One of the things I wanted to do at the Texas Audio Roundup was hear Folkvangr. Mission accomplished, sort of. Since
@Jason Stoddard mentioned my new favorite head phone by name in one of his posts, I had the perverse desire to hear my HE-6 driven by Folkvangr. But I forgot my 4-pin x 1/4" TRS adapter at home. D'oh! And
@Jason Stoddard, who must have known I was coming, forbid any of the crew from bringing any adapters. Schiit...
I got to listen to Folkvangr, though, first with a pair of DCA Stealth. You may have noticed I generally use terms like "not for me" and "didn't push my buttons" since audio is such a subjective pursuit. Not this time, the Folkvangr/ Stealth was a bad combination, they did not get along well at all. Under-powered, no bass, closed in, not dynamic. Everything one might expect from reading
@Jason Stoddard's posts about what he expected Folkvangr to be good at.
Then I plugged in a pair of ZMF Atrium... Yup, ZMF like tubes, and I think Folkvangr likes ZMF. That combination sounded like
@ArmchairPhilosopher's photo of Folkvangr. It sounded like a campfire burning low on a chilly autumn evening and made me feel like like sliding deeper into my sleeping bag as the world faded away and all that remained was me, the low orange glow and my music.
That said, I think I am one who would not be satisfied with Folkvangr in the long term. I'd miss the analytical side my Mjolnir I brings. I bumped into
@Jason Stoddard a second time just after listening to Folkvangr and thanked him for Mjolnir. That said, I can absolutely see why Folkvangr fans are fans. It is beguiling. And TOTALLY different from the solid state Mjolnir I. What a great hobby to have so many choices and kudos to Schiit for brining some to us.
[edit] Oh, and I agree with
@ArmchairPhilosopher, the Folkvangr and Elex sound weird together.