[Jason Stoddard]

Hel 2 - a thing of beauty and sounds amazing too

Exceptionally nice image!

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Hey all,

I'm back in California for a while, so I figured I'd give you an update.

First, we are producing speaker amps like crazy--you'll be seeing the backorders shrink for Aegir, Vidar, and Ragnarok 2 over the next week or so as we get caught up, and the intent is to eventually get to 1-3 day shipping for all speaker power amps. This would be a first for us--these products have almost always been 7-10 days.

Second, we're building black Freya+es and seeing if anyone wants one to help clear those backorders (lots of silver orders, silver tops we are still waiting for.)

Third, we're increasing capacity again, adding additional runs at new Utah PCB assembly houses to help meet demand.

All of this stuff should help get us out of the deep backorders, get us shipping more consistently, and allow us to fully open some channels (distributors, Amazon). But again, this takes time, and it also requires no surprises in planning. There have been a lot of surprises lately, though things seem to be getting better as far as the supply chain goes.

Finally, I must announce the imminent demise of Mjolnir 2. As in, it will be dropped from the product line with no planned successor.

"Why? Why are you doing such a terrible thing?" you might ask. "I always liked Mjolnir 2!"

So did I. I still have one at home.

But there's several problems with Mjolnir 2, not least of which is that the performance of Jotunheim 2 is now so good--in a smaller, more convenient amp. Also, Mjolnir 2 uses complex transformers that are hard to get right, have long lead times, and can be variable. So it's going away.

"Will you ever do something like Mjolnir 2 again?" you ask.

As of now, we don't have a Mjolnir 3 on the books. I've played with ideas, including ones you expect (tube hybrid with Nexus and Continuity, which did not work because the tubes can't match precisely enough, and a differential operational point servo "fought" the other operational point servos, resulting in unreliable start-up) and some you probably didn't (back to solid state with relay volume and two card slots, or a differential version of Coherence, both of which weren't all that exciting).

And, here's the thing: Mjolnir 2 is huge. Any Mjolnir 3 would either be (a) the same size, not desktop friendly, or (b) a weird size that doesn't match everything we make. I'd love to go back in time and make all the "large midsize" gear not as wide, but I don't have a direct line to any rogue Time Lords. So that means we're stuck with a size that may make sense in a rack, but not so much on a desk. That's probably one reason why Mjolnir 2 was, ahem, less popular than it might have been.

So, say farewell to Mjolnir 2. If you already have one, don't worry--we'll still service and repair them for the foreseeable future (hell, we're still repairing 10+ year old Asgards to this day). And if you want one, you have a small window to pick one up before they go away. Though honestly, after living with Jotunheim 2, it's really hard to justify. But then again, I'm cheap...and I like my desk space.

 

[Jbenz84]

Thanks. yes, he (HR) is positive about it. Already wrote to the designer, great service and replied in a few hours. My speakers are not very sensitive but are an easy load for the AlitikA. About 100dB spl would be possible, according to him that is helicopter level. I like the price, the design and looks. Not sure i ‘ll get enough headroom though.

Was wondering if someone used/heard the amp.

I know that this is an old post but I figured it could still be helpful to reply.

I bought and built an Akitika GT-102 at the beginning of the year. I have used the amp with my modded Klipsch Heresy ii’s and my Monitor audio bx2 bronze speakers with an Emotiva USP-1 preamplifier. My other amplifier of reference is a integrated Rotel 1070.

My opinion of the amp is very favorable and believe the stereophilie review to be very accurate. The amp is dead quite and runs very cool. It has a slight warmish neutral presentation. It conveys tone and texture of instruments and voices very well. There is plenty of detail in the highs and lows but it is not the most transparent amp ever and to me that is positive trait. In all you get a fairly accurate presentation of your recordings but do to that little bit of warmth it breaths into the music poor recordings won’t be completely unbearable.
Assembly and instructions are a joy and I believe could be accomplished by most people at are patient and have good attention to detail. The owner of the company is a great guy and very helpful should you need assistance.
I highly recommend the Akitika amp.

 

[corndog71]

Yes, I could build a kit. That would be fun. I don't have a ton of wood working tools, so a knockdown cabinet would be best. As far as electronics, schematics are no problem, and I'm certified in soldering. What do you have in mind???

