[ManShear]

You're set, we have tubes for the current run.

Thanks Jason!!

 

[Roy G. Biv]

And to think I bought my Freya S in October because I thought it was going to be a limited run at the time lol

 

[US Blues]

I understand how you feel but after what I have been through in the past two years and what people in Europe are going through right now, this qualifies as small stuff. I don't sweat small stuff.

"Don't sweat the petty stuff, and don't pet the sweaty stuff."

 

[OldRoadToad]

We just lost our 16+ year old Labrador. He was a good pet and friend to our son and to me, for that matter he was to all our family. Here in this state we are not allowed to be with a pet when it is euthanized. So...I took all of my saved money and paid for our dog to pass at home with his family. He is worth it and more. Like my mom taught me, there is a reason God spelled backwards is dog.

All dogs go to heaven. I will never make it but I was there to watch him complete that journey. And yes, kittehs make it too. We have lost more than a few felines. My spousal unit is sooooo comforting at these times. "No more pets, as it is too hard to watch them go." And when I pass? "No more husbands. This one was useless and I don't want to risk that again." What ever...

I will begin saving again for the integrated amp.

Still want either the LSA VT-70 or that cool integrated Decware model.

In all ways and for always, be well. All of you.

ORT

 

[artur9]

You need to go into the tube manufacturing business. The back pages of TAS are full of entrepreneurs who started by selling and then making....

 

[quimbo]

2 of my favorite live albums, have on vinyl, cassette and CD. Like and still listen to most of the above

Rory Gallagher - Live In Europe
Traffic - On The Road

 

[MisterMudd]

For many years my favorite live album was Steppenwolf Live. Not because it was so well recorded or technically challenging but because it KICKS ASSS.

Saw Steppenwolf with Lee Michaels @ Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, Fort Worth, TX, 1969. And yes, they KICKED ASSS that night. Still listen to them regularly because I like their political slant in music. Seems relevant today even. The Ostrich.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Bring back LISST. Although LISST was difficult to make and not super-popular, it would give us a viable tube replacement and allow us to ship something as a tube-optional product. Like I said, it’s a lot easier for you to find 1-4 of your favorite tubes than for us to find 4000. So yeah, this is on the burner. We’ll see when we can convince someone to make them…with all of our assemblers slammed, this may be a while.

Hah, perfect timing. I actually had the following sitting in my drafts for the past day or so:

A bit over three months ago, I mentioned in this thread that I was curious about what Lisst sounded like, as they went away before I discovered that Schiit even existed. @US Blues DM'd me shortly after, kindly telling me that I should make him an offer for his quad set of octals, and I was more than happy to oblige.

My intention was to satisfy my curiosity, try them out for a few days, see what all the fuss (or rather, the apparent lack of fuss) was all about, and then go back to my beloved "proper" tubes.

It is now three months later, and they're still in my Freya.

And get this:
I honestly don't think that I'll go back to "proper" tubes any time soon. Maybe ever‽

Such sacrilege, I know!

But I just absolutely love the way these things sound.

Which honestly surprises me more than anybody — because I actually can't stand solid state.

Pure solid state (pre-)amps sound harsh to my ears. Too analytical, in a way. And I always felt that tubes create a much more engaging image. I've tried more pure solid-state preamps and headphone amps than I care to admit, but I always felt drawn back to tubes. Jotunheim 2 came close, but no cigar.

So, I really didn't expect much from these Lisst thingamabobs. I was fully expecting to try them out, dismiss them as "too solid state for my taste", and then pretty much immediately go back to my usual go-to tubes.
But then, I just kept listening to these things. In fact, for the the past six or eight weeks or so, I actually forgot that I even still had them in my Freya in the first place. Before, I couldn't go four weeks without giving in to the urge to roll some different tubes!

And here's the kicker:
My personal benchmark for true end-game gear is … when I completely forget about it.

