Schitt Folkvangr Thread: speculation, impressions, questions

Folkvangr is so hot right now.

 

It makes me really happy (and feel much more secure) in my purchase of the Lyr 3 to see this. I have been struggling with this question for months: can I/would I do better than the Lyr 3 at around $1k? $1.5k? Or would I need to hold out for a major step up?

 

This is a central dilemma in this hobby. Using < $500 (or with inflation, perhaps $700 now) dacs, amps, and HP's, you can put together a pretty nice setup for around $1500 total (excluding source analog and/or digital hardware/software).

To get that final 15% of resolution, detail, extension, subtlety, dimensionality, headstage, "realism", etc. you have to "upgrade" to > $2k dacs, amps, and HP's for a total cost of > $6k. Even by carefully shopping the used market, your not going to bring this down too much.

There might be exceptions, but these are idiosyncratic to the person and thus won't be agreed upon by large consensus. My bedside setup remains an OG (not the current "MG") Clear moded with Dekoni pads, and an older Shanling AKM M6 Pro DAP. The cost of this setup is just over >$1500 and to my ears is in a real "in between" (so much better than some sub $1500 setup, but not the equal of my expensive Yggdrasil/starlett/utopia main rig), but that's because I like what it does right and can largely ignore certain limitations. To another person this setup would not qualify as anything more than yet-another-compromised 85% system.

In the end only you can answer your the question of SQ and value, and how any piece of gear like the Folkvangr might fit in the equation...

 

In my experience there are amps in the $1k to $1.5K range that outperform a Lyr 3, but it does depend on your choice of headphone and personal preferences. I prefer the sound of a full tube amp when driving high impedance dynamics and there are some good sub $1500 tube amps. The Lyr isn’t as euphonic or holographic as a full tube amp, which are two qualities I highly value. If I owned a bunch of high end planar headphones I would likely have a different opinion.

 

Got a silver Folkvangr on order. It will go here:



I am not sure if Folkvangr + HE1000 will be too much of sweet, velvety sound, or whether it will replace the Ragnarok 2 in the stack.

A backup option is to bring the Folkvangr to our holiday home to pair with my HD820s, replacing the HDV820 to warm things up a bit.

 

Pretty much. I went from Bifrost 2 and Lyr3 to an upgraded Bottlehead Mainline and Yiggy LIM. Pretty much don't care about upgrading again at any point unless something drastically better is released, or I get bored.

But, that went from around $1,100 all in to more in the neighborhood of $4k all in.

 

So wait, does Folkvangr qualify as awesomesauce?

 

I just wanna see someone hang a pot over a tube amp and cook/boil an egg.

 

“This is your brain. This is your brain on tubes. Any questions?”

 

In my Kung Fu Audio Movie, Shaolin monks imprint their forearms with Zana Deux 6C33C-B power triodes.

Something great about Folkvangr that nobody is mentioning: Schiit reliability and support later if needed. That is a big benefit.

To be honest, buying an older Eddie Current amp also requires maintenance (replacing caps, resistors, etc.). Like getting into an old exotic sportscar. Good to have a local mechanic.

It's a crazy time to launch a tube amp (that uses so many stock tubes too). I'm stoked to see this option become available and forward to hearing it in Texas next month!

 

@CEE TEE has a pretty good point.

I will tell my own experience and the amount of times i have been thinking "what will i do when my Crimson decides to stop working" and having a company that is reliable and ready to fix a piece of gear means A LOT, specially nowadays on a "shop this, have it for 2-5 y and throw it away" society.

Being able to have that safety is also significant and should be something to consider when buying gear.

 

Absolutely.

My primary reasons for not buying DNA or EC amps:

1) One man operations.
2) I don't have skill / knowledge to maintain myself
3) Less common tubes or parts that could get expensive or rare
4) Form factor, too yuge. It has to fit inside an Yggdrasil footprint.
5) $2000 is the mental maximum I can pay for a single component

Folkvangr has none of these drawbacks. If I like it better than Mjolnir 2, then that's end game for me.

 

Ordered FV in silver. Can't wait. Expecting a big upgrade from my Woo Wa7tp.

 

Having owned a wa7 about 9 years ago, almost any amp is an upgrade. When you hear some different tube apps, you realize just how bad and smoothed over the wa7 actually is. And congratulations

 

Good to know. I had also tried the original Magni, Valhalla 2, and Lyr 2 and ended up going with the Woo because it sounded the richest to me at the time. That was fairly early in my journey though, so I'm curious to see how things will compare.

 

Recommend mods move the above impressions to the main Folkvangr thread.