[Varejao17]

Hi renault - while I do not have the Aegir/Maggie combo you're asking about, I will say that sensitivity is only part of the story. The 1.7i is rated as a 4ohm loudspeaker, and when operated in the bridged/mono mode, Schiit does not specify a 4 ohm power rating.

IIRC (and I could be off on this), bridging a stereo amplifier into mono mode makes it more challenging for the amp to deal with lower impedance speakers.

I have 4 ohm speakers of moderate sensitivity (~86dB) and was reluctant to go with the Aegir based on this.

ed

 

[Mr Rick]

Hi All, I’m bringing this up here at the invitation of Mr Rick (thanks!)

I might ask up front, has anyone tried mono Aegirs with Maggies and found them wanting as predicted by those here and elsewhere?

Doesn’t the Schiit have mono Aegirs, Vidars and a 1.7i?

First off, greetings and welcome.

I'm not sure what may have been available at the Schiitr in the past, but when I visited this last weekend, a Salk model was being driven by an Aegir. And a pair of Maggy LRS's were being driven by one Vidar. Every model and version of preamp was available to drive the Aegir and Vidar. Also on the rack was a Ragnarok and Yggdrasil. No Bi Amped system was available. Although I'm sure one could be set up if necessary.

I was allowed to try my new Harbeth Monitor 30.2s with everything, but I had no interest in a bi amped system. My Harbeths are rated at 87db efficiency, and with the single Aegir I felt even in the near field, that more was probably necessary. When testing with the Vidar, it was clear that it was more than sufficient to drive my Harbeths. As to sound quality, my old ears struggled to hear any differences between the amps. At least, at the levels I listen to, with the type of music I enjoy.

To really know if Aegirs in bi amped configuration will work in your situation the only way to know is to set up a pair and try them.

If you can visit the Schiitr, I suggest you call ahead of time and specifically ask that a bi amped system be set up. If not, I would purchase two Aegirs and try them. IMHO it's the only way to know for sure.

In my own situation, I purchased a Vidar for my Harbeths, and I'll probably be buying an Aegir for another system that has Tannoy XT8 8Fs that are 91db efficient. I believe in my situation, bi amping will not be necessary.

Sorry for my ineptitude. Please open the above for my input.

 

[renault4]

If you can visit the Schiitr,.

I agree entirely and have plans to do so in March

Thanks

 

[438555]

Hi All, I’m bringing this up here at the invitation of Mr Rick (thanks!)

I might ask up front, has anyone tried mono Aegirs with Maggies and found them wanting as predicted by those here and elsewhere?

Doesn’t the Schiit have mono Aegirs, Vidars and a 1.7i?

Earlier, Renault 4 asked: Hi all, long time user of Schiit headphone rig (Bifrost Multibit/Valhalla2/Loki) and now planning and researching on an eventual 2-channel pre-amp/amp/speaker setup for a small, dedicated listening/office space (about 12 x 14). My purchase target date is late September, so I'm taking the time to research and audition the different components I'm thinking about.

While I have been narrowing in on a Freya+/mono Aegir/KEF LS50 combo I am interested in hearing from folks on any experience they've had with Aegir monos and Maggies (I'd say either the LRS or the .7i ideally); I listen mostly to classical piano, from solo to concerto as well as modern composers, minimalist and some latter day ambient, as well as some jazz. I am more in to presence and resolution than loudness or deep window-shaking bass. In other words, I don't get the impression I would be pushing the Aegirs out to the edge of their envelope...

I see some discussion on this here from around April '19 and have read the Stereophile review; now, with the passage of time, I'm interested to see if opinions have evolved.

thanks for your thoughts!

Crazyclhile said:This subject has come up a few times before... If you own Magneplanars, the Aegir is NOT for you. I've tried Aegir on the MMG, and it's not worth the effort beyond satisfying the curiosity of a quick experiment.

Mono Aegirs on Maggies still won't bring the power up into the range to give decent headroom. Even at low listening levels, the dynamics will be compressed. Maggies are 86dB efficient. I wouldn't consider using Aegir on anything less than 93-94 efficiency, and that will be borderline.