For years, I was playing around with headphone rigs in all shapes and sizes. I tried everything my budget allowed for. Seemingly endless combinations of DACs and headphone amps came and went. Well, until I tried a Gumby with a Mjolnir 2 (and a certain pair of headphones that people absolutely love to hate). Ever since, I've been using it every single day, and not once have I felt so much as the tiniest itch to change a thing. It's just there, doing its job, and the sound just hits all the right buttons. It just makes me happy.

The same goes for the Yggy OG/Freya+/mono Aegirs/Q950 combo that I have in my living room. I've tried all kinds of things, but this combination just jives with me. Especially the addition of Yggy OG fully rounded it out to an extent I would never have expected.

Except that I kept rolling tubes.

There was always something I didn't like.
Some tubes were too noisy for my taste. Others did't have this natural and "non-obnoxious" bass I would like to hear and know my system is oh so capable of delivering. Others again were a bit too harsh around their highs. Or they were too rolled off. Or they muddied the mids. Or they lacked imaging.

There was always something.

Then those four octal Lisst arrived … and I never looked back. At least in regard to my own sensibilities; they're absolutely perfect.

So, yeah. I can kind of understand why they were never all that popular. I myself completely dismissed them for the longest time. I don't enjoy solid state, so why would I expect to like them? And even more so: Why would anyone use Lisst when they can use tubes? And if you like solid state, then why would you ever spring for a tube amp in the first place, just to stick some Lisst in there? Their existence made absolutely no sense to me, they seemed like just another one of Jason's "why the f#@% not" products that come and go every once in a while.

I don't understand why they don't sound like solid state. I don't understand why they sound like tubes, but without actually sounding like tubes. They make no sense to me. But I'm glad they exist(ed), and I'm glad I managed to get my hands on a set for my Freya+.

Now I just have to find an as-close-to-mint-as-possible nonal pair for my Mjolnir, and I'll be completely happy.
(I've tried two of the octals in my Mjolnir 2 using an adapter. Oh my, they do sound heavenly…)

One question for @Jason Stoddard:
I don't know what exactly is in those Lisst, but have you ever considered making a (pre-)amp like Freya+ or Mjolnir that's exactly like a Freya+ or Mjolnir, but instead of tube sockets has the Lisst components right there on the board instead? I assume you didn't reinvent the wheel with Lisst, so maybe that's more or less what Freya S or Jotunheim 2 already are. All I know is that I've never listened to a Freya S, but I do own a Jotunheim 2, and it comes nowhere near my Mjolnir 2 with Lisst. I have no doubt that Lisst was hard to manufacture, especially the octal ones look and feel like a seriously well-made product, chunky and really robust. And I can imagine that it's not at all trivial to get a board mated to the base, and then that whole thing properly seated into the can, with the metal base having to clip firmly around the can and all that. But what if you just soldered the components that are in Lisst right onto the (pre-)amp's board?

I wouldn't know how to market such a product, the whole "why bother with 'fake tubes' when I can have real tubes or a normal solid state amp" thing I talked about earlier is a marketing conundrum I have absolute no idea how to overcome.

All I know is that they sure sound magical. I don't know why these things sound so pleasant, I just know that they do, and I feel like a lot more people would enjoy them, too, if they had given them a chance.

And if we do it really really right, and get a little lucky…maybe we’ll even be able to help start an entirely new tube world!

This excites me.

 

[adydula]

@Jason Stoddard

How about a LISST for the Vali 2 + ?

:>)

 

[DougD]

My intention was to satisfy my curiosity, try them out for a few days, see what all the fuss (or rather, the apparent lack of fuss) was all about, and then go back to my beloved "proper" tubes.

It is now three months later, and they're still in my Freya.

And get this:
I honestly don't think that I'll go back to "proper" tubes any time soon. Maybe ever‽

Such sacrilege, I know!

But I just absolutely love the way these things sound.

Which honestly surprises me more than anybody — because I actually can't stand solid state.

Then those four octal Lisst arrived … and I never looked back. At least in regard to my own sensibilities; they're absolutely perfect.

