This four-part interview was absolutely fantastic! Well done on all facets. The questions were great, the tone of the interview was laid back, and the guest was fantastic. Honestly, I can't share enough appreciation for sharing this. Kudos!
This is one of the best interviews I've seen on audio related subjects. Your preparation was spot on, and it's always a pleasure to hear from Jason. Truly one of the best in the business. Excellent series, keep up the good work!
Your comments about using EQ and how that increases the power need was completely eye opening and invaluable to someone like myself that really likes to play with EQ. I've never heard that explained before and wanted to let you know that was worth with the price of admission alone. This whole interview in fact has been fascinating and appreciated. Great channel, love your approach and disposition of character.
This was a fantastic interview. I really appreciate his honest, laid back, kind, and insightful answers to all of the questions, even if some of the questions were basic/fundamentals for someone of that caliber of knowledge. One thing that annoys me about the audiophile industry is the amount of bickering and snobbery, but you and Jason took the exact opposite approach in this series. These are the types of audiophiles that I truly appreciate.
Glad you liked it Noah. I've found through running this channel and chatting on forums that there are always new people coming into this hobby so it's great to have people like Jason who are willing to share knowledge across all levels of complexity, but deliver it so simply.
The insight to the Schiit product line and business model is amazing. I love the emphasis he places into existing with relationships. I look forward to supporting this business even more in the future.
Lachlan, As I mentioned before, I've been binge watching your videos in my quest for my next step in the hi-fi ladder. I hadn't come across this series, wow, just wow! Brilliant from beginning to end, all 4 episodes. Grabbing a cup of coffee and onto binge watching some more. Superb quality content!
Modius review this time next week and Bifrost 2 the weekend directly following. Next week is SCHIIT WEEK! Or maybe it's just going to be a Schiity week - we'll see ..
Thanks for this series. It's helped me make the decision to know I'm going to plan my new system around Schiit products. I've got the Mani 3 and it was my first preamp. I've got a Asgard 3 coming right now, looking forward to that. Looking at a Freya+ next.
Agree and that's why I love these interviews - it cuts through the marketing on websites and the hyperbole or suppositions by reviewers (me included sometimes, I expect) and shows the depth of knowledge and thought that goes into the products we love.
Great interview! Lots of great points about things I would never have considered. I appreciate you guys breaking down some of the basic concepts as well in terms easy to understand.
Yes, it's always hard to know how much detail and context to share in a live chat because you don't want to lose people who are familiar OR people who are unfamiliar. Glad my additions helped!
There are topics regarding progress in sound quality (especially dacs) that I'd like to understand. It could be interesting for other interviews : - Is more power consumption one answer to increase sound quality, like we see in R2R dacs to have a more natural presentation ? ( similarly to how graphics cards and CPU increase power consumption rather than efficiency). Does the hardware reach its limits in terms of physics that companies invest more on software ? - Are digital/multibits the more likely answer to the future of the industry, more efficient chips, or the way Chord of decoding ? And would that offset the increase power consumption? Or would the industry be tempted to increase wattage in chips too, the way intel amd nvidia do for faster processing on their high end segment. Thanks for this series it was very interesting.
Thanks for the interesting questions! I have another interview with Jason where we discussed digital-related topics in case that's of interest, but I will keep these questions on hand for any future interviews to see if I can get some answers for you.
Checking the specs of the current Jotunheim (2), looks like they managed to get both Nexus and Continuity into it. Things are definitely stacking up to me "saving" money by skipping from the Magni and Modi to the Jotunheim and Bifrost. I don't see any reason to buy a Magnius and Modius if I plan on upgrading again later anyway.
Absolutely. The Jotunheim 2 is insane value for money and Bifrost 2 as well. If you know you'll upgrade eventually then I'd definitely recommend doing it now
I really enjoyed this interview. Look forward to more. Even though in this one most of the tech was way over my head. But that is why I am not in that industry. But it was interesting and enjoyable. Thanks.
So true - I've got a 16 ohm IEM (MEE Pinnacle P2) that I like to use on the same amps as my HD 6XX (300 ohm). Thanks goodness we have these great amps that can handle both and sound great with no problems.
Great 4 parter!! Jason is as laid back as he is knowledgeable...love Schitt -- only have a Lyr 3, a Loki, and 2 of their A/B switches, but I'm a fan...
Pretty much if Schiit makes it I'll get it. Yes they may lack sometimes when comparing to other things. No BT or other features. However, these are quality products. Made in the US at an excellent price. I love this company.
Hi FBR, I'd like to chat to Paul at some stage. He seems like a good guy and they have a very different approach to DACs than a lot of others. I'll see if I can set something up next year.
