[US Blues]

My birthday is on Valentine's Day. Awww, I know. I'm finding lately that birthdays are less and less relevant, you know?

Birthday's may seem less relevant the more of them we've celebrated in our life, yet we are always happy to keep adding to the total.

 

[ScotchNeat]

Curious… Was the FLAC file created from that WAV file, or did one or both come from a third party source?

Yeah, agree that piece of it doesn't make sense. An unpacked FLAC file will always be identical to the WAV file that it was created from. It's like zipping a document--you get back exactly what you put in.

 

[mystaiced]

@Jason Stoddard can you tell me what kind of connector is the connection thing with the 4-5 metal teeth that sticks out of the SOL turntable? I am asking Hart Cables to make a 'that thing' to XLR for my new Skoll coming today. But they can't figure out what 'that thing' is.

Help? Anyone?

Where is it in manual? I can only see RCA outputs, ground, power input, power output for motor and tonearm connector.

Figure G looks like it should have been included when you purchased it.

https://www.schiit.com/public/upload/PDF/sol manual 1_01.pdf

 

[dstrimbu]

1. LIM continues.
2. MIB is new. We will see how people like it, when we introduce it next week.
3. OG continues until we are out (2-3 weeks at current rate). If you want one, get it.

The future, beyond that, is undefined.

Thanks for the clarification, Jason. So glad that I have an OG - it is a spectacular machine and has given me a lot of joy. I will never part with it.

I will also be ordering a MIB next week, because you can never have enough Schiit...

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Mudgard is here!

Mudgard? Nice!

My birthday is on Valentine's Day. Awww, I know. I'm finding lately that birthdays are less and less relevant, you know?

I’ve actually forgotten my own birthday this year. Imagine my surprise when a friend called. I also keep forgetting my own age, often have to do some quick calculations when I’m asked.

…problem is, I’m hardly old enough yet to use senility as an excuse…

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

So glad that I have an OG - it is a spectacular machine and has given me a lot of joy. I will never part with it.

Same. My Yggy OG and Gungnir MB are the two only DACs I own that I can easily listen to all day.
Never really warmed up to the LiM, personally.
Still, curious about the MIB. Maybe I’ll order a set of cards when they’re out.

 

[sam6550a]

Curious… Was the FLAC file created from that WAV file, or did one or both come from a third party source?

No, the FLAC was a separate rip. I wonder if the metadata caused the difference.

 

[mjstealey]

I was going to give my impressions on the Skoll, but after @theeclone review, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut, for the most part. I agree with things he has mentioned though, like:

He also mentioned the timpani. The "attack", that initial strike sound you get, it is much more realistic through the Skoll than the Mani 2. I played the timpani for a few years, so I do look for certain things in classical music...things to look for with the sound. Anyway, my review of the Skoll....It's good! Gotta try balanced out into the Freya N this weekend.

Agree that @theeclone did way more (way, way more) than I could ever do conveying his impressions and comparisons on Skoll.

I picked up one of the B-Stock's which landed into my system yesterday.
Fluance RT85 (2M blue) --> Skoll --> Freya N --> Aegir (mono)

Balanced out of the Skoll is presumably at 4V while SE is at 2V
I was running both outputs earlier this morning and there is a noticeable difference between the signal coming out from Balanced vs. SE
What I cannot say is if the SNR is "better" from the Balanced out, or if there is just more signal to play with on the output side ...
It's really difficult to volume match the two when both go into the Freya N, however both sound excellent, but you do get more headroom (?) when using the Balanced output

I'm still very much a vinyl tourist, and am coming from an iFi Zen Phono. I never had any complaints about the iFi per se, but Skoll was just immediately better, it was presenting the music in a way that I had not heard from my turntable before
An added level of transparency and crispness, very dynamic with a healthy amount of slam, but without any fatigue - all very effortless and relaxed in it's own way
Still fiddling with the settings, but currently happy with 47k res load, 100p cap load, bal out, 50dB gain, and LF filter off with an Ortofon 2M Blue

 

[sam6550a]

Yeah, agree that piece of it doesn't make sense. An unpacked FLAC file will always be identical to the WAV file that it was created from. It's like zipping a document--you get back exactly what you put in.

The WAV sounded a little better in soundstage, although the difference was very small.

 

[Ableza]

No, the FLAC was a separate rip. I wonder if the metadata caused the difference.

Not likely. In a FLAC encoding, metadata precedes the actual audio data. The two are separate. If the FLAC encoding was of the same WAV file, the result should be identical. If they are separate rips, then there are many reasons why there could be perceivable differences.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I've tried several times to hear differences between FLAC/ALAC/WAV/AIFF and have always found them to sound the same. The usual caveats apply - my system, my ears, my encoding software etc.

Edit - Back when I had a DSD DAC I ripped a few CDs to .DSD and also heard no differences which was my expectation. One thing is for sure, though. The resulting files are huge compared to other formats.

 

[Rebel Chris]

Yggy + Asgard 3 or MiB2 + MJ3?

Which to choose?

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

Yggy + Asgard 3 or MiB2 + MJ3?

Which to choose?

Yggy + Asgard with a plan to upgrade the amp sometime in the future.


JC

 

[turtlerod]

Not likely. In a FLAC encoding, metadata precedes the actual audio data. The two are separate. If the FLAC encoding was of the same WAV file, the result should be identical. If they are separate rips, then there are many reasons why there could be perceivable differences.

When you rip the WAV file make sure the ECC setting is turned on. If it is not, on you may have difference between the WAV and the FLAC. If it was on then the files are identical and there is no difference.

 

[bassvirtuoso]

The Hana EL is a low output moving coil cartridge. The SUT offers more loading choices within the range specified by the manufacturer. It also sounds better to me than using Skoll's built-in resistive loading at low values.

I want to hear more about this, I would love for you to review the Skoll purely without SUT and with the MC cart. Or A/B with and without the SUT if you want. Ultimately, I want to pair my Skoll with a Hana LOMC cart, so this is the kind of information I want to hear - can it do it and can it do it well?