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Schiit Fans ?

Got to play with the Stjarna this morning: I swapped in the LISST tube substitutes in the Freya+, and Holy Schiit, this is the magic combo! All the gain of tube mode (+12db with tubes, +14 db with the LISST) and none of the slight fuzz on voices that happened with some LP's when using 6SN7 tubes in the Freya+. I have the gain set down to 40db and the Stjarna is dead silent with the sound stage wide, deep, and high. Voices are now crystal clear, and the bass has a nice punch. Some of the classical music that didn't sound any better than it did when using the Skoll phono preamp had a lot more going on (cymbals, kettle drums, cello's were all more vivid). Head banging rock that is mostly guitar chords was still MEH, but rock with lots of instruments (keyboards, sax, etc) was outstanding. I love this thing !
 
krautmaster said:
Excerpts from their website:

Select LF filter: choose no LF filter, or engage the 2-pole/15 Hz passive network

...it is ... a single 12dB/octave passive filter with a shallower roll-off than a typical active filters. This was the best trade-off, we believe, between an active subsonic filter or no filter at all. And you can bypass the LF filter entirely, in any case.
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Checked the new manual, they unfortunately didn't add LF filter on the rca's:
"LF filter is only enabled on the balanced XLR outputs."
 
I tried out the Stjarna this morning while using a quad of modern (Russian) Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB's... played the Freya+ in Tube mode and Differential mode, sounded the same except tube mode play a bit louder.
The Tong-Sols are dead quiet even when banging on them hard, and there was no slight fuzziness in some voices that I was getting with the Ray Select 6SN7 tubes (might just be that re-seating the tubes is what made the difference) but the Ray tubes are more musical, the Tung-Sols are a bit clinical compared to them.
 
This afternoon I pulled the Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes out and replaced them with the Ray Select 6SN7's, as the Tung-Sol's were very fatiguing after only 4-5 songs - they were just too "clinical" for my ears today. The Ray Select brought back the sweetness and a sound stage that was at least twice a large as the Tong-Sol. Also, there was no more fuzziness on some voices, I guess the Ray tubes just needed to be re-seated (I'll have to remember to do that once a month).

So using the Freya+ in Tube mode with the Ray Select tubes and the Stjarna set to 47db gain is the sweet spot with this system (AT VM-740xML cartridge has a fairly low output at 3.5 mV so 40db gain on the Stjarna is a bit low)... the solid state LISST tube alternatives have the second best SQ, while third place is the Stjarna by itself with the Freya+ in differential mode.
 
I bought a Schiit Rekkr a while ago. I liked it so much I bought another to use them as mono amps. They are paired with my Pioneer SC-3000 preamp. The speakers I am using are my KEF Q150's. The whole thing together is amazing. The room they are in is about 10' x 10'. The bass is perfect. I am curious why they seem to work so well with the Kef's?
I took a chance on the Rekkr because they were discounted due to them being discontinued. When they got even cheaper and I bought two more. They are still in their boxes un-opened. I even asked Schiit if they had any spare silver/gray tops and they sold me two, cheap. So now If I need to go from black to silver I can.
 
I, like a lot of people, am wishing I had bought the Syn before it was discontinued. Imagine a Syn and five Rekkers being an inexpensive way to play with surround and sound fields in your room.
 
Anybody have any opinion on the Schiit Wotan amplifier? I don't need two more Tyr mono blocks, and the Vidar or Aegir don't have enough power to push my infinity RS4b's. I need a new amp for my office stereo and this seems to fill the bill, but it is pricey at $2K (okay, not that bad since a new Parasound A21+ is $4,500).

My Parasound A21+ is just three weeks out of it's 5 year warranty and crapped the right channel out of the blue yesterday - room lights dimmed quickly then came right back on, but the right channel is non-operational. I replaced the blown fuses, but right channel still out, my dim bulb tester puts a 300 Watt incandescent bulb out the second the relays click on. There was no smoke, nothing is burned, no visible signs of any damage whatsoever, I'm thinking it must have blown an output transistor or two. Unfortunately they have been obsolete for 5-6 years (2SA1295 /2SC3264 in the large MT-200 format) and the only ones I could find are super sketchy ones on E-pray. You have to take the entire thing apart to get a look at the bottom of the board where the outputs are soldered -there is no access to the bottom side short of removing the 25 lb coffee can size transformer, the heat sinks, and the front & back panels just to get to the bottom of the circuit board.

