[Exacoustatowner]

   
Not the company name.... sheesh.  The gear, yo.  The gear.

Go Rangy!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

An example Stan! I am using an HP amp that puts out 6 watts/channel at 32 ohms-and that is more than enough for my HE-560-which are more of a resistive load btw.
I have a couple of very short test tracks on SACD that I use to compare. One of the MOST challenging is from Mahler Symphony # 8 SACD MTT.,In the 2nd and 3rd movements there are sections with massive choral, and multiple soprano's belting out at the same time the organ is hitting some high notes.
On some amps that can sound almost painfully shrill. I compared some fairly pricey head amps and found different degrees of shrill and edgy overtones- and could hear the displeasing "edge" at different volumes-before you ask about volume matching. I went back to each amp several times-with a break in between. It's been months so I don't recall which amps as I bought none of them,

True This^^^ Similar results with my 560 hooked to my speaker amps.

 

[Eee Pee]

Stan and I have gone through this recently.  It's pointless to discuss it with him.  I said he's on a crusade to convince everyone he's right and that's that.  He is who is and we are who we are.  If he can't hear differences, then so be it.  If we can hear differences he can't, so be it.  Continually engaging in his troll (in my opinion) attempts is futile.

 

[chuck8403]

  Stan and I have gone through this recently.  It's pointless to discuss it with him.  I said he's on a crusade to convince everyone he's right and that's that.  He is who is and we are who we are.  If he can't hear differences, then so be it.  If we can hear differences he can't, so be it.  Continually engaging in his troll (in my opinion) attempts is futile.

I firmly believe that each person hears what they hear. You may think one amp in better or another headphone you have is better. Or even a combination is better than another. If someone looked at the amps I have, they might think I am nuts. (That may be true!) I like other opinions and they may move me to purchase a piece of equipment. But like others have said, your mileage will vary!

 

[Exacoustatowner]

  Stan and I have gone through this recently.  It's pointless to discuss it with him.  I said he's on a crusade to convince everyone he's right and that's that.  He is who is and we are who we are.  If he can't hear differences, then so be it.  If we can hear differences he can't, so be it.  Continually engaging in his troll (in my opinion) attempts is futile.

I don't mind that he can't hear differences. I wish I could not-it would be cheaper! The least expensive amp that has a +- 1 db frequency response from 20-15, 000 hz is all I would want.
 
My oldest friend converted everything to mp3 awhile back-he uses lamp cord for speaker wire and scoffs at anything above "mid-fi" as a joke.
The thing is-if you stick to "mid-fi" the differences with better components are insignificant. I would not hear "edge" or "grain" on treble.
I don't hear it with my mid-fi car audio listening to FM radio.
Certainly differences between DAC's and amps would be inaudible.

 

[Rem0o]

  I don't mind that he can't hear differences. I wish I could not-it would be cheaper! The least expensive amp that has a +- 1 db frequency response from 20-15, 000 hz is all I would want.
 
My oldest friend converted everything to mp3 awhile back-he uses lamp cord for speaker wire and scoffs at anything above "mid-fi" as a joke.
The thing is-if you stick to "mid-fi" the differences with better components are insignificant. I would not hear "edge" or "grain" on treble.
I don't hear it with my mid-fi car audio listening to FM radio.
Certainly differences between DAC's and amps would be inaudible.

I think Stan has a point and so do you. 

How I see it:

1) Stan is tired of people associating sound benefits with power ratings.

2) You are tried of people telling you you shouldn't hear a difference between two amps with flat freq response and inaudible level of distorsion.

Both points are valid. The first point tells me that a single measurement method (power) doesn't correlate with everything we hear out of an amplifier The second point tells me that a limited amount of measurement methods available right now (FR, THD...)  are not enough to correlate with everything we hear out of an amplifier.
 
You both are saying the same thing from a different perspective.

 

[Exacoustatowner]

I think Stan has a point and so do you. 


How I see it:


1) Stan is tired of people associating sound benefits with power ratings.


2) You are tried of people telling you you shouldn't hear a difference between two amps with flat freq response and inaudible level of distorsion.


Both points are valid. The first point tells me that a single measurement method (power) doesn't correlate with everything we hear out of an amplifier The second point tells me that a limited amount of measurement methods available right now (FR, THD...)  are not enough to correlate with everything we hear out of an amplifier.

 
You both are saying the same thing from a different perspective.

You got it!

 

[bretemm]

I think I'm going to get the Valhalla2 soon along with the SYS, I have the magi and modi and want tube sound (I mainly listen to indie rock and classic rock) does that sound like a good setup? I might get a audio jack to rca cable so I can hook up my marantz to it "mainly for radio" would that work?
Thanks

 

[David Aldrich]

I think I'm going to get the Valhalla2 soon along with the SYS, I have the magi and modi and want tube sound (I mainly listen to indie rock and classic rock) does that sound like a good setup? I might get a audio jack to rca cable so I can hook up my marantz to it "mainly for radio" would that work?
Thanks

Which headphones are you driving? Valhalla 2 is going to be best with 300-600Ω headphones if you have them.
 
If your Marantz has a line output in the form of RCA's that would be the best way to connect to a separate amplifier.

 

[bretemm]

Well, I'm limited to IEM because I can't get by strong magnets, I heard the tubes help with finer detail and brings out guitar and vocals more.

Which headphones are you driving? Valhalla 2 is going to be best with 300-600Ω headphones if you have them.

If your Marantz has a line output in the form of RCA's that would be the best way to connect to a separate amplifier.

 

[loki993]

Im looking for a nice SS amp with some power for anything from 60 ohm up to 600 ohm Beyers at some point so basically a do all amp. If money were no object id probably say the LYR2 because I just cant imagine anything every needing more power than that can provide, I know its tube but its a hybrid, also its got power.

