[jaywillin]

  Just bought my first amp and DAC ever last Friday. I went ahead with the Asgard 2 + Bifrost Uber combo. Hopefully they ship out my order this week. Reminds me of being a kid at Christmas.

cool ain't it ?? congrats !!
 
thats a killer combo

 

[theseaminer]

 
cool ain't it ?? congrats !!
 
thats a killer combo

Yeah. Super excited. The most audiophile I've experience is my Audio Technica ATH-M30's running through my soundcard built into the motherboard in my computer. 

 I think I'm going to burn in my new HD600's, and my new amp + dac for 50 hours before I give them a listen.

 

[noobandroid]

my brain is still stirring on whether my dacport LX or modi is better.. keep my daport LX or buy the modi, since i have magni

 

[jaywillin]

  Yeah. Super excited. The most audiophile I've experience is my Audio Technica ATH-M30's running through my soundcard built into the motherboard in my computer. 

 I think I'm going to burn in my new HD600's, and my new amp + dac for 50 hours before I give them a listen.

i start listening from the get go !! ,
but then i'll leave the on, playing, when i'm not listening to speed the process along
i think you are in for a real treat !

 

[theseaminer]

Did anyone order an Asgard 2 last week? Just wondering how long the "backorder" usually means. Days? Weeks?

 

[Robobandit]

Got to say, that's a hell of a way to start off
 
Congrats on your new Schiit!
 
edit - 
 

 Did anyone order an Asgard 2 last week? Just wondering how long the "backorder" usually means. Days? Weeks?

 
Their store page seems to indicate that they expect to be able to ship more asgard2 units this week. I'm sure if you sent an email to info@schiit.com they could let you know how things are looking.
 
 
As for me, I've done something horrible...
 
I was enjoying my Magni/Modi stack and I decided to pick up a Vali to try it out.
 
I really like the sound properties of the Vali more than the Magni. Music just seems to sound a bit more alive out of the Vali to my ears.
 
This has inspired me to upgrade to the Bifrost Uber DAC, which I just ordered earlier today.
 
I decided to do that for a few reasons
 
1) I figured the Bifrost + Uber would be a great base to start from if/when I was ready to step up to a higher end amp and higher end headphones
 
2) I could sell the Magni/Modi as a stack or use it as an office audio rig without buying additional components
 
3) I always thought Bifrost was a really cool name for a DAC (since the DAC is basically the bridge between digital and analog audio, I felt it was pretty fitting)
 
4) Some crazy people seem to think the Vali sounds better when fed from a higher end DAC

 

[UmustBKidn]

...  
As for me, I've done something horrible...
 
I was enjoying my Magni/Modi stack and I decided to pick up a Vali to try it out.
 
I really like the sound properties of the Vali more than the Magni. Music just seems to sound a bit more alive out of the Vali to my ears.
 
This has inspired me to upgrade to the Bifrost Uber DAC, which I just ordered earlier today.
 
I decided to do that for a few reasons
 
1) I figured the Bifrost + Uber would be a great base to start from if/when I was ready to step up to a higher end amp and higher end headphones
 
2) I could sell the Magni/Modi as a stack or use it as an office audio rig without buying additional components
 
3) I always thought Bifrost was a really cool name for a DAC (since the DAC is basically the bridge between digital and analog audio, I felt it was pretty fitting)
 
4) Some crazy people seem to think the Vali sounds better when fed from a higher end DAC

 
Why is that horrible?
Unless of course, you needed that money to pay the rent. Or mortgage. Or if you can't hear the difference.
 
To the chagrin of some, I tend to recommend starting out on the less expensive gear, and moving up, if and only if you can hear the difference. That's because I'm an Old Guy (tm). Being an Old Guy means, among other things, that my ears just don't work as well as someone who is 2 or 3 decades younger than I am.
 
This falls in the category of the old joke about the sound of a tree falling in the forest.
 
If you can hear the difference between say, a Modi vs. a Bifrost (Uber or not), and if you can afford the better DAC, you should certainly go for it. If you can't hear the difference, then it doesn't matter if the Bifrost Uber is better or not. Spending the extra money, just because someone else tells you that Gear X is better than Gear Y, is kind of pointless if you can't personally hear it.
 