Parasound's new management won't have anything to do with the amp: "Sorry, but it is out of warranty, you can send it to The Music Room in Denver for out of warranty repair, thank you, good bye"). Internet search reveals that the out-of-warranty service stations can't get new transistors, but they may be able to get an entire new circuit board for $1500, but it may or may not come with the output transistors... WTF? I've sent an e-mail to The Music Room to see if they will contact Parasound for specifics on parts availability before I ship the behemoth to them- I don't want to spend $250 shipping it, only to find that it is not repairable, then have to pay them to send the boat anchor back to me.

It is hard to believe the new owners have driven that once great company into the ground so quickly. I would stay far away from them (I'm thinking of packing up my A23+ amp and P6 preamp and selling them on US Audio Mart while they still work).
 
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krautmaster said:
Anybody have any opinion on the Schiit Wotan amplifier? I don't need two more Tyr mono blocks, and the Vidar or Aegir don't have enough power to push my infinity RS4b's. I need a new amp for my office stereo and this seems to fill the bill, but it is pricey at $2K (okay, not that bad since a new Parasound A21+ is $4,500).

My Parasound A21+ is just three weeks out of it's 5 year warranty and crapped the right channel out of the blue yesterday - room lights dimmed quickly then came right back on, but the right channel is non-operational. I replaced the blown fuses, but right channel still out, my dim bulb tester puts a 300 Watt incandescent bulb out the second the relays click on. There was no smoke, nothing is burned, no visible signs of any damage whatsoever, I'm thinking it must have blown an output transistor or two. Unfortunately they have been obsolete for 5-6 years (2SA1295 /2SC3264 in the large M-200 format) and the only ones I could find are super sketchy ones on E-pray. You have to take the entire thing apart to get a look at the bottom of the board where the outputs are soldered -there is no access to the bottom side short of removing the 25 lb coffee can size transformer, the heat sinks, and the front & back panels just to get to the bottom of the circuit board.

Parasound's new management won't have anything to do with the amp: "Sorry, but it is out of warranty, you can send it to The Music Room in Denver for out of warranty repair, thank you, good bye"). Internet search reveals that the out-of-warranty service stations can't get new transistors, but they may be able to get an entire new circuit board for $1500, but it may or may not come with the output transistors... WTF? I've sent an e-mail to The Music Room to see if they will contact Parasound for specifics on parts availability before I ship the behemoth to them- I don't want to spend $250 shipping it, only to find that it is not repairable, then have to pay them to send the boat anchor back to me.

It is hard to believe the new owners have driven that once great company into the ground so quickly. I would stay far away from them (I'm thinking of packing up my A23+ amp and P6 preamp and selling them on US Audio Mart while they still work).
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A Vidar @ 100 wpc into 8 ohms isn’t enough?
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Sliphorn said:
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A Vidar @ 100 wpc into 8 ohms isn’t enough?
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Nope, need 200 W @ 8 ohms and or 350 W @ 4 ohms and capability to handle dips below 2 ohms without breaking a sweat - not many amps fill the bill that don't cost an arm and leg, and part of your torso ! (the RS4b drop down to 1.7 ohms @ 2Khz and 1.6 ohms @ 35 Hz). My Monitor Audio Silver 500's also call for up to 275 W @ 8ohms, they only dip down to 3.2 ohms.
 
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krautmaster said:
Nope, need 200 W @ 8 ohms and or 350 W @ 4 ohms and capability to handle dips below 2 ohms without breaking a sweat - not many amps fill the bill that don't cost an arm and leg, and part of your torso ! (the RS4b drop down to 1.7 ohms @ 2Khz and 1.6 ohms @ 35 Hz). My Monitor Audio Silver 500's also call for up to 275 W @ 8ohms, they only dip down to 3.2 ohms.
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Any interest in class D? Many of them have the power and can handle 2-16 ohm swings. An example would be the 3e Audio A7 mono TPA3255 PBTL with the 48v/5a power adapter. Yes, it’s a chip amp but you can pick up a couple for less than $400 over at Amazon. Thirty day return policy. Alot of folks, myself included, are impressed by how good they are. Although come to think of it, it might not have the power you need. Dunno.