@@PassionforSound yes he seems like a good person, and what would you recommend for my first speaker setup, i'm kind of stuck thinking whether to get the Schiit Ragnarok 2 with Cambridge audio CXN v2 or the PS Audio Stella Strata... ( after watching lots of his videos makes me want to give their product a try )
Really looking forward to your Bifrost 2 review with (hopefully) a comparison to the Chord Qutest! You said in your Qutest video that it barely beat out the Gumby for you, and lots of people say that the Bifrost 2 beats the Gumby. Would love to hear your take on the comparison!
It’s a shame how most people only see numbers on the specifications. Schiit and Chord people, for example, maximize the power of theirs products in a awesome way. Both companies not include MQA support, but they just don’t need it, how do they manage their DACs and the rest of the components involved it’s just truly amazing. You don’t have to get the highest numbers if you don’t know how to handle the signals and make really excellent sound
@@PassionforSound Oh that's right, that transport has been mentioned a few times. Pretty wild to think about. Thanks for the awesome interviews. Recently subbed.
Not just all DAC/AMP are different you have to think about age and your hearing loss as you get older. Some gear you might have liked a few years ago, you might not prefer them today. Same goes for headphones. I have probably 10 good pairs I would say average audiophiles would like, some of them I liked more years ago, I choose to listen to something different today. I also have headphones I bought and put them away because I didn't prefer them to something different, but I have grabbed them tried them on newer gear and actually think they sound better then when I first got them. Burn in is a thing to if you ask Mr. Speakers on headphones and Amp/Dac as well. Then technology and the amount of clean power we get, we are getting a lot cleaner power then we did years ago and even at a better price point, that could cause you to like older stuff you put up years ago when you just didn't have that kind of power. Most of the time when I change a certain thing from my source to my headphones it doesn't sound very good to me at first, then I hear a few tracks and they begin to sound better and better. A few hours later I'm wondering why I never liked what I 'm now hearing.
is Schiit planning any new Preamp which would stand above Freya+? Something ~$2000, with even better performance, which would be a natural partner to Ygdrasil.
Oh, here he says it. 1. There is never too much power. 2. 6W is not too much power at all for most of the Planars. 3. My Topping L30 doesn't provide the juice my Planar headphones need. So, i know you need less than 10mW on graphs to reach 120dB ear-blowing levels on most of the headphones, but the reality of fact is that Planars need juice, and need juice, i can easily heard with 1W isn't anything like my old thx aaa 789 with 6W on balanced. +You get much better separation with much higher crosstalk, soundstage, lots of that juice and lot of openness. There are lot of different folks out there, who are blindfolded by measurements only (ASR) says Heresy and L30 are better than Yggdrasil for example. Who says SP200 is better than thx aaa 789 just because it measures better and is a wire with gain (Which is not the case at all, 789 sounds much better), in comparison L30 feels slow to THX's, but very few mention it. So there are very few % of people who find differences in cables etc. And many few folks like me who have very sensitive ears who can spot few differences within cable plating, and 3 adapters with the same gold plating, but sound slightly differences. So uhm. And even if i use 1mW of power with my current EL-8 Titanium, i feels that upping the volume by even slight, the remaining power feels more constrained, so there isn't too much power headroom. With a 6W headphone amp that wasn't happening. The real myth here is you don't just need 1W, which seems a lot, for planars. Talking about Planars because i like them most, but probably most of dynamics too like big Juice. Juicy juice! :)
Watching this reminded me of 30 years ago my friends and their oversized, overloud, poor sound quality speakers, and my 30watt Denon quality system that they laughed at, they thought loudness rules it didn't i can still hear to 17khz and they can't, so if you want loudness just stick your head between two speakers and be done with it , for me its about sound quality not loudness.
Anyone clipping a headphone amp capable of delivering five watts RMS isn't going to need that amp for very long, because they are quickly going to go deaf. If you love music, and want to be able enjoy it as you get older, turn it down. Hey, everyone likes to rock out once in a while. Just make sure you do it very rarely, and only for a few minutes at a time.
I've personally experienced the effects of low power on bass output. According to digizoid's calculator, my hifiman arya's should only need 1001.33 mW to reach 120dB. I was using IFI Xcan at the time which has a rating of 1W into 32 with a balanced cable and my bass was whimpy. Running the aryas on Cayin IHA-6 with high current mode and the bass is punchy and slams. I think the key here is that sometimes what you need isn't power but current, and going to a higher watt amplifier generally gives you alot more current. I'm not sure but I'd also guess the slew rate of beefy amps would be much better compared to a heresy or similar.
Yeah, that's where it's helpful when products' power ratings are shown at various impedances. An amp producing high power at one impedance may be VERY different at higher or lower impedances
Please note that power delivered by the amplifier and power required by a headphone, that is impedance, varies by frequency. Source, EE want to be audiophile. I think you're misunderstanding what Jason said.
