Schiit Ragnarok Amplifier

[Mr Rick]

  How similar is the Ragnarok's sound sig to the Mjolnir's?

If Schiit did their job properly there will be no difference.

 

[coinmaster]

  How similar is the Ragnarok's sound sig to the Mjolnir's?

I think they both sound like schiit.

 

[Barry S]

  How similar is the Ragnarok's sound sig to the Mjolnir's?

The Rag and the Mjonir have very different signatures. The Mjolnir has a leaner, more airy sound, and is more treble forward. The Rag's mids sound much richer, and the treble is smoother, and less forward. The Rag's bass control is astoundingly good--even better than the Mjolnir's--which is excellent.

 

[reddog]

The Rag and the Mjonir have very different signatures. The Mjolnir has a leaner, more airy sound, and is more treble forward. The Rag's mids sound much richer, and the treble is smoother, and less forward. The Rag's bass control is astoundingly good--even better than the Mjolnir's--which is excellent.

Thanks for the comparison/ contrast between the Mjolnir and the Ragnarok.

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

 
The Rag and the Mjonir have very different signatures. The Mjolnir has a leaner, more airy sound, and is more treble forward. The Rag's mids sound much richer, and the treble is smoother, and less forward. The Rag's bass control is astoundingly good--even better than the Mjolnir's--which is excellent.

 
It's been some time since I've owned a Mjolnir, but this pretty much matches my recollection of the differences. Mjolnir's treble can sometimes be harsh/aggressive in excess of what the recording intended -- a trait I've never observed with the Ragnarok, even when listening with HD800s.
 
Olias

 

[Matias]

Agreed: the leaner sound of Mjolnir and lack of RCA inputs and outputs is what made me choose another amp.
Hopefully they will change/add this in a v2 revision.

 

[Defiant00]

Agreed: the leaner sound of Mjolnir and lack of RCA inputs and outputs is what made me choose another amp.
Hopefully they will change/add this in a v2 revision.

Mjolnir had RCA in, it's only the outputs that are balanced-only.

 

[Matias]

Sorry, meant RCA out only.

 

[knowhatimean]

 

  How similar is the Ragnarok's sound sig to the Mjolnir's?

The Rag and the Mjonir have very different signatures. The Mjolnir has a leaner, more airy sound, and is more treble forward. The Rag's mids sound much richer, and the treble is smoother, and less forward. The Rag's bass control is astoundingly good--even better than the Mjolnir's--which is excellent.

There it is again..."Leaner, airy sound". I can't think of anything that "kills" my interest in an amp quicker than this 3 word description. Basically,you've traded full frequency dynamic capability for an amp that is contouring the sound response that should be being done by the DAC. (Do "Dark" sounding DACs even exist; I guess the DACs included in some players might be)
 
My "Jury" is still out on the  "Rag".  (I'll only be using the Senn HD800 w/ it so any comparisons to the Sennheiser HDVA 600 ?; I seriously have no interest in using it for other "cans")
 
It looks like "Mike" is finally giving us some "Theta" level equipment ! (Sorry, couldn't help myself)

 

[HeyWaj10]

One of my biggest (likely) competitors for multiple duties against the Rag is the Rogue Audio Sphinx. Does anyone who owns/listened to the Rag have experience with the Sphinx? Would the Rag be a much more significant performer?

 

[Exidrion]

I'm waiting for mine and reading the manual and it says:

"The preamp outs don’t work! If you’re in headphone-only mode, yes, the preamp outputs are disabled, so you can more conveniently use powered desktop monitors. Switch to headphone-and-speakers mode, or speakers-only mode."
 
I might just be dense but how are you supposed to use powered desktop monitors if it's in headphone only mode with the preamps disabled? Do they mean with other equipment?

 

[johnjen]

What it means is the pre-outs go 'dead' in headphone only mode.
This way the only sound in your vacinity will be the headphones, since active monitors are 'always on'.
And that the output switching feature, when in HP only operation, also 'takes into account' both active and passive speakers use.
 
This allows you to listen to HP's only, with a minimum of 'extra fuss' (ie. have to turn down or off the active monitors).
 
JJ

 

[ThingyNL]

  I might just be dense but how are you supposed to use powered desktop monitors if it's in headphone only mode with the preamps disabled? Do they mean with other equipment?

 
I have my Rok default in desktop speakers & headphone mode. When I want headphone only, I press the power button on the speaker to shut it down.... When desktop speakers are on, headphone is somewhere on the desk but is not audible.....

Does that help....?

 

[Exidrion]

Oh I see. Yeah, my Swans don't have a power button they are always on. So right now if I want to listen to my speakers using the preouts on my amp I need to unplug my headphones, otherwise all It'll just output through the headphones.

 

[olor1n]

 

  How similar is the Ragnarok's sound sig to the Mjolnir's?

The Rag and the Mjonir have very different signatures. The Mjolnir has a leaner, more airy sound, and is more treble forward. The Rag's mids sound much richer, and the treble is smoother, and less forward. The Rag's bass control is astoundingly good--even better than the Mjolnir's--which is excellent.

How's the soundstage compared to the MJ?