[artur9]

I have a flicker of an idea to use an Aegir on my speakers while continuing with the Vidar for my subwoofers. Can't really justify the expense...but it seems like it would be nice.

 

[IndyLions]

Anyone here try the Bifrost 2 yet? I have Bimby USB Gen 5 and quite like it. It would likely cost me net $300 or so to upgrade. The lure of the new USB implementation plus balanced outputs is what has me contemplating. Much less cost than upgrading to a Gumby. Could put that savings towards an upgrade from monoblock Vidars to monoblock Aegirs

 

[wout31]

I see you are using low efficiency speakers (generally under 85db). Even with horn speakers (99db) I found 2 Vidars to be far better than one. Now that I’ve moved to Aegir, I’m just doing one right now- I’m trying to determine how worth it it is to move to 2?

My speakers, the Quad ESL-63 electrostatics fully rebuild are rated at 86 dB, but I measure them at only 80 db / 1 watt / 1 meter.
When I used the single Aegir, I could hear the amp clipping every time i pushed the volume bottom up a little too far. So I had to switch to Aegir in mono block to be able to listen at a volume I prefer without the clipping or shutting down of the amps every time there was a little too much dynamics in the music.
It's to soon to tell exactly how big the difference is, but first impression is that indeed with 2 Aegirs I have enough power to feed the Quads without clipping or tripping the protection.
I also have the old Quad ESL-57 which have an efficiency of 93 dB (rated and measured equally) and they have more than enough with one Aegir.

SPL measurement of the Quad ESL 57



And the SPL measurement of the 63 model

 

[terminatetrails]

I appreciate the detailed response- thanks!!

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

I've recently bought a Jotunheim and it has already transformed my headphone-listening, but with that I'm desk-bound.

So now I want to transform my full-room stereo experience as well by getting some more schiit.

For the time being I want to hang on to my current speakers - they're old, but they were pretty high-end at their time and they have emotional value since they belonged to my grandfather.
It's a pair of BeoVox 1200 (https://www.beoworld.org/prod_details.asp?pid=435), they have a pretty low power output (15 Watts RMS) and 4 Ohms resistance.

Looking around the Schiit products list I feel that an Aegir might be a decent match, while also being able to drive other speakers when I upgrade in future. I'm still having a lingering doubt that the Ragnarok might be a better choice, despite having much more power than my speakers can handle, so I'm wondering what opinions are over here?

I'm also wondering with what pre-amp to pair the Aegir. I can use the Jotunheim which I already have, but I don't know how well they match.
So I'm also looking at a Saga S, or Saga+. The Freyas seem too expensive for my current budget, especially since getting a new pre-amp for the Aegir also means that I'll have to get a DAC as well. (The Jotunheim has a DAC card built-in).

So what do people here think? Would such low-power speakers be better matched with an Aegir, or with a Ragnarok?
Would a Jotunheim be a good pre-amp for an Aegir? Or better to go for one of the Sagas?

 

[PioBeer]

I would buy saga, (Vidar if low efficient speakers, Aegir if high) and modi multi bit DAC. Smoking 2 channel set up.

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

I would buy saga, (Vidar if low efficient speakers, Aegir if high) and modi multi bit DAC. Smoking 2 channel set up.

I don't know how efficient they are in db - I can't find any specs on that and I don't know how to measure that, or what equipment I'd need for that!

I only know they're 4 ohm resistance and 15 watts RMS -- so, lower power.

What makes you prefer the Aegir over the Ragnarok? (For me the benefit would be that the Saga has a remote, and the power-output of Aegir seems to better match the speakers, but I don't know enough to know how relevant that is).

 

[Odin412]

I'm also wondering with what pre-amp to pair the Aegir. I can use the Jotunheim which I already have, but I don't know how well they match.
So I'm also looking at a Saga S, or Saga+. The Freyas seem too expensive for my current budget, especially since getting a new pre-amp for the Aegir also means that I'll have to get a DAC as well. (The Jotunheim has a DAC card built-in).

