[Music Alchemist]

  Thanks, I'd forgotten about that. I was hoping for some more recent impressions, as I figure that Jude's comments are on an early iteration of the Rag, not necessarily what is currently being built.

 
*does a quick search...finds only one relevant newer post*

 

[Barry S]

 

[tomlink]

Sweet! My order #20678 was 4 behind yours. Just received my invoice yesterday. Should have the Ragnarok in my hands before next weekend.

 

[commtrd]

Approximately 29 more to go. 20703... May not get it this year looks like. Oh well just waiting patiently.

 

[Barry S]

  Sweet! My order #20678 was 4 behind yours. Just received my invoice yesterday. Should have the Ragnarok in my hands before next weekend.

FEDEX was quick--3 days from Schiit to DC. You should have your Rag very soon. The poor lady at the FEDEX office was struggling with the package, I thought she was going to fall over. I had to rush behind the counter to help and she was happy to hand it off to me. I'm thinking there must be heavy lead shielding surrounding the radioactive core.
 

  Approximately 29 more to go. 20703... May not get it this year looks like. Oh well just waiting patiently.

 
I think production will start to pick up a bit, but the Rag is worth the wait.

 

[tomlink]

FEDEX was quick--3 days from Schiit to DC. You should have your Rag very soon. The poor lady at the FEDEX office was struggling with the package, I thought she was going to fall over. I had to rush behind the counter to help and she was happy to hand it off to me. I'm thinking there must be heavy lead shielding surrounding the radioactive core.


I think production will start to pick up a bit, but the Rag is worth the wait.

Three days would be great. Looking forward to re-connecting with my music collection.

 

[sonance]

I see several people mentioning / looking for speakers - wondering if these are for nearfield (desktop or listening chair) setups or far field in a larger room? Since most headphone listening is done in a situation where the amp is within reach (no remote, I believe) I would think it was the former, but I see lots of people mentioning speakers not particularly suited to nearfield listening. Perhaps some people can describe their listening / seating arrangements with the larger speakers.
 
Finally, I'm surprised to hear that people would look for speakers that suit their amp, rather than the other way around. As much as I like a good amp, the speaker has far more effect on the system sound that the amp, within most reasonable matchings, IMHO.

 

[Barry S]

 
Ragnarok First Impressions
 
I've only had the Rag for a day, but I thought I'd post some initial impressions with the Gungnir (Gen 2 USB), LCD-X, and HD650. The dynamics the Rag manages to extract from recordings is extraordinary. Loud sounds hit *loud*, while quiet sounds stay detailed and present. There is no obvious coloration to the sound--the Rag doesn't seem to lean towards bright or warm, or thick or thin. A tremendous amount of detail flows through, and the impression is musical more than analytical. The synergy with the LCD-Xs is outstanding--the lean quality I found with the Mjolnir has been replaced with a richer, more liquid sound--particularly in the mids.
 
The HD650 also has excellent synergy, but may be reaching the point of diminishing returns with the Rag--it doesn't scale up nearly as well as the LCD-X. I've been listening to the HD650 with my newly-built Crack (no Speedball yet) lately and it's been very enjoyable, but the Rag has a richer sound. Directly A/B-ing with the LCD-X/Rag, makes the HD650/Crack sound somewhat removed from the music and surprisingly thin.
 
The Rag's background is dead black--no noise, no hum--complete darkness. I've been listening to a wide variety of music, mostly with the LCD-X/Rag. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue--it sounds like I'm sitting there in the studio--the music is very intimate and present. EDM slams really hard--with crystalline clarity. Good recordings are completely involving and bad ones are laid bare.
 
The Rag compares favorably with the best solid state amps I've heard--The Krell KSA-5 Klone, Odyssey Cyclops, GSX-mk2, Cavalli LAu, and the Crayon CHA-1.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Ragnarok First Impressions
 
[snip]  
The Rag compares favorably with the best solid state amps I've heard--The Krell KSA-5 Klone, Odyssey Cyclops, GSX-mk2, Cavalli LAu, and the Crayon CHA-1.