GR Research
GR Research forum on Audio Circle

Danny Richie knows how to make great speakers at very competitive prices. Flat packs are available either through Danny or some of the forum regulars. If you have space to pull speakers away from the walls then consider his open baffle speakers. I‘ve been a fan of his work for over a decade.
The only downside is, like Schiit, he’s had delayed inventory issues due to COVID. A lot of parts are on a boat right now but they’re coming.

My current reference speakers are from a design he created for another company but ended not happening due to part manufacturers changing hands and tweeters just not being available. I got lucky when he was able to produce his own planar magnetic tweeters. He redesigned an improved baffle and with the help of a cabinet maker on the forum I was able to score a kit. Shortly after, the planar magnetic midrange drivers became unavailable.

Anyway, they’re full range open baffle with servo-controlled subs covering around 200Hz down to 20Hz. They are silky smooth, ridiculously transparent, and an easy 8 ohm load not mention 97dB sensitive.
Endgame speakers for me. I started with the subs thinking I could use just about any small speaker on top. I had to wait a few years for the top half to become available. In total they cost me a little under $5K. It’s a lot but these easily compete with some of the best speakers I’ve heard.

 

[StimpyWan]

GR Research
GR Research forum on Audio Circle

Danny Richie knows how to make great speakers at very competitive prices. Flat packs are available either through Danny or some of the forum regulars. If you have space to pull speakers away from the walls then consider his open baffle speakers. I‘ve been a fan of his work for over a decade.
The only downside is, like Schiit, he’s had delayed inventory issues due to COVID. A lot of parts are on a boat right now but they’re coming.

My current reference speakers are from a design he created for another company but ended not happening due to part manufacturers changing hands and tweeters just not being available. I got lucky when he was able to produce his own planar magnetic tweeters. He redesigned an improved baffle and with the help of a cabinet maker on the forum I was able to score a kit. Shortly after the planar magnetic midrange drivers became unavailable. Anyway, they’re full range open baffle with servo-controlled subs covering around 200Hz down to 20Hz. They are silky smooth, ridiculously transparent, and an easy 8 ohm load not mention 97dB sensitive.
Endgame speakers for me. I started with the subs thinking I could use just any small speaker on top. I had to wait a few years for the top half to become available. In total they cost me a little under $5K. It’s a lot but these easily compete with some of the best speakers I’ve heard.

Schiit...! Tubes, servo subs, OB planar speakers...! A perfect system. Wow. Well done. Thanks for sharing.

I've seen some of those designs on Audio Circle. Danny has a busy forum, with a lot of enthusiastic followers. Similar to here. I usually visit the VMPS site as well, but since Brian's passing, that's a quiet forum.

 

[Randolf711]

Hey all,

I'm back in California for a while, so I figured I'd give you an update.

First, we are producing speaker amps like crazy--you'll be seeing the backorders shrink for Aegir, Vidar, and Ragnarok 2 over the next week or so as we get caught up, and the intent is to eventually get to 1-3 day shipping for all speaker power amps. This would be a first for us--these products have almost always been 7-10 days.

Second, we're building black Freya+es and seeing if anyone wants one to help clear those backorders (lots of silver orders, silver tops we are still waiting for.)

Third, we're increasing capacity again, adding additional runs at new Utah PCB assembly houses to help meet demand.

All of this stuff should help get us out of the deep backorders, get us shipping more consistently, and allow us to fully open some channels (distributors, Amazon). But again, this takes time, and it also requires no surprises in planning. There have been a lot of surprises lately, though things seem to be getting better as far as the supply chain goes.

Finally, I must announce the imminent demise of Mjolnir 2. As in, it will be dropped from the product line with no planned successor.

"Why? Why are you doing such a terrible thing?" you might ask. "I always liked Mjolnir 2!"

So did I. I still have one at home.

But there's several problems with Mjolnir 2, not least of which is that the performance of Jotunheim 2 is now so good--in a smaller, more convenient amp. Also, Mjolnir 2 uses complex transformers that are hard to get right, have long lead times, and can be variable. So it's going away.

"Will you ever do something like Mjolnir 2 again?" you ask.

As of now, we don't have a Mjolnir 3 on the books. I've played with ideas, including ones you expect (tube hybrid with Nexus and Continuity, which did not work because the tubes can't match precisely enough, and a differential operational point servo "fought" the other operational point servos, resulting in unreliable start-up) and some you probably didn't (back to solid state with relay volume and two card slots, or a differential version of Coherence, both of which weren't all that exciting).

