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Schiit headphone amp

P

per flemming

Registered User
Wonder if anyone tried these US headphone amplifiers ?

As someone stolen my Naim headline amp (oh shiit) I'm looking for the affordable Asgard, its $250 on manufacturers website.

According to a review they had some trafo hum issue, not sure if solved..
 
I owned one for over a year. I only sold it recently to help fund the upgrade from a dedicated headphone system back to 2-channel stereo again. My system was strictly headphones for quite a while. It's good, very good. I preferred it to several amplifiers (tube and solid state up to a Headamp GS-1, which is close to $1K American). It drove everything from Grado RS2i to AKG K701 to Sennheiser HD600 perfectly. Sonically it sounds very natural and non-fatiguing. There was just something "right" about it, especially with HD600. I'm going to buy another one sooner or later. For $250 it's a steal.
 
I'd have to agree with Greg788. It is an excellent amp and does sound very clean and smooth. For the money, the asgard is a great amp.
I currently use it with a pair of Denon AH-D2000 phones (recommended if you like closed phones), which were a significant improvement over my previous Audio Technica A700s. I guess that should be the case because the denon's cost twice as much! The A700s are still working well being powered from either my mp3 player or work laptop.

Regarding the headphone driver damage story, I have seen or heard no negative effects. There is obviously something happening though because, when I turn the amp off with the phones still on, there is slight "whoosh" sort of noise. If there is any concern, turn the amp on before plugging in the phones and disconnect them before turning the amp off...QED.

Turning the amp off after each session is, in my opinion, essential, because the thing gets damn hot (presumably due it's class A nature).

cheers
 
Sounds interesting, I expected it to be schiit :D

Seriously though I may well look at one of these for use in my bedroom system with a set of grado sr125s, it should sound great with a sneaky ds going on your reports.

I do think that brand name is funny though!
 
Glad to see thye fixed the issue eventually. Hands up if you are surprised headfi cow-tows to its sponsors.
 
Thanks for help, very interesting

Can anyone recommend me a pair of new phones to match the Asgard amp ?

Previously have thought of some Beyers or ATH M50 but haven't got a change to listen first. Also important to match correct Ohm impedance and not sure they fully match my requirements as below.

A friend has HD600 but lack of comfort was an issue here.

I prefer open types light & easy on ear, little pressure - budget same as Schiit amp or lower
 
Hard for me to say: I've got the HD650s and 448s and they both seem comfortable enough to me. Not sure how they compare to the HD600s.
Maybe the Denon 1100/2000s? Comfortable, but closed back. Not sure if that's your thing, but if you like the newer stuff, they're nice too.
Anything's more comfortable thant the Grados.
 
I figured you've got a naim amp, and last I checked from my Nait XS, there wasn't a good way to route the input straight back out (like you can in a rega amp).
 
No tape out?

I used the tape out of my naim amp into my headphone amplifier which worked well enough... Not as good as going straight from the source though...
 
I love the Valhallas with the Sennheiser HD 650s. That's what I use at home for the most part.
At work, I use the Asgard with the Grados.

Depends on the headphones you plan on getting though. The Valhallas apparently can't drive headphone with low impedences (anything under 300 apparently). The Asgards are made for low impedence headphones (32-300).
 
M@ver1ck said:
I love the Valhallas with the Sennheiser HD 650s. That's what I use at home for the most part.
At work, I use the Asgard with the Grados.

Depends on the headphones you plan on getting though. The Valhallas apparently can't drive headphone with low impedences (anything under 300 apparently). The Asgards are made for low impedence headphones (32-300).
Click to expand...

One minor thing...The Schiit website states that the Asgard can handles 8-600 ohms phones not, 32-300ohms.

From the website:

Specifications
Headphone Impedance: 8-600 ohms
Gain: 5 (14db)
Frequency Response: 2Hz-200KHz, -3dB
Maximum Output: 20V P-P typ.
THD: Less than 0.1%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V
Topology: Fully discrete FET, Class-A single-ended, zero feedback, noninverting, single voltage gain stage
Power Consumption: 35W
Size: 9 x 6.75 x 2.25”
Weight: 5 lbs
 
P.F. Not sure why you'd want to try your luck and change. I have 650s into (Olive) Headline powered from 552 and I can't imagine a better match. The 600s are as good a match.

If you still have your SLIC, I'd look for an Olive Headline replacement, especially if you've already got a Naim power supply.

You might get 'different' with a change, but not sure about 'better'.
 
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