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

[Paladin79]

I've enjoyed reading the fledgling impressions of both Mimir and Valhalla 3. I'm pretty certain that eventually that pair will become my new bedroom side table system, though my Vali 3 with the Modi Multibit is certainly no slouch.

Shuffle play enabled because I couldn't decide upon an album tonight.

Sipping a Bourbon Renewal, listening to Bowie's "Wild is the Wind" on a tube amp, as the evening winds down. Doesn't get much better, I must say. Transition now to Lennon's "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night." Indeed.

Happy listening all.

Glad you like the Bourbon Renewal, I will make some next weekend.

 

[bcschmerker4]

Out there in the Great Eight-Island Realm of Plentiful Reed-Plains and Fresh Ears of Grain (JPN), Japan celebrates the New Year of the Horse (端午節句 ᴛᴀɴɢō no ꜱᴇᴋᴋᴜ), and the Festival of Boys simultaneously. Would I were in the play.

 

[OldRoadToad]

Ort-mazzing! It's up there.

Thank you for the kind words!

ORT

 

[cgb3]

Many problems can be created while blackout drunk. I've had a friend or 2 get in hot water and have no clue how they managed it.

** For the record, I've never been blackout drunk. I have the ability to know when enough is enough. After all, at a certain point you cannot have any more fun. And what's the point of having fun if one cannot remember it.

When I was younger, I required light therapy to tell me when enough was enough. Blue lights in the rearview always did the trick.

No problems with our first responders (or they with me) in 35 years.

 

[tincanear]

Some might be familiar with the diyAudio thread
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...h-voltage-power-do-your-speakers-need.204857/

The method is ingenious: listen to music as loud as you ever normally would, play a provided test tone, measure the voltage at the output of your amp, and square the value. This number represents the required watts. I had not tried the test since before I got my Tyrs last fall. The other day I remeasured. At normal listening level I measured 2.5v (6.25w). Then just for fun I measured with my preamp turned up to maximum -- 13.1v (172w). Not like I would ever listen at that level.

Then this afternoon I thought "Oh why not!" I was playing Indigo Girls Staring Down the Brilliant Dream. I was unsure whether something would catch fire. Nothing blew up and the sound, though painful, was unstrained. Tyrs didn't break a sweat. I was reminded of one outdoor concert from the Swamp Ophilia tour.

Consider taking the diyAudio test if you haven't.

very interesting idea, but shouldn't one divide the squared voltage by the speaker's impedance to get wattage (e.g. P=V*V/R). also the test tones are not recorded at 0dBFS, but at -12dBFS...

@StimpyWan or anyone else with digital music production knowledge: how much headroom (relative to 0dBFS) is typically built into digital recordings/ masterings? Does this headroom vary with Genre or other characteristics of the recorded material (e.g. unamplified classical / jazz vs EDM or music created without actual instruments & microphones)?

 

[cgb3]

5 bands for G2 and Byggy, but also clamped to their respective frequency ranges.


Peak / dip.

Do you think the G2 EQ will surpass the Lokius?

 

[earnmyturns]

 

[theeclone]

@StimpyWan or anyone else with digital music production knowledge: how much headroom (relative to 0dBFS) is typically built into digital recordings/ masterings? does this vary with Genre or other characteristics of the recorded material (e.g. unamplified classical / jazz vs EDM or music created without actual instruments & microphones)

It varies greatly with the times, at least for styles that fall under the umbrella of "popular" music. The early 2000's were kind of notorious for people pushing things up to 0dBFS as much as possible, employing limiters and in some cases deliberately allowing digital clipping. You've probably heard the term "loudness wars", which describes this.

Now, with streaming services, people are actually delivering 24 bit masters well below 0dBFS, and just let the services normalize things however they want.

I personally like how a lot of the early CDs were mastered. Maybe because it was before the loudness wars started. And of course Mike's MFSL tech was great.

 

[sixergixer]

Woof. Thank you for sharing. I imagine it’s been a few years since. I respect the “sticking with it”. Lots of folks in my family got into the not-so-pleasant end of having a few too many a few times too often, so I’ve always been careful - though I had my own version of waking up on a beach when I was in college!

I had plenty enough displays of idiot-drunk friends in early high school to warn me away from it. I ended up not even drinking at all in HS because of it. I had had random sips of my dad's garbage domestic beers - hated them - and didn't even have my first proper pint until I was in college and that was as a participant for a friend's online brewery course studies: Have someone taste through 12 different styles of beers to describe differences and compare to textbook.

Thats when I decided I liked real beers.

 

[Lavcat]

very interesting idea, but shouldn't one divide the squared voltage by the speaker's impedance to get wattage (e.g. P=V*V/R). also the test tones are not recorded at 0dBFS, but at -12dBFS...

@StimpyWan or anyone else with digital music production knowledge: how much headroom (relative to 0dBFS) is typically built into digital recordings/ masterings? Does this headroom vary with Genre or other characteristics of the recorded material (e.g. unamplified classical / jazz vs EDM or music created without actual instruments & microphones)?

