Recently found my ir thermometer in the basementā¦ working temperature running for 6+ hours of my Asgard 3 is about 41Ā°C at ambient room temp of 22Ā°C.
I bought a used Asgard 3 with multibit dac 2 years ago. It has been on ever since except for when I leave for vacation (so 24 months minus 1 month lol). I use it daily with some ZMF Classics and HE500s without issues.
Been meaning to get a new DAC for it, but didnāt want to get the Modius to end up using it single ended and not quite ready or willing to spend $600 on a Bifrost 2.
For $100 Iāll definitely give the ESS card a go. Iām about to pull the trigger.
Itās a little fiddly to install the ES9028 card in the Asgard 3, but worth trying to save $50 and the shipping time. I followed these instructions, but also had to loosen all the screws for the various ports on the back to allow the PCB to slightly move forward and let the DAC pins in without breaking the thermal compound attatched to the bottom of the metal chassis.
I found the installtion pretty easy to be honest. Open hood. Open back port. Insert card. Tighten screws. Hood back on. Doneā¦
Only thing I can think of being fiddly is the mounting the l-bracket to the dac card?!
It might be unit to unit tolerance variance - I had barely any space to put the card into the socket while lining it up with the backplate and had to kinda squish the PCB forward (after loosening all back screws) to let the pins fall into the socket.
Yeah. Sounds like it. That sucks mate.
Apologies for the necromancy.
Having trouble with my Asgard unfortunately. RMAāed and repaired after the left channel developed distortion, it was inconsistent and occurred across all headphones, DACs, sources etc. They found the left channel had nominal bias and replaced the left channel output devices. When I got it back it was fine for about 15 minutes, then the distortion was back, and worse! Sounds as though the left driver is blown at the worst peaks, the issue is still inconsistent.
Example: playing music just now there was distortion, I hopped out of foobar and into sinegen to verify with a mono signal around 100hz, very present distortion. I then on a whim changed the phase from 0 to 90 degrees and back, and the distortion left for a moment. Couple of minutes later it returned, anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?
Schiit support is adamant that the issue was fixed and verified on their APX555 but at this point I donāt see any other option than to try and convince for a second RMA.
That is what I would do. Why let them off the hook for doing a shitty job? Tell them exactly what you did to create the problem so that they can reproduce it. And frankly I would push for a replacement this time as there is obviously something else going on in there that they canāt find. It seems clear to me that they are not taking enough time to test thoroughly before declaring something āfixedā. Just my opinion but that is what I would do. Best of luck. I hope they can make it right for you.
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After providing them some screenshots detailing the issue they requested I send the unit back in for further service. Fingers crossed they find the root cause of the problem this time.
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Received the amplifier back from repairs yesterday. The issue appears to have been fixed! Problem was an output resistor for the left channel was cold soldered during the first round of repairs when they replaced parts of left channel output. Wish I didnāt need to spend 22$ to get the repair done right the second time (shipping), but glad to have the powerhouse back pushing my 880s.
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@bogwater Glad itās taken care of. I have an Asgard tooā¦great natural timbre,
and I use it with a DT880/600 among others. Does fine at about 2 oāclock.
Had a similar circumstance with my Bifrostā¦had to send back again, now finally
fixedā¦so far. Only been a few days but sounds fine. Sometimes we just gotta
keep at it!
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The Asgard 3 just went up in price again to $279. If it goes any higher it is going to beg the question as to whether or not it is worth jumping to the Jotunheim 2 for some buyers. Granted, once current stock of Jotunheim 2 parts deplete I am sure that price will go up as well.
Midgard is another option as well Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in Texas and California
Got mine for $200 and NOT that long ago. At this rate Iāll be able to sell it as
an OG vintage for $399 in about 3 years! 
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lol, I got mine for $200 a few years back as well brand new. 
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Any Asgard 3 vs Midgard reviews?
The Schiit values are so close that Iām lost as to which would be the best definitive option, I live outside the USA and I wonāt be able to exchange/test/return it, it will be a one-way purchase so I need to make a good choice.
My current headphones are not demanding Hifiman He-R9 but I like that they are well powered.
I got a Midgard in recently. I havenāt been able to listen much yet and I do still have an Asgard 3 around. After Thanksgiving Iāll be able to give Midgard more attention. However, one obvious difference is the balanced v single-ended natures of the 2. The Midgard being balanced does NOT mean it sounds better than the single-ended Asgard, but it does open up options for DAC pairings. The market for DACs around the price of these units has swung heavily in the balanced direction. A downside of that is the single-ended ouputs of these cheaper balanced DACs usually suck. So, if you have a DAC you like it could potentially make the decision for you.
Would love to hear your experience though. Iām currently debating what to buy. The Asgard 3 with the dac included would be all I ever need but I donāt like that grey knob and I like the slicker design of the Midgard much more. Plus that allows me to add the Lokius later.
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Which headphones are you going to power on your new amp? Also, which DAC would you get if you went for the Midgard?
Schiit Audioās latest amp offerings have been outshining some of their previous products as of late. I have an Asgard 3 ( on loan to a friend), but I currently use both a Vali 3 and a Mjolnir 3 connected to a Bifrost 2/64. Both of the newer amps sound quite a bit better (to me) than the Asgard 3. The Vali 3 actually sounds a lot closer to the MJ3 than most might expect (MJ3 is definitely the superior unit, but I could honestly be happy with either one).
The Midgard is in that same vein as the other new amps from Schiit Audio (so I have been told) in that it performs quite a bit better than the unit it replaced. Jason has a habit of trying to make āevery manā amps that punch above their price point. The only main issue in deciding which one to get comes down to pairing it with other gear that creates good synergy ( for you). Hence my original questions.
I wish you luck in making your upgrade decision, and Happy Listening! 
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I was set on a Hifiman Ananda Nano, but had some doubts so did some reconsidering on what I want.
Currently very in favor of a Meze 109 Pro. It seems to fit the sound profile I want. And every review Iāve read about it, and Iāve read and seen a lot of 109 reviews now!, all came out with the same conclusion on who it is for and itās exactly appealing to me. Also materials used and build quality, excellent. Iām very convinced about the Meze 109 Pro.
Anyway, since that Meze 109 Pro stretches my budget by ā¬240,- I will have to delay my purchase of a new amp and dac, and will stick to the Magni/Modi stack for now.
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