So what do people here think? Would such low-power speakers be better matched with an Aegir, or with a Ragnarok?
Would a Jotunheim be a good pre-amp for an Aegir? Or better to go for one of the Sagas?

I have the original Saga and it's an excellent match with the Aegir so I'd recommend the Saga+. If you don't like tubes you can use the Jotunheim or go with the Saga S.

 

[PioBeer]

I'm sure the Ragnarok is awesome. I'm just a fan of separates for 2 channel.

 

[judson_w]

I don't know how efficient they are in db - I can't find any specs on that and I don't know how to measure that, or what equipment I'd need for that!

I only know they're 4 ohm resistance and 15 watts RMS -- so, lower power.

What makes you prefer the Aegir over the Ragnarok? (For me the benefit would be that the Saga has a remote, and the power-output of Aegir seems to better match the speakers, but I don't know enough to know how relevant that is).

I was having trouble finding sensitivity specs for them, but it does appear they are very sensitive as I assume they were designed to go with the BeoMaster 1200, which only output 15 W for sine wave or 20 W with music (I admit I am not sure what the reason for the difference is other than it might be able to hand peaks of 20 W but can only sustain 15 W output).

Regardless, that makes rather efficient. I am not sure if the Aegir is actually too much power for the speaker or not (40 W in stereo at 4 ohm). Someone else can probably answer that.

 

[Alcophone]

I was having trouble finding sensitivity specs for them, but it does appear they are very sensitive as I assume they were designed to go with the BeoMaster 1200, which only output 15 W for sine wave or 20 W with music (I admit I am not sure what the reason for the difference is other than it might be able to hand peaks of 20 W but can only sustain 15 W output).

Regardless, that makes rather efficient. I am not sure if the Aegir is actually too much power for the speaker or not (40 W in stereo at 4 ohm). Someone else can probably answer that.

No amp would be too powerful unless you want to be sure that you can crank the volume up all the way without the speakers blowing up. High power amps might have compromises in terms of sound quality (people generally say Aegir sounds better than Vidar, for instance) or their noise floor might make them unsuitable for highly efficient speakers, but just having power available is not an issue.
I can tell you that the Ragnarok 2 is a significant step up over Saga + Vidar, but I have not had Aegir in the house to compare with.
I would pick whichever sounds better. The Ragnarok 2 would give you more room to grow since it can handle inefficient speakers well, is balanced, etc.

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

I have the original Saga and it's an excellent match with the Aegir so I'd recommend the Saga+. If you don't like tubes you can use the Jotunheim or go with the Saga S.

I don't know what tubes would sound like, my hesitation about tubes is that you will have to replace them from time to time. And that would mean that if I don't have a replacement at hand when I need one, I'd be out of audio for a couple of days!
(So, always keep a spare )

 

[Odin412]

I don't know what tubes would sound like, my hesitation about tubes is that you will have to replace them from time to time. And that would mean that if I don't have a replacement at hand when I need one, I'd be out of audio for a couple of days!
(So, always keep a spare )

I would say that keeping just one spare is a best-case scenario. The real danger of tubes IMHO is that you get bit by the tube rolling bug, in which case buying way too many tubes is a more real (and expensive!) issue.

 

[judson_w]

With regards to tubes, it is nice that the Sage + only has one tube. My integrated amp uses 8 (I really need to get new tubes for that, and probably keep the current ones as emergency backups)

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

the Ragnarok 2 is a significant step up over Saga + Vidar, but I have not had Aegir in the house to compare with

Is there anyone in this thread who has been able to compare something like Saga+ + Aegir with Ragnarok 2? Or a Jotunheim + Aegir to a Ragnarok 2?

I want to invest now in a good base from which I can grow, rather than buying things which I will later replace with different components anyway.

From that point of view the Aegir is interesting, since I can start with that, put it together with my Jotunheim for now, and later add a Saga+, and a nicer DAC like a Bifrost. But if the Ragnarok2 would sound significantly better... It could be a reason two invest more right from the start.