Not sure I get what you're saying. I understand that impedance and therefore power demand changes with frequency, but Jason was also talking about the impact of adding EQ.
@@PassionforSound For most amps, the power delivery of the amp is also frequency dependant. Saying an amp can deliver 2 watts does not mean it can deliver 2 watts evenly over all frequencies. That is why bass heavy edm, can quickly max out a lesser amp. Jason gave an example using a song with bumped up bass with eq, but no eq may be required for a given song to reach similar limitations. For planars, which as you mentioned impedance also varies by frequency, this is a compounding issue as some loads are harder to drive for the amp than others. It's aSensitivitytransducerincorrectly
Just use an on board PSU for power.. Geez, wall warts are ludicrous when more than a few mA are needed to power a product. Consumers need to understand limitations of physics and maufacturers need to realize that too many oversized wall warts in a system are problematic for many consumers, Edit: especially when the wart doesn’t have a narrow profile. Apparently Schiit understands this very well since the wall wart for the Modi+ that I received gets a 👍 from me.
It's very different when you're making amps that are tiny (Magni) and producing 6W. I don't agree that this much power is needed, but we live in a world where many people buy on specs and measurements rather than real life usage. ☹️
@@PassionforSound Depending on your listening habits, and the fact that you may want to use some specific low impedance headphone, that most certainly can require those power levels as discussed in the video. I personally would rather hear and feel the music out in the open, in lieu of against the sides of my head, but some people aren’t able to do that for various reasons, so they need the isolation. That’s apparently what makes headphone amps a thing. I can’t stand ear buds or open headphones, and closed isolating headphones get on my nerves within 10 minutes or so lol
@@PassionforSound yeah well that about sums it up; so you have to wonder why there is so much dissension about music and the equipment that revolves around it. Nobody even hears the same and nobody has the same equipment, but they’re all arguing about what matters and what doesn’t matter. It’s actually funny when you really think about it.
"Personally, I never use an EQ." You're missing out on so much, buddy. If someone were to ask me, "If you had to either give up EQ, or downsize the budget of your DAC and amp by half, which would you choose?" I would choose downsizing the system, and sticking with EQ. EQ does far more for sound quality and enjoyment than throwing down an extra $1k to upgrade your electrical components. The only downside is having to learn to EQ properly.
I disagree. EQ can only change frequency response. So much of what we here comes from the way the DAC, amp and transducers reproduce transients and EQ can't influence that. Case in point, I've EQed HD800S, Focal Utopia and Focal Clear all to an almost linear response and they all still maintain their own characteristics for better and worse.
@@PassionforSound If you can't find a great dac amp combo to suit your taste for under $1k, then you're still very green in this hobby. Another $1k thrown into your system will not beat the difference a para EQ could give you, unless you have no idea how to go about it.
Hi Kevin, I have used both parametric and graphic EQs in depth. I use it a huge amount for my recording to fix the sound from my untreated office where I record. This isn't a question of understanding how to use an EQ, it's a question of understanding their limitations. For example, I'm currently reviewing the Topping EX5 ($350) and when comparing it to the cheaper Loxjie D30 ($179), the D30 presents the sound better because of the way it's handling soundstage space and transients (within the amp stage). There is zero influence that any EQ can have on this issue. I'm not saying people who use EQs are wrong or bad - they're amazing tools and if you like using them, that's great and there's no reason I'd discourage it. My point is that they are limited to frequency response changes only, that's all.
@@PassionforSound I already got your point, but it seems you didn't get mine. Let's try not to read too much into each other's words; I never said EQ goes beyond FR changes...but don't underestimate the potential of a well-corrected FR, and a harman-curve-corrected planar headphone (with a good seal) driven by a powerful amp. The latter alone will make you regret never using EQ. I get that you want to listen to the equipment's own unique sound, but you must understand that if the engineers behind these headphones could tune them to have a beautiful, near-ideal FR, they absolutely would, and would probably charge a high premium for it. It's just that they can't (yet), because physics.
Ok. That makes more sense. I thought you were suggesting that EQ can solve issues with lower quality gear. If we're just talking FR changes then I completely agree that it's very powerful. It's still not something I choose to use, but that's just personal taste and preference so I'm not meaning to make anyone wrong for using EQ.
True. I think the trouble is that it gets blown way out of proportion when reviewers say things like the Topping L30 can't drive the HiFiMan Sundara effectively... 🤷
Balnced vs single ended: "there's shades of grey, listen to what you like" Great, I'm sitting here without anything ti listen to trying to figure out what to purchase and...fuck, nothing helps.
