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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    @RobS I think as you’ve suggested the Yggdrasil SE outs (and that is Yggdrasil A1?), Sys, plus speakers with forward staging (compared to the Opals) likely the major contributors to lesser of depth.
     
  2. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Which Elac models? I've tried both Elac Debut B6 and Debut Reference

    Oops thought you were talking Andrew Jones Elac

    Yggdrasil A2 and yeah it does stage upfront. As I said before, the Dyns are forward sounding, especially in the upper mids. This is definitely more to my taste. However, I find the imaging of them superb. Very curious what changes with XA25 and an old Tandberg amp.
     
  3. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    They are what I say US elac. Voiced by Andrew whom I am not a big fan of. The model I refer is in my sig.
     
  4. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Are the SE outputs of the Yggdrasil that gimped?!
     
  5. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Definitely loses some of the Yggdrasil magic, especially in plankton and spatial aspects, as well as dynamics. They’re also a bit warmer. But I’d still take Yggdrasil SE out over anything else I’ve owned/heard (balanced or not).
     
  6. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Some folks would say its exaggerated, but I disagree. It's not a subtle difference. This is what I said in the Callia thread:

    Just as I think the differences between the Rednet D16 and Gen 5 USB with Yggdrasil were stark.

    Yeah I would still take Yggdrasil SE over most DACs. I've thought about downgrading to Bifrost 2, but its closeness in sound to the Gungnir A1 put me off.

    Again nitpicking, but the extra warmness from SE out to Aegir can sometimes be a tad much. Dyns are already on the warmer side too. I like to balance out the warmth with some coolness from the amp, as is the case with my HD650 and Valhalla 2, which is not a warm amp at all but the cans certainly are. Makes both a great match. To be clear, Aegir is not a warmpoo amp. But there is a sweetness to it compared to say a Vidar, just the right amount IMO. I can't stand overly warm shit.

    Which Confidence models did you get to hear? Heard that lineup is pretty dull sounding. Curious what you thought of them. Can't believe their flagship line don't use first order crossovers.
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2020
  7. yonson

    yonson Facebook Friend

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    Are you using these in a near field or far? What levels do you listen at? I've really been wanting to try Aegir with my Dyns but I know for a fact they won't run my C4's or F260's at the levels I listen at without going into over-current protection so I continue to use Vidars on them.

    I would like to replace the F260/Vidar setup in my office with S40's and an Aegir which shouldn't have the over-current issue being that they are 6 ohm vs. 4, but I don't know if they handle the higher listening levels (90 dB or so at 12 feet) when I feel like jamming...

    The previous generation(s) of Confidence (C1/2/4) had first order crossovers. Dynaudio made a switch to 2nd order on the Contours, and they have continued that trend with the S40, and new Confidence lines. I have heard the new Confidence C20's and I have to say they are quite amazing and I would LOVE to bring them home, I just refuse to pay what they want for them. If I'm going to spend that much on a monitor it's probably be for a set of Raidho D1.1's or possibly the Borresen 01's or new Z01's...
     
  8. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Sup man, I was the dude over at the AVSForum in the Dyn thread who was asking about Aegir power with BM15 nearfield and then upgrading to S40s lol. I appreciate you helping me.

    Nearfield the BM15s worked great with Aegir and so does the S40. I like to listen at 90db with peaks in the 110db range, if my SPL meter is accurate. At nearfield with that volume I'm not using that many watts.

    90db at 12 feet? 6ohm? I don't think Aegir is gonna cut it. In fact I did experiment with that position, even further actually. My room is shaped as a rectangle, so if I position the speakers against the shortest back wall and to get in the triangle for the optimal listening spot, to get the desired SPL I have the SYS pot turned all the way up and not getting the same volume. It still fills the room with moderate volume but if I want to crank it in that position I need more power/gain. My room ain't that big and the S40s need to be positioned a bit further away from the wall for the best bass (I'm still experimenting as they are pretty picky where they are placed regarding the bass quality), so it's not bad. I don't have vaulted ceilings or in a gymnasium size room, so I think a single Aegir has worked pretty well for me nearfield and just short of 12' midfield. I have not gotten it to hit protection mode in either nearfield or the furthest listening position.

    But yeah I like to listen loud as hell and thankfully I have a neighbor who is an old deaf fart that doesn't care.

    Maybe dual Aegirs could work at that position, might be worth trying out.

