Schiit Aegir Power Amp Impressions

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

  1. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    Would you be able to share at some point internal measurements of the Aegir like you did recently with Vidar (source)? Noticed the original Aegir flier mentioned 160W RMS at 4 ohms mono, but the product description says 120W.
     
  2. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    FYI, new chapter of Schiit Happened is live: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-3035#post-14875708. Some discussion of Aegir (including vs. Vidar). A couple highlights:

    Really refreshing read @schiit. The practice of being happy with what we have should be much more prevalent than it is, especially in audio land.

    p.s. who is the "one early listener" you refer to? ;)
     
  3. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    We're lucky to have the gear loaner program on this forum. Being able to try a piece of equipment in our own home for only the cost of shipping it to the next person saves us a ton of money collectively.
     
  4. ryan_a

    ryan_a New

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    So my P3ESRs are 83.5db/w into 6 ohms.

    Aegir or Vidar?
     
  5. eastboundofnowhere

    eastboundofnowhere Facebook Friend

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    Shit, I’m usually real nice but is reading comprehension not a thing? You joined almost a year ago. That is a very, very inefficient load. Unless you are listening in the true nearfield at moderate volumes...Vidar
     
  6. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Here's a very basic guide for those new to 2 channel and wanting a Schiit 2 channel system:

    • If your speakers are 97db/w efficient and above your best bet is probably Saga and Aegir.
    • If you have speakers between 88 and 97 db/w efficient consider either Freya + Aegir or Saga + Vidar. There's pluses and minuses either way.
    • For 85-88db/w you're going to want Freya and Vidar or Freya + 2 Aegirs.
    • Lower than than 85 db/w you'll most likely be happiest with Freya + Vidar and possibly 2 Vidars.
     
  7. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    I used a 35 wpc tube amp for my Harbeth HL-P3 (the old version). They were driven loud enough in my mid-size living room. The Harbeth P3s are meant for near-field listening, shouldn't expect "room filling" sound from them. On the other hand, because they are near-field speakers, they don't need to be driven hard to start singing. In fact, when pushed hard, the sound leak from the thin cabinets would be too much to do any good. Which Schiit amp would be better for Harbeth 5' monitors? I guess it comes down to synergistic and personal music tastes. If I must bet now, I would bet on Aegir - after all, it costs more, right? ;)

    edit: I am using one Vidar with a Saga. The Vidar is very, very nice for my <= 89 db speakers. My plan is to get two Aegir at the same time in the future, then I should be set on my amp for the several years.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2019
  8. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Given you're in the US, I'd order both amps and return the one that doesn't work for you. Hell neither amp might be up your alley.

    Only way to know for sure is to try it yourself. And Schiit's return policy let's you do just that.
     
  9. ohmaigulay

    ohmaigulay Friend

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    A0138302-E180-47EA-869C-085A5612F3F8.jpeg F31A6C95-D5FE-42C0-B9FF-694F3F2E5A01.jpeg

    Visited the Schiitr earlier with @Pyruvate.
    We were there to see the Sol turntable but unfortunately it was packed up and headed for axpona.

    However there was a brand new Aegir that Alex unboxed and set up for us to demo. We used their laptop with Spotify going into a current version A2 Yggdrasil which could be switched between a Freya with Aegir and a Saga with Vidar. We tried to compare the Aegir and Vidar using the passive modes of the respective Preamps. The speakers weren’t the usual Salk Song 3s and Kef LS but Magnepans.

    The Aegir sounded richer with a wider stage especially noticeable in the midrange. The Vidar had the upper hand in bass. It hit harder and tighter. That being said the Aegir wasnt a slouch in bass. Electronic music still sounded nice and punchy.

    The Aegir didn’t get too hot during our short demo but the Vidar was noticeably cooler. The Aegir also didn’t seem to struggle driving the magnepans.

