[45longcolt]

We used to dream of living in a cardboard box!

Livin' the dream!

See also the 1987 eponymous single, "Living in a Box."
Me, I'm gonna go think outside...

 

[StimpyWan]

Livin' the dream!


See also the 1987 eponymous single, "Living in a Box."
Me, I'm gonna go think outside...

That's not a box, it's a Condo...!

 

[FLTWS]

For a minute there I thought there was a Schiit tube amp I had not owned.
I passed on the FV but in doing so maybe someone out there will own their first tube headphone amp. I have not heard anyone say how it did with Focal Utopias, I would be curious to know.

LOL! I just remembered, I've found 2 more pieces of Schiit. A Jotunheim 1 and a Jotunheim 2 I had put in the closet in my bedroom a while ago as I wasn't using them, and didn't have space for in any of my 3 racks of stuff! So, that makes 6 tube and 6 SS presently. FV would have made it 13 amps, an unlucky number of amps to have.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Of course, I was just poking.

Yes, Mjolnir I is solid state. I think @Jason Stoddard wanted it to be a tube amp, though. There is a pair of LEDs inside which glow a surprisingly tubey-orange. But they don't stick up through the top plate of the case, so nobody should be fooled.

I don't want to burst any bubbles, but those LEDs have nothing to do with tubes. ;p

You can find these LEDs in pretty much every Schiit product that has an amplification circuit in it.

Based on where they are located on the boards, I think that Jason uses those LEDs as voltage reference for a current source in the output stages of his amps. The point is to create a current that is a) known and b) reasonably stable. You create that current with a resistor, but to be able to ensure that this resistor is providing the current that you expect to see, you need to introduce a known voltage drop. That's what the LEDs are for. Orange LEDs have a voltage drop of more or less exactly 2 volts. You can use other means of creating the desired voltage drop, but LEDs have the benefit that they perform reliably well within their intended specifications with reasonably small margins, and that their drop remains more or less stable regardless of temperature. The downside is that they can act as photo sensors and will introduce a little bit of noise into the signal path if they're under a flickering light source, like most room lighting.

Could be wrong, though. Still in the process of learning the very basics of amp design…

 

[Paladin79]

LOL! I just remembered, I've found 2 more pieces of Schiit. A Jotunheim 1 and a Jotunheim 2 I had put in the closet in my bedroom a while ago as I wasn't using them, and didn't have space for in any of my 3 racks of stuff! So, that makes 6 tube and 6 SS presently. FV would have made it 13 amps, an unlucky number of amps to have.

I forgot about some little solid state speaker amps I have for testing mini radial speakers. If I go through my shop hard telling what I will find.

I have the wood and copper to build a second audio rack but other projects have my interest more right now, some in cardboard.

 

[Paladin79]

I don't want to burst any bubbles, but those LEDs have nothing to do with tubes. ;p

You can find these LEDs in pretty much every Schiit product that has an amplification circuit in it.

Based on where they are located on the boards, I think that Jason uses those LEDs as voltage reference for a current source in the output stages of his amps. The point is to create a current that is a) known and b) reasonably stable. You create that current with a resistor, but to be able to ensure that this resistor is providing the current that you expect to see, you need to introduce a known voltage drop. That's what the LEDs are for. Orange LEDs have a voltage drop of more or less exactly 2 volts. You can use other means of creating the desired voltage drop, but LEDs have the benefit that they perform reliably well within their intended specifications with reasonably small margins, and that their drop remains more or less stable regardless of temperature. The downside is that they can act as photo sensors and will introduce a little bit of noise into the signal path if they're under a flickering light source, like most room lighting.

Could be wrong, though. Still in the process of learning the very basics of amp design…

A good place to start is with a Bottlehead Crack, LED's are used there as well and you are supplied with a schematic as well. Mind you I only did heavy mods to such amps, some I started before the kits even arrived.

 

[Les Strat]

@golfbravobravo said:
We used to dream of living in a cardboard box.


You were lucky!
We lived for 3 months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank....

 

[chronoso]

For a minute there I thought there was a Schiit tube amp I had not owned.
I passed on the FV but in doing so maybe someone out there will own their first tube headphone amp. I have not heard anyone say how it did with Focal Utopias, I would be curious to know.

If anyone out there wants to loan me a pair of Utopias, I will happily post my personal opinions of the pairing.

I don't want to burst any bubbles, but those LEDs have nothing to do with tubes. ;p

You can find these LEDs in pretty much every Schiit product that has an amplification circuit in it.

Based on where they are located on the boards, I think that Jason uses those LEDs as voltage reference for a current source in the output stages of his amps. The point is to create a current that is a) known and b) reasonably stable. You create that current with a resistor, but to be able to ensure that this resistor is providing the current that you expect to see, you need to introduce a known voltage drop. That's what the LEDs are for. Orange LEDs have a voltage drop of more or less exactly 2 volts. You can use other means of creating the desired voltage drop, but LEDs have the benefit that they perform reliably well within their intended specifications with reasonably small margins, and that their drop remains more or less stable regardless of temperature. The downside is that they can act as photo sensors and will introduce a little bit of noise into the signal path if they're under a flickering light source, like most room lighting.