    S40s are dynamite speakers. I don't want to overhype em but like so good to where I feel like I've been living in the Matrix or Plato's Cave before. The mids are to die for and put my HD650s to shame, and every other speaker I've heard. That woofer is a technical marvel. You won't find anything better, hell good luck under $20k. Just a brilliant speaker all around.

    The S40 is the only speaker in their current lineup that uses first order crossovers. And yeah for Confidence money I'd go straight to ATC speakers.
     
  9. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    No idea about the gen but I believe (there seems a good amount of minor revisions) ones with the first gen esotar -- driven by vintage or oop Accuphase pre-power. As far as I remember, a little politer than Spe40 but to me better tonality and righter staging and localization.
     
  10. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    I was looking at the Contour 20s but folks were telling me they were on the relaxed/polite side so I passed on those. Supposedly its a more neutral (read less dynamic than the S40) speaker with better staging. I like a punchy, aggressive sound. It's either that or break my back hauling around some big Klipsch speakers.
     
  11. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Back to the Aegir talk, I'd add this to my impression:

    There was kinda weird math going on in my rig. All of Modius, FreyaS, and dual Aegirs had a marginal tendency of "less warm / less sweet / bass leaner" (i.e., the direction I typically don't like) compared to Bifrost 2, Passive, and single Aegir respectively. At least I perceived so. But the sum of these three was far from being more negative. Cold and lean by comparison yes. But I like them enough to keep listening for five straight days. Feel ridiculous.
     
  12. yonson

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    Ahhh ok, thanks for the info, glad we could help!

    I'd like to keep the office system as simple as possible so I doubt I'll be doing mono Aegir's since that would require basically a complete overhaul of the system. Once I find a set of Red Birch S40's I may have to try a single Aegir and see if it will meet my needs, if you are seeing 110 dB peaks near field that should be loud enough to keep me happy, if not I can always fall back on Vidar or just move to my main system :)

    On the bass side, I've been ruined by the amount of bass the C4's put out, so I had to break down and add a sub to the office system to handle everthing 40Hz and down...

    You are correct on the S40's being a first order, I let my fingers get ahead of my brain. I was meaning to type that aside from the S40's they have seemed to move to 2nd order designs on all their new offerings.
     
  13. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    Aegir sounds like a nice lemonade
     
  14. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Yup its been reported by a few people that a single Aegir is more tubelike and sweeter than dual mono. I want a tubelike sound in a solid state amp so I just stuck with one. But if your using Yggdrasil or Gungnir MB BAL outputs then I can see the dual Aegirs sounding better, since those outputs are superior to SE.

    An office setup might work, but let me know how things go when you get both in. Really curious how S40 stack up with the Focus 260s. Another speaker set I was looking at, I know they are discontinued, but couldn't find any used in the States. A few guys here on SBAF have those speakers and I believe @toddrhodes tried dual Aegir but kept hitting protection mode.

    Yeah and XA25 is iceberg clear water delivered by penguins according to you. I blame you for making me spend more money.
     
  15. yonson

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    I prefer the S40 for everything other than the bass that's where the F260's really shine, however since I'm using a sub with them anyway that's really a moot point for me.

    Yeah, his experimenting was what told me that as much as I would like to try a pair of Aegir, they wouldn't work for me. I'm just going to hold out and hope Jason builds a higher power version of Aegir...
     
  16. Jimmydong

    Jimmydong New

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    Dual Aegirs using the xlr inputs absolutely sound better then 1 Aegir and thats even with highly efficient Tekton and Klipsch speakers.
    One aegir is great but two really take it to the next level in terms of transparency,bass soundstage ,etc.
     
  17. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    You lost me at "absolutely."
     
  18. Jimmydong

    Jimmydong New

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    Listen for yourself.
     
  19. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    The trade-offs between a single or dual-Aegir are well covered at the start of this thread from known sources.

    For those who like dual-Aegirs, I would recommend looking into well known class A/B amps, similar end result if not even better.
     
  20. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    SBAF usually hates contextless "better". Moreover, dual and single Aegirs take different kinds of inputs, which could be a serious confounder when source equivalence violated. As a rule of thumb, if you don't think everyone else easily translates your subjective assessments, avoid to use "absolutely", too.

    All things considered, it doesn't look like a nice way to start sbaf forum life. Post less and read more.
     

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