And, here's the thing: Mjolnir 2 is huge. Any Mjolnir 3 would either be (a) the same size, not desktop friendly, or (b) a weird size that doesn't match everything we make. I'd love to go back in time and make all the "large midsize" gear not as wide, but I don't have a direct line to any rogue Time Lords. So that means we're stuck with a size that may make sense in a rack, but not so much on a desk. That's probably one reason why Mjolnir 2 was, ahem, less popular than it might have been.

So, say farewell to Mjolnir 2. If you already have one, don't worry--we'll still service and repair them for the foreseeable future (hell, we're still repairing 10+ year old Asgards to this day). And if you want one, you have a small window to pick one up before they go away. Though honestly, after living with Jotunheim 2, it's really hard to justify. But then again, I'm cheap...and I like my desk space.

I’m so happy I grabbed a Mjolnir 2 before they are gone then! I LOVE that amp! I imagine it’s hard to justify continuing it with the Folkvanger coming. Also, well done on the Doctor Who references...

 

[gaddabout]

My Ragnarok with serial SCH09K / K000653, every now and then, left or right speaker, gets muted with a short crackling before. Need to turn the device off to unmute.
It seems that this device belongs to one very first batch with that known failure. Hey Schiit, according to your records, does this device with serial SCH09K / K000653
belong definitely to the bad batch?
This information would make the conversation and repair process with Schiit Europe much more efficient.
Unfortunately I get only standard answers from schiit/usa support, my simple question about the serial/batch remains unanswered.

Thanks and best

 

[Alexnova]

Hel 2 - a thing of beauty and sounds amazing too

@Jason Stoddard hire this guy to do promo pics of Schiit gear.

That looks awesome and makes me want to buy one.

 

[Azzurro]

Exceptionally nice image!

Thank you, sir! Really enjoying the Hel 2.

I'd be more than happy to snap any other products you have laying around

@Jason Stoddard hire this guy to do promo pics of Schiit gear.

That looks awesome and makes me want to buy one.

haha too kind thanks for the kind words.

But yeah, as I say, if there are any other products needing snapped, I'll be more than happy

 

[DougD]

The problem is, every person who subscribes to Tidal subsidizes it, and people who buy DACs with MQA who never use MQA subsidize it. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for MQA, but it seems to be showing up in more and more places.

Edit: also as shown in that video, even if you subscribe to Tidal and explicitly choose the Hi-Fi lossless option to avoid MQA, on titles that have both MQA and "Lossless", both are MQA.

I have always thought that MQA was an incredibly brilliant Trojan horse to get consumers to pay ... through licensing fees they don't see directly ... for something they absolutely don't want ... embedded digital rights management.

 

[Jbenz84]

I thought those were cigarette butts on there. They might as well be.

As a pizza hobbyist and a damn fine chef I can’t understand how someone doesn’t like pineapple on pizza. It’s the great divide in the pizza world, similar to New York vs Chicago style. I made dough today for a Sicilian I will bake tomorrow. You inspired me I’ll now make it a spicy Hawaiian; hot capicola, red onion slices, fresh pineapple, bbq sauce drizzle, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, top after bake with fresh scallions and cilantro. Fantastic!

 

[Rowethren]

Sad to see the Mjolnir 2 leave us, I have had one on my desk for 5 years and loved every minute of it. Many a headphone has flown the coop but my Mjolnir remains strong.

Can't say I am not disappointed to hear there won't be a Mjolnir 3 anytime soon. I do wonder if the size wasn't deemed a success if that has ramifications for the Gungnir.

 

[ev666il]

As a pizza hobbyist and a damn fine chef I can’t understand how someone doesn’t like pineapple on pizza.

As an Italian, I can't understand how anybody could eat pineapple on pizza and not realize that the taste is repulsive

 

[corndog71]

As an Italian, I can't understand how anybody could eat pineapple on pizza and not realize that the taste is repulsive

Did you forget the bacon?

 

[AudioGal]

Sorry to see Mjolnir 2 going away, though I can understand the reasons. I really enjoy mine, it pairs really nicely with the DCA Ether C 'phones. And I really enjoyed the adventure in finding the perfect-to-me pair of tubes to go in the amp to tweak the sound to my "just so" liking. Raytheon 6BQ7A for the curious. Physical space was less of an issue, I just moved the headphone rig from the end table to the coffee table when I got it. Just means I gotta lean forward a bit to get to the volume knob.

Eagerly awaiting more info on the Folkvanger. That thing has my kind of insanity written all over it. I can hear the muffled whimpering of my wallet inside my purse from across the room.