Some folks recommend the better DAC without regards to the ability of the listener to hear the difference. Sure, the Bifrost Uber is better than the Modi. No argument there. But can you hear the difference? If you're like me and you've measured the upper limits of your hearing ability (at about 14 kHz in my case), then one might reasonably wonder if spending the extra $400 bucks is worth it.
 
Personally, I will not be buying a Bifrost Uber until such time as I can A-B it with a Modi. If I can hear a difference, then I'll spend the money. If I can't, then I'll buy another Modi (and I do need another DAC). It doesn't make economic sense to me to just spend the extra money, without testing my own ears first.

 

[Robobandit]

Yeah, that's a good point.
 
I'll definitely be doing some a/b when it gets here.
 
When i say "horrible" I mean in the sense that I've opened the door to "oh, well now I need a pair of HD800 to compliment my new toys"
 
I'm discovering that the world of personal hi-fi is (potentially) a very expensive place! (and that's without touching the summit-fi level stuff)

 

[Byronb]

   
Why is that horrible?
Unless of course, you needed that money to pay the rent. Or mortgage. Or if you can't hear the difference.
 
To the chagrin of some, I tend to recommend starting out on the less expensive gear, and moving up, if and only if you can hear the difference. That's because I'm an Old Guy (tm). Being an Old Guy means, among other things, that my ears just don't work as well as someone who is 2 or 3 decades younger than I am.
 
This falls in the category of the old joke about the sound of a tree falling in the forest.
 
If you can hear the difference between say, a Modi vs. a Bifrost (Uber or not), and if you can afford the better DAC, you should certainly go for it. If you can't hear the difference, then it doesn't matter if the Bifrost Uber is better or not. Spending the extra money, just because someone else tells you that Gear X is better than Gear Y, is kind of pointless if you can't personally hear it.
 
Some folks recommend the better DAC without regards to the ability of the listener to hear the difference. Sure, the Bifrost Uber is better than the Modi. No argument there. But can you hear the difference? If you're like me and you've measured the upper limits of your hearing ability (at about 14 kHz in my case), then one might reasonably wonder if spending the extra $400 bucks is worth it.
 
Personally, I will not be buying a Bifrost Uber until such time as I can A-B it with a Modi. If I can hear a difference, then I'll spend the money. If I can't, then I'll buy another Modi (and I do need another DAC). It doesn't make economic sense to me to just spend the extra money, without testing my own ears first.

Excellent post!!! 

 

[theseaminer]

The reason I decided to dive in and spend some cash is because I'm an aspiring mixing engineer, and will be primarily mixing on headphones for a while (until I have afford the right room treatment and right monitors). It's direly important for me to hear every nuance of the music, thus I feel as though it's justified. I've never even heard of this website or even headphone amps/DAC's until I decided I needed to get some good headphones for mixing! Normally, I probably would have never dropped this amount of money on headphones, or anything else to listen to music, regardless of how much of a music lover I am.

 

[WraithZA]

Hi everyone.
 
I'm hoping to get some advice regarding which Schiit amp to pull the trigger on. I've recently purchased myself a pair of HD 650's and am looking to find an amp that will bring out the most of their latent potential.
 
My current setup is the following:
MP3s (320kbps) & FLACs --> Foobar2000 --> Xonar ST (also own E17) --> HD 650 (and AD700)
 
I'm currently considering getting either the Valhalla or the Lyr. I know the Valhalla should complement the HD650's pretty well, however I'm leaning towards the Lyr due to the increased versatility with other phones and the increased power and sound stage.
 
My usage patterns is mostly for gaming and for listening to music and I don't really want to compromise on either. From what I understand, the Valhalla will excel for music applications, whereas for gaming the Lyr should be better due to the increased sound stage/headroom (please correct me if i'm speaking nonsense, I'm new to all these audiophile terms).
 
Taking money out of the equation, which of the two would you recommend?

 

[Amictus]

  Hi everyone.
 
I'm hoping to get some advice regarding which Schiit amp to pull the trigger on. I've recently purchased myself a pair of HD 650's and am looking to find an amp that will bring out the most of their latent potential.
 
