It is great fun to cycle through all my headphones and “rediscover” them. Really digging the spatial magic the Asgard brings
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My HD-650’s sound better than ever. My B&W P9’s not so much. Too much bass.
I think your “Schiity” MacStack looks great!
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Note I had to extend the Dell dual monitor plate out a little so I could keep most of the Asgard out from under the second monitor. Too much heat.
The A3 run’s a little warm by nature, nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t stack anything on top of it, but looking at your pic. you have good clearances if you wanted to slide it back further. If I can find a photo posted in the forums from when I had the A3 on my desktop - you would see that it was a lot closer to my monitor than yours. I’ll edit the post and link it if I find it.
Edit: link to old photo.
Perhaps I am old and it was long ago - but maybe my monitor in that shot was not as close - But - I swapped out that Modius DAC under the A3 for a Bifrost 2 not long after. And the Bf2 is the sdame height as the A3, so it raised it up close.
Either way your OK IMO but, you have to do what you think is best - there is no right or wrong.
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I’d really like to see the picture. I also raised the monitor(s) when I had it pushed back under the right monitor. Of course the left monitor’s bottom edge did seem warmer than the right.
The MacStack has an M1 MacMini that runs pretty cool. The OWC external hard drive is only one once a week when I back-up to Time-Machine. The OWC Dock runs cool. I just wish the darn thing didn’t require using the front USB-C port to drive the monitor. The front cable look ugly to me.
The A3 is a special amp. It curbstomps the competition in price/performance ratio, IMO. Glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
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Thanks for the picture. That is helpful. I’ll try to estimate how many inches of clearance you had against my own. I may pop up the monitors up an inch, and slide the Asgard back further. I also ordered an angled USB-C cable for the OWC USB-C dock. As stated I’m not so keen on the front cable sticking out to the MacMini M1. I guess I won’t gain much.
So, what are some headphones that people feel make a perfect pair for the Asgard 3? Regardless of how good or even characteristics - just headphones that make a perfect pairing with this amp. Just curious what people think!
Staying in the same price universe, I’ve found the hifiman sundara to be a good pairing with the A3. The A3 is more than capable to drive them, and I feel it warms the sundara up just a little bit.
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+1 on the Sundara, especially for orchestral, due to Asgards depth. Also gave
me much better vocal clarity than the Atom I came from.
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I have had good experiences with dt880(600ohm) Sundaras,Edition XX,AKG 712,6xx, Nighthawks with the a3. There arent too many headphones that would be unsatisfactory on it with it being $200. I feel u would have to go to about the $500 range for a solid upgrade from the a3. Its a great amp to get a feel for what sound you like out of a headphone.
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Get the Asgard 3 with AK4490 DAC Module or Multibit DAC Module?
I’ve always been told/read to skip the dac module. You are better off with a seperate dac
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I think Bmn1251 is correct about getting a separate DAC if your into the amplifier for the long game. I do now have the Asgard3 with the TrueMultibit, and I am enjoying it immensely! The Asgard3’s internal DAC can be upgraded. But of course then you are dependent on Schiit alone. Does anyone know if upgrading an internal Schiit DAC is end user feasible? With separates you can always easily upgrade the DAC/amp.
Do I regret the Asgard3 with the built-in DAC? No, I do not. I could still use an external DAC if something came around that promised even better sound.
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I have the multibit dac card in my A3 as well. No regrets, love the sound. But I do wish it was an external modi multibit DAC so I could try it on my other amplifiers. And I REALLY wish it was a Bifrost 2 
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I have the multibit card in my A3 as well but use a BF2 to feed the A3. Advantage is I can shift the Asgard to a different system and still have the multibit sound just not quite what the BF2 provides
Just ordered mine, thanks to MON’s recommendation! Currently waiting for it to ship. I’m pretty excited
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Yeah, Mon has steered many to the Asgard 3…me included. And I am Very happy with that recommendation!!
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The DCA Aeon RTC is a great paring with the A3.
If the Aeon is underpowered I found the mids to be very hollow, but the A3 has enough power and quality to really fill things out.
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