Not the biggest fan either, but hopefully I get to hear the 3 and see if they can gain something I like
yehā¦seems Schiit needs to really do some innovation rather than provide just adequate baseline gear.
Well Iāve heard that the 3 is pretty different, so if it doesnāt suffer from compression it will be good in my book. Thatās alot of power for the price
AVR also reviewed an 8 year old beat to hell Valhalla 1 (more than likely with very low if not dead tubes) and then said he could barely tell the difference between that amp and an atom. My Asgard 3 is coming in the next few days and Iāll be able to get my thoughts up soon after
Well thatās surprising because itās a tube amp, interesting. But the old tubes might be the problem there
Iām happy with the Asgard 3 for half the price of a THX AAA amp. In this world of incremental upgrades for diminishing returns at exorbitant prices, finding something you are happy with is more important than chasing the dragon.
The only thing I would be interested in upgrading in my setup would be to try out a R2-R DAC, but only if I can A/B it with what I have. To that end Iām looking forward to demoing a Modi Multibit and Bifrost 2 at a Schiit meet locally in November. Iām also always on the lookout for a deal on other like the Airst or Denafrips.
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yes, they just reviewed the new Valhalla 2 and while it has issues, AVR pretty much gave it a grumbling pass. seems they donāt care for tube amps, period, so that was the biggest bias that came across.
hereās the V2ās review:
Well I mean, ASR is pretty much dedicated to specs and measurements, and tube amps are definitely not ideal in that regard, so Iām not surprised
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but tube amps have their place in audioā¦but perhaps because itās so nuanced, itās not something that can be tested fairly and against other tube amps?
Well, thatās alot to go over, so if your really interested in the science of tubes, there are lots of things online regarding that. Not really something I can cover in a post without missing a ton of stuff
Yeah, tubes are mainly for how they make the music sound. Iāve got an Eddie Current ZDT jr and I use it for pure listening please rather than analyzing what a song sounds like, thatās what Iām hoping to use the Asgard 3 for. I also enjoy tube rolling which is why I tend to keep a tube amp around, itās a cheap way to change your sound for a few bucks.
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As I just wrote in another thread I got to listen to the A3 today. I have to say Im fairly impressed with this unit (can only speak to the amp portion of it). Was tested for several hours with my Sabaj D5 as DAC and compared against my A2 as well as SE and BAL output of the D5. Headphones used where Sennheiser HD660, ZMF Eikon and Audioquest Nightowl Carbons.
Listened to my typical daily suite of classical (bach concertos), metal (hammerfall, freedom call) and misc as Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Lydia Ainsworth, Pendulum and some John Williams Soundtracks.
The amp handled all of everything admirably. Felt more light-footed and open in the upper mids and treble than the A2 in direct comparison while remaining tight and powerful in the lower region. For the price Id definitely consider one hadnt I already bought a couple of amps in the last months (789, cma600i).
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Itās called the Jotunheimš
While I appreciate what ASR is trying to do, I think they are ultimately missing the point - what does it sound like? Half the time itās only measurements with a half hearted listening impression. Also from everything Iāve seen the audio reviews are done using headphones. Perfect for detail retrieval. But you can NOT properly evaluate things like soundstage width, depth, height, imaging, āpresenceā, REALISM (isnāt that what weāre all chasing?) without a quality 2 channel rig. I think they steer people out of using their ears (by rating everything purely on measurements).
Iām pretty sure my Liquid Spark measures way better than my Crack. Guess which one I donāt have a problem tossing in the garbage? If youāre not using your ears for the ultimate evaluation of good/bad equipment, perhaps next time you cross the street donāt pay attention to the sound of cars coming - unless you have a good measurement of it, it probably doesnāt matterā¦
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I donāt think he spends much time on sound because anything that has low levels of distortion, a flat frequency response, and low output impedance wonāt sound like anything. He does talk about the sound when there is something to talk about, like the review of the $6000 PS Audio DAC.
And thatās another thing too, as I really liked that dac when I heard it in person, even if it wasnāt the cleanest thing I had heard.
How does someone know if something sounds like something or not without listening to it? Thatās the thing that bothers me. Why doesnāt he for once take all his stellar measuring electronics, get some buddies over and do some A/B testing. If it all sounds the same then fine, I guess heās right. But unless heās used his ears to confirm what heās measured, heās just as much of an audiophool as he claims subjectivists to be.
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Iām not really going to complain about his lack of listening tests, as he runs something called audio science review, therefore implying that it will review objective facts, and listening tests donāt fall under that to him. It is a helpful place to go to find measurements and information, not really acceptable to be your only source imo.
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If heās going to be scientific, he should do it properly. Measure/research sound perception by the human ear. Do research on various types of distortion and their effects on audio perception - is there a certain type of distortion that perhaps sounds closer to ārealā? And on and onā¦ What heās doing is not a science review. Heās doing equipment measurements. If he called his site āAudio Equipment Measurementsā, Iād have zero bone to pick.
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I guess that can be true, but I would not assume he would have the capabilities to do research like that (unless you can then prove me wrong amirm lol), and even if he could there would be alot to do to actually make it scientifically significant. He does provide helpful measurements tho, stuff that some manufactures donāt release for their products