Schiit Vidar Impression Thread - UPDATED WITH REVIEW (CHECK FIRST POST)

My speakers are claimed to be 98.82dB 2.83V@1m sensitivity. I am not sure how those two scales compare.

I need to try different preamps and amps anyway just so I know what I have. If I find the Schiit to be as good as anything else, I will certainly stay with it. The components in the rack match that way! Seriously, I like company and have been impressed with their products. But there are other options out there that might be better from my speakers.

 

@Nbees I'm interested in your feelings on the sound signature of the Job 225 - some call it clean, lean and detailed, with some sweetness. This sound very similar to my Exposure 3010S2 integrated...I find the Vidar is a bit warmer with slightly more "body" than the Exposure (from the very limited comparing I've done so far).

Edit: Oh and they claim it has some very punchy, tight bass as well - again sounds similar to the Exposure.

 

The Saga is a very good preamp - can't compare to Freya unfortunately as I've not heard it. The tube buffer definitely adds some spaciousness to the sound for sure, however I've read the impact of the tube mode is not as pronounced as with the Freya (which has more tubes of course).

Which is your favorite tube by the way?

 

It'd be difficult to find in your price range, but the Benchmark AHB2 has different gain settings that could help even things out and may be a better match in your setup. Still, they're not often available under $2k much less $1500.

Alternatively, you could try a 5962 in place of the 6SN7s in the Freya. They've got slightly less gain than the normal 6SN7. It would be akin to using a 5751 in place of a 12ax7 (though not quite as big a difference).

 

This is one reason why Marv has suggested picking up cheap pairs of 6SN7 and sorting through them, in order to find a low noise pair. In my system Yggdrasil -> Freya -> K&H O300D, full scale on Yggdrasil with the Freya volume maxed would be 134dB/1m, so there's a lot of gain. I have quite a few 6SN7 pairs, none of which are intolerable in terms of hum, but I'd say about 30% are completely silent. So it should be possible to get there.

A lot of what is coupled as hum is high frequency hash on the AC line, so a power conditioner can help a lot (50/60 hz hum on its own is not that objectionable). You could also find a seller who screens tubes for H-to-K leakage.

 

The problem isn't the tubes, it's the gain combined with the very efficient speakers. When I used Freya with my nearfield speakers and their built-in amps, the hum was not an issue. When the room is quiet, from 5 feet away I can hear the hum with tower speakers with everything off but Yggdrasil and Vidar. Turn Freya on passive or JFET mode and the hum noise level doesn't really increase. Put Freya in tube gain mode and the noise ramps up. Then I can hear the hum in a quiet room from 8 feet away.

I have a Topaz .0005pF (146dB of common mode noise reduction) Isolation Transformer wired for balanced power with a power strip plugged into it. All the audio components are plugged into that power strip. Only the MacBook Pro feeding the Eitr is not plugged in to it. So there should very clean power with no DC offset and no ground loops.

I am really enjoying the Raytheon 6SN7GT VT-231 (with the 8 copper through rods) in the gain stage. I have some real Sylvania 6SN7GT "Bad Boy" tubes but I don't like them any better than the aforementioned Raytheon tubes. The Sylvania tubes that I have seem to be the noisiest. Nosier than Raytheon, Ken-Rad, and RCA.

I've tried several tubes in the output stage. These seem to affect the overall sound quite a bit less. Currently I am rolling Sylvania 6SN7WGTA tubes there.

 

Thats about an accurate description of each amp, the job is also quicker with just a bit more clarity, the vidar slightly more relaxed, weighty and liquid, both are really good solid state amps. I use the job with dynaudio emit 10, and the vidar with Rega rx1. Preamps are Saga in tube buffer mode and an axiom passive.
Re: the vidar hum mentioned here, yes it does have some transformer hum through the speakers that will vary by the speaker and preamp used, this is not uncommon and I dont find it to be an issue in my installation. I've experienced similar with 2 other amps I've owned.

 

Thanks for confirming the 225 sound - it would be interesting to swap directly between the amps, on the same speakers and preamp, to be able to do a proper A/B test. Also I assume the Saga will work well with the 225? (I've heard it has a lot of gain, but of course the Saga only has a gain of 1).

