[ScubaMan2017]

Finally joining the Schiit fanclub... bought a Schiit Ragnarok 2 with around 2 ish months of use for ~$900 dollars cheaper than Australian retailer prices

Welcome to the nonsense, @Skylah

 

[RCBinTN]

A very good point, I will try it with and without input signal. Normally there is not one present unless I leave Tidal running all the time so this may well come and go with no signal present, this morning it was obvious when I turned the Gungnir on but since it warmed up all is well. It was fine for three years with or without signal.

I will also clean the coaxial RCA connectors coming from my computer to the Gungnir, on occasion I have had issues but a good cleanup with 99% isopropyl should help. This would be a tough one to troubleshoot and I want to eliminate any possible issues on my end first of course.

I never experience the clicks when the source is Mac - USB (Gen 5). Yesterday we were using an optical input and the Gungnir was clicking ... the optical cable was loose. Strangely, the "get better music" light didn't come on.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Besides the long run thing and protection against ground loop hums there are other benefits.
Have you read Benchmark's article: https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/balanced-vs-unbalanced-analog-interfaces

It might also help looking at this blog about one dude's musings about such cables. January, 2021. Strictly my 2 cents, eh.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Laser diodes have MTBFs of hundreds of thousands of hours unless you do something silly like hit them with a static electricity spike. I'd be more concerned about the mechanics - moving parts. Either getting gummed up from lack of use - you burn a few CDs maybe every few months/years, or wearing out. Or, the optics get dusty/coated with grime so the photodiode can't read the data anymore.

That's a valid point, @GumbyDammit223 . I have to remind myself that the LASER is a diode... not some gas-filled arc light. So if I understand your point of view, if I keep the gears, plastic (or metal?!) cogs clean of grime and contaminants, add SMALL amounts of lubricant to the axles (RTFM), and keep the lens clean (using microscope paper or designated microfiber).... and blow the chassis out with compressed air, then it'll last a lifetime.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

I turn mine off at the end of the day and turn it on when I first need it. I use it with speakers and a subwoofer and have not noticed a dramatic change in sound as it stays on, so leaving it on seems like an unnecessary waste of electricity to me.

I leave my Bifrost on. One action that I now follow religiously is turn all my volume knobs to 0% (I almost smoked my Ether C Flow's with a misbehaving Magni Heretic that I left on at about 50%... scared the hell out of me [both DCA and Schiit customer service sorted me out]).

 

[Ableza]

My diseased mind immediately went to the scene in Apocalypse Now when the Colonel says, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning... it smells like... smells like FREEDOM".

My job really is taking a toll on my mental health. 2.5h of high school science class... in the afternoon... with kids that have been out of the lab for >1 year... and traumatised. Many with the mental scars of the pandemic. Grim...

"Smells like victory" is what he said, by the way.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Does anyone know if the Freya S can be opened to change the fuse? Mine arrived with the fuse unseated and rattling around inside (can see this through the vent holes).

Do I have to RMA?

Yikes! Contact Schiit Audio. I wouldn't crack it open (unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing).

 

[sam6550a]

Yikes! Contact Schiit Audio. I wouldn't crack it open (unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing).

And know how to do it. Fuses do not blow for no reason---they blow to protect things.

 

[Paladin79]

I never experience the clicks when the source is Mac - USB (Gen 5). Yesterday we were using an optical input and the Gungnir was clicking ... the optical cable was loose. Strangely, the "get better music" light didn't come on.

I had not experienced it for a long time with the audio card in my server but I suspect if anything, a poor solder on the card where the RCA jack connects. I lose signal on rare occasions so I will check said solder joints as well. Now getting to them is another matter.

 

[Paladin79]

And know how to do it. Fuses do not blow for no reason---they blow to protect things.

In my case the fuse blew immediately when I fired up a Mjolnir 2. Schiit had some bad fuses they had pulled from production but they missed mine. (I was in communication with the technician.)
Now in the case of my Freya + I believe a transformer was causing the fuse to go over time, then a heat sink that had worked its way loose on the second repair. I was able to remove the heat sink through one of the tube openings in the case but not before it did damage. I might have caught that ahead of time if I had picked the Freya up and shaken it but I am not in the habit of doing that. In both those cases the fuses certainly did their job.

 

[AudioGal]

I leave my Bifrost on. One action that I now follow religiously is turn all my volume knobs to 0% (I almost smoked my Ether C Flow's with a misbehaving Magni Heretic that I left on at about 50%... scared the hell out of me [both DCA and Schiit customer service sorted me out]).

In the pro audio world you learn very early in your career that you always turn the amplifiers on *last* and off *first*. You also learn that you always, always turn the input controls on the amps to minimum before the on/off operation. The amplifiers are often big enough to do such things as launching speaker cones out of baskets and setting fire to voice coils. I've witnessed both, more than once.

My Bifrost stays on all the time unless I'm leaving home for several days. Then all the audio gear is unplugged.

 

[Odin412]

"Smells like victory" is what he said, by the way.

One of the greatest lines in all of movie history IMHO.

 

[tafens]

In the pro audio world you learn very early in your career that you always turn the amplifiers on *last* and off *first*. You also learn that you always, always turn the input controls on the amps to minimum before the on/off operation. The amplifiers are often big enough to do such things as launching speaker cones out of baskets and setting fire to voice coils. I've witnessed both, more than once.

My Bifrost stays on all the time unless I'm leaving home for several days. Then all the audio gear is unplugged.

By happenstance I follow all those rules to the letter, but I am however guilty of the horrible sin of leaving the headphones plugged in all the time

 

[Alcophone]

I leave my Bifrost on.

Oh yeah, DACs and reclockers and digital switches are permanently on. Amps I turn off.

One action that I now follow religiously is turn all my volume knobs to 0% (I almost smoked my Ether C Flow's with a misbehaving Magni Heretic that I left on at about 50%... scared the hell out of me [both DCA and Schiit customer service sorted me out]).

I only do that when I don't know what to expect, say when switching from speakers to headphones, or between different speakers or different headphones, or different gain settings on the Ragnarok 2 because lordy are they different.

 

[bcowen]

And know how to do it. Fuses do not blow for no reason---they blow to protect things.

What you said.

In @Dynasty62 's case it sounds like the fuse just jarred loose, but if the unit took a hard enough hit to dislodge the fuse, I'd wonder what else in there (like transformers) got jarred loose at the same time.