the change in seasons is the ambient room temp cooling off?
My AC was running this week when the average was around 70 outside but warmer inside as I'm surrounded on 3 sides of my condo (and I keep my thermostat at 75 as a result). We're at 39 degrees right now outside and I'm at 67 inside, I'm happier and so is my equipment, its tube season for sure.

 

[433521]

Why do you find this product interesting and worthy of comment? It's a generic amplifier like you'd find on AliExpress, and it received very average reviews.

"Inside looks like a lot of stuff in there."​

Huh? There's a lot of empty space, the power supply takes up a good part of it, and the amplifier board doesn't have a lot of electronics.

This is why I'm asking for someone else's opinion, hopefully someone who knows more than I!

 

[Pedro Janeiro]

@Jason Stoddard

I noticed an issue with the Bifrost 2, after press the "mute" on my apple keyboard, everything work as it should, but when i un mute, i cant hear any sound, i always need back to system preferences do deselect and select again the Bifrost, is that normal?

thanks

PJ

 

[76Potts25]

@Jason Stoddard really curious how the recent AKM factory fire will effect the company. Obvious ramifications against your Delta-Sigma DAC's aside. Will this effect the Multibit units or any of the amps due to auxiliary components and chips? Hope not but curious what kind of fallout you may be looking at. Also, sorry if I missed this already being answered, but I hadn't noticed.

 

[tincanear]

@Jason Stoddard really curious how the recent AKM factory fire will effect the company. Obvious ramifications against your Delta-Sigma DAC's aside. Will this effect the Multibit units or any of the amps due to auxiliary components and chips? Hope not but curious what kind of fallout you may be looking at. Also, sorry if I missed this already being answered, but I hadn't noticed.

Jason has said that they have about 6 months supply of the AKM parts stocked up.

my $0.04:
one possible scenario would be to reduce the production volumes of the the Modi 3 and / or Modius a bit and reallocate the portion of now unallocated AKM4113 input receiver chips to support the Multibit products a while longer

or re-design just one of the higher volume D/S products and reallocate stocked parts to the multibit DACs.

a web search indicates that there are other manufacturers of S/PDIF input receivers (wolfson / crystal semi, nxp, etc.) but none of these are drop-in replacements and will need a new pcb layout, possibly a few hardware / logic circuit changes and revised firmware to work, perhaps two-to-six-months to revise the design, perform compatibility testing, re-test for EMC compliance, etc.

the Adapticlock feature on Yggy may be more involved to implement a new S/PDIF receiver on, but the sales volumes are low, relative to the lower-priced products, so re-allocation of their AKM receiver stock would make sense for this product line.

If you are considering a Multibit DAC in the next few months, don't wait too long, as the short term demand might increase.

The gaming-centric devices that have both A/D and D/A converters will need more re-design.

 

[darkarn]

@Jason Stoddard

I noticed an issue with the Bifrost 2, after press the "mute" on my apple keyboard, everything work as it should, but when i un mute, i cant hear any sound, i always need back to system preferences do deselect and select again the Bifrost, is that normal?

thanks

PJ

You may get a faster and direct response if you email Schiit's tech support

And oh schiit, this reminds me to email Schiit about my order lol

@Jason Stoddard really curious how the recent AKM factory fire will effect the company. Obvious ramifications against your Delta-Sigma DAC's aside. Will this effect the Multibit units or any of the amps due to auxiliary components and chips? Hope not but curious what kind of fallout you may be looking at. Also, sorry if I missed this already being answered, but I hadn't noticed.

You may want to start reading from https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...lds-most-improbable-start-up.701900/page-4424

 

[rkw]

@Jason Stoddard really curious how the recent AKM factory fire will effect the company.

Jason posted here about their situation. Also, AKM said that they will be outsourcing production while the factory is being repaired: http://www.semimedia.cc/?p=8574

 

[ScubaMan2017]

@Currawong ...was, how do the teenagers of 5 years ago say, extra spicy in this episode. It made me smile. He addressed TOSlink and suggested a Canadian (?!) manufacturer. Me? I'm snaking several metres of Amazon Basics plastic tubing (TOSlink) under the carpet from my Xbox One to my Bifrost MB. J-j-j-jitter? Meh...

