Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[misterpumpy]

Another amazing thing about forkbeard: Schiit not charging for future Forkbeard features and ALSO not making you make an account, not collecting data—that’s huge. That makes Forkbeard far easier to get down with. Schiit is going about this the right way, and I can’t believe they kept this a secret during development. If I was Jason I’d be shouting from the mountaintops that the company was about to low key change the game.

 

[RCBinTN]

Does this mean I have to take him off "ignore" now?

Only if you wanna hear the scoop directly from Martin.
I suspect, now that he's a Schiit Audio employee, the content of his posts will change quite a bit. Less philosophy and more facts.

 

[Adam Balm]

If you guys ever bring back a turntable, just think how crazy it would be to be able to control it via Forkbeard!

Yeah, crazy cool.

 

[cricket]

If you have a Kara, it's a chassis swap and new firmware. Basically, contact us and we'll let you know what we can do.

Everything else...ahhhh...most likely not. The Freya and the amps have no internal provisions on the board for Forkbeard, so those are new products.



Yggy+ is on the short list for Forking, as is Loki Max. Yggy+ doesn't need a new chassis for the planned new input card, just a new rear panel insert. That's one reason we went to the new chassis,,,to have flexibility to make changes like this. Loki Max is a new chassis, however.

Basically, "yep, working on it!"



Urd would be an entirely new product and new chassis. I don't have a timeframe for that. But it would be nice to Fork that one too!



No voice control.



The amber and red sectors of the volume knob move,,,based on your actual system. Swap Wotan out for an Aegir 2F and it moves far, far down the dial. Go to low gain on Kara, and it moves up to where only a bit of yellow is showing. That's one of the critical things that makes this far more than a remote control--it knows what products are in the system, what gain you're running, what input you're using, so you always know how much "knob" ya got.

We never got into the red on Wotan with the Magneplanars.



Same. Like the new Yggys or Bifrost.



Already done. Done before the leak. We're safe and we have a plan.

That said, if another manufacturer is entranced by this idea, they should talk to us. We're shockingly reasonable people, not forged in the VC world.



We may never have hit the red range of Visual Volume with the Magneplanars, but we still managed to blow the tweeter fuses. Wotan's got a ton of power.

First, excellent response to an ever growing problem. Forkbeard is something I trust because Schiit is involved and because APC has voiced his opinions about how apps are being written these days.

Second, congratulations to APC. You've landed what I would consider a dream job.

And now some comments and a few questions.

That's great news about Yggdrasil+ being Forkable. I was envisioning selling it and my Freya S if I upgraded, making Forkbeard a no-go for me. Now I might just relocate the Freya to the basement and replace it with Kara. Will Ygdrasil+ upgrades be self-install or will firmware updates be required, too?

I haven't stepped up to an Urd yet, so waiting for it to be Forked would be my current plan. Sorta glad I hesitated. Maybe the Android app will be available by then.

Will users be able to program routines? Something like select a device connected to Urd and the correct DAC and preamp inputs will be selected too? This would simplify things for my wife who thinks managing multiple components is intimidating.

Well done! I look forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

That whole "he moved to Texas therefore he must be involved with Schiit" line of thinking amuses me to no end.
Not because it wouldn't be a reasonable conclusion to jump to, but because it's actually not what happened.
What actually happened is much crazier.

A few years ago (at around 2018/19), I started feeling a strong urge (for personal reasons beyond the scope of this forum) to move out of California. I was self-employed, with all of my customers based in Germany, so I could essentially move anywhere within the US I liked. I looked at the areas around Missoula, MT, Boulder, CO, Everett, WA, Flagstaff, AZ, and Santa Fe, NM.
But at the very tippy-top of my shortlist was Boerne, Texas. I liked the "vibe" I got from Texas, most of the friends I made in CA were either born in Texas or grew up here, and the hill country looked like a nice place to spend the next chapter of my life at.
After a few years of back and forth with myself, I eventually decided that Boerne will be where you'll find me next.