Then there is the much higher dollar class d amps that are available, but some of those are pricey, maybe as much or more than a Wotan. Would two Vidar run as monoblocs do the trick? Four hundred bucks less than a Wotan.
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Sliphorn said:
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Any interest in class D? Many of them have the power and can handle 2-16 ohm swings. An example would be the 3e Audio A7 mono TPA3255 PBTL with the 48v/5a power adapter. Yes, it’s a chip amp but you can pick up a couple for less than $400 over at Amazon. Thirty day return policy. Alot of folks, myself included, are impressed by how good they are. Although come to think of it, it might not have the power you need. Dunno.

Then there is the much higher dollar class d amps that are available, but some of those are pricey, maybe as much or more than a Wotan. Would two Vidar run as monoblocs do the trick? Four hundred bucks less than a Wotan.
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No class D for me, except as a plate amp in a sub woofer... they are better than they were a couple years ago, but still not "there" yet IMO
 
Sliphorn said:
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Alrighty, then. Let us know when you get the Wotan and what you think of it.
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Right now I'm sending the Parasound A21+ to TMR for repair, they say they can get the parts from Parasound. It will end up costing several hundred less than replacing it with a Wotan. I paid $2200 for the A21+ five years ago, and to repair it they replace everything internal except the the transformer for a around $1850 (the new circuit board is $1400 + labor to replace it), while a new Wotan with tax and shipping would cost me $2400 (I wish we could return to the days of no state tax on online purchases like we used to have until just a couple years ago. New Mexico's 7.85% sales tax adds on quite a bit of cost to expensive items). A new A21+ goes for $4800 (including tax & shipping) so for $1850 I'll get a mostly new amp... but it seems that Parasound will end up getting their $4K out of me one way or another...
 
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All boxed up and ready to go in a 28"x28"x15" outer box (I still had the inner box and packing materials) that weighs 92 lb... Fed Ex says their cheapest shipping is $215. The bottom of the box is hot glued together because I don't trust packing tape, it has 1/4" thick super strong "L" braces glued into each corner to try and fend off damage from drops, and 1" thick heavy foam pads glued all over the inside...the inner box fits nice and snug in there. I told the 90 lb lady at FedEx to be ready for it tomorrow and to maybe have a burly guy scheduled to help her handle it !
 
krautmaster said:
All boxed up and ready to go in a 28"x28"x15" outer box (I still had the inner box and packing materials) that weighs 92 lb... Fed Ex says their cheapest shipping is $215. The bottom of the box is hot glued together because I don't trust packing tape, it has 1/4" thick super strong "L" braces glued into each corner to try and fend off damage from drops, and 1" thick heavy foam pads glued all over the inside...the inner box fits nice and snug in there. I told the 90 lb lady at FedEx to be ready for it tomorrow and to maybe have a burly guy scheduled to help her handle it !
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There are significant discounts available online. There’s another level of competition between the big 3 not found standing in line. FedEx is always the most expensive. Checkout GoShippo.com
 
elcoholic said:
There are significant discounts available online. There’s another level of competition between the big 3 not found standing in line. FedEx is always the most expensive. Checkout GoShippo.com
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'round these parts (ABQ) FedEx is the fastest and most reliable, bit cheaper than UPS who just plain sucks... I guess it depends on where you live what kind of service you get from each company. They had two burly guys at work there today and they had no problems with the mega box, ended up being $187 arriving on Wednesday.
 
Gigantic said:
Finally starting to see reviews on the Schiit Mimir. lengthy review, but the gist of it is that the Mimir is very close to being as good as the Bifrost 2/64, never mind his butchering of Schiit's model names.

I'm not even remotely in the market for a new DAC, but that does make ma a little excited for what might be coming in a future, forked Bifrost 3
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The Mimir is pretty amazing. Excellent dynamics, resolution, and detail, with superb timbre. Bass very good. It's not a laid-back DAC, it's very lively sounding. A bit forward at first, but that settles down with time. I can't speak to soundstage, as I've only used headphones so far, though I do look forward to hearing the Mimir in my speaker set up. No Forkbeard, as I use Android devices, but I'll try it when available for me.
 
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