Dieselt said: 88db speakers are well enough for Aegir 2x


Derrick Stewart (in responding to crazychile) said: why? depends on how loud you listen, the distance from the listening place to the speakers and the placement of the speakers. I am not an engineer but I think besides the sensitivity it also has to do how difficult the load is (drops below 2 Ohm for example are hard for an amplifier i believe) I am quite sure that one Aegir will play my ATC SCM19 loud enough in my 12m2 room, speakers in corner and about 2.5meter distance. I guess about 95 dB (their max is 108dB), I think rarely get above 90dB. But that is me.

Wasn't it like this: from one watt to two watt is plus 3dB and from 2 to 4watt adds another 3dB, and so on?

Not sure though if it shall sound better than my current two mono amps. (they still work and sound fine so need to replace)

I wouldn't go with Aegirs for 1.7is. I would get at least one Vidar. Initially, that's what I had, but one Vidar with a Saga didn't have enough gain to run them in a fairly large room. So I added another along with a Freya that's run in tube gain mode. With this setup, it is possible to shut down the Vidars, but it's quite loud (>95 dB on the meter) even 20 feet away before that point.

 

[renault4]

Yeah, though I don't think I would ever approach your trigger conditions, much of the feedback so far is consistent; staying within the world of Schiit, Vidar(s)are a better choice even though they too, much as with the Aegirs, could have problems with 4ohm endpoints. Certainly, a pair of Vidars and a Freya+ is where I'm headed; thing is, the tonal quality/precision differences that seem to shine through on Aegir reviews is quite attractive, so I'm looking for folks who have tried to see if the Aegirs worked for them and to see if, and why they ruled them out (or not as the case may--less-likely-- be). I guess what I'm trying to gauge is whether this is a case of YMMV or a true electronics/capability mismatch.

thanks all for the feedback, most useful!

 

[yonson]

Yeah, though I don't think I would ever approach your trigger conditions, much of the feedback so far is consistent; staying within the world of Schiit, Vidar(s)are a better choice even though they too, much as with the Aegirs, could have problems with 4ohm endpoints. Certainly, a pair of Vidars and a Freya+ is where I'm headed; thing is, the tonal quality/precision differences that seem to shine through on Aegir reviews is quite attractive, so I'm looking for folks who have tried to see if the Aegirs worked for them and to see if, and why they ruled them out (or not as the case may--less-likely-- be). I guess what I'm trying to gauge is whether this is a case of YMMV or a true electronics/capability mismatch.

thanks all for the feedback, most useful!

It all depends on listening level especially with 4 ohm transducers if running mono...

In my experience it takes quite a bit to get Vidar to go into over-current protection, I've only had it happen on my center channel (4 ohm mono) while watching action movies at well above Reference THX levels.

I haven't personally tried a pair of Aegir (I REALLY wanted a pair though) however I do know of an individual that has a similar setup to mine that did, and he was able to push them into over-current VERY easily at levels that I would typically listen at (85ish dB at listening position), so for that reason I ruled them out.

 

[renault4]

It all depends on listening level especially with 4 ohm transducers if running mono...

In my experience it takes quite a bit to get Vidar to go into over-current protection, I've only had it happen on my center channel (4 ohm mono) while watching action movies at well above Reference THX levels.

I haven't personally tried a pair of Aegir (I REALLY wanted a pair though) however I do know of an individual that has a similar setup to mine that did, and he was able to push them into over-current VERY easily at levels that I would typically listen at (85ish dB at listening position), so for that reason I ruled them out.

OK, that is exactly the kind of info I was hoping this thread would reveal--thanks!

 

[renault4]

OK, that is exactly the kind of info I was hoping this thread would reveal--thanks!

For those here that have Magnepans, any idea what happens if there isn’t a dealer available in one’s state (Boise, ID in my case); can one order direct from Magnepan or do I need to go to a dealer in a different state ( there’s one listed in SLC , which isn’t too far).

 

[jcn3]

For those here that have Magnepans, any idea what happens if there isn’t a dealer available in one’s state (Boise, ID in my case); can one order direct from Magnepan or do I need to go to a dealer in a different state ( there’s one listed in SLC , which isn’t too far).

i'd just give them a ring and ask.

 

[renault4]

i'd just give them a ring and ask.

I did; left a VM for Wendall, who I am sure will get back to me at some point soon.

