[Whitetriton]

  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.

Thanks for all the effort setting up the listening sessions (that must have been more than a little bit of work) and posting your observations.  I enjoyed reading it. 

 

[SearchOfSub]

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.

I am going to be using the Ragnorak running passive speakers far-field. What I do with my arrangement is flip everything the other way around. Speakers would be against the front wall obviously. Then I have my speaker cables which is about 10 FT coming towards the listening chair. I run the speaker cables under a big rug that covers 3/5 of my listening room so it's hidden. I then have a small bed table to the right side of my seat and place the amp inside the table in on one of 2 level deck. Or I just put it up on top. (I usually put remotes on top or picture etc). This is how I had my setup.

I think most of the members here who are buying the ragnorak have been into audio for a bit of time and have had transparent speakers in the past that would change character of sound completely with changing components and have found dacs/amps makes just as big of a difference to what they hear. Just going forth with their past experince I guess.

 

[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.

FedEx says my Ragnarok will arrive on Thursday the 13th!

 

[Androb]

Oh I so want to get this now! Gonna order it early next year

 

[Maxx134]

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.

Reading this I am now thinking the amp may actually be more transparent than I thought because the descriptions you posted of the sound to me sound like the gungnir with usb2 sounded to me when I compared the dac withthe Master7 dac and my Oppo HA-1 dac section.
So to hear comments on the smooth and dynamic quality were the notes I made on my testing of the the dac.
so hope to see some reviews with other dacs..

 

[Shini44]

hey guys i will order a Ragnarok in few hours, says ready to ship (1-3) days,  does that mean there is no waiting now? or this is their by default? :<

 

[cizx]

  hey guys i will order a Ragnarok in few hours, says ready to ship (1-3) days,  does that mean there is no waiting now? or this is their by default? :<

It says 2-3 working weeks.

 

[Shini44]

 
It says 2-3 working weeks.

how sad :< 

 

[45longcolt]

  how sad :< 

 
Heck, I waited 50 calendar days (or 10 working weeks, if my calculations are correct.)

 

[cizx]

  how sad :< 

sad that they're being honest, or sad that you read it wrong?
 
I waited 6 weeks.

 

[Shini44]

 
sad that they're being honest, or sad that you read it wrong?
 
I waited 6 weeks.

no i mean my last order was in my hand within less than week and i am in Duabi now i will have to wait but i hope it will be worth it ^^ or lets say i am sure.
 
i heard its very transparent and detailed with the mids while keeping the Treble and Bass dynamic and fun with good texture too. 
 
 
 
i had the Master nine which is the most transparent but it was warmer than what i like with less fun in the dynamics, maybe due me pairing it with X-Sabre since some dacs made the bass soft with it.

i will use the Ragna with the X-Sabre with balanced ofc.

 

[Shini44]

Just placed my Order <3  and in three weeks we are going to have a three weeks vacation!!!!
 
then the final exams :<  so studying or listening to Ragnarok, is going to be a hard choice  

 

[StefanJK]

It's been listed as 2-3 weeks since it went up on their website. AFAIK.

 

[Shini44]

so is the waiting 3 week max? or more? for now? i really hope its not more than 3 weeks :<

 

[Viper2005]

Yes 3 weeks is pretty accurate!
I received my Ragnarok today on the 27th, ordered on Nov 7th, so exactly 3 weeks!