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

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

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    LOL. I think you are taking the Schiit marketing too seriously.

    Let's see: "Okay. Let’s blow up this high-end nonsense. Here’s your ultra-high-end amplifier, without the ultra-high-end price. Welcome to the revolution...Vidar is nothing less than a no-excuses, exotic-topology, "
    And then this: "$699 ADD TO CART"

    If you know Jason in person, he likes to screw with people, and there is a lot of tongue and cheek. Ultra-high end summit-fi is not Schiit's customer base. From your reaction, you've let yourself be fucked with. It's your fault, not Schiit's.

    The topology. although not approved by Kevin Gilmore (since it doesn't use long-tailed pairs at the input) is actually pretty interesting. The power transformer is a pretty big honking EI piece, not a toroid. That's expensive and also rare in "high-end". Even high-end amps like the Hegel still use toroids (and are made in China).

    From my limited experience with the production unit, I don't think it sounds as good as the Pioneer M22 or M25 amp. But to me, nothing does, as the M22/25 are epic Japanese pieces from 40 years ago. But I do suspect the Vidar is on par with the Hegel H2 I have on hand which retailed for around $5000 and would probably sell used for $3000. My impressions are a ton of clean power, vice like grip on the drivers, and deep open soundstage (often a good sign for everything else).
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2017
  2. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    The black version is pretty sexy (Marv's pic):
    [​IMG]
     
  3. J Seymour

    J Seymour Acquaintance

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    Same as Winders, I also ordered 2 Vidars, which I will have on Thursday. Thanks to Winder's feedback, I will initially test with just one. I have a Freya and Spatial M3 Triode Masters. I assume his Tekton's are 4 ohm and my speakers are 16 ohm. Will that make a difference or I am still in overkill territory with 2 Vidars? I will post my results when I get the amps.
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2017
  4. winders

    winders boomer

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    My speakers are rated about 3db more efficient but at 4Ω versus 16Ω for your speakers. We don't know what Vidar is rated at with a 16Ω load. If Vidar is linear in this regard, Vidar in stereo mode may have only 50 watts per channel with a 16Ω load. Again, I don't know.

    In your case, I would test with one Vidar and see how much tube noise you have. It will be interesting to hear where you have to set the volume to get ~85db. In your situation, it would probably make sense to test with both.
     
  5. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    @Marvey I see the f'ing pixels.

    You're totally fine. Even 10wpc @ 16 ohms would net you another 10dB of gain which means 90 dB listening levels with 15dB of headroom reserved for transient peaks.
     
  6. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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    Darn it, no review of the sound bridged to mono! Still, looking forward to your review.
     
  7. Jozurr

    Jozurr Facebook Friend

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    Someone please try this with your HE-6 and post impressions. Also curious if it is different sounding than the ragnarok. Never really liked it with the HE-6.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
  8. scoop

    scoop New

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    I'm glad it wasn't just me who jumped on two. I have a pair of PMC FB1s (8 ohm impedance and 90 db 1w 1m) so may also be just un-boxing the one...!
     
  9. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    I'll be hopefully taking mine and the Saga over cskippy's one day or we will meet somewhere. It says shipped so no turning back now. He has an he-6. I'm sure others will post their impressions with it as well. It's an affordable way to put a ton of power into it. Marv recommended it.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
  10. Turdski

    Turdski New

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    Just ordered a Saga and Vidar. I'm looking forward to hearing them with the KEF Reference 102/2 pair I picked up yesterday for $150 CAD. Source will be Modi Multibit, which I also got for a great price (it was Headphone Bar's last remaining unit in stock). For a complete system for two-ish grand Canadian, I figure I could do far worse for that kind of dough.

    Addendum: I previously had a system consisting of: Gungnir Multibit > Ayre K-3x > Ayre V-5xe (then V-1xe) > Totem 'THE ONE' monitors, which was fuggin' great, but that system cost considerably more than this one.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
  11. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    The Vidar was at Schiit's table at the recent SoCAL SBAF meet, with a XLR adapter for headphones.
    It was driven by a modi MB and some single-ended tube preamp.

    The Susvara was there, as well as @ohhgourami's and my modded HE-6.
    The sound had a lot of authority and sounded good if a bit bright for my liking.
    The Vidar definitely has a good control over those damn drivers and it shows (compared to a headphone amp).
    However, I noticed a slight hum with the HE-6, despite the ambient noise*.

    Audio Zenith had their Yggdrasil + Rag setup, which I actually found sounded better to me, with a more agreeable tonality, focus and some organic quality to the sound.
    It's a apple vs orange comparison, though. I'm sure the Vidar would have benefited from a better source, too.

    (*) not too loud, for a meet, but meet conditions still apply.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    HE-5 / Code-X had hiss; so I would have some concerns with HE-6. Probably a lot of gain with Vidar - I haven't looked at specs yet.

    No hiss with Susvara, but Vidar did not hide the 3kHz bump. Agreed that Rag with it's lower mid emphasis and softer treble was a better overall match.

    But man... the authority and grip. Vidar grabs those testicles and makes it do what it wants. Sorry, been watching too much Rick and Morty lately. Probably a laid back source would have made everything just right with the SUSVARA.
     
  13. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Schiit posted some images of the inside and PCB. It reminds me a lot of the AMB Beta-24 amp.
     
  14. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Susvara has a higher impedance (60Ω vs 50Ω, both @~83dB) so it sounded quieter than the HE-6.

    Vidar has a hopping 27dB gain, which is too much for today's applications, IMO (1.28V to full output).
     
  15. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    We had no problem with our 45wpc @ 8 ohms amp and the Triode Masters at AXPONA, and many agreed that it also sounded good. Of course the curves are going to be different and tubes vs SS, etc, but I don't think you'll need or want more than one Vidar.
     
  16. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    lol what?


    Messages Image(177021734).png
     
  17. winders

    winders boomer

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    It's a programming port. Freya has one too.....
     
  18. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    It's a secret MQA input to drive the output transistors directly.
     
  19. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    look it was an oversight ok? :p
     
  20. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    Ha, looks a bit more like SkyNet for your amp :)
     

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