Schiit Aegir Power Amp Impressions

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by rlow, Oct 16, 2018.

  1. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Lots of people talking about this amp, figured I would start a thread so we can consolidate things.


    Previewed at RMAF 2018, here’s what we know about the Aegir:

    From @schiit on HF:

    “10W of Class A bias and a Continuity output stage gets you 150-160W into 4 ohms mono with performance very, very similar to Class A, without the several amperes of standing current and massive heat usually necessary for Class A at that level”


    Power Output specs:

    Stereo mode: 20w into 8 ohms or 40w into 4 ohms
    Monoblock mode: 80w into 8 ohms or 160w into 4 ohms

    Estimated price: $799 USD

    Estimated launch date: Early 2019


    Full spec sheet/flyer from RMAF:
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...-audio-fest-rmaf-2018.6782/page-6#post-227468


    @zerodeefex’s initial impressions from RMAF:
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...alks-about-mcdonalds.5246/page-23#post-227415


    Pics from RMAF:
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...-audio-fest-rmaf-2018.6782/page-8#post-227690


    And…wait for it…an actual standby button on the FRONT of the case. Makes sense with a Class A type design, unless you need to use it for a portable space heater – according to Jason it “de-biases the output stage and puts the amp in a “standby” mode, yes. It takes idle power down from 200W or so to 15W or so. I think. I haven’t actually measured that for the specs yet.”

    There should be a chapter from Jason about it on HF soon.
     
  2. daniellistens

    daniellistens Acquaintance

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    I am VERY excited for the release of this amplifier...
     
  3. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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  4. madwolfa

    madwolfa New

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    So I hear Marv already had a prototype in his hands? Any impressions? :)
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes, but I heard there were a few tweaks since - that it's supposedly better. Pre-production impressions, so take with grain of salt. I've got a production Aegir coming in anyway.
    1. Overall a definite step up from Vidar, assuming you don't need Vidar power.
    2. Tonal balance similar to Vidar - actually reminds me more of the vintage Pioneer M22. Slight warmth, maybe a tick warmer than Vidar. Timbre is rich. It's not lean, clean, totally unadulterated like Benchmark or THX AAA stuff.
    3. Bass control isn't as tight and snappy Vidar. It's more rounded. Again reminds me of vintage M22. Bass control always seems to correlate to power at load.
    4. Microdetail seemed on par with Vidar, but significant improvement in microdynamics and liveliness. Vidar is flatter in comparison.
    5. Not as good as my custom 45 tube amp. The 45 amp was better at resolving fine details.
    6. Probably approaches the vintage Pioneer M22. Not sure if it equals. Would need to hear production version and on my main speaker system which I heard the M22 from to know for sure.
    7. Also reminds me of a more powerful (greater ease to presentation) version of my modded JLH 69 amp, but cleaner, clearer, and much better performance in the bass (expected since JLH despite super simple circuit, is cap-coupled at the output).
    8. Not recommended if you like a "squarish" high contrast "hi-fi" kind of sound. It's still a solid state amp, but it swings a bit in the direction of tube geezers, therefore @Psalmanazar need not apply.
    Again, pre-production impressions.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2018
  6. famish99

    famish99 Friend

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    @purr1n if you were to use it in a biamp setup (with a SET amp on top), would you prefer the Aegir or the Vidar for the lows (with something like a 15" Eminence Beta)?
     
  7. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Marv, what's your 2-chan setup again?
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  9. Josh83

    Josh83 Friend

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    I’d be very interested to know how this stacks up against the Rag for speakers.
     
  10. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

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    Yeah, Marv's prototype had:

    1. A bit higher bias than we plan for production.
    2. The wrong crossover point for Continuity; it wasn't really Continuous.*
    3. The "meltdown" bridges, which were on the edge of annihilation.
    4. The old grounding scheme, which had some nastiness at high harmonics of the line frequency.
    5. The old way of measuring DC and bias--probably not sonically significant.

    *Continuity requires sense and emitter resistor values chosen for a specific operating point. The first prototypes were a WAG, the later prototypes had better calculations, and latest prototypes were tuned with hard data from the AP.
     
  11. Rowethren

    Rowethren Acquaintance

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    I'm wondering if this will have enough power for my Monitor Audio PL100 II, they are 88dB @ 1W/1m and 6ohms. I would definitely be running mono if I did go for them though.
     
  12. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    @schiit are the power specs listed as per Continuity or in a particular Class?

    For example, Pass Labs lists specs on their XA amps as the watts in Class A but are significantly higher once the amp gets pulled into Class A/B.
     
  13. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    You should be fine, with mono blocks you'll be feeding them about 120W RMS. From the PL100 II specs:

    Recommended Amplifier Requirements (RMS) 60 - 120W
     
  14. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Does this mean new Lyr 3s will also be tuned with the AP?
     
  15. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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  16. sp33ls

    sp33ls Friend

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    Hey all!

    I wanted to sign up to ask a question here...

    I'm looking at picking up an Vidar or Aegir... not sure if I should wait or not.

    I'll be using the new Buchardt S400s (88 dB, 4 Ohms).

    I've built tube amps and currently have a 300B SET. However, I find that the power is just not enough for the types of speakers I enjoy. I do enjoy the smooth midrange that appears from the tubes, but at the same time, I'm also a bit of a bass head. I just prefer to have some "impact" in my music, and I'm also somewhat sensitive to treble (I prefer a present, but smoothed out treble). This is why I think I found 300B pleasing overall. That being said, the new S400 speakers appear to be tick of warm past neutral too, and supposedly have plenty of bass. I also have a 15" Rythmik sub, so that helps fill in the sub-bass and add a little more punch.

    So, I'm in a position where I wonder if getting the extra oomph from the Vidar into 4 Ohms would be best (200W) or waiting for the Aegir (40W @ 4 Ohms) in hopes to get a slightly more warm presentation, but at the cost of lower ouput and potentially needing to pick up a second Aegir.

    Thoughts appreciated! :)
     
  17. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    No one can tell you except for Marv and his listening was done on a non-final version and it's still unclear as to when Aegir will launch.

    The RMAF setup was non-ideal with limitations from using Freya vs something more transparent like Saga, unfamiliar music, relatively inefficient speaker (Salk Song 3s) that not many of us are familiar with, unfamiliar room, etc.

    My impression was based on not being as impressed the year prior with a similar setup with Vidar, but again that's to be taken with a grain of salt.

    Once the amp is out in full, I'm certain I'll do a full review.
     
  18. sp33ls

    sp33ls Friend

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    Thanks! :)
     
  19. captkirk

    captkirk Khan's BFF

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    @schiit Any chance you have nailed down some of additional details on the specs? I'm honestly just wondering what the gain will likely be on the Aegir and how it might work in a bi-amp config with the Vidar.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2018
  20. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Good question, I had assumed the same gain as Vidar in order to make it possible to use both fed from the same preamp, but best not to assume this. Hopefully Jason can confirm.

    Also whether he’s still optimistic on early 2019 launch??
     

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