So, yeah. I can kind of understand why they were never all that popular. I myself completely dismissed them for the longest time. I don't enjoy solid state, so why would I expect like them? And even more so: Why would anyone use Lisst when they can use tubes? And if you like solid state, then why would you ever spring for a tube amp in the first place, just to stick some Lisst in there? Their existence made absolutely no sense to me, they seemed like just another one of Jason's "why the f#@% not" products that come and go every once in a while.

I don't understand why they don't sound like solid state. I don't understand why they sound like tubes, but without actually sounding like tubes. They make no sense to me. But I'm glad they exist(ed), and I'm glad I managed to get my hands on a set for my Freya+.

All I know is that they sure sound magical. I don't know why these things sound so pleasant, I just know that they do, and I feel like a lot more people would, too, if they had given them a chance.

Epic post !!!

 

[macdonjh]

For many years my favorite live album was Steppenwolf Live. Not because it was so well recorded or technically challenging but because it KICKS ASSS.

Deep Purple's 'Made in Japan' is another live album that I love. Well recorded and also kicks ass, IMHO.

Yes, totally awesome recording, eclipsed only by Dire Straits On the Night in my collection (another 2-LP set).

Ashamed to say that I don't know the album 'Waiting for Columbus' !
I'll put that right this evening...

Last year, over a few beers in a pub, a friend and I pondered the 'best' live albums.
What it really came down to, was our favourite live albums.
I think that many live albums are simply worse- sounding versions of the original studio albums.
However, a few that I really like, include:

Live and Dangerous Lizzy
Made in Japan Deep Purple
Live at Leeds The Who
Live Cream Vol II Cream
Live: The Road Goes Ever On Mountain
At Fillmore East Allman Bros
Get Yer Ya Ya's Out Stones
Free Live Free
Performance Rockin' The Fillmore Humble Pie
Live Rust Neil Young
Blues Alive Gary Moore
Live in Boston Fleetwood Mac
Unplugged EC


Not all of these albums have great recording quality, but what they do have ( in my opinion) are performances of tracks which are at least as good as the studio versions.

2 of my favorite live albums, have on vinyl, cassette and CD. Like and still listen to most of the above

Rory Gallagher - Live In Europe
Traffic - On The Road

To add:

Pat Metheny Group: Travels

 

[Ripper2860]

Ooooh. Yes! I limited myself to rock - how silly. Travels is an Excellent live album.

 

[RickB]

Schiit man, why the crying? Your reserves might make you very well off!

 

[AudioGal]

We just lost our 16+ year old Labrador. He was a good pet and friend to our son and to me, for that matter he was to all our family. Here in this state we are not allowed to be with a pet when it is euthanized. So...I took all of my saved money and paid for our dog to pass at home with his family. He is worth it and more. Like my mom taught me, there is a reason God spelled backwards is dog.

All dogs go to heaven. I will never make it but I was there to watch him complete that journey. And yes, kittehs make it too. We have lost more than a few felines. My spousal unit is sooooo comforting at these times. "No more pets, as it is too hard to watch them go." And when I pass? "No more husbands. This one was useless and I don't want to risk that again." What ever...

I will begin saving again for the integrated amp.

Still want either the LSA VT-70 or that cool integrated Decware model.

In all ways and for always, be well. All of you.

ORT

ORT,

So very sorry for your loss of your four legged buddy. Bravo to you for doing what you did for your friend. I lost my dog of 15 years last summer, the whole family was present for her crossing. Our lab (originally my wife's dog, but she's decided I'm worthy, too) is 13+, dealing with recovery from heartworms. With a little luck she'll be with us for a few years yet.

Sucks horribly when they go. And yet, there are many dogs (and cats and other animals) that need a good home. So... at some point we'll get another dog. And one after that.

Peace and Love,
AudioGal

 

[bcowen]

Schiit man, why the crying? Your reserves might make you very well off!

You mean sell some of them? Hmmmm.

Wait....LOL! You had me going there for a second.