 

[ScubaMan2017]

+1 that the triode may be objecting to the cheap cable, but maybe its speaking Russian so you can't understand what its saying.

longer cable shouldn't make it run cooler (unless, but very unlikely, the stock cable / headphone was causing the amplifier to oscillate)

if you have an AC watt meter, like a Kill-a-watt P3, you could measure the power draw at idle (HPs plugged in, but no music playing). note that VA and Watts are not the same thing.

my Asgard 3, which draws about 11W and a bit bigger chassis than Vali 2, has an underside case temperature of about 110F at the hottest point with ambient about 68F (in an draft-free area).

maybe the ambient temperature dropped a few degrees, or you didn't have Vali 2 on long enough to reach steady-state operating temp (the time constant might be tens of minutes).

as a science teacher, run some experiments: if you have a thermocouple / IR thermometer you could take some measurements every five minutes or so, including the room ambient.

I have the recording instruments. And the recording gear. I'm teaching electricity next semester. I'll consider it!

 

[tincanear]

@ScubaMan2017 depending on the DAC and source material, the connection type (optical toslink vs coaxial RCA) can make a difference. I had both connected between the CD player and Bifrost MB (OG), switching between optical and coax with the Bifrost's input selector, so it wasn't a conducted noise issue, since the coaxial was always connected and active (but just ignored by the Bifrost when not selected). IMO, the RG-59 75 ohm coax had much better detail and resolution than the toslink optical (monoprice premium single-strand cable).

the Sys Concepts 1300- strand cable mentioned in the video sells for about $47 USD; might actually be cheaper for you in the Great White North. For myself, I'm sticking with the RG-59.

 

[prof.utonium]

@Jason Stoddard

I noticed an issue with the Bifrost 2, after press the "mute" on my apple keyboard, everything work as it should, but when i un mute, i cant hear any sound, i always need back to system preferences do deselect and select again the Bifrost, is that normal?

thanks

PJ

I don't own a Bifrost 2, But, I do have a Schiit Audio Jotunheim True Multibit -USB and Modius Unison-USB both attached to my MAC. When I mute with my Apple keyboard it works as expected when placing music on mute and taking it off mute. My current macOS is Catalina version 10.15.7. Hope this helps with your trouble-shooting.

 

[tafens]

@Jason Stoddard

I noticed an issue with the Bifrost 2, after press the "mute" on my apple keyboard, everything work as it should, but when i un mute, i cant hear any sound, i always need back to system preferences do deselect and select again the Bifrost, is that normal?

This doesn’t seem normal, it works as expected for me (MacBookPro late 2015 just installed OS11 Big Sur, but I don’t remember having any such issues before they either). Could be some issue with USB on the Mac (try the ubiquitous smc/nvram reset? or a cable issue maybe?)

I had a strange issue a while ago where my Lyr3, with internal dac card connected to my Mac with USB, would go silent and sound would go back to the internal speakers of the Mac, just to go back to the amp again a few seconds later. This would happen once or a few times in an hour or so. Turned out to be a wonky USB cable. New USB cable, and problem gone

 

[Pedro Janeiro]

This doesn’t seem normal, it works as expected for me (MacBookPro late 2015 just installed OS11 Big Sur, but I don’t remember having any such issues before they either). Could be some issue with USB on the Mac (try the ubiquitous smc/nvram reset? or a cable issue maybe?)

I had a strange issue a while ago where my Lyr3, with internal dac card connected to my Mac with USB, would go silent and sound would go back to the internal speakers of the Mac, just to go back to the amp again a few seconds later. This would happen once or a few times in an hour or so. Turned out to be a wonky USB cable. New USB cable, and problem gone

Thank you guys, will try with a diferent cable tomorrow!