[433521]

interesting. Thanks for that. I was discouraged from buying a Hel as a gift because shipping etc was fully 1/3 as much as the product itself.
.

Turns out trade wars can run into real problems when unexpected events such as a pandemic hit ... though sectors of the American economy were already in trouble evidenced by agricultural bailouts because campaign contributions to both parties.

 

[Ableza]

re: Class D. I was a Hypex OEM dealer for about 20 years. I've built and sold dozens of Hypex-based amplifiers and DSP systems both myself and with my business partners. My subwoofers are powered by Hypex UCD amplifiers now. I've owned Class D amps from Wyred4Sound and from Dragon Audio, and listened to many more including from stratospheric-priced companies like Merrill Audio. It's a grand technology for big power from a small, energy efficient package. Some of them sound surprisingly good. But for music above the sub-bass octaves for my money and taste give me conventional class A/B amps. YMMV.

 

[Martin Howell]

So I got bored of waiting for the UK arm to have stock and have ordered my Fulla 3 direct. Looking forward to having my new mobile Schiit which will nicely replace the usb-c adapter I'm currently using (my laptops 3.5mm port is a bit dodgy).

Also orderd the Sennheiser PC38X from Drop to pair with it as my current headset is great for voice, pony for music. Hoping these will sound much better.

 

[macdonjh]

re: Class D. I was a Hypex OEM dealer for about 20 years. I've built and sold dozens of Hypex-based amplifiers and DSP systems both myself and with my business partners. My subwoofers are powered by Hypex UCD amplifiers now. I've owned Class D amps from Wyred4Sound and from Dragon Audio, and listened to many more including from stratospheric-priced companies like Merrill Audio. It's a grand technology for big power from a small, energy efficient package. Some of them sound surprisingly good. But for music above the sub-bass octaves for my money and taste give me conventional class A/B amps. YMMV.

I've also been satisfied with them in car audio. Of course, those small details we can hear with capable gear in our living rooms are covered up by road noise. But, cool running compact amplifiers are an advantage in mobile installations. I do get smooth full frequency sound. Class D will continue to get better...

 

[Ableza]

I've also been satisfied with them in car audio. Of course, those small details we can hear with capable gear in our living rooms are covered up by road noise. But, cool running compact amplifiers are an advantage in mobile installations. I do get smooth full frequency sound. Class D will continue to get better...

Yes, those Alpine Class D car audio amps are top performers and highly recommended. And also all car audio sub amps should be class D just because of power-efficiency ratings.

 

[Acapella48]

I personally think Jotunheim 2 is pretty much the best thing we can do at its size and price. And Jotunheim 2, at least the final version with Continuity S, has displaced Lyr 3 and Asgard 3 at home. Yes, even Lyr 3. Lyr 3 is a great amp, and, in the final analysis, might be the right amp for someone else. And Asgard 3 is an insane value, a fun and friendly amp that might be the end game for most sane humans, especially if you don’t want to go down the balanced headphone rabbit-hole.

But Jotunheim 2…it’s really, really special

Currently Jotunheim 2/Bifrost 2, and a wide variety of headphones. And a Lyr 3 with multibit. And a Ragnarok 2 full boat. And Mjolnir 2/Gungnir Multibit. And the crazy 10-tube prototype. You get the idea, there's way too much Schiit around the house. But it's mainly Jotunheim 2/Bifrost 2

When I purchased my Lyr 3 / Bifrost 2 this past November at that time, I seriously considered the Jotunheim. I contemplated the Magnius and Mjolnir; however, the footprint of the Lyr 3 / Bifrost 2 for the desktop was ultimately the deciding factor.

A Mjolnir/Gungnir combo would have been sweet but the footprint even though my desktop could accommodate the two just seemed a bit overwhelming. I used my Logitech K800 wireless keyboard (18.4 x 8.2 x 2.3 inches) and a Census 2020 envelope to give me a means of size comparison. The Census 2020 envelope dimensions won

I also wasn't completely sold on a balanced topology in terns of sonic performance over SE. I do enjoy the Lyr 3 with the new production Tung-Sol 6SN7, BF2 and HD6XX combo. I haven't had a desire to consider other 6SN7 types. I listen primarily to Internet radio (Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA, local PBS Classical station and Cinemix (movie soundtracks)) at the moment.

Contemplating and thinking about @Jason Stoddard's two comments above is enough to give anyone pause, especially when you consider the choices available to him. I must have anticipated the purchase of a balanced headphone amp because I also purchased a balanced cable and a multi-kit from Hart Audio shortly after receiving a pair of Drop HD6xx's. The multi-kit includes a 4-pin XLR connector. With the introduction of the Jotunheim 2, I find myself once again considering a balanced headphone amp.

Decisions, decisions ...

 

[renault4]

Happy new year everyone!

I'm looking for anyone using mono Vidars to drive both Magnepan 1.7i's and stereo Magnepan DWM woofers; there are plenty of examples for the first pairing but not so much of the troika. Just interested in hearing about the experience in adding the DWMS and how well the Vidars drive both, thanks.

 

[Rensek]

I have been wondering the same thing.

I wonder how the 1.7s and DWM are linked? If they get wired in series, the effective impedance that vidar sees would be 8 ohm. But if they are wired parallel, wouldn' the impedance drop to 2 ohm?

 

[renault4]

I have been wondering the same thing.

I wonder how the 1.7s and DWM are linked? If they get wired in series, the effective impedance that vidar sees would be 8 ohm. But if they are wired parallel, wouldn' the impedance drop to 2 ohm?

Vidar speaker out to Amp-in on DWM then High-out (after crossover) to main speakers, so that is a Parallel connection is it not?

 

[skraggy1981]

I had no idea Schiit had a UK dealer. Looking at the UK prices I probably would have ordered directly from California anyway. In the end, with shipping, Paypal's mob-worthy currency fees and import tax, I paid around 3000$ for my Yggy. Totally worth it though, I'm now at a point where I love the analogue and the digital side of my rig equally. And with the Lyr 2 / LCD 2 combo I'm all set in the headphone department as well.

I know I'll regret those words, but I think I'm done...

 

[Ableza]

Vidar speaker out to Amp-in on DWM then High-out (after crossover) to main speakers, so that a Parallel connection is it not?

https://www.magnepan.com/using_DWM

 

[Mike-WI]

LS50s need a lot of power to sound their best. I hate to say it, but desktop-for-LS50 sounds like class D

I use Rag1 with my KEF LS50s

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Random question... Anyone here ever rip a stereo CD to mono to eliminate the hard-pan issue on some older releases? I played around with a CD that I know very well and am happy with the results. The CD in question is Taj Mahal's first album. Thoughts?

 

[StimpyWan]

Decisions decisions....

Go ahead and do it. If nothing else, 2020 has taught us, that no one lives forever...l.

Oh, thanks for the Cinemix tip, as I love film scores.

 

[33na3rd]

Random question... Anyone here ever rip a stereo CD to mono to eliminate the hard-pan issue on some older releases? I played around with a CD that I know very well and am happy with the results. The CD in question is Taj Mahal's first album. Thoughts?

Yes, good mono sounds better than bad stereo.

LP enthusiasts will often play their early hard panned stereo LP’s in mono, utilizing the mono button if they have one. Those that lack a mono button can add a third party stereo to mono switch box to their system, but this will add an extra set of interconnects.

And that Taj Mahal album is great!