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

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by Rotijon, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    Thanks for taking time to respond, nope it's only a mechanical hum. nothing from speakers ! I was just curious myself after people posting about it.
     
  2. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    There are many posts about the "noise" or hum. People got panic and worried that their Vidar is not the "best" Vidar ever made. In fact, I've heard "hum" from several Hi-Hi-End power amps (prefer not to say the brands) due to the owner's poor power line (AC) conditions and other issues. Nowadays, many companies use toroidal transformers, which are smaller in size and lower in hum in nature than EI transformers. Unfortunately, the toroidal transformers are sensitive to high-frequency RFI (e.g. the noise "transfer" into the power amp) and it would be hard and very expensive to suppress those noise in the power amp. When not done properly, people usually describe the sound of the amp as ear-fatiguing.

    The Vidar uses EI transformer, which is sensitive to AC line problem in nature as Jason mentioned (DC in the AC line etc.). Some people report louder hum than others, which is highly possible due to their home has high DC in AC line. I personally like the choice of using EI transformer - it is a fine balance between making a musical sounding amp and cost control. Compare to toroidal transformer, EI transformers have higher immunity to RFI (such as dimmable lights, most wall warts in our house). I'd rather to have a power amp with a EI core so that I can enjoy music without break my bank. This is merely a layman's explanation. There are many articles on the web compare the pros and cons of EI-core, C-core, and toroidal transformers.

    Edited: color code removed.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2018
  3. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    @hifiandrun - don't explicitly colour your text. If you do that, it will always look bad in the other site theme. Leave colours as they are and let CSS take the strain.
     
  4. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    I'm waiting for Vidars to be in stock in iurop, but that's something I can't decide.

    Biamping or bridge mono?

    SCM19s are pretty dang power hungry, they really really like more than 100wpc ... bridge would be the most power, but then it's push-pull which I'm not a huge fan of.

    Help me make up my damn mind :confused:
     
  5. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    I ordered a Vidar and Saga last week. Still waiting on confirmation of shipping. Ultimately it is for my bedroom with ELAC Unifi UB5 bookshelves, but I am also intrigued to try it on my main system with Focal Electra 1028 Be II. I am not expecting great things, but hopefully it proves to be a performer. With the Focals I will be comparing it to an Audio-GD Master 10 which I've had for several years. I paid just 2 bills more for it used compared to what the Vidar and Saga ran. It seems like a strange comparo, but I am interested to see how it works out.
     
  6. alubis

    alubis Acquaintance

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    I'm assuming your speaker is atc scm19 passive. I used to have atc scm40 passive driven with musical fidelity m6i. The m6i have enough power to drive scm40, but I heard the atc amplifier and it is a better match. Since I think you are in europe, I would suggest used atc amps either the integrated SIA2 or P1. ATC amplifier is known to have high damping factor which suits the speaker.

    Hegel is a great match too. Hegel H160 would be powerful enough for scm19.

     
  7. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    @alubis those options are all 2x-4x the price of 2 Vidars.
     
  8. alubis

    alubis Acquaintance

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    I did mentioned used on my post. Used prices for sia 2 and hegel 160 are around usd 1700 to 2000.

     
  9. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I have one Vidar running my ATC SCM19 v2 and I find it to be plenty of power. I compared it to the Hegel H80, Exposure 3010S2 and Cambridge Audio 851w power amp (using Saga and Freya as Preamp) - I preferred the Vidar to all, and didn't find the additional "rated" power of the Exposure and the Cambridge (which is 200w / channel) added anything to the ATCs - however I have a fairly small room (11' x 17') and tend to play around ~80db avg. There is a ton of headroom left to spare that's for sure. Jason has said they are underrated, and I think I believe it. Not sure if that helps at all.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2018
  10. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    Thanks for this. Exposure is one lower cost line that my local dealer has and I've been meaning to try them out. It was one option I had looked at for my recent bedroom setup. I'm sure I will borrow one at some point, but it's good to reference your experience here. I tried the Hegel H80 recently on my main Focal system and I did not think it was anything spectacular in terms of performance, but still adequate. You could say it was forgettable because I forgot I had tried it until just reading your comments. I appreciated it as a very "smartly" designed piece of hardware, though. I really like their execution in terms of power button placement on the front bottom of the chassis and remote controlled standby mode. This was just a convenience that I never knew I wanted until I had it available to me. The internal DAC was absolute crap, however.
     
