Why I’m Loving the Saga 2 – My Experience So Far

[simino]

I’ve had the Schiit Saga 2 for about a week now, and I couldn’t be happier with this preamp. It’s currently running via XLR to my Cees Ruijtenberg (Metrum) monoblocks, and I’ve been comparing it directly with my Exposure XM 7. Honestly, the Saga 2 comes out ahead in several key areas:

• Soundstage: The Saga 2 offers a noticeably wider and more immersive soundstage.
• Separation: Instruments and vocals feel more distinct, making the listening experience much more enjoyable.
• Size: The compact size is perfect for my setup.

That said, I do wish it had a few upgrades:

• An internal power supply would make it feel more premium.
• A better housing to match the great performance inside.
• And let’s be honest, the remote could use a bit of an upgrade too.

For the price, though, it’s hard to fault the Saga 2. I’m curious to hear what others think—how does it compare in your setups?

 

[Charade19]

Nice, glad you are enjoying it. Out of curiosity, have you tried the headphone output, and if so, how do you like it?

 

[nschlosburg]

I’ve had the Schiit Saga 2 for about a week now, and I couldn’t be happier with this preamp. It’s currently running via XLR to my Cees Ruijtenberg (Metrum) monoblocks, and I’ve been comparing it directly with my Exposure XM 7. Honestly, the Saga 2 comes out ahead in several key areas:

• Soundstage: The Saga 2 offers a noticeably wider and more immersive soundstage.
• Separation: Instruments and vocals feel more distinct, making the listening experience much more enjoyable.
• Size: The compact size is perfect for my setup.

That said, I do wish it had a few upgrades:

• An internal power supply would make it feel more premium.
• A better housing to match the great performance inside.
• And let’s be honest, the remote could use a bit of an upgrade too.

For the price, though, it’s hard to fault the Saga 2. I’m curious to hear what others think—how does it compare in your setups?

I bought my Saga 2 late September.

Associated Gear

• TubeCube 7 Amp with 3 Mullard 1960s NOS Tubes from their Blackburn Factory driving a pair of stand mounted Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-500M Bookshelf Speakers (Wireworld Speaker Cable)
• Darlington Labs MM5A: Discrete Phono Preamp (like the Saga 2, it is Zero Feedback, Single-Ended Class-A Gain Stages - No Op Amps and no Differential FET operation – (a perfect match for the Saga 2)
• MUSIC HALL MMF-1.3 Turntable with Goldring E4 Moving Magnet Cartridge, VPI Drop-weight Counterweight, Acrylic Turntable Mat, Clearaudio - Clever Clamp, and Sbooster BOTW P&P ECO MKII Power Supply
• Digital: ifi ZEN Stream and ifi ZEN One Signature DAC connected with Wireworld Starlight 8 USB 3.0 Audio Cable, both have iPower X Power Supplies
• CD Transport: Vintage Sony DVP-S7000 DVD/CD Player (acquired for less than $100, fantastic as a CD Transport)
• 10” Powered Subwoofer: Klipsch R-100SW
• Pangea and ifi Power Cables, Blue Jeans Cable Interconnect Cables

A little background on how I got to the Saga 2 as my preamp of choice. The Saga 2 replaced my Lyr3 with a CBS-Hytron NOS Tube and built in Schiit phono card. After upgrading the tubes in my amp to the Mullards, I was not happy with the synergy between the amp, preamp and speakers. While my Grado RS2Es still sounded glorious with the Lyr3, I was too dissatisfied with sound through my speakers.

I pulled the Lyr out of the system and plugged the digital sources (Streamer/DAC combo) directly into the Amp. The difference was stunning. The sonic glory of those Mullard tubes was palpable.

At that point, I decided to order the Schiit Audio SYS and find out how a Schiit passive preamp would sound in the system. The SYS allowed me to hook up my turntable and digital setup as inputs and I could run a y adapter output for my amp and subwoofer. That was the sound I was hoping for when I upgraded to the Mullard Tubes.

After extensive research, there was no other preamp on the market at the price point (or anywhere near) that was speced and could do what the Saga 2 could. I bought the Saga 2 at the end of September and returned the SYS (Schiit gave me full credit on the return). I also ordered the Darlington Labs Phono Preamp at the same time.

The Saga 2 is everything I could hope for and more. Sonically it is superb. I use the passive output when listening through my speakers and subwoofer, lo-gain with headphones and music, hi-gain with movies.

There were, however, two issues I ran into. The remote can be stubborn and finicky (I assume the Forkbeard device would eliminate that). The second was my Grado RS2Es and the Saga 2 (IMHO) were no longer a synergistic match. After doing more research, I decided to buy the HiFiMan XS (they were available for less than what they originally sold for). To my surprise, the XSs sounded better with the Saga 2 than my Grado RS2Es did with the Lyr3. I got more than enough when I sold Lyr3, (I sold CBS-Hytron Tube separately) the Grado RS2Es, and other non-needed gear to pay for the Saga 2, HiFiMan XS, and Darington Labs MM5A.

I like the tradeoffs Schiit chose to keep the unit at this price point. A good internal power supply and Saga + type chassis might have put the unit at a cost of $100 or more, bringing the unit closer to $500 instead of $279.

I believe system synergy is everything. For my audiophile needs, the Schiit Audio Saga 2 was the perfect choice. Highly Recommended…

 

[nschlosburg]

Nice, glad you are enjoying it. Out of curiosity, have you tried the headphone output, and if so, how do you like it?

See my review above (in replay to simino...) I talk about subject.

 

[nschlosburg]

...

 

[Charade19]

See my review above (in replay to simino...) I talk about subject.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

 

[theveterans]

Yes. Schiit preamps are probably the best bang for buck Schiit product ever made. I still have my Saga OG from 2016 delivering ridiculously great performance in my system

 

[Philimon]

Using Saga2 to attenuate Jotunheim2 and to control Rekkr -> SRD7 -> Stax.