    I envy everyone with speakers that are bi-amp able. A Vidar for bass and Aegir for the rest would be :punk:
     
  10. dropadred

    dropadred New

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    Exactly, too big for it to be an amp for speakers on the desk (unless you need some foot heater) and not powerful enough for most systems. But nothing can even distantly compete with that stand-by button, I find it, well, funny, one thing you would want it to do automatically (time-delayed of course) has a button for it and something what would be just as useful as input switching (yes, that strongly subjective need of myself to switch outputs for desktop products, where you more likely use more outputs than inputs) via button is not existent. And what you described in your latter post as "a feature" of XLR jacks has literally made my day, what a feature!

    I am looking forward to see if Aegir will be a good seller, at least in the respect to my opinion it will not, not when Vidar is there watching over the amp section.

    But, at the end, everything went okay, I cannot agree with Jason more on his stand, I am personally looking forward much more to a further use of Continuity.
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    This would not be a reasonable suggestion from me to Jason because the Aegir is a speaker power amp.
     
  12. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    @dropadred

    I think your suggestion or idea might be valid and have no problems if posted in proper threads. Possible places include general schiit thread, schiit headphone amp thread (jot, lyr, rag, ..), or pre-amp threads seem relevant. But.. despite your initial thought was originated from hf aegir post, talking that here is just stupid and makes no sense. And more importantly, will not serve as a meaningful feedback/suggestion to Schiit.

    Also "if you don't like this, you can go elsewhere" rule always applies.
     
  13. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    Gear: https://imgur.com/a/bVxtXzz
    1. PAP Trio Voxativ 1.6
    2. Schiit shill setup (Yggdrasil A2, USB club card, Saga (tung-sol), Aegir).
    3. Pangea IC, AC9 power cables,
    4. shit living room (not enough stuff, gotta get rid of the TV, get thicker carpet). Sidewall is far though.

    2-day impression:
    - really, really, really detailed
    - clear layering
    - So I've been listening to Band-Maid, jrock on my desktop pc (PortaPros + motherboard) and it sounded pretty good, but it sounded god awful on the speaker setup. I was thinking is this the amp? but no, I realized Aegir makes your poorly recorded music sound like crap*
    - bass seems fine for my purpose, but maybe less BIG bass swings compared to Vidar but

    overall:
    - VERY clear, clean
    - Sounds a bit rough at some times*, wish it had more euphonic, pleasing sound. M22 had more pleasing sound. Aegir is more detailed though.
    - still runs pretty hottish on stand-by mode (I just turn if off),
    - white LED light is far dimmer, like 1/2, 1/3 compared to original intensity
    - quite not end-game amp for me. Prob choose M22 over Aegir given my preferences but Aegir over Vidar by far.
    - *maybe it's the room

    More to come
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2019
  14. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Did you have M22 before, sell it and then get Aegir? Any power amps to compare against directly?
     
  15. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    All my comparison to Vidar and M22 are based on previous experiences so take my impression with massive Japanese shio, No gear available for direct A/B

    I am in Tampa now, moving back up to NYC in July. Prob more info then where more SBAFers live
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2019
  16. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    How much actual time has it been playing music on your speakers? I found Vidar changed quite a bit within the first 25-50 hours of playing music at moderate volumes. Completely different topology here obviously, but I don’t know if that means it might be affected more or less by burn-in...
     
  17. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    Good to know.

    Woudn't Schiit stress test or whatever (leave it on?) before shipping these out though?

    Maybe ~10 hours of music and on stand-by overnight from Monday -> Tuesday

    Now that you mention sound level. I listen pretty quietly like 70-75 SPL but it sounds better at ~80-85 SPL. Not sure what this means to a noob like me but I catch myself turning up the volume to hear stuff better.
     
  18. restrav3

    restrav3 Likes Audio-GD

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    Those speakers are so gorgeous.
     
  19. Aklegal

    Aklegal Friend

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    It is still "hottish" after being left in standby mode for a few hours?

    How hot does the amp run at moderate to loud volume?

    Thanks for the quick impressions. Based on your description If I got a pair of Aegir's I'd probably try to pair them with an Ayre preamp i have had my eye on.
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2019
  20. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    I just noticed the PAP website lists sensitivity as "94-96db (in a typical room)." Is this typical for manufacturers to list sensitivity taking into account room gain?
     

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