Sorry about that, Daniel. It is true though and means you should buy based on your budget, needs and sonic preferences without worrying about balanced or single ended so there's one less variable to consider
@@PassionforSoundCould also be a speaker amp at that point It would be nice if some company designed a powerful speaker amp that could also be used for headphones with a push of a button
My .Schitt Jotunheirm DAC amp is no longer recognized by my pc. Also not recognized on other computers either. Lasted about two years before issues began. Sometimes it would be recognized a few hours later. After a reboot it would not be recognized for hours. Now it's no longer recognized at all. I would never purchase a Schitt product again after this.
That's not good to hear. I wonder if the internal power connection of the DAC board has come loose. Have you tried removing and reinstalling the DAC card? (I think this is user replaceable?)
@@PassionforSound No, I haven't.Not sure how to go about that yet. I'll have to try opeining up the unit. I need to remove the volume knob to be able to remove the cover.. I don't presently have the proper sized hex tool to remove it, which I'll get tomorrow. Then we shall see. Yes, the DAC is user replaceable.
@@PassionforSound I was able to remove the volume knob with the proper sized hex tool and remove the nut holding the cover in place. I was able to remove the DAC attached with 3 screws. Pulled the DAC out and reinstalled it but to no avail. Perhaps the DAC is now defective or some other connection to the DAC is defective. It's beyond me at this point. The unit is only 2 years old. At this point, i don't see myself ever purchasing another Schitt product again. Such a shame. Now I'll be looking for a new DAC amplifier of at least eaual quality or better, hopefully in a similar price category. Just to be sure, I tried hooking up a different USB cable. i also tried the Schitt USB cable with a different elecronic device and it worked just fine, so the cable is not an issue. Thanks again for your time.
You're a hypocrite. Not Jason, you. I will not explain myself but I will mention compared to what you said about solid state amps here, you should take a look at your Jotunheim review and see what you said about that amp. Very hypocritical.
I only just saw this comment - it missed my notifications for some reason. I don't believe I've been hypocritical as I strongly disliked the original Jotunheim and stand by that, but I love the Jotunheim 2 - it's a completely different design and a wonderful amp. I think perhaps you've thought I was talking about one instead of the other.
This four-part interview was absolutely fantastic! Well done on all facets. The questions were great, the tone of the interview was laid back, and the guest was fantastic. Honestly, I can't share enough appreciation for sharing this. Kudos!
Thanks Erik! Glad you liked it 🙂
This is one of the best interviews I've seen on audio related subjects. Your preparation was spot on, and it's always a pleasure to hear from Jason. Truly one of the best in the business. Excellent series, keep up the good work!
Thanks Bruce! You might enjoy my other interviews with Bottlehead and Chord Electronics too. Check out the playlists on the channel 🙂
Your comments about using EQ and how that increases the power need was completely eye opening and invaluable to someone like myself that really likes to play with EQ. I've never heard that explained before and wanted to let you know that was worth with the price of admission alone.
This whole interview in fact has been fascinating and appreciated. Great channel, love your approach and disposition of character.
So glad that you've found the content so helpful!
This was a fantastic interview. I really appreciate his honest, laid back, kind, and insightful answers to all of the questions, even if some of the questions were basic/fundamentals for someone of that caliber of knowledge. One thing that annoys me about the audiophile industry is the amount of bickering and snobbery, but you and Jason took the exact opposite approach in this series. These are the types of audiophiles that I truly appreciate.
Glad you liked it Noah. I've found through running this channel and chatting on forums that there are always new people coming into this hobby so it's great to have people like Jason who are willing to share knowledge across all levels of complexity, but deliver it so simply.
The insight to the Schiit product line and business model is amazing. I love the emphasis he places into existing with relationships.
I look forward to supporting this business even more in the future.
Glad it was helpful! They're definitely a business I enjoy supporting when I can.
Lachlan, As I mentioned before, I've been binge watching your videos in my quest for my next step in the hi-fi ladder. I hadn't come across this series, wow, just wow! Brilliant from beginning to end, all 4 episodes. Grabbing a cup of coffee and onto binge watching some more. Superb quality content!
So glad you continue to enjoy the channel! I've got some new ideas coming in 2023 so hopefully it'll get better and better
The 4 part interview is so useful to me. Thank you so much
Glad you enjoyed it. There are two other interview series on the channel already: Rob Watts from Chord Electronics and Dan Schmalle from Bottlehead
@@PassionforSound I must have missed them! Time to see them now!
This was a really great series. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love it! When can we expect your bifrost 2 and modius review?
Modius review this time next week and Bifrost 2 the weekend directly following. Next week is SCHIIT WEEK! Or maybe it's just going to be a Schiity week - we'll see ..
@@PassionforSound we have had enough schiit weeks in melbourne
True, but this is a good Schiit week, I promise! In fact you might be inspired to make your life even schiitier after I'm done with you! 🤣
Thanks for this series. It's helped me make the decision to know I'm going to plan my new system around Schiit products. I've got the Mani 3 and it was my first preamp. I've got a Asgard 3 coming right now, looking forward to that. Looking at a Freya+ next.