Could be wrong, though. Still in the process of learning the very basics of amp design…

LEDs can be used as a regular diode or even a resistor with the added benefit of a visual confirmation of the functioning circuit, yeah. I'm also reminded of the usage of light bulbs as a resistor and/or a kind of variable fuse to reduce current. You see them in speakers sometimes and, of course, in the Easy-Bake Oven where the thermal inefficiency of the 100W incandescent light bulb was turned into a feature instead of a bug.

..hey so speaking of 100W heaters, can anyone with more experience in buying tube sets ballpark what a replacement set for the FV tubes would cost? Obviously tube prices are variable especially of late and this is a down-the-road problem, but I'm just kind of curious what the eventual maintenance/service cost of running the FV might be.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

..hey so speaking of 100W heaters, can anyone with more experience in buying tube sets ballpark what a replacement set for the FV tubes would cost? Obviously tube prices are variable especially of late and this is a down-the-road problem, but I'm just kind of curious what the eventual maintenance/service cost of running the FV might be.

You can order replacement tubes from Schiit. From their website:

Due to the worldwide tube shortage, we are limiting our tube sales to Schiit owners. Please contact orders@schiit.com with your product, serial number, and order number to place an order.

Tube sets you can request include:

6SN7 Premium Singles for Saga, Saga+, and Lyr 3
6SN7 Premium Matched Quads for Freya and Freya+
6BZ7 NOS Singles for Vali 2
6BZ7 NOS Matched Pairs for Lyr, Lyr 2, and Mjolnir 2
6N1P and 6N6P NOS Matched Pairs for Valhalla and Valhalla 2

Prices vary by tube set requested.

JC

 

[Les Strat]

You can order replacement tubes from Schiit. From their website:

Due to the worldwide tube shortage, we are limiting our tube sales to Schiit owners. Please contact orders@schiit.com with your product, serial number, and order number to place an order.

Tube sets you can request include:

6SN7 Premium Singles for Saga, Saga+, and Lyr 3
6SN7 Premium Matched Quads for Freya and Freya+
6BZ7 NOS Singles for Vali 2
6BZ7 NOS Matched Pairs for Lyr, Lyr 2, and Mjolnir 2
6N1P and 6N6P NOS Matched Pairs for Valhalla and Valhalla 2

Prices vary by tube set requested.

JC

I emailed Schiit, enquiring about spare tubes for my new Folkvangr.
I was told that they are not yet available!

I don’t understand that, as the Folkvangr uses the same tubes as Valhalla 2.

I found a good tube supplier in the UK and bought 8 x 6N6P and 2x 6N23P (replacement for 6N1P).

Saved myself a lot of money in the process as postage was under £4.

 

[Paladin79]

If anyone out there wants to loan me a pair of Utopias, I will happily post my personal opinions of the pairing.

LOL, no. I will find out eventually if a local friend gets one. I like to start with headphones or speakers and work my way back.

 

[ScotchNeat]

I have not heard anyone say how it did with Focal Utopias, I would be curious to know.

Clearly I don't have the breadth of experience of most folks here, but I think it's lovely. Genres like Jazz already sounded amazingly lifelike with the Utopias when driven by the Monolith 788, but my primary genres of Hard Rock and Metal weren't nearly as big a step up from the Clears I had previously (well, I still have them, they just don't get used much anymore. ). I attributed this (rightly or wrongly) to the speed of the Beryllium drivers slightly reducing the sustain, and taking away some of the "size" of the guitars.

That restriction is almost, but not entirely, gone with the Folkvangr, and guitar-driven music sounds much fuller. Unsurprisingly, Jazz sounds even smoother and more liquid. Bass is a little fuller, but not boomy. Low gain is definitely the right setting for Utopias, and I have an extremely slight preference for having the impedance multiplier enabled. There is very little difference between the two settings, with the mids thinning out just a tiny bit when it is turned off.

 

[Plautus001]

I don’t understand this obsession with tubes… oh wait.

Too much crack, you may have a problem

 

[33na3rd]

I just picked up my first Octave Records recording. Octave was founded by PS Audio. A custom studio, using direct to DSD recording. The SACD I purchased is Carmen Sandim’s Mini Brazilian Beasts. A fantastic jazz recording. It sounds great on my Schiit stack at work. I haven't played it at home yet, as I'm modding my Martin Logan speakers.

Octave has the full recording posted here. But, you have to play a track at a time. Not a hindrance, considering the performance and recording quality.

Oh, keep quiet about the DSD SACD stuff...!!!

StimpyWan, do Octave's SACD's have a CD layer too?

 

[AudioGal]

I don’t understand this obsession with tubes… oh wait.

I see a whole lot of sockets with no tubes. Where's the tubes?

How do you like the Bottlehead stuff?
And is that a DIY Dyna Stereo 70 in the big aluminum chassis upper left?