 

I had used the Job enough with both speakers to have a feel for each amps character...and the vidar works better with the rx1 than the Job, which I use with the dynaudio. But in general, impressions I posted before hasnt changed. The job is a high bandwidth, fast sounding amp with a neutral tonality, but its also very musical. Vidar brings more solidity, not quite as clear and fast as Job. The Job can sound a little wirey on some speakers. The vidar sounds like it gives more real world juice, its a pretty ballsy little amp.
One thing about the Job is it is prone to oscillation and rapid over heating if extra care isn't taken with preamp type, and type of power cord and cables, and the routing of the cables, it also runs very hot when driving difficult loads, probably normal but I use it with a fairly easy load. The Vidar will auto shut down during adverse conditions, the Job doesn't have anything but the fuse. Both have very good sound quality and value.

 

Great info, thanks for this. My current main speakers (ATC SCM19) are about as "lean" as I would want them I think with the Vidar amp currently - the Exposure I have is almost almost a bit too lean in some cases with those speakers, although it is still exceptionally smooth considering it's leanness and speed. My other speakers (Wharfedale Jade 3) however are a great match with the Exposure amp because they tend to be a bit warmer/fuller anyhow, the Exposure balances them out nicely. I suspect the JOB would likely be the same with those speakers, if not more so.

 

That's very interesting as I've never read the SCM19 to ever be considered lean, though extremely detailed and accurate come up often. Do you use version 1 or 2?

 

They are the version 2. Let me clarify a bit - actually I think the SCM19 are incredibly neutral, evenly balanced and transparent speaker with a super well-rounded sound signature. The bottom end is sublimely tight and punchy. But because they're so transparent, if the amp is lean and quick, it tends to take on that character and lean in that direction a bit too far for MY particular taste. I tend to prefer a bit more towards just a touch of warmth and body than perhaps some others might. But I still love the punch and quickness of the Exposure with those speakers. However the Vidar (so far) seems to have that right balance of a touch of warmth, but it's also dynamic with very good attack and impact as well (just maybe not quite as much quickness as the Exposure).

 

Any one compared the Vidar with a tube amp? I am using a Dynakit ST-70 with VTA driver board and upgraded power transformer bi-wire driving a pair of B&W N805. The sound is airy and detailed and I am happy with the sound. But for some music I felt that I was missing something in the mid range, like, a "lean" sound so to speak. All I read here about Vidar are that Vidar is smooth and warm sounding. Will I lost a lot details compared to a typical tube power amp? Many years ago, I tried a Parasound HCA-1500 power amp, did not like it over my tube amp. I know the solid-state amps have made great improvements in the last 10 years, thus I wanted to pull the trigger to a solid state amp again. Thanks in advance for all suggestions. Cheers!

 

That is all true. But I haven't seen many posts compared specific tube amps with a Vidar, not to mention matching of speakers. I asked a fairly specific question with my amp and my speaker setups. This is not intend to enter the war of tube-amps versus solid-state amps.

 

Don't forget you're also listening to your room. Speaker placement and acoustics are more crucial then what you amp your speakers with imo. More often than not people blame gear or buy newer gear just to EQ their system.

 

I own 4 other solid state amps currently, they are all class A/B, and I can tell you Vidar is only within about 5-10% different than any of them from a "warmth and smoothness" perspective. The HCA 1500 would have also been a class A/B amp, but obviously quite old comparatively - what was it that you didn't like about it's sound? I guarantee you will not "want for detail" with Vidar...but it might depend what details your looking for.

EDIT: I recently owned a Peachtree Class D Integrated from about 2 years ago - now that thing was NOT even close to warm and smooth - bright and hard I would call it...I'll be hard pressed to go Class D again.

 

Thanks, this helps me. I believe that the HCA 1500 uses FET power transistors. Some would say that FET power transistor amps had a tube-like sound which I could not relate. The HCA sounded powerful but somehow un-nature to me, especially the voices and the piano (paired with B&W CM2). The Vidar uses bipolar transistors. I tend to like solid-state amps with bipolar power transistors. I heard a Bryston 3B many years ago at a friend's house and impressed. The Bryston sounded airy, detailed and had a "warm" sound signature to me.

 

I owned the HCA 1000 for a couple of years a long time ago, and do recall it being just a bit artificial sounding as you say - while I can't say at all how that amp would compare to the Vidar, I can say the Vidar is a great sounding amp to my ears - really well balanced IMO - not ultra fast and lean, but not smooth, syrupy or bloated either - it has tons of detail and drive, with a pretty smooth sound that also still has some of that "sparkle" - I actually think it makes symbols and high-hats sound just right to my ears. You won't of course get the bloom, nor possibly the soundstage of a tube amp, but a tube Preamp like Saga of Freya can be used to add extra soundstage/space if you want it (at least that is my experience with the Saga in tube buffer mode).

 

Had to laugh reading Jason's latest update which mentioned an off the cuff comment:

I guess they're throwing their best at it but seriously...