 
Awesome! Any thoughts on how the sound of the Ragnarok differs from the latter two?

 

[commtrd]

 
 
Ragnarok First Impressions
 
I've only had the Rag for a day, but I thought I'd post some initial impressions with the Gungnir (Gen 2 USB), LCD-X, and HD650. The dynamics the Rag manages to extract from recordings is extraordinary. Loud sounds hit *loud*, while quiet sounds stay detailed and present. There is no obvious coloration to the sound--the Rag doesn't seem to lean towards bright or warm, or thick or thin. A tremendous amount of detail flows through, and the impression is musical more than analytical. The synergy with the LCD-Xs is outstanding--the lean quality I found with the Mjolnir has been replaced with a richer, more liquid sound--particularly in the mids.
 
The HD650 also has excellent synergy, but may be reaching the point of diminishing returns with the Rag--it doesn't scale up nearly as well as the LCD-X. I've been listening to the HD650 with my newly-built Crack (no Speedball yet) lately and it's been very enjoyable, but the Rag has a richer sound. Directly A/B-ing with the LCD-X/Rag, makes the HD650/Crack sound somewhat removed from the music and surprisingly thin.
 
The Rag's background is dead black--no noise, no hum--complete darkness. I've been listening to a wide variety of music, mostly with the LCD-X/Rag. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue--it sounds like I'm sitting there in the studio--the music is very intimate and present. EDM slams really hard--with crystalline clarity. Good recordings are completely involving and bad ones are laid bare.
 
The Rag compares favorably with the best solid state amps I've heard--The Krell KSA-5 Klone, Odyssey Cyclops, GSX-mk2, Cavalli LAu, and the Crayon CHA-1.

COOL! Great to read the feedback on the synergy of Ragnarok with the X. Also comparison of Mjolnir with Rag. Also the comment on the mids which makes me even more ready to get the rag and start re-listening to my library. Should be pretty much mind blowing to say the least... And awesome to hear of how well the Gungnir sounds with the rag and X. That will be my setup as well. Thanks man really appreciate the info.

 

[Barry S]

   
Awesome! Any thoughts on how the sound of the Ragnarok differs from the latter two?

Very tough to characterize the quality of the sound without having them all together (along with an LCD-3, HD800, and HE-6). The top solid-state amps are all finely detailed, transparent, with great dynamics. Overall, the LAu struck me as a a touch warm, and the CHA-1 sounded a little more delicate, with a bit of the finely etched electrostat quality.

 

[ogodei]

I posted some impressions of the Ragnarok over in the Chi-Uni-Fi 8.5 thread. We did some head-to-head listening against the GS-X mk2.

 

[ogodei]

  Probably still too early, but does has anyone tested the Rag with their HE-6's? Is it a yea or nay?

 
I listened to the HE-6 with the Ragnarok yesterday, Gungnir DAC.  I am now planning to purchase the HE-6.
 
Very good bass response, treble I have heard slightly more controlled via other speaker amps.

 

[Barry S]

 
COOL! Great to read the feedback on the synergy of Ragnarok with the X. Also comparison of Mjolnir with Rag. Also the comment on the mids which makes me even more ready to get the rag and start re-listening to my library. Should be pretty much mind blowing to say the least... And awesome to hear of how well the Gungnir sounds with the rag and X. That will be my setup as well. Thanks man really appreciate the info.

The Gungnir>Mjolnir>LCD-X chain is already pretty damn good, but the Rag is better--especially if you want to move the LCD-X signature in the direction of the LCD-3F.
 

  I posted some impressions of the Ragnarok over in the Chi-Uni-Fi 8.5 thread. We did some head-to-head listening against the GS-X mk2.

 
Awesome post!

 

[commtrd]

The Gungnir>Mjolnir>LCD-X chain is already pretty damn good, but the Rag is better--especially if you want to move the LCD-X signature in the direction of the LCD-3F.
 
This is precisely what I was hoping to read about how the Ragnarok would play with the X. Since I was thinking about later on getting the 3f and now don't really see any need to proceed with that. Thanks!