Probably more reasonable in my price range is the Asgard 2 and the Magni 2 uber. These 2 puzzle me...the Mangi is really powerful for its size and price....it seems like nearly nothing in its range even comes close. Compared to the Asgard the Magni puts more power, on paper, into lower impedance headphones and really isnt that far off with the high impedance ones either...I think at 300 ohms the difference is 60mw....Honestly though I don't know how significant that is.

So I guess the real question is aside from the fact that its bigger and can double as a space heater...why would I want an Asgard over the magni? Its an honest question im not being factious either, Im struggling to find a reason but if there is one I have no problem getting the Asgard. Basically I want an amp that shouldnt have a problem powering anything id every throw at it from 600 ohm beyers the orthos and anything in between, without getting too crazy I cant every see myself spending 1k+ on headphones or anything like that. I need to most future proof amp I can get.

 

[StanD]

Im looking for a nice SS amp with some power for anything from 60 ohm up to 600 ohm Beyers at some point so basically a do all amp. If money were no object id probably say the LYR2 because I just cant imagine anything every needing more power than that can provide, I know its tube but its a hybrid, also its got power.

Probably more reasonable in my price range is the Asgard 2 and the Magni 2 uber. These 2 puzzle me...the Mangi is really powerful for its size and price....it seems like nearly nothing in its range even comes close. Compared to the Asgard the Magni puts more power, on paper, into lower impedance headphones and really isnt that far off with the high impedance ones either...I think at 300 ohms the difference is 60mw....Honestly though I don't know how significant that is.

So I guess the real question is aside from the fact that its bigger and can double as a space heater...why would I want an Asgard over the magni? Its an honest question im not being factious either, Im struggling to find a reason but if there is one I have no problem getting the Asgard. Basically I want an amp that shouldnt have a problem powering anything id every throw at it from 600 ohm beyers the orthos and anything in between, without getting too crazy I cant every see myself spending 1k+ on headphones or anything like that. I need to most future proof amp I can get.

At 300 Ohms the difference between the M2 Uber and Asgard 2 is just 0.7 dB. At 600 Ohms it's also 0.7 dB. Not much to sweat over. The amount of power you need from an amp depends on the headphone's impedance and sensitivity. Sensitivity is often overlooked by most people. As I always say, the distortion levels in these amps is far below what a human can perceive so it is unlikely that one can tell the difference when a proper comparison is made.
What's nice about the Magni is it's incredible value, performance and good build quality. Isn't that what put Schiit on the map, a great value/performance product.

 

[StanD]

Well, I'm limited to IEM because I can't get by strong magnets, I heard the tubes help with finer detail and brings out guitar and vocals more.

You should try to go somewhere to hear for yourself and do a proper volume matched comparison. Otherwise you will get all sorts of conflicting stories, often hot blooded arguments. After much comparisons I prefer SS, ymmv.

 

[superjawes]

Im looking for a nice SS amp with some power for anything from 60 ohm up to 600 ohm Beyers at some point so basically a do all amp. If money were no object id probably say the LYR2 because I just cant imagine anything every needing more power than that can provide, I know its tube but its a hybrid, also its got power.

Probably more reasonable in my price range is the Asgard 2 and the Magni 2 uber. These 2 puzzle me...the Mangi is really powerful for its size and price....it seems like nearly nothing in its range even comes close. Compared to the Asgard the Magni puts more power, on paper, into lower impedance headphones and really isnt that far off with the high impedance ones either...I think at 300 ohms the difference is 60mw....Honestly though I don't know how significant that is.

So I guess the real question is aside from the fact that its bigger and can double as a space heater...why would I want an Asgard over the magni? Its an honest question im not being factious either, Im struggling to find a reason but if there is one I have no problem getting the Asgard. Basically I want an amp that shouldnt have a problem powering anything id every throw at it from 600 ohm beyers the orthos and anything in between, without getting too crazy I cant every see myself spending 1k+ on headphones or anything like that. I need to most future proof amp I can get.

Asgard = Class A, no overall feedback. Magni 1/2/2U = constant feedback (Class AB, IIRC). If that doesn't mean anything to you, you might as well go with a Magni. The "Class A" bit about Asgard is somewhat important because it means more power draw, which means more heat to dissapate, which means it doesn't really work in a super-small, Magni-sized chassis.

 

[loki993]

At 300 Ohms the difference between the M2 Uber and Asgard 2 is just 0.7 dB. At 600 Ohms it's also 0.7 dB. Not much to sweat over. The amount of power you need from an amp depends on the headphone's impedance and sensitivity. Sensitivity is often overlooked by most people. As I always say, the distortion levels in these amps is far below what a human can perceive so it is unlikely that one can tell the difference when a proper comparison is made.
What's nice about the Magni is it's incredible value, performance and good build quality. Isn't that what put Schiit on the map, a great value/performance product.

I didn't think it was much to sweat over either...which is why Im curious as to why the extra money would be worth it to me. The price vs performance is for sure what brought me to them. I mean on paper at least they're stuff is really tough to beat. It actually confuses me when people say they don't like them or they don't make good stuff..or its just mediocre. Some of it I think is just haters and/or people that think the may be exposing some of the snake oil of the audio industry. IF some other manufacturers made the same amps they would probably cost double or triple what Schitt is selling them for.

I suppose all said and done, 150 for a M2U isnt really a lot of money so I guess if I eventually have to replace it its not a hige deal...but maybe Im just looking for a reason to spend more lol, and probably a reason thats not there.

I guess when I look at the specs of the Asgard vs the Magni then I see now people say the Asgard sounds a lot better then the Magni..I just dont really see how. Again though Im no engineer, nor do I claim to know as much about electronics then the people that make the stuff so Im sure they know what theyre doing.