Glad it was helpful! Have fun building your system - sounds like it will be brilliant 🙂
Thank you Jason!
Great interview. Instilled confidence beyond the brand. Knows his schiit
Agree and that's why I love these interviews - it cuts through the marketing on websites and the hyperbole or suppositions by reviewers (me included sometimes, I expect) and shows the depth of knowledge and thought that goes into the products we love.
Great interview! Lots of great points about things I would never have considered. I appreciate you guys breaking down some of the basic concepts as well in terms easy to understand.
So glad it was helpful! I'm hoping to do another one soon with Mike Moffatt (Jason's businesses partner) about their DACs
Thanks for all of the contextual text and asides, sometimes the videos made at Schiit don't have any context at all and I just get lost.
Yes, it's always hard to know how much detail and context to share in a live chat because you don't want to lose people who are familiar OR people who are unfamiliar. Glad my additions helped!
There are topics regarding progress in sound quality (especially dacs) that I'd like to understand. It could be interesting for other interviews :
- Is more power consumption one answer to increase sound quality, like we see in R2R dacs to have a more natural presentation ? ( similarly to how graphics cards and CPU increase power consumption rather than efficiency). Does the hardware reach its limits in terms of physics that companies invest more on software ?
- Are digital/multibits the more likely answer to the future of the industry, more efficient chips, or the way Chord of decoding ? And would that offset the increase power consumption? Or would the industry be tempted to increase wattage in chips too, the way intel amd nvidia do for faster processing on their high end segment.
Thanks for this series it was very interesting.
Thanks for the interesting questions! I have another interview with Jason where we discussed digital-related topics in case that's of interest, but I will keep these questions on hand for any future interviews to see if I can get some answers for you.
Checking the specs of the current Jotunheim (2), looks like they managed to get both Nexus and Continuity into it. Things are definitely stacking up to me "saving" money by skipping from the Magni and Modi to the Jotunheim and Bifrost. I don't see any reason to buy a Magnius and Modius if I plan on upgrading again later anyway.
Absolutely. The Jotunheim 2 is insane value for money and Bifrost 2 as well. If you know you'll upgrade eventually then I'd definitely recommend doing it now
@@PassionforSound Well, paid for rent twice this month. Unfortunately it will take six to eight weeks to ship. Marked my calendar.
Yeah, the backlog isn't fun. It'll be worth the wait though!
Thanks for the great interview. Lots of interesting and useful information.
Glad you liked it!
I really enjoyed this interview. Look forward to more. Even though in this one most of the tech was way over my head. But that is why I am not in that industry. But it was interesting and enjoyable. Thanks.
Glad you liked it. I have another interview coming very soon with Geshelli Labs. Hopefully you'll like that one too 🙂
So true - I've got a 16 ohm IEM (MEE Pinnacle P2) that I like to use on the same amps as my HD 6XX (300 ohm). Thanks goodness we have these great amps that can handle both and sound great with no problems.
Agree. It's not always easy to find amps that can do both ends of the scale.
Great 4 parter!! Jason is as laid back as he is knowledgeable...love Schitt -- only have a Lyr 3, a Loki, and 2 of their A/B switches, but I'm a fan...
Glad you enjoyed it, Neil. All you need now is a Bifrost 2!
I definitely thought about the Bifrost 2, but decided on the Denafrips Ares II. No regrets...
It's a great DAC. You couldn't have gone wrong either way
Pretty much if Schiit makes it I'll get it. Yes they may lack sometimes when comparing to other things. No BT or other features. However, these are quality products. Made in the US at an excellent price. I love this company.
Great interview. I learnt so much in this 30m. Keep these coming. Maybe an interview with the Focal headphone designers? :)
Hi Ray, that's a great idea! I'll see what I can arrange. Glad you're enjoying the interviews.
@@PassionforSound I am looking forward to more great quality videos :)
Thank you for this interview! Very interesting and informative.
Glad you liked it. Check out the channel playlists for more interviews with other industry people
Nice interview. Hope you can get a interview with Paul at PS Audio too. They are putting videos almost everyday
Hi FBR, I'd like to chat to Paul at some stage. He seems like a good guy and they have a very different approach to DACs than a lot of others. I'll see if I can set something up next year.
@@PassionforSound yes he seems like a good person, and what would you recommend for my first speaker setup, i'm kind of stuck thinking whether to get the Schiit Ragnarok 2 with Cambridge audio CXN v2 or the PS Audio Stella Strata... ( after watching lots of his videos makes me want to give their product a try )
I really can't say because I'm focussed on headphones and don't know those products well enough (or at all) to comment. Sorry!
