[Pondoro]

You"re mixing things up here. There's no point in measuring THD or whatever on your drums. Because that's the real, sound producing "thing". Measurements are meant for *reproduction*. If the reproduction has too much THD, you will not be able to tell the difference in sound between the two different grip drum hits on your system.

What level of THD matters? I don't know. What are we not currently measuring that would explain certain attributes of a piece of gear and correlate to its sound? I don't know that either.

I knew I was mixing things. Just pointing out a reason that I don't think THD is the measure of all things. And in reality drums are full of harmonics, and touching them really changes the content. But you are correct, it is not harmonic distortion as I described it. I was being a bit flippant with the terms.

 

[Ableza]

THD is a measurement of only one thing: THD. How it does or does not impact the perception of sound is a different matter. In the subwoofer range, a system with >10% THD normally sounds fine. In the most sensitive midrange band, 0.1% THD can sound bad. It's all relative.

 

[eswng679]

It is. This is speaking from personal experience. It is the one piece of equipment that I regret selling.

And it is not like this price increase was not foreshadowed a long time ago.

Ugh. I just sold my Asgard 3 to fund a Jot 2 last week. It was a great amp.

Ngl, I am slightly regretting the sale as well. Even more so now with the price increase!

 

[bboris77]

Ugh. I just sold my Asgard 3 to fund a Jot 2 last week. It was a great amp.

Ngl, I am slightly regretting the sale as well. Even more so now with the price increase!

I have the Jot 2 now. Before I got it, and after I sold the Asgard 3 I used the EL AMP II which I still use with my HD600 as it sounds amazing with it for some reason.

I think the Jot 2 is fantastic as well. I have only used it extensively employing its XLR output which sounds different than SE output. However, if I am being honest, I enjoyed my HD800S just a little bit more with the Asgard 3. It took just a bit of the edginess off the HD800S which gave the whole setup an amazing synergy.

The only caveat here is that I used the Asgard 3 with the Atom DAC which has the AKM Velvet sound, so it could have been the combination of the two harmonically richer devices that helped tame the HD800S. I am currently using the Jotunheim 2 with the Bifrost 2 which I personally find more detailed and mid-centric than any AKM DAC. The combo makes the HD800S sound very lively and punchy. On some songs, it is amazing. On others, it can be a bit over the top.

My conclusion would be that it is all about synergy between your DAC, amp and headphones. I know it sounds like pretentious and stereotypical audiophile drivel, but it is the truth. The good thing about the Jot 2 is that is sounds very different through its SE output, so it gives you a lot of options.

 

[filthy mechanical]

a. The sun never sets on the british empire

b. The uk is the heart of the british empire

c. the heart is in the middle

d. the uk is in the middle

e. the middle is betweeen the ends

f. the ends are ..



Not to mention criticize people who listen before measuring, because they don't want to be influenced by measurements.

ASR criticizes those who are not fortunate as he is to be able to afford a $100k analyzer. Of course, I think Jason and Mike started a company and make stuff for thousands of audiophiles and didn't they start with less than a $100k analyzer?

People who can't afford analyzers should not do reviews if they don't want to be targeted.

https://what-if.xkcd.com/48/ Looks good, keep the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific and it is many many years, loose something and it will set.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Treated myself to new tubes for my Mjolnir 2: A matched pair of Russian-made new stock Genalex Gold Lion E88CCs. Not exactly the cheapest tubes out there, but by no means super expensive, either.

First impression?
Well, just a taaaaaaad thinner around the highs than what I'm used to from my usual go-to, the JJ E88CC Gold Pins, but the bottom end and lower mids feel a little lusher.

And remember how I wrote earlier today that I usually prefer my Schiit on low gain? Yeah, just for Schiits and giggles I threw my Mjolnir into high gain, just to see how these new tubes react.

Well, smack my ass and call me Sally, these Gold Lions really want to be driven harder! Flip that thing to high gain, and all of a sudden they open up like nobody's business. Much wider, much fuller, more defined, and even the highs are back to what I'm used to.
The JJ Gold Pins react the exact opposite way, they sound "congested" on high gain. They don't really lose in width, but frequency separation seems to break down a bit, if that makes any sense. Like everything becomes quite a bit more blurred, less defined, but in the frequency domain, not the time domain.

Long story short: I like 'em new tubes!

Post Scriptum:
Yes, I am obviously trying my best to volume-match.

Post Post Scriptum:
Rig is M1 Mac mini -> USB (AudioQuest Cinnamon, obviously directly, meaning no hub, etc.) -> Gungnir MB -> XLR (Snake Oil Taipan) -> Lokius -> XLR (Snake Oil Taipan) -> Mjolnir 2 (on high gain, matched Genalex Gold Lion E88CC tubes) -> braided 8-wire 4-pin XLR -> GoldPlanar GL2000

 

[macdonjh]

What's between the Aegir and the Lambdas ?

Stock SRD-7 energizer. I like the idea of an energizer better than a dedicated amp, it allows me to try different amps.

 

[macdonjh]

and, of course, Yorkshire is in the middle of the UK.

Of course it is, that way it's never more expensive to travel to one destination than any other destination within the home country.

 

[macdonjh]

Well a 12-string definitely produces more harmonics...

Did @Ripper2860 help you with this post?

 

[macdonjh]

huh? no, silver is rad, flat grey is sad

(speaking of which, show pics, i may do the same)

The Mark Levinson gear, in the pre-Madrigal days, had knobs which looked milled and then bead blasted. They had a soft, satiny look which contrasted nicely with the black anodized aluminum chassis and face plate.