My current setup is the following:
MP3s (320kbps) & FLACs --> Foobar2000 --> Xonar ST (also own E17) --> HD 650 (and AD700)
 
I'm currently considering getting either the Valhalla or the Lyr. I know the Valhalla should complement the HD650's pretty well, however I'm leaning towards the Lyr due to the increased versatility with other phones and the increased power and sound stage.
 
My usage patterns is mostly for gaming and for listening to music and I don't really want to compromise on either. From what I understand, the Valhalla will excel for music applications, whereas for gaming the Lyr should be better due to the increased sound stage/headroom (please correct me if i'm speaking nonsense, I'm new to all these audiophile terms).
 
Taking money out of the equation, which of the two would you recommend?

Well, I can't give advice, but I can express solidarity! I was trying to make the same call - very recently, as you will see from reading this very thread... I went for the Lyr for its versatility (all that power) and for its proven track record with the two cans that I use most, the HD 650s and the Q701s. I also made the mistake (?) of phoning Russ Andrews here in the UK and asking them to recommend interconnect. http://bit.ly/1co43cv is what they said. They had better be good! I will be going CD and FLACS -> Foobar -> Audiolab M-Dac -> Lyr -> HD 650. An Oppo BD 103 may be coming from Santa Claus to improve the CD source. I'll let you know. I hope that FedEx looks after those tubes - the Lyr is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Cables idem.

 

[UmustBKidn]

  Hi everyone.
 
I'm hoping to get some advice regarding which Schiit amp to pull the trigger on. I've recently purchased myself a pair of HD 650's and am looking to find an amp that will bring out the most of their latent potential.
 
My current setup is the following:
MP3s (320kbps) & FLACs --> Foobar2000 --> Xonar ST (also own E17) --> HD 650 (and AD700)
 
I'm currently considering getting either the Valhalla or the Lyr. I know the Valhalla should complement the HD650's pretty well, however I'm leaning towards the Lyr due to the increased versatility with other phones and the increased power and sound stage.
 
My usage patterns is mostly for gaming and for listening to music and I don't really want to compromise on either. From what I understand, the Valhalla will excel for music applications, whereas for gaming the Lyr should be better due to the increased sound stage/headroom (please correct me if i'm speaking nonsense, I'm new to all these audiophile terms).
 
Taking money out of the equation, which of the two would you recommend?

 
Well, I'm going out on a limb here, and will speak of things I don't own. lol

 
If I were in your position, I would opt for a tube amp (for those cans specifically). Would I opt for an expensive hybrid (e.g. the Lyr)? I don't think so. As much as I've read about the Lyr, I'm just not convinced I'd ever buy one. I've spent many hours listening to cheap hybrid amps, and honestly, if money was not an object, I would not drop big dollars on an expensive hybrid. I'd go for an all-tube amp.
 
So that narrows it down to the Valhalla, or Something Else. Personally, the Something Else for me is a Bottlehead Crack. It's in the approximate price range of the Valhalla, but you need to build it yourself. I'm not afraid of a soldering gun, so thats not an issue for me. It's also very highly regarded for your cans (the 650's), so it's definitely a choice to consider. Does it bother me that it's not a Schiit product? Well, no. That wouldn't affect my decision.
 
Would your choice of listening material affect my choice? Perhaps. Honestly, though, I've never considered spending big bucks on audio gear for gaming. I spent 6-1/2 years playing World of Warcraft until giving it up recently. I owned a pair of Razer Carcharias for most of that time, that I ran straight out of the headphone jack on my gaming machine. I spent $1000 bucks on the computer, and $65 bucks on the headphones. I just didn't need anything more than that. Maybe you do. But it wasn't a consideration for me. I'd rather have a good video card lol

 

[WraithZA]

I would be pretty keen on getting the Crack, however I'm a little concerned with the shipping costs and the possibility that a part could be missing/damaged from the kit (I've heard this has happened on occasion) which would require me to reship 

.

 

[Rossliew]

Just received the dimunitive pair of Vali and Modi today and now happily listening to it straight out of the box. One word - SOLID!! I'm not listening to any hi-res files, just regular mp3s and Spotify free. Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk sounds just dancy and punchy, the bass is reverberating inside my head! Using a woodied SR80i, this pair is very synergistic with the Grado. 
 
Kudos to Schiit for another great and affordable product !!