@@PassionforSound its alright, think im gonna buy and try
When I'm doubt, that's the best option 🙂
Really looking forward to your Bifrost 2 review with (hopefully) a comparison to the Chord Qutest! You said in your Qutest video that it barely beat out the Gumby for you, and lots of people say that the Bifrost 2 beats the Gumby. Would love to hear your take on the comparison!
Sadly, the Qutest had to be sold to fund the TT2 so there'll be no comparison, but I wish I could because I reckon it would be a very close call!
These have been great!
Glad you liked them! Have you seen the others with Dan Schmalle from Bottlehead and Rob Watts from Chord?
@@PassionforSound no but I will now!
It’s a shame how most people only see numbers on the specifications. Schiit and Chord people, for example, maximize the power of theirs products in a awesome way. Both companies not include MQA support, but they just don’t need it, how do they manage their DACs and the rest of the components involved it’s just truly amazing. You don’t have to get the highest numbers if you don’t know how to handle the signals and make really excellent sound
Very true, Juan!
Now I want an asguard so I can go 20+ DB at 20bz on my Beats
Lol. So you're why Jason makes these super powerful headphone amps!
A board ready for production? More continuity monoblocks? A higher-end phono stage?
It's intriguing, isn't it!? It might have been the CD Transport too (I can't recall if he'd already mentioned that)
@@PassionforSound Oh that's right, that transport has been mentioned a few times. Pretty wild to think about. Thanks for the awesome interviews. Recently subbed.
Thanks for subbing. I'm hoping to be in the beta program for the Urd (transport) so stay tuned! 🙂
Thank you for this. :)
You're very welcome!
Good stuff. Lots of info.
Glad you liked it, Fabio!
Not just all DAC/AMP are different you have to think about age and your hearing loss as you get older. Some gear you might have liked a few years ago, you might not prefer them today. Same goes for headphones. I have probably 10 good pairs I would say average audiophiles would like, some of them I liked more years ago, I choose to listen to something different today. I also have headphones I bought and put them away because I didn't prefer them to something different, but I have grabbed them tried them on newer gear and actually think they sound better then when I first got them. Burn in is a thing to if you ask Mr. Speakers on headphones and Amp/Dac as well. Then technology and the amount of clean power we get, we are getting a lot cleaner power then we did years ago and even at a better price point, that could cause you to like older stuff you put up years ago when you just didn't have that kind of power. Most of the time when I change a certain thing from my source to my headphones it doesn't sound very good to me at first, then I hear a few tracks and they begin to sound better and better. A few hours later I'm wondering why I never liked what I 'm now hearing.
All very good points, Keith!
Sundara hooked up to Asgard 3 with +10 dB 100 Hz shelf EQ. The bass just punches you hard while the detail is still there.
That's a nice combo. Using that a bit myself at the moment
Is there an updated more powerful Vidar being considered?
I don't know and I'm not sure if anyone from Schiit looks at these comments, but perhaps post the question to their next live video on Facebook.
is Schiit planning any new Preamp which would stand above Freya+? Something ~$2000, with even better performance, which would be a natural partner to Ygdrasil.
Hi Wojciech, I'm afraid I don't know anymore than what's in this interview or the Schiit live streams on their Facebook
Oh, here he says it. 1. There is never too much power. 2. 6W is not too much power at all for most of the Planars. 3. My Topping L30 doesn't provide the juice my Planar headphones need.
So, i know you need less than 10mW on graphs to reach 120dB ear-blowing levels on most of the headphones, but the reality of fact is that Planars need juice, and need juice, i can easily heard with 1W isn't anything like my old thx aaa 789 with 6W on balanced. +You get much better separation with much higher crosstalk, soundstage, lots of that juice and lot of openness.
There are lot of different folks out there, who are blindfolded by measurements only (ASR) says Heresy and L30 are better than Yggdrasil for example. Who says SP200 is better than thx aaa 789 just because it measures better and is a wire with gain (Which is not the case at all, 789 sounds much better), in comparison L30 feels slow to THX's, but very few mention it. So there are very few % of people who find differences in cables etc. And many few folks like me who have very sensitive ears who can spot few differences within cable plating, and 3 adapters with the same gold plating, but sound slightly differences. So uhm.
And even if i use 1mW of power with my current EL-8 Titanium, i feels that upping the volume by even slight, the remaining power feels more constrained, so there isn't too much power headroom. With a 6W headphone amp that wasn't happening. The real myth here is you don't just need 1W, which seems a lot, for planars. Talking about Planars because i like them most, but probably most of dynamics too like big Juice. Juicy juice! :)
Watching this reminded me of 30 years ago my friends and their oversized, overloud, poor sound quality speakers, and my 30watt Denon quality system that they laughed at, they thought loudness rules it didn't i can still hear to 17khz and they can't, so if you want loudness just stick your head between two speakers and be done with it , for me its about sound quality not loudness.
