[adias]

This has been exactly my experience with passive. I don't think I've ever had an ideal amp for a passive pre.

Interestingly I actually really like certain classical recordings in passive mode on my freya N, but almost always prefer active mode for rock/pop. Wonder if that's because the big dynamic swings in classical pieces still come through whereas the smaller gradations aren't as crucial as they might be in a rock/pop recording. Is this what the kids refer to as macrodynamics vs microdynamics?

Or it’s the color or flavor of the gain stage that you prefer.

I agree that Freya S active 1x and 4x has a fuller presentation and passive is a bit drier. The latter could be an impedance loading issue. Hard to tell without a reference.

Very interested in learning about the color of the Kara amplified stages. Having followed Jason I suspect he refined the stages making then more linear. It may be that these stages are actually neutral and only considered fuller/warner as conpared to a drier, non ideally matched pure passive. We shall see.

 

[theeclone]

Or it’s the color or flavor of the gain stage that you prefer.

I agree that Freya S active 1x and 4x has a fuller presentation and passive is a bit drier. The latter could be an impedance loading issue. Hard to tell without a reference.

Very interested in learning about the color of the Kara amplified stages. Having followed Jason I suspect he refined the stages making then more linear. It may be that these stages are actually neutral and only considered fuller/warner as conpared to a drier, non ideally matched pure passive. We shall see.

Yeah I was holding out hope that the kara would be lisst-like in active mode. Was it the original mjolnir that had the same/similar circuitry as what would eventually become lisst? Was hoping it would have something like that.

 

[adias]

Yeah I was holding out hope that the kara would be lisst-like in active mode. Was it the original mjolnir that had the same/similar circuitry as what would eventually become lisst? Was hoping it would have something like that.

Can you describe that flavor? How does that compare to neutral? Warm? Dynamic?

 

[33na3rd]

Freya S is Mary Ann.

Kara is Ginger.

 

[EricDH]

First post on the forum. I've been browsing for a while. Go easy on me...
My music hobby has been on the sidelines for a few years since some of my old gear succumbed to age.
My 1990s Magnepan mgIIIa s needed rebuilt and my Adcom GFA 565 monos needed recapped (probably giving my age away).

Last winter Magnepan re built my speakers, and I recently bought a pair of tyrs. The rest of my gear is Nakamichi from the same time period.
I spent last night with my old gear and the tyrs. It's been a while since I heard them, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I think the maggies are sounding better than ever.
The rebuilt speakers probably need some break in time, and Magnepan made an update to the crossovers (I'm not that technical of a guy compared to some on this thread).
With the trys connected, I'm hearing much more detailed bass -percussion than what I remember. Obviously my old amps - speakers were probably not performing at their new in box specs anymore. I always loved the midrange - tweeter performance from these speakers, but was always wanting a little more bass. I was always considering subs for these speakers but might hold off for a while .

So enough changes have been made, that I probably can't credit all the sound improvements to the tyrs....
But the tyrs are staying in my system. I also purchased Urd last month, so I'll compare it to my 30 year old cd player soon.
Currently the only DAC in the house is a Modi 3 purchased to listen to the TV through my stereo, so hopefully that will work for now.
My bank account will need some time to recover.
Thanks Jason , and thanks to the other posters for the info I have picked up here.

Welcome to the forum. And congratulations with your upgrades. They seem to do exactly what they should do, help you enjoy listening to music more.

Reading that your gear is Nakamichi, I assume a cassette deck must be part of it. If so, which one do you have? I used to have a Nakamichi CR4E (bought in 1988 or so), which is now "permanently borrowed" by my youngest son, together with my vinyl collection.

 

[rkw]

Suggestion for @Jason Stoddard :

Design/sell Aegir2 - 100W (into 8 Ohm) mono block with a solenoid power supply filter. Essentially a junior Tyr at half the price.

If that's "essentially a junior Tyr", what makes a solenoid power supply filter equivalent to a choke?

 

[adias]

If that's "essentially a junior Tyr", what makes a solenoid power supply filter equivalent to a choke?

Oops! Choke of course. Thanks for the correction.

 

[theeclone]

Can you describe that flavor? How does that compare to neutral? Warm? Dynamic?

It seems to have a punchier sound and yes perhaps warmer, but also sweeter. Maybe the way the mosfets break up is giving more of certain harmonics that I like.

It's kind of tubey, but has the tight, textured bass of solid state. Maybe there are tubes that can compete with SS for bass. In my lyr3, I tried a particular ken rad vt231 that was supposed to be a strong performer in this regard, and maybe the tube was just beat, but it didn't match the lisst's low end.

 

[Timster]

Freya S is Mary Ann.

Kara is Ginger.

Mary Ann for the win, for me

 

[theeclone]

Rediscovering what a banger this track is.

 

[Plautus001]

Freya S is Mary Ann.

Kara is Ginger.

Darn it... I'm Mary Ann all the way!

 

[adias]

Freya S is Mary Ann.

Kara is Ginger.

Nah… more detail, more depth please.

 

[Ohno Schiitizen]

Yep, thank Stephan for the tweaks to the remote. It works much better, now capable of doing "1 click" steps most of the time. Not 100% perfect, it's still an IR remote, but much much better.



I've never used a Freya or Freya+. I used Freya S until we did Kara, then Kara. I always thought it sounded more natural (actually richer and warmer) than the tube variants. But then again, I'm probably crazy.

To head off the "why do you do the tube one, then?" questions: it's because my taste isn't yours. The Freya+ can be fantastic in terms of imaging and resolution, but I'm not one to want to worry about tube life, or chase the perfect tube to make that even better. See the anti-nervosa statement. Again, personal. I don't impose my personal taste on others.



There will always be some weirdness as a relay ladder changes volume, because we don't have precise control over every relay. They are mechanical devices, using physical switches--literally the best way on the planet to change volume. No volume control chip can boast of the transparency of a relay ladder--hence the Kara's disclaimer that passive mode "exceeds the capability of the APx555 to measure"--the best audio analyzer available, and now over $30K to start. And no potentiometer can offer basically perfect tracking all the way down to the bottom of the range. Kara and Freya are usually within 0.1dB across the entirety of the volume control. The best potentiometers are spec'd to within 3dB down to -40dB attenuation. Usually they are much better (1dB at -70dB is typical for good potentiometers), but it is nowhere near the performance of a relay ladder. So yeah, we'll take the transient chatter of a relay ladder (not distortion, actually volume glitching) when adjusting volume--for the best possible performance when actually listening.



Mike has long referred to our unique digital filter, based on our own proprietary algorithm and topology as the "megacomboburrito" filter, as it is optimized in both the time and frequency domains. There's probably a lot more info on it in his thread, search for posts from baldr.

Thank you, Jason ~

 

[MoveStonks]

Probably missed this a few pages back in the thread.... but what's the latest on Urd? Website says shipping in October, is that a for sure run? Waiting on drives? any potential this doesn't get another run?

 

[malenak]

I would like to know how Mjolnir 3 perform with power demanding pieces like HE6se V2 or Susvara. Any owner here with these?
How does Mjolnir 3 differs from Jot 2 or Lyr 3 soundwise? I was waiting for Mjolnir 3 and now it is only 110V. Meh...