I’m not sure about my amp upgrade. I currently have a Liquid Spark. I had been eyeing an Asgard 3, but now that Drop has discounted the 789 to $299…
Which amp is most versatile with lots of different headphones? Once I upgrade, I imagine I will have this amp for a long time. Some headphones currently in my stable are Sundaras, DT880 600ohm, DT770 250ohm, X2HR. I also have a couple of sets of iems that I’ll be using with it.
Thoughts? Pros / cons with one or the other?
Thanks for your help.
So with the headphones you have, imo the asgard 3 to me is the better pick. I personally think it also outperforms thx as well in terms of timbre, separation, and imaging and soundstage (spatial recreation overall)
In this forum? A3 all day lol… haven’t heard the thx but the asgard is pretty nice with your headphones… on low gain its stellar with iem’s… really nice spacious sounding smooth amp
Interesting comparison I found on SBAF
Ha, I just finished reading that!
I think I’ll go ahead and pull the trigger on the A3.
I recently also purchased the A3… Coming from a Jotunheim I find the A3 stomps all over it… Just my opinion. Using He4xx, 58x and Nighthawks. Not especially hard to drive but love the sound of all on the A3. Cant wait for the Elex next!
How does the Asgard compare to the Archel? Better?
Hello
they are both very good.
It depends on which sound imaging you like.
if you want the typical analytical then the Thx is certainly a good choice.
do you want the warmer sound more like the Asgard.
If you plan to upgrade your headphone collection later, both amps are safe in the future.
I am running my DT 990 600 ohm off of the asgard 3. So far loving it. On high gain its screaming at around 11 o’clock. Has plenty of power.
So it’s a bit different, I would say it depends on the headphones for which is preferred. For something like an elex I might prefer the archel 2.5 pro, but for something like the sundara I might prefer the Asgard 3, it really depends
I’m just going to throw this out there. How would the Little Dot MK3 stack up here? I see it is also on sale for $200.
It would be pretty different, it’s a push pull otl, would be different from what has been mentioned so far. It would work well with your Beyer’s, but not well with the sundara and meh with the x2. It would tilt towards the warmer and smoother side of things, with added soundstage and a more pleasing sound. It wouldn’t be as accurate or detailed as what has been mentioned above, but it would be something fun to try eventually, but for now I would get something that would work well with all of your headphones
Today i was able to start listening after having the asgard 3 off for three days. It took about 5 minutes for bass to start being clear and not cutting short(was muffled and not full sounding). After about 10 minutes the voice frequencies started to open up (became wider). At about 15+ minutes the sound became full. I think optimum sounding was about 20+ minutes when the case became warm. This sounds about right considering circuit temperature vs timing of transmission / dispersion vs temperature delta. If you have questions let me know so i can explain them(i work on electronics for a living) i am trying to dumb it down to basic words. Basically all radio equipment and associated test equipment require a startup time before you can even take measurements. This is to normalize and warm up all components to take accurate measurements.
I think I heard somewhere that Schiit recommends the Asgard be left on all the time. Does anyone know if that is true?
I currently own one and have no info on leaving it on. It does get quite warm. I use it with my 58x, he4xx, and my Nighthawks. To me it is a beast !
Was curious, so I downloaded the manual this morning. I found this in it.
I too have that but thought you meant: advise you leave it on… They are not kidding when they say it gets warm!!!