A few weeks later I went to a Schiitr Meet. (I think it was the one in October 2022?) Jason and I only had met once by that point, the meeting about the unrelated-to-anything-audio thing that I wanted to get his opinion on. Forkbeard wasn't a thing yet, the basic idea was still germinating inside my brain.
I was barely through the door when @JamminVMI, who was aware of my decision, said to me: "Dude, you'll never guess what Jason just told me: He and his wife recently bought a property in Boerne, and they're planning to move the entirety of the CA operation to San Antonio!"

Well, great, I thought to myself. Now I look like a creepy stalker fanboy…

But then Forkbeard happened, and a little over a year later, Jason offered me the position that I now hold in the company.

So, yeah. While it may not look like it, my move to Boerne and Schiit's decision to relocate to San Antonio was purely coincidental. An incredibly lucky accident, but still pure coincidence.

That I've been quieter around here over the past 18 months, however, that's actually directly related to Forkbeard. I knew that I would technically now be considered a "member of the trade," but making that change official would have entailed disclosing that I was working on something with Schiit. Which, in turn, would have raised a lot of questions about what Schiit would need a software guy for, which Jason and I wanted to avoid until Forkbeard was ready to launch. So I decided to stick to the "MOT" rules anyway because I didn't want to get myself or Schiit into any sort of trouble with the owners of this little Stammtisch of ours.

 

[mab1376]

Ordered the gungnir 2! Does anyone have a link to the app?

 

[RCBinTN]

So, what did I miss?

Congratulations on your Sponsorship as a MOT. That title comes with specific responsibilities.

 

[Adam Balm]

That whole "he moved to Texas therefore he must be involved with Schiit" line of thinking amuses me to no end.
Not because it wouldn't be a reasonable conclusion to jump to, but because it's actually not what happened.
What actually happened is much crazier.

A few years ago (at around 2018/19), I started feeling a strong urge (for personal reasons beyond the scope of this forum) to move out of California. I was self-employed with, all of my customers based in Germany, so I could essentially move anywhere within the US I liked. I looked at the areas around Missoula, MT, Boulder, CO, Everett, WA, Flagstaff, AZ, and Santa Fe, NM.
But at the very tippy-top of my shortlist was Boerne, Texas. I liked the "vibe" I got from Texas, most of the friends I made in CA were either born in Texas or grew up here, and the hill country looked like a nice place to spend the next chapter of my life at.
After a few years of back and forth with myself, I eventually decided that Boerne will be where you'll find me next.

A few weeks laterI went to a Schiitr Meet. (I think it was the one in October 2022?) Jason and I only had met once by that point, the meeting about the unrelated-to-anything-audio thing that I wanted to get his opinion on. Forkbeard wasn't a thing yet, the basic idea was still germinating inside my brain.
I was barely through the door when @JamminVMI, who was aware of my decision, said to me: "Dude, you'll never guess what Jason just told me: He and his wife recently bought a property in Boerne, and they're planning to move the entirety of the CA operation to San Antonio!"

Well, great, I thought to myself. Now I look like a creepy stalker fanboy…

But then Forkbeard happened, and little over a year later, Jason offered me the position that I now hold in the company.

So, yeah. While it may look like it, my move to Boerne and Schiit's decision to relocate to San Antonio was purely coincidental. An incredibly lucky accident, but still pure coincidence.

That I've been quieter around here over the past 18 months, however, that's actually directly related to Forkbeard. I know that I would technically now be considered a "member of the trade," but making that change official would have entailed disclosing that I was working on something with Schiit. Which, in turn, would have raised a lot of questions about what Schiit would need a software guy for, which Jason and I wanted to avoid until Forkbeard was ready to launch. So I decided to stick to the "MOT" rules anyway because I didn't want to get myself or Schiit into any sort of trouble with the owners of this little Stammtisch of ours.

Now it all makes sense as to why you were curious about my IR repeater set-up on my Urd and Kara many posts ago.

Oh, and congratulations.
You copped a cool gig with a great company.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Ordered the gungnir 2! Does anyone have a link to the app?

The app is not released yet. It will be out later this month.

