Schiit Ragnarok Amplifier

[RUMAY408]

Well I just bought the Rag so now I get to wait 3-6 weeks 

 

[reddog]

Well I just bought the Rag so now I get to wait 3-6 weeks :rolleyes:

It is worth the wait. I love my Ragnarok.

 

[RUMAY408]

It is worth the wait. I love my Ragnarok.

Can't wait 
 

 

[45longcolt]

Spent the last couple of evenings spinning SACDs (no DAC needed!) through Rag to both speakers and headphones. Must say, Thank You, Jason. Superb, just superb.
 
In one way, Rag is like a 55-year-old stripper - it reveals all even when you wish it wouldn't. Deficiencies in recordings and upstream equipment are all too obvious. I've discovered disappointments in long-favored recordings. But that detail also helps bring new life and air to lots of mediocre albums, especially over speakers. And as proved by my SACD binge, this is due to the amp not some "magical" DAC.
 
Finished off with the new Japanese SHM-SACD of Roxy Music's Avalon (if you care for this album at all, get the SACD.) Wow. A gorgeous sound, which brings up another thing about Rag; I have yet to hear it sound harsh, strident or unpleasant - unless the music or recording is that way. It is fast and forceful, but never goes over the edge.
 
BTW, I concur that with phones you must go balanced. That "summer" circuit just sucks the juice out the SE. Anybody know how to recable AKGs to balanced?
 
Back to the music...

 

[reddog]

Spent the last couple of evenings spinning SACDs (no DAC needed!) through Rag to both speakers and headphones. Must say, Thank You, Jason. Superb, just superb.

In one way, Rag is like a 55-year-old stripper - it reveals all even when you wish it wouldn't. Deficiencies in recordings and upstream equipment are all too obvious. I've discovered disappointments in long-favored recordings. But that detail also helps bring new life and air to lots of mediocre albums, especially over speakers. And as proved by my SACD binge, this is due to the amp not some "magical" DAC.

Finished off with the new Japanese SHM-SACD of Roxy Music's Avalon (if you care for this album at all, get the SACD.) Wow. A gorgeous sound, which brings up another thing about Rag; I have yet to hear it sound harsh, strident or unpleasant - unless the music or recording is that way. It is fast and forceful, but never goes over the edge.

BTW, I concur that with phones you must go balanced. That "summer" circuit just sucks the juice out the SE. Anybody know how to recable AKGs to balanced?

Back to the music...

+1 Good impressions about the Ragnarok.

 

[Jayville36]

Need your views...My headphones are the Alpha Primes...I have been struggling with whether to go with the Schiit Lyr2/Bifrost Uber stack or the Mjolnir/Gungnir stack and then I had this epiphany, but tell me if I am wrong....I was thinking that if I was going to spend approximately $1600 on the M/G combo, perhaps I should put all of that into the Ragnarok and forego a DAC for the time being....what do you think?   Would I  be making a mistake....?

 

[reddog]

Need your views...My headphones are the Alpha Primes...I have been struggling with whether to go with the Schiit Lyr2/Bifrost Uber stack or the Mjolnir/Gungnir stack and then I had this epiphany, but tell me if I am wrong....I was thinking that if I was going to spend approximately $1600 on the M/G combo, perhaps I should put all of that into the Ragnarok and forego a DAC for the time being....what do you think?   Would I  be making a mistake....?

Hmmm my gut impressions is to go for the Ragnarok and save up for a dac later. However I have read a lot of impressions/ Reviews about how great the Mjolnir/ Gungnir sound together, so Arg it be a tough choice to make. I do love my Ragnarok, can not believe how musical, yet revealing of the sound signature out of the Alpha Prime's, especially in balanced mode. I am saving up to get the Yggdrasil dac, in July, wish my wallet would quit weeping lol.

 

[johnjen]

  Need your views...My headphones are the Alpha Primes...I have been struggling with whether to go with the Schiit Lyr2/Bifrost Uber stack or the Mjolnir/Gungnir stack and then I had this epiphany, but tell me if I am wrong....I was thinking that if I was going to spend approximately $1600 on the M/G combo, perhaps I should put all of that into the Ragnarok and forego a DAC for the time being....what do you think?   Would I  be making a mistake....?

From my perspective much of a 'real' answer depends upon what your 'goals' are.
 
And not knowing what DAC you would drive The Rok with etc. also plays into this..
 
So…
If your 'goal' is to get to end game electronics sooner rather than later then go for The Rok now and upgrade the dac later.
However by opting for either the L2/B or M/G stack(s) this will be a step up for sure and may be as much of an improvement as you may want.
Or they may be just one step amongst several more later… 
Either way you'll get killer tunes.
 
Also, unless you've already set up your Alpha Primes to run in balanced mode, this too is pretty much required, that is if you want to reap the full benefits that The Rok can deliver.
And running balanced is required for the Mojo amp as well.
 
Whereas the L2/B stack being unbalanced, means the need to run balanced can be 'delayed'.
 