I couldn't agree more. All my listening tops out around 80dB max
summing op amps take all of the voltage inputs (could be 100 of them) and outputs the average
Died a million times by Monolord song is crazy hungry for power too when you want to crank it up
Big bass hits?
I really like the cut of Jason's jib. Just kidding...no one talks like that but I really enjoyed listening to all four parts. ;)
Glad you enjoyed it. There are also interviews with Bottlehead (Dan Schmalle) and Chord Electronics (Rob Watts) if you're interested
@@PassionforSound I watched the Rob Watts one and that was great, as well! I really enjoy your channel!
Is there a new Bifrost on the way ???
Bifrost 2 is what he meant. Check out my review of you haven't heard about it - it's a great DAC!
We need Raal Sr1a and heddphone reviews from you. Lol
I'll see what I can do...
Schiit Streamer 🙃🙃
Anyone clipping a headphone amp capable of delivering five watts RMS isn't going to need that amp for very long, because they are quickly going to go deaf. If you love music, and want to be able enjoy it as you get older, turn it down. Hey, everyone likes to rock out once in a while. Just make sure you do it very rarely, and only for a few minutes at a time.
Very good point!
I've personally experienced the effects of low power on bass output.
According to digizoid's calculator, my hifiman arya's should only need 1001.33 mW to reach 120dB.
I was using IFI Xcan at the time which has a rating of 1W into 32 with a balanced cable and my bass was whimpy.
Running the aryas on Cayin IHA-6 with high current mode and the bass is punchy and slams.
I think the key here is that sometimes what you need isn't power but current, and going to a higher watt amplifier generally gives you alot more current.
I'm not sure but I'd also guess the slew rate of beefy amps would be much better compared to a heresy or similar.
Yeah, that's where it's helpful when products' power ratings are shown at various impedances. An amp producing high power at one impedance may be VERY different at higher or lower impedances
Please note that power delivered by the amplifier and power required by a headphone, that is impedance, varies by frequency. Source, EE want to be audiophile. I think you're misunderstanding what Jason said.
Not sure I get what you're saying. I understand that impedance and therefore power demand changes with frequency, but Jason was also talking about the impact of adding EQ.
@@PassionforSound For most amps, the power delivery of the amp is also frequency dependant. Saying an amp can deliver 2 watts does not mean it can deliver 2 watts evenly over all frequencies. That is why bass heavy edm, can quickly max out a lesser amp. Jason gave an example using a song with bumped up bass with eq, but no eq may be required for a given song to reach similar limitations. For planars, which as you mentioned impedance also varies by frequency, this is a compounding issue as some loads are harder to drive for the amp than others. It's aSensitivitytransducerincorrectly
Gotcha. Thanks for elaborating! That brings a whole other realm of complexity
Just use an on board PSU for power.. Geez,
wall warts are ludicrous when more than a few mA are needed to power a product. Consumers need to understand limitations of physics and maufacturers need to realize that too many oversized wall warts in a system are problematic for many consumers,
Edit: especially when the wart doesn’t have a narrow profile.
Apparently Schiit understands this very well since the wall wart for the Modi+ that I received gets a 👍 from me.
It's very different when you're making amps that are tiny (Magni) and producing 6W. I don't agree that this much power is needed, but we live in a world where many people buy on specs and measurements rather than real life usage. ☹️
@@PassionforSound Depending on your listening habits, and the fact that you may want to use some specific low impedance headphone, that most certainly can require those power levels as discussed in the video. I personally would rather hear and feel the music out in the open, in lieu of against the sides of my head, but some people aren’t able to do that for various reasons, so they need the isolation. That’s apparently what makes headphone amps a thing. I can’t stand ear buds or open headphones, and closed isolating headphones get on my nerves within 10 minutes or so lol
Yes, it's all about having different products for different people with different needs 🙂
@@PassionforSound yeah well that about sums it up; so you have to wonder why there is so much dissension about music and the equipment that revolves around it. Nobody even hears the same and nobody has the same equipment, but they’re all arguing about what matters and what doesn’t matter. It’s actually funny when you really think about it.
Yes. Funny and sad 🙂
"Personally, I never use an EQ." You're missing out on so much, buddy. If someone were to ask me, "If you had to either give up EQ, or downsize the budget of your DAC and amp by half, which would you choose?" I would choose downsizing the system, and sticking with EQ. EQ does far more for sound quality and enjoyment than throwing down an extra $1k to upgrade your electrical components. The only downside is having to learn to EQ properly.