Just receieved and so dont know yet if Jot or Saga gets hotter but Ill check and the hotter will be put on top of stack and the other at bottom with Lokius as a buffer.

Anyone know if I should leave Jot2 at max volume when used with Saga2?

 

[theveterans]

I would leave it at 90% of max volume on the Jot 2 rather than go full tilt IMHO

 

[nschlosburg]

Using Saga2 to attenuate Jotunheim2 and to control Rekkr -> SRD7 -> Stax.

Just receieved and so dont know yet if Jot or Saga gets hotter but Ill check and the hotter will be put on top of stack and the other at bottom with Lokius as a buffer.

Anyone know if I should leave Jot2 at max volume when used with Saga2?

I don't like stacking equipment, however, my suggestion would be to put the Saga 2 on top, since it is Class A and should in theory, run warmer (although I leave my Saga 2 on 24/7, and it does not get hot. It does get a little warm though). I would also recommend getting larger feet for all 3 pieces to get better ventilation between the gear.

The other thing I would suggest is to (in your configuration) set the Saga 2 output to passive (no gain) and set the volume at max (100%) and then adjust the volume via the Jot2. If needed, you can adjust the gain (hi or low) on the Jot2. This should, IMHO, give you a transparent signal to your Jot2.

Caveat... since you are using the Saga 2 to also control the Rekkr, remember to power off the Rekkr when using the Jot2 (both outputs on the Saga 2 are live). When using the Rekkr, you can leave the Jot2 powered up, just remember to turn the volume to 0.

These are just suggestions, ultimately, you should do what works best for you.

 

[Philimon]

I don't like stacking equipment, however, my suggestion would be to put the Saga 2 on top, since it is Class A and should in theory, run warmer (although I leave my Saga 2 on 24/7, and it does not get hot. It does get a little warm though). I would also recommend getting larger feet for all 3 pieces to get better ventilation between the gear.

Subjectively they seemed to be roughly equally warm after a few hours. Ill try switching them around anyways. And Ill 3DPrint some stacking parts for increasing ventilation.

The other thing I would suggest is to (in your configuration) set the Saga 2 output to passive (no gain) and set the volume at max (100%) and then adjust the volume via the Jot2. If needed, you can adjust the gain (hi or low) on the Jot2. This should, IMHO, give you a transparent signal to your Jot2.

Caveat... since you are using the Saga 2 to also control the Rekkr, remember to power off the Rekkr when using the Jot2 (both outputs on the Saga 2 are live). When using the Rekkr, you can leave the Jot2 powered up, just remember to turn the volume to 0.

These are just suggestions, ultimately, you should do what works best for you.

In the future Ill be using Saga2’s balanced outputs to connect to Jot2’s balanced inputs. Saga2 converts unbalanced input into balanced output. I dont recall though if balanced out works with both passive and active mode. Either way Ill leave Jot2 at max (lo-gain) and control volume via Saga2. I dont plan to use both Rekkr and Jot2 at same time but good to know.

Thanks.

 

[nschlosburg]

Subjectively they seemed to be roughly equally warm after a few hours. Ill try switching them around anyways. And Ill 3DPrint some stacking parts for increasing ventilation.


In the future Ill be using Saga2’s balanced outputs to connect to Jot2’s balanced inputs. Saga2 converts unbalanced input into balanced output. I dont recall though if balanced out works with both passive and active mode. Either way Ill leave Jot2 at max (lo-gain) and control volume via Saga2. I dont plan to use both Rekkr and Jot2 at same time but good to know.

Thanks.

Just an FYI... I contacted Schiit about the balanced and unbalanced (RCA) outputs on the Saga 2. Their warning was that the Saga 2 should only be used balanced to balanced and unbalanced to unbalanced. They also warned that no external (adaptor or wire) balanced to unbalanced should ever be used. They said the Saga 2 was not designed that way and would short the preamp and void the warranty. In my case, I wanted to connect my Saga 2 to my tube amp via the RCA and and my sub via the balanced converted to RCA. Instead, I used 2 AudioQuest adapters - RCA male to two RCA female - hard assembly to connect both the amp and sub to the RCA outputs. I did find out though, when I used my headphones through the Saga 2, I needed to power off the sub. Fun Stuff !

 

[Philimon]

To make designing simpler I removed the Lokius since I rarely use anyway though I will prob redesign later so as to enable Lokius. My printer bed is xsmall so I had to design this as multiple objects to be assembled - no screws required. Perhaps I went overkill on the space between Saga2 and Jot2? My xlr balanced cables are expected to arrive today (World’s Best Cables via Amazon) so will test then.

 

[Philimon]

The other thing I would suggest is to (in your configuration) set the Saga 2 output to passive (no gain) and set the volume at max (100%) and then adjust the volume via the Jot2. If needed, you can adjust the gain (hi or low) on the Jot2. This should, IMHO, give you a transparent signal to your Jot2.

I misread this originally. You’re saying to leave Saga at max and control volume at Jot. What about the other way with having Jot at max and controlling volume via Saga? The latter is how Ive been using. Is one better than the other such as lower distortion or noise?

I learned XLR blanced output does work in passive mode as well. Not sure when Id ever want active gain mode with either Jot or Rekkr since I listen at lower volume.

Update:
I contacted Schiit support in regards to how to use Saga2 + Jot2 together for headphone listening and I was recommended either route by which one is “set to fairly high, near max” and the other for volume control.

Update2:
Saga2’s worry-free channel balance stepped attenuator is nice peace of mind, converts ModiMB to balanced for Jot2, and feeds my weak Stax amp a higher gain signal.