 

[RCBinTN]

Amazing news, and hearty congrats to @ArmchairPhilosopher and the Schiit Team!
Without taking away anything from the announcements, thought it a good time to update/fork the SchiitSine. Here's version 9F



V9F Change Log 2024-11-03
Forkbearded
Added : Stammitsch
Added : Astronomy
Added : Philosophical Chats
Added : I-fell-behind-on-my-reading-and-have-a-zillion-posts-to-catch-up-but-love-it
Added : Plankton
Added : Coffee, Donuts
Added : Paladin79's Amazing Woodwork and Projects
Updated : Bluetoothed the colour!
Updated: Some Spacing

That's Stammtisch. Stamm ~ family (literally "tribe") and tisch = table. FYI @Timster.

 

[Mike-WI]

Very nteresting new app product. Congrats. Is there any word when a Unison 384 upgrade card will be available for Yggys?

Yggdrasil U 384 + Forkbeard

 

[Bowmoreman]

That whole "he moved to Texas therefore he must be involved with Schiit" line of thinking amuses me to no end.
Not because it wouldn't be a reasonable conclusion to jump to, but because it's actually not what happened.
What actually happened is much crazier.

A few years ago (at around 2018/19), I started feeling a strong urge (for personal reasons beyond the scope of this forum) to move out of California. I was self-employed, with all of my customers based in Germany, so I could essentially move anywhere within the US I liked. I looked at the areas around Missoula, MT, Boulder, CO, Everett, WA, Flagstaff, AZ, and Santa Fe, NM.
But at the very tippy-top of my shortlist was Boerne, Texas. I liked the "vibe" I got from Texas, most of the friends I made in CA were either born in Texas or grew up here, and the hill country looked like a nice place to spend the next chapter of my life at.
After a few years of back and forth with myself, I eventually decided that Boerne will be where you'll find me next.

A few weeks laterI went to a Schiitr Meet. (I think it was the one in October 2022?) Jason and I only had met once by that point, the meeting about the unrelated-to-anything-audio thing that I wanted to get his opinion on. Forkbeard wasn't a thing yet, the basic idea was still germinating inside my brain.
I was barely through the door when @JamminVMI, who was aware of my decision, said to me: "Dude, you'll never guess what Jason just told me: He and his wife recently bought a property in Boerne, and they're planning to move the entirety of the CA operation to San Antonio!"

Well, great, I thought to myself. Now I look like a creepy stalker fanboy…

But then Forkbeard happened, and little over a year later, Jason offered me the position that I now hold in the company.

So, yeah. While it may look like it, my move to Boerne and Schiit's decision to relocate to San Antonio was purely coincidental. An incredibly lucky accident, but still pure coincidence.

That I've been quieter around here over the past 18 months, however, that's actually directly related to Forkbeard. I know that I would technically now be considered a "member of the trade," but making that change official would have entailed disclosing that I was working on something with Schiit. Which, in turn, would have raised a lot of questions about what Schiit would need a software guy for, which Jason and I wanted to avoid until Forkbeard was ready to launch. So I decided to stick to the "MOT" rules anyway because I didn't want to get myself or Schiit into any sort of trouble with the owners of this little Stammtisch of ours.

I’ve long said (and voted with my life for almost 4 years accordingly) that the ONLY place to be in Texas (if one is not born/raised elsewhere in Texas) is the “big Triangle from Fredricksburg to Austin and down to San Antonio… So Kerrville, Boerne out that way, F-burg and wine country heading in towards Lakeway, and then Lakeway down through Dripping Springs to Canyon Lake area… anything INSIDE that is awesome. I also loved the Germanic influence; the Gemütlichkeit ist sehr schön as it were…

It’s also hella cheaper place to live than most East/West Coast locales. We just couldn’t handle the heat, being away from ALL family (son moved from Texas after we were down there to Arizona), and what we saw as the impossibility to properly garden for food.

All that said, we went for Wimberley as it was far less over-run with traffic, etc. compared with Boerne area. We did go to church in Boerne however (it was a nice country 45 minute cruise - which in Texas is nuthin’…

Congrats

 

[Mike-WI]

The app is not released yet. It will be out later this month.

Hi.
Is there a reason why one USB is 192 and one is 384 (on USB 2)?

 

[Whazzzup]

Ahh fond childhood memories of kfc and the spork.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Hi.
Is there a reason why one USB is 192 and one is 384 (on USB 2)?

Yes, but I'm not sure about the exact implementation details that led to that decision. The decision was made before my time.