I disagree. EQ can only change frequency response. So much of what we here comes from the way the DAC, amp and transducers reproduce transients and EQ can't influence that. Case in point, I've EQed HD800S, Focal Utopia and Focal Clear all to an almost linear response and they all still maintain their own characteristics for better and worse.
@@PassionforSound If you can't find a great dac amp combo to suit your taste for under $1k, then you're still very green in this hobby. Another $1k thrown into your system will not beat the difference a para EQ could give you, unless you have no idea how to go about it.
Hi Kevin, I have used both parametric and graphic EQs in depth. I use it a huge amount for my recording to fix the sound from my untreated office where I record. This isn't a question of understanding how to use an EQ, it's a question of understanding their limitations. For example, I'm currently reviewing the Topping EX5 ($350) and when comparing it to the cheaper Loxjie D30 ($179), the D30 presents the sound better because of the way it's handling soundstage space and transients (within the amp stage). There is zero influence that any EQ can have on this issue.
I'm not saying people who use EQs are wrong or bad - they're amazing tools and if you like using them, that's great and there's no reason I'd discourage it. My point is that they are limited to frequency response changes only, that's all.
@@PassionforSound I already got your point, but it seems you didn't get mine. Let's try not to read too much into each other's words; I never said EQ goes beyond FR changes...but don't underestimate the potential of a well-corrected FR, and a harman-curve-corrected planar headphone (with a good seal) driven by a powerful amp. The latter alone will make you regret never using EQ. I get that you want to listen to the equipment's own unique sound, but you must understand that if the engineers behind these headphones could tune them to have a beautiful, near-ideal FR, they absolutely would, and would probably charge a high premium for it. It's just that they can't (yet), because physics.
Ok. That makes more sense. I thought you were suggesting that EQ can solve issues with lower quality gear. If we're just talking FR changes then I completely agree that it's very powerful. It's still not something I choose to use, but that's just personal taste and preference so I'm not meaning to make anyone wrong for using EQ.
lets have ragnarok 3 with 4 tubes with a on off tube stage
Ooh. Nice!
its all about headroom
True. I think the trouble is that it gets blown way out of proportion when reviewers say things like the Topping L30 can't drive the HiFiMan Sundara effectively... 🤷
Balnced vs single ended: "there's shades of grey, listen to what you like"
Great, I'm sitting here without anything ti listen to trying to figure out what to purchase and...fuck, nothing helps.
Sorry about that, Daniel. It is true though and means you should buy based on your budget, needs and sonic preferences without worrying about balanced or single ended so there's one less variable to consider
I wouldn’t mind having over 9000mW into 600 Ohms
That's a lot of juice for headphones! 😉
@@PassionforSoundCould also be a speaker amp at that point
It would be nice if some company designed a powerful speaker amp that could also be used for headphones with a push of a button
Someone has. Chord Hugo TT2 and Schiit Ragnarok
My .Schitt Jotunheirm DAC amp is no longer recognized by my pc. Also not recognized on other computers either. Lasted about two years before issues began. Sometimes it would be recognized a few hours later. After a reboot it would not be recognized for hours. Now it's no longer recognized at all.
I would never purchase a Schitt product again after this.
That's not good to hear. I wonder if the internal power connection of the DAC board has come loose. Have you tried removing and reinstalling the DAC card? (I think this is user replaceable?)
@@PassionforSound No, I haven't.Not sure how to go about that yet. I'll have to try opeining up the unit.
I need to remove the volume knob to be able to remove the cover.. I don't presently have the proper sized hex tool to remove it, which I'll get tomorrow. Then we shall see.
Yes, the DAC is user replaceable.
Good luck! I hope it's an easy fix
@@PassionforSound Thank you. I'll try to keep you posted.
@@PassionforSound I was able to remove the volume knob with the proper sized hex tool and remove the nut holding the cover in place. I was able to remove the DAC attached with 3 screws. Pulled the DAC out and reinstalled it but to no avail.
Perhaps the DAC is now defective or some other connection to the DAC is defective.
It's beyond me at this point.
The unit is only 2 years old. At this point, i don't see myself ever purchasing another Schitt product again. Such a shame.
Now I'll be looking for a new DAC amplifier of at least eaual quality or better, hopefully in a similar price category.
Just to be sure, I tried hooking up a different USB cable. i also tried the Schitt USB cable with a different elecronic device and it worked just fine, so the cable is not an issue.
Thanks again for your time.
You're a hypocrite. Not Jason, you. I will not explain myself but I will mention compared to what you said about solid state amps here, you should take a look at your Jotunheim review and see what you said about that amp. Very hypocritical.
I only just saw this comment - it missed my notifications for some reason.
I don't believe I've been hypocritical as I strongly disliked the original Jotunheim and stand by that, but I love the Jotunheim 2 - it's a completely different design and a wonderful amp. I think perhaps you've thought I was talking about one instead of the other.