New Schiit / Preamps and Power Amp (was Putting the Schiit Signal Up)

Discussion in 'Preamps' started by purr1n, Oct 6, 2016.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Last edited: Nov 10, 2016
  2. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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  3. Out Of Your Head

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  4. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

    pictures come out broken for me?
     
  5. Out Of Your Head

    Out Of Your Head Friend

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    Updated my post to links to images. Sorry.
     
  6. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Friday is press day, correct? Are any of you eligible to go inside for RMAF?
     
  7. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    schiit.com... refresh... refresh... refresh...
     
  8. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    SCHIIT PREVIEWS 2-CHANNEL LINE AT RMAF

    Remote-Control Preamps and Stereo/Mono Power Amp Help Bring Sanity Back to High-End Pricing

    10/7/2016, Denver, Colorado. Schiit previewed the first products in its 2-channel line at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, including the Saga passive/tube hybrid preamp at $349, the Freya balanced tube/buffer/passive preamp at $699, and the Vidar 100W/400W stereo/mono power amplifier at $699. All products were designed as no-compromise high-end components, using design techniques and topologies typically seen on much more expensive gear.

    "It's time to decouple the high-end/high-price connection," said Jason Stoddard, co-founder of Schiit Audio. "There's plenty of mega-price gear out there, but we wanted to create great products that almost anyone can afford."

    At the same time, Stoddard says, they didn't want to compromise on the performance of the components. Which is why the preamplifiers use extreme high-end design techniques such as relay-switched stepped attenuators (rather than a volume control IC or a potentiometer), and employ highly linear 6SN7-type tubes on 200 or 300V rails in the active stages. It's why the power amp was designed to double its rated power from 8 ohms to 4 ohms, why it uses an exotic current-feedback topology, why it has no capacitors or DC servos in the signal path, and why it is dual mono back to the transformer. The amplifier also employs a 100% linear power supply (no switchers) and is class A/B (not Class D.)

    "These new preamps and power amp are the perfect companions to our line of multibit DACs," said Mike Moffat. "Combine them with any of the DACs—from the $249 Modi Multibit to the $2299 Yggdrasil—and you have a really amazing system, without the heart-attack price."

    Schiit is showing three products at RMAF:

    Saga
    Remote Passive/Active Preamp
    • Relay switched stepped attenuator (64 steps)
    • Selectable passive or tube hybrid buffer operation
    • Tube hybrid buffer uses 6SN7 tube and 200V rails
    • 5 inputs, 2 outputs
    • Full remote control
    • Shipping October 2016 for $349
    Freya
    Balanced Remote Passive/Active Preamp
    • Relay switched stepped attenuator (128 steps)
    • Selectable passive, JFET buffer, or tube gain operation
    • Tube gain stage uses (4) 6SN7 tubes and 300V rail
    • 2 balanced inputs, 3 SE inputs, balanced and SE outputs
    • Full remote control
    • Shipping October 2016 for $699
    Vidar
    Intelligent Stereo/Mono Power Amplifier
    • 100W RMS per channel into 8 ohms, 200W RMS per channel into 4 ohms (stereo)
    • 400W RMS into 8 ohms (mono)
    • Current-feedback gain stage with dual mono topology back to the transformer
    • No capacitors or DC servos in signal path, no switching supplies, no class D
    • Microprocessor-controlled operational point management and protection
    • Shipping Estimated Q1 2017 for $699
    Saga, Freya, and Vidar, like all Schiit products, are made in the USA (really.)

    Schiit will be playing Freya and two Vidars in mono configuration, together with the Yggdrasil DAC and Salk streamer and Salk loudspeakers in Room 2003 at RMAF. Saga will be on static display. Schiit's desktop product line will also be displayed in the CanJam tent.

    About Schiit Audio

    Founded in June 2010 by Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, Schiit has grown into a leader in affordable high-end audio, with a wide range of products spanning DACs, headphone amplifiers, and preamplifiers, from $49 to $2299.

    Jason Stoddard was the former engineering lead at Sumo, designing power amps that included Polaris II, Polaris III, Andromeda III, Ulysses, Ulysses II, The Ten, The Five, as well as preamplifiers including Athena II, Diana, and Artemis, and Sumo’s first digital line: Axiom and Theorem.

    Mike Moffat was the founder of Theta, Theta Digital, and Angstrom, and his audio history covers an impressive list of firsts, including the first standalone DAC, the Theta DSPre, the first use of digital signal processing and bit-perfect digital filter algorithms, the first DTS surround processor, and more.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2016
  9. lithium

    lithium Almost "Made"

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    ha ha I guess people who heard it can spill the beans now....
     
  10. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I thought they would release different active and passive preamps instead they did both in one box!!
     
  11. Pyruvate

    Pyruvate Friend

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  12. kevnin

    kevnin #facetweeting - Friend

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    Interesting. Mod Jotunheim to bypass volume control, use it with Freya to create an $1100 tube hybrid balanced headphone amp with pivot point topology and remote volume control?
     
  13. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Jason is not a fan of announcing stuff before its available for sale. I wonder how much nail biting is going on at Schiit today?
     
  14. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    stereo 100W/200W or 400W/~800W monoblocks! Wonder if the pivot-point topology solves the "compromise" a lot of stereo amps have when running in mono mode... hmmm!

    No pics yet, so Yggdrasil/rggy style, or big Jot style... hmmmm Bummer it's not avail until Q1 2017

    EDIT: (put a squiggly in front of 800W) ~800W: as hit 800W, flames, clipping, or CPU shutoff, whichever comes first :D
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2016
  15. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    I have to wonder. Was this part of Jason's roadmap all along? To use the headphone market as an inexpensive testing ground while Mike sorted out what worked and what didn't? Or was power amps something which they found out they wanted to do along the way? I'd be fine either way really, just curious how much of this was planned years in advance and what not.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2016
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Just put jotunheim on max volume
     
  17. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    I was wondering how many EC amps can be used as a preamp for the Vidar? I mean if a ZDS can, how many SBAF boners would that combo induce?
     
  18. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I don't think it does 800w into 4 ohms unless they listed 400w into 2 ohm stereo. The reason why is that as a BTL it sees the load as half the impedance. So the 8 ohm load is like a 4ohm load in mono and at 4 ohms each channel does 200w, for a total of 400w.
     
  19. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    I quoted the famous Dr Johnson, saying, He who is tired of Schiit must be tired of life, and said that I was indeed tired of Schiit.

    Have to admit though, that a good pre/power setup could light the fires of interest once again, if only from a distance. And a reasonably-priced pre-amp is needed by so many people. Heck, I bought a second-hand pre-amp just to switch sources and control volume into powered speakers

    Super. Wish I was young and buying hifi again! :pirate07:
     
  20. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I will be getting one of those preamps. Just need to decide which one. The power amp would be total overkill for my purposes but I'm so curious to hear impressions.
     

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