From the linked explanation:

If you're wondering why simply squaring the voltage will do the trick of estimating peak RMS power needed, it's just Ohm's Law...

V = IR, P = IV
I = V/R, so P = (V/R)V = V^2/R Since the maximum RMS power for a sine wave is -3dB, and the test tone is -12dB, that means we need to gain +9dB to get the maximum amplitude. This represents a voltage ratio gain of 2.818383.

Therefore, to estimate peak power:
P = [(measured V at -12dB) x 2.818383]^2 / R
or
P = (measured V at -12dB)^2 x 7.94328 / 8-ohms impedance

In other words, estimated peak RMS wattage across an 8-ohm load = (measured V at -12dB)^2.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Do you think the G2 EQ will surpass the Lokius?

No. Analog volume control and EQ will always beat digital. Not in flexibility, maybe, but certainly in sound quality.

Though I do have to admit: It’s closer than you might think. As a years-long fan of Jason’s analog EQs, I was a bit surprised at how good the Mimir’s EQ sounds if used correctly.

 

[davidflas]

I’m excited to have a silver Forkbearded Mimir on its way to me. It will replace a Modi MB2 in my bedroom headphone rig that also includes a Valhalla 2 driving a pair of Senn HD650. I can’t wait to compare the two DACs.

 

[Les Strat]

No. Analog volume control and EQ will always beat digital. Not in flexibility, maybe, but certainly in sound quality.

Though I do have to admit: It’s closer than you might think. As a years-long fan of Jason’s analog EQs, I was a bit surprised at how good the Mimir’s EQ sounds if used correctly.

Thanks for the excellent explanation of digital vs analogue volume controls Martin.

For several years I have been running my 'second system' without a preamp.

It is Logitech Transporter ( streamer) =>Schiit Gungir MB => ELAC Navis ARB 51 active speakers.

I use the digital volume control in the 'Transporter, and balanced XLR connections all the way through to the speakers.

I do need to attenuate volume quite a lot for 'normal' listening levels, so, I have taken the plunge and ordered a new Kara.

I don't 'need' a preamp as I only use one source in this system, but I have a feeling it is going to sound a lot better with a superb preamp in the chain....

I ordered direct from Schiit at the weekend and ETA is Friday this week.

Looking forward to trying it!

 

[Timster]

Question: How would one add the Valhalla 3 RCA output into my existing main set up? I was hoping to find a way to get it through to my passive speakers. Thing is I don't own a power amp. Only an integrated.

I think there were already a couple of responses, so let me add a bit as well.

What's your integrated amp, and does it have a Pre-Out / Main-in set of sockets on the back? Frequently if it exists it will have a connector between the two sockets like this:

This is the link between the preamp of the integrated and the power amp side of the integrated.
If they exist, run the pre-out into the inputs on V3 and then the output of the V3 to the main-in/power-in.

In this case you will have two volume controls. I would set the V3 to max, and just use the integrated's volume as you do now. (I don't think that's an issue for the tubes, but @bcowen or ACP could maybe suggest if that's an issue). If it is a concern for the tubes, reverse the idea, or even some combination of the two controls. I doubt you'd hear any signal degradation either way.

If you don't have the pre-out/main-in option, then without another external switch box, you could only run the V3 on one of your sources. So perhaps the DAC feeding the integrated. Run the output of the DAC into the V3 and V3 output into the input you currently use for the DAC. You will again have the two volume controls to contend with, but now the V3 is only playing with (in this example) the DAC as the source. This one does have the advantage that if your main source comes via the DAC, then you get DAC --> V3 --> Headphones, with no need to turn the integrated on.

You might need to match the gain on the V3 to the integrated, so always start with the low gain and adjust as needed.
And, in either case, no output to speakers with headphones as the V3 mutes the pre-out when headphones are connected.

 

[artur9]

From the linked explanation:

Rather than a fixed 8Ω, it may be interesting to use speaker impedance or EPDR instead, if that number is handy.
My speakers are rated at 4Ω nominal so I'd need to double the number.
Their minimal EDPR is only 1.5Ω so that would be 5 1/3 the number.

Using your voltages, @Lavcat , I'd need 12.5-33 1/3 W "normal" and 344-917 1/3 W.

Darn! the amps I'm getting only go to 800W peak ...

....
I personally like how a lot of the early CDs were mastered. Maybe because it was before the loudness wars started. And of course Mike's MFSL tech was great.

My research and home experimentations suggest that the sweet spot for CD is between 1989-1996?

Why?

In 1989 (maybe '90), the 24b ADC was introduced and my home experiments suggest that 16b doesn't record some instruments correctly (horns, in my tests) and cymbals (which produce sounds with details 16b doesn't capture).

1996 is the beginning of the loudness wars, which go on to 2003?

With the above in mind, I look for CDs remastered post-1990 or recordings with a provenance of analog higher rated ADC (24b/48Khz).