  11. Greg121986

    Greg121986 Almost "Made"

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    Well unfortunately I've had to cancel my Schiit order. After a week I emailed for a status update because my order was only showing as "Blk Vidar." I am told there is a delay on some parts for Vidar so the lead time will be a few weeks if they receive these parts as planned. I am too impatient for this and I don't want to potentially miss an opportunity to find something used while this order sits in limbo. If I don't find anything else I will probably just order again once they are in stock, but part of the fun in the mean time is searching Audiogon et. al. daily to find something cool.
     
  12. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Why not keep your order active until you find something else - if you don't, then you don't lose your place in the queue.

    Honestly I would love to know of another amp, even used, in the same price range as Vidar that beats it solidly (aside from maybe some of the vintage stuff like Pioneer m22).
     
  13. direstraitsfan98

    direstraitsfan98 D2Girls v2.0

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    I'm not sure if it beats it solidly but it does offer arguably more value. The Anthem 225 integrated. From my experience its a great amp. Should add it to the loaner program at some point, only thing is it weighs about 45lb.
     
  14. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Yeah I've been eyeing the Anthem for quite a while, but I assumed this was more in the realm of Cambridge or Nad amps - great for the money, lots of wattage, but nothing spectacular from a SQ perspective. The more I listen to Vidar with Saga/Freya and compare to other amps, the more I realize how good those products are - not just for the money, but for 2x-3x the money.
     
  15. direstraitsfan98

    direstraitsfan98 D2Girls v2.0

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    I've never actually heard a CA amp nor a NAD but I've never seen anyone compare the Anthem to those two manufactures. I was really impressed with the 225, I'd safely say it's a big step above the average NAD amp (I think they make some pretty decent and very power amps) and certainly much better than CA offerings.
     
  16. JohnnyCanuck

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    When I replaced my Parasound Halo A23 with a Vidar amp last year there were many improvements that were immediately obvious. The biggest improvement, though, was in my vinyl playback system (Clearaudio Concept w/ Concept MC cartridge, PS Audio GCPH phono stage, Audio by Van Alstine Avastar preamp, Zu Essence speakers). Surface noise was greatly reduced - to an astonishing degree. I don't have many records with ticks or pops but those that I do have were much less intrusive. Bass frequencies just solidified but improvements in the midrange were a surprise. More detail, clearer transients, increased dynamics. And I only changed the power amp.

    I originally attributed these improvements to the larger open-loop bandwidth of the Vidar over the A23 but I also believe that the characteristics of Vidar's EI power transformer over the A23's toroid are also responsible for some of the improvement that I hear.

    I sold the A23.

    JC
     
  17. HotRatSalad

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    I've only had Yamaha and parasound gear like 5 years and the saga/vidar with my same old epos epic 2 speakers is like redisovering all my favorite albums. Spinning vinyl with a SL1200 $270 MM cart and $300 phono stage and I'm loving it. Now if I could only pull myself away from Valhalla 2 Modi Multibit hd 600 combo...
     
  18. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I know Anthem is very well regarded in Home Theater, but I'm less familiar with their 2-channel chops. I remain curious but skeptical. If I see one come up used for a steal, I may try it out.
     
  19. JohnnyCanuck

    JohnnyCanuck Acquaintance

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    There are a couple of refurbished units for sale here.

    JC
     
  20. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    So I know this is the wrong thread for this, not sure where the advice section is so mods feel free to move and my apologies in advance. I've been really enjoying my Saga/Vidar combo for the past couple weeks. It is a bedroom system so fairly small room (12x16ish). Bass traps in the corners and treated first reflection points. Current speakers are rated as 90dB efficient, they are bipolars and I have put a lot of trial and error into placement, and there is a pair of small powered subs also. I typically listen fairly loud - around 3 o'clock on the Saga which translates to around 85-90 dB(Z) average according to REW with my UMIK-1 at my listening position, about 2.5 meters. Occasionally I will turn it up to 4 o'clock with really quiet sources. I'm using the tube output stage. Today I took delivery of a pair of pre-owned Maggie MG12s. Got a really good deal on them so I thought I would see if they are as good as everyone says they are. No question they sound pretty awesome, but the thing is, they just don't get as loud as I am used to listening. In fact I can turn the Saga right up to it's max 5 o'clock, and it is still quieter than I usually listen with my other speakers, and with no headroom to go louder at all. I know the Maggies are quite a bit less efficient at 86dB, but it seems to me the Vidar should be able to drive them louder than it apparently can. Am I missing something here? Do I really need a second Vidar? Some thoughts from the experts would be much appreciated.
     

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