After decades of liking black gear, I've come to prefer silver. I am in the camp which prefers brushed natural aluminum to a painted silver or gray final finish. I hope the world returns to some level of sanity so brushed aluminum isn't so expensive anymore.

All my Schiit is silver, so I didn't know the black cases were painted. Is painting cheaper than anodizing? If the cases were to be anodized, you could also have brushed black aluminum finish.

 

[Lvivske]

The Mark Levinson gear, in the pre-Madrigal days, had knobs which looked milled and then bead blasted. They had a soft, satiny look which contrasted nicely with the black anodized aluminum chassis and face plate.

After decades of liking black gear, I've come to prefer silver. I am in the camp which prefers brushed natural aluminum to a painted silver or gray final finish. I hope the world returns to some level of sanity so brushed aluminum isn't so expensive anymore.

All my Schiit is silver, so I didn't know the black cases were painted. Is painting cheaper than anodizing? If the cases were to be anodized, you could also have brushed black aluminum finish.

I'd premium my premium for brushed black aluminum

 

[Alcophone]

All my Schiit is silver, so I didn't know the black cases were painted. Is painting cheaper than anodizing? If the cases were to be anodized, you could also have brushed black aluminum finish.

I think black started as a way to cover up imperfections, which paint can do, but anodizing can't.

 

[macdonjh]

I think black started as a way to cover up imperfections, which paint can do, but anodizing can't.

I get that. If the imperfections are small enough, and your standard finish is brushed, you could "rebrush" the damaged part and then anodize it to cover up the different aluminum shades created by the "original" brushing and the "repair" brushing.

Of course, there's no help for severe damage (as defined by requiring paint to cover it up). I'm not trying to second guess Schiit's manufacturing. I was simply wondering if painting is cheaper than anodizing. As I understand it, painting aluminum is a two coat process (etching primer followed by a top coat), so I'd be surprised if that was less expensive than a dip in a single chemical bath (yes, I know, with a trickle of electricity).

I'd buy a C8 if it came is brushed aluminum finish...

 

[Alcophone]

I get that. If the imperfections are small enough, and your standard finish is brushed, you could "rebrush" the damaged part and then anodize it to cover up the different aluminum shades created by the "original" brushing and the "repair" brushing.

Of course, there's no help for severe damage (as defined by requiring paint to cover it up). I'm not trying to second guess Schiit's manufacturing. I was simply wondering if painting is cheaper than anodizing. As I understand it, painting aluminum is a two coat process (etching primer followed by a top coat), so I'd be surprised if that was less expensive than a dip in a single chemical bath (yes, I know, with a trickle of electricity).

I'd buy a C8 if it came is brushed aluminum finish...

Which raises the question about what comes first: the brushing, or the bending. I assumed it is the former. And after both the machining for cutouts? Or maybe that's also before the bending part.
Anyway my understanding is Schiit gets a finished part before deciding to reject it and I doubt re-brushing is still an option at that stage, but you can always paint.
You're probably on to something if the metal shop rejects something mid-process, but giving how often Schiit has rejected "finished" metal, it would appear the metal shop isn't as picky / thorough.

Maybe @Jason Stoddard can shed some light on the process.

 

[Hofy]

Hey all,

Just a quick update, and a note that the price of Asgard 3 has increased to $249.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" some of you are crying. "What happened with Asgard 3? That's a healthy increase! Does this foreshadow a whole raft of price increases across the line? Are you guys using the "inflation" excuse to raise prices? Is Asgard 3 really worth that much money?"

Okay, in order:

What happened to Asgard 3? Asgard 3 has always been "thin" in terms of margin. I noted this when we introduced the product, and said there might be an increase in the future. Well, prices went up on chassis and transformers (especially transformers) since then, and Asgard 3 can't sustain it. So the price goes up.

That's a healthy increase! Yep, we'd rather do this once than a death by a thousand cuts.

Does this foreshadow more price increases coming? We don't think so. Everything else seems pretty good. We did increase the price of Freya+ recently, but that's about it.

Are you using the inflation excuse to raise prices? On two products out of 26? Yeah, then we're doing a pretty crappy job of it. But if we end up in a world where a Big Mac is $25, yeah, hey, no guarantees.

Is Asgard 3 really worth that much money? We don't know. You will decide, as you do in the end on all things. I will say this: Asgard 3 goes up to the price of the original Asgard, by the way, which had no gain switch, no preamp output, less than 1/3 the power output, no DAC module capability, and was introduced in 2010.

Oh, and of course the price increase doesn't hit any products in backorder. If you're waiting for an order, it's the old price.

Beyond that, everything is coming together on the PCB assembly front--in a couple of weeks, that will no longer be our limiting factor. From there, it will be parts shortages (still dealing with those, but no showstoppers yet), and brushed aluminum finish. Black is wayyy easier (I said about a billion times that if I could go back in time, I'd tell myself in 2010 to paint everything). So don't be surprised if silver is (a) more scarce, (b) more expensive--we have considered raising the price, or (c) replaced by a silver powder akin to the black, but, like, silver.

Thanks again for your patience. New chapters are coming, but I don't know what the timing is like yet. Things are still very busy here.

All the best,
Jason

If I recall right, when the Asgard3 was introduced it was announced the $199 price was temporary and would be going up some day. That was almost 2 years ago.