Choices, choices…
 
JJ

 

[45longcolt]

  Need your views...My headphones are the Alpha Primes...I have been struggling with whether to go with the Schiit Lyr2/Bifrost Uber stack or the Mjolnir/Gungnir stack and then I had this epiphany, but tell me if I am wrong....I was thinking that if I was going to spend approximately $1600 on the M/G combo, perhaps I should put all of that into the Ragnarok and forego a DAC for the time being....what do you think?   Would I  be making a mistake....?

 
How good are your recordings, how good are your source components, and how many sources do you have? Also, do you use speakers at all?
 
Rag will improve everything (speakers and [balanced] phones) to a degree which might surprise you. Since I got Rag in house, my Mjolnir hasn't been on.
 
However, if you have lossy MP3 files, you will only notice just how bad they are. OTOH, if you have lots of hi-rez on your computer, you more or less need a good DAC to get the best from them (and to make up for the substandard sound from a standard computer.)
 
But if you're mainly playing CDs (Blu-rays, SACDs DVD-As) and your deck is decent, you can skip the DAC until your savings account has recovered. In that case I'd definitely go for the Rag.
 
In fact I'm gonna go waaay out on a limb here and recommend you buy the Rag and the $99 Schiit DAC, while you save up for the Ygg. At which point the $99 DAC (can't remember the model name) becomes disposable. Now I'll wait for somebody to saw that limb off behind me.
 
Seriously, though, I can't imagine you'd regret buying the Rag.

 

[negura]

I've been listening to my Rag loaner at home on both headphones and speakers, and in need of some advice:
- is there any suggestion towards compensating its slight treble roll-off/underwhelming treble detail?
- is there any way to get a precise attack / clear leading edge on this amp? It seems the mid-gain setting is for me the better choice here, however still not quite there.
- anyone finding a lack of authority with this amp driving planars?
 
I am running balanced LCD-3Fs, and would be getting a bit concerned these headphones are not up to par, was it not for (lesser?) amps that seem to give these a better kick in the pants so to say.
 
Perhaps it could be my expectations for the amp have been slightly off, I guess it's still decent value for its sound quality. Or it could be I have a bit of a lemon here - not seeing anything outright wrong with it...

 

[preproman]

This outta be good.
 

 

[nigeljames]

  This outta be good.
 

+ 1 

 

[Chris F]

  I've been listening to my Rag loaner at home on both headphones and speakers, and in need of some advice:
- is there any suggestion towards compensating its slight treble roll-off/underwhelming treble detail?
- is there any way to get a precise attack and clear leading edge on this amp? It seems the mid-gain setting is for me the better choice here, however still not quite there.
- anyone finding a lack of authority with this amp driving planars?
 
I am running balanced LCD-3Fs, and would be getting a bit concerned these headphones are not up to par, was it not for (lesser?) amps that seem to give these a better kick in the pants so to say.
 

I have the exact same setup (LCD-3F and Rag) and do not hear anything that I would classify as treble rolloff or lack of attack.  I use the mid gain setting and usually have the volume pot somewhere between 11-3 o'clock on the dial. Which amps do you feel do a better job driving your LCD-3F when compared to the Ragnarok?

 

[johnjen]

  I've been listening to my Rag loaner at home on both headphones and speakers, and in need of some advice:
- is there any suggestion towards compensating its slight treble roll-off/underwhelming treble detail?
- is there any way to get a precise attack and clear leading edge on this amp? It seems the mid-gain setting is for me the better choice here, however still not quite there.
- anyone finding a lack of authority with this amp driving planars?
 
I am running balanced LCD-3Fs, and would be getting a bit concerned these headphones are not up to par, was it not for (lesser?) amps that seem to give these a better kick in the pants so to say.
 
Perhaps it could be my expectations for the amp have been slightly off, I guess it's still decent value for its sound quality. Or it could be I have a bit of a lemon here - not seeing anything outright wrong with it...

Ok, I'll take a stab at this…
And as we all know, internet diagnosis of poor results is fraught with limitations and assumptions, ofttimes based upon missing key info.
 
And looking at your list of gear etc. it appears that you have a well 'tweaked' and capable setup.
And with the list of 'weaknesses' it would seem like either the signal or the power being fed The Rok is contributing to this situation.
And of course it could very well be that The Rok is 'deficient' in some way as well.
 
But for starters I'd suggest plugging The Rok straight into a source of ac power, in effect bypassing all of the power conditioning etc., just to see if that makes any difference, at all.
 
Lastly, how many hours on The Rok and the LCD-3f's?  
And I doubt break-in is a factor here, mostly due to your observed acoustic results, but perhaps, just maybe it could be a contributing factor.
 
Let us know what you find…
 
JJ :thumb

 

[JoelT]

  I am running balanced LCD-3Fs, and would be getting a bit concerned these headphones are not up to par, was it not for (lesser?) amps that seem to give these a better kick in the pants so to say.

High gain = Maximum kick in the pants. Seems counter-intuitive for a relatively low impedance headphone, but give it a try. I prefer it with the planars I've tried, including the LCD-3. Best of luck.