 

[renault4]

As I now understand it, I can work with any dealer over the phone, they would order the units from Magnepan and have them shipped to my Boise address. I imagine there is a shipping fee, but short of finding an unopened box in a nearby dealer (or settling for a floor model) I doubt I'm going to avoid that!

 

[Varejao17]

Stereophile’s review of Rag2 is up:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/schiit-audio-ragnarok-2-integrated-amplifier

 

[D2Girls]

The time has finally come to let the last piece of my Schiit gear go. It is very unlikely a new piece of schiit gear will ever make it back into my system but anything is possible.

 

[Mikem53]

I received the Aegir monos a couple of days ago after months of reading and researching other options for amps. I was currently running a pair of Bel Canto Ref600 monos which are based on the Hypex Ncore modules with some custom filters implemented by BC.
Im running directly from the Yggdrasil into the amps using Jrivers 64 bit bitperfect volume control.. Coming out of a MacBook directly to the Yggdrasil USB or via the bel canto refLink USB reclocked and using AES. The Ref600m monos are quite impressive.. powerful authoritative bass, black background, detailed without harshness or being edgy... but.. lacking in depth, missing wet vocals.. not round enough sounding for me..
I had music.. but missing a less clinical presentation..
The Aegirs made me worry because I’m driving a pair of Focal electra rated At 91db @ 8 ohms nominal with a dip to 3.5. i know this setup can be hard to drive regardless of specs.. But I decided to go for it anyway because of the good reviews and a class A sound without the expense and additional heat of tubes. Figured I would give it a try with the trial Period And go from there..
I thought about trying one before I hooked them both up to see how it would do... but I wanted to get down to it and see how these would drive these speakers.. Yggy direct to the amps and we’re up and running..
My previous amp was a BAT VK75SE based on the Russian 6c33c output tubes.. I downsized and gave up my dedicated audio room a few years ago and sold the Bat and my Vonschweikert VR-7s to fit my new living area.. I’ve been fussing with a the system ever since trying to get it right to my ears.. thankfully my cans kept me from getting frustrated but I kept putting off the main system because of it..
will continue in a day or so when I get more time with these amps..

 

[Mikem53]

Part 2 after having some break in time with the Aegir monos.. For The most part they sounded pretty good right out of the box. A little bit stringent on top for a few days but then it seem to relax and not be so intense and chilled on top. My first observation were the obvious differences between the power Of the Bel Canto Monos versus the Aegirs. The Ref600m Class D amps are capable of putting out 27 amps.. in a small cool running package.. I had upgraded to them from the Ref500M monos based on the Class D ICE modules with bel cantos linear Power supplies. Those were the first good sounding class D amps , in my limited experience. To continue off on this tangent of mine, I got the ref500 monos from Joseph Grado. I was good friends with Joe for many years and did his IT work. He had got this set up from Bel Canto and never set it up, I purchased it from him and set off on a “sand” adventure.. Joe passed soon after, was a very interesting character.. I will share some stories I had with him.. we talked a lot, mostly argued.. but I always came away with something new and interesting I learned from him..
So.. the Aegir amps are now hooked up out of my Django passive transformer based volume control. This is based on the S&B TX-102 transformers , so every step is another winding creating resistance and producing gain via windings in the last few steps.. It has balanced in and outputs But no electronics so it must be passing the signal it needs from the yiggy to the amps to make the monos work in bridge mode as required. I seem to have plenty of gain I don’t need any from the preamp for the volume that I require and then some. The good news for me is there is plenty of volume and music that I will be keeping these amps and would be a fool to send them back. I have paid more for a set of speaker wires then for these amps. While they are not the best I have heard, nor are the most powerful by any means. They do have characteristics which I prefer over the class D amps and the hassle of tube amps. I placed an order for the Freya + but they won’t be shipping them till March 31. In the meantime I might find I don’t need tubes for a pre-. But… I have to try it, I haven’t had an active preamp in my system in a long time. Should be interesting.. I wouldn’t mind a little more bloom, not the real old tubey CJ kind but a little more roundness out front.
The Aegirs Do impart a class A type sound that is pleasing, A SET type sound.. not quite a 2A3.. but more like a 300B .. but it makes you take notice.. The bass is very good, less hard than the class D slam, but more musical.. im glad those negative reviews and other info I read on some other sites didn't pan out for me.. I seemed to have gotten what schiit claimed and then some..