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I'm thinking about getting the Schiit Asgard 2 headphone amp and was curious to know if anyone has experience with any of the Schitt headphone amps. What do you think? I'm not looking for 'high-end' but can you get pretty good results in the $150 - $350 range from these guys?
I'll be "casually" using Grado RS1e or Sennheiser HD650. I say "casually" because it will be attached to my laptop computer while I work. Thanks.
Follow Ups:
I had the Asgard 2 for a long time and absolutely loved it with the Bifrost (first Uber then Multibit). It had enough power to handle anything I could plug into it, and was even quiet enough to handle sensitive IEMs. Detail retrieval was quite good. I have since moved on to the Mjolnir 2, which is stunning, but it was a hard decision to let go of the Asgard.
I have read that the WE6 is a great match for the Sennheiser HD650.
I will be using my WA6 with my Fostex. For me I have a pair of the Fostex T50RP's with Sony Ear pad. I did some mods to the vents and they now sound great.
I may pick up the new Fostex T50RP III's.
i have the Asgard 2 with the Bifrost Multibit driving my HIFIMan HE400s, it sounds great to me, no noise, no hum, plenty of volume. i do believe it will drive any headphone you want to plug into it.
have been using the Feliks Audio Elise since about April and of the amps I have had, this one is by and large the best I have heard under $1000.00. Using the Visseaux 6n7G's and Tung Sol 5998's with the Senn 800 also use is as a preamp and it sounds spectacular. Wide sound stage clear defined across the audio spectrum, well worth the price, now about &700 with stock tubes.
Hi !
i bought 2nd hand the Magni 2 for casual listening.
And i am finding it very good indeed also for more serious listening.
I have tried it with Akg k501 and k701 and like the k501 better.
It sounds better after a while (not class A ... the chassis does not get hot).
I like the fact that the power supply (a transformer) is external and not mounted rigidly on the circuit board.
There is an Uber version said to be even better.
I understand it has better parts and more refined circuit ?
I would buy the Uber version but shipping and custom to Europe are expensive.
Kind regards,
bg
I bought it after I moved my Lyr 2 down to my main rig. The Magni 2 Uber is upstairs in my office. It is fed by an Ifi iDSD Nano USB DAC and hooked to a Toshiba S75Dt-A7220 via a Pangea Silver USB Cable.
The Magni 2 Uber is driving my HiFi Man HE-400S cans and does a dammed nice job. I can only compare it to the Lyr 2 and the headphone amp built into the Ifi Nano.
The Magni 2 Uber is surprisingly close in sound quality when compared to the Lyr 2. The Lyr 2 has the last word in resolution but the Magni 2 Uber leaves very little to want.
When you compare the Magni 2 Uber to the amp built into the IfI nano there is little left to say other than it leaves the Ifi in the dust. The HE-400S is a very sensitive set of cans but they jump alive when you stick the Magni 2 Uber in between the IfI and the HE-400S.
The low end jumps to life and it frees up the HE-400S with greater dynamics. The Magni 2 Uber is a no-brainer type of recommendation when you consider the $150 price tag. You can pay a lot more and get much less.
The Magni 2 Uber delivers an honest and clean 1.5 watts to 32 Ohms. It is very quiet (not a hint of noise when turned up very high) and I have yet to hear it sound a bit strained or have the high frequency sound strident.
Its pretty ridiculous for $150.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
Hi !
there is a guy here selling his Lyr "1st edition".
I do not have a clue about the difference with the 2nd edition by the way.
Do you have any advice ?
I like the hybrid amp idea a lot.
Thanks a lot again.
Kind regards,
bg
Sorry.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
Hi ! no problem.
I like the hybrid concept.
I will look for one.
Thanks again.
Kind regards,
bg
Thank you very much indeed for your extremely valuable advice.
I had this feeling that the Magni 2 is fine but the Uber is a notch above ... the pot is better quality i think.
i just love its built.
I will look at how much is here in Europe because i think i will buy one immediately.
One sector of experimentation is the external transformer.
I would try to use a really good and more substantial one. A higher current unit.
Thanks a lot again for the very helpful advice.
Have a nice day.
Kind regards,
bg
paired with a Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC. I use them with a modded Fostex T50RP, a Sennheiser Momentum, and a few other headphones. My primary use of the system is to edit sound and music in my documentary films. The Asgard is very neutral and musical. It reminds me of my speaker amps, a Pass Aleph 5, a Pass Labs XA-30.5, and Coda 10.5. Perhaps it's because, like the Asgard 2, they all run in Class A. Highly recommended, as is Schiit as a company. Exemplary responsiveness!
I bought a Valhalla 2 about a month back. It's driving a pair of HE-400S cans and after about 50 hours of break-in it sounds really good. Good sound stage and very articulate. It does great driving my HD-580's as well. Great value.
Al
I have a Lyr and a Bifrost Uber DAC. I have lots of 6922 varients and am using NOS Seimens CCAs in the lyr now. Its a nice entry level headphone system for my Senn HD 600s and 702s.
You might think about buying used. Go to Head Fi forums and check the for sale forum.
I am upgrading this year. I just ordered a headphone cable and balanced ICs from WyWires. Next month I amy ordering Mr. Speakers Ether C. Then a Schiit Yiggy , then an MJ2. I like their Schiit!!
Well, I am finished this upgrade. Here is my new system with Ether Cs , HD600s and AKG 702s
I was just looking around for a head amp as well as my RS-1 seems to have some problems. In any case, I came across the Objective O2 which is open source and sold in various colors including a DIY kit. While doing the research I came across some controversy regarding the Asgaard. Apparently it could develop significant DC offset on shutdown which could damage the headphones. The developer of the O2 ended up getting banned from Head-Fi over the issue. Also as a result the Asgaard now has a mute relay which I guess solves the problem.
You might want to do your own search and also take a look at the Objective O2. I have no experience with the Asgaard or the O2 but have been pleased with the Modi DAC from Schiit.
Abe, are you in Colorado?
There is a small group from Head-Fi meeting for a "canjam" in Boulder on January 23rd. Good opportunity to hear a variety of gear:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/789994/2016-boulder-denver-co-winter-meet-1-23
Jim D
I don't have any of their headphone amps, but I have an original Modi and it's insane how good it sounds for a hundred bucks. It's making me think hard about whether or not my next DAC upgrade is a Benchmark or just a Bifrost for a few hundred more...
Jim J.
How does Schiit compare to Burson?
which I have been using with my LCD-3 and HD600 phones for about three years. Good price and very good performance have made me a fan. I own several Schiit products.
The Asgard 2 is on my radar screen, but thinking I'll pull the trigger on the Burson Lycan.
Its an outstanding product but today is the first day for the amp. So far its outstanding and worth more than what I paid.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
I have heard good things about Schiit products, but if you like tube rolling for your 650's the Garage 1217 Project Ember is for you, power to run the 650's and tube rolling from 9 pins to 6SN7's to dual 6L5G's lot's to chose from. I am using dual6j5.s from Visseaux now and sound is excellent, now using Senn 700's with them as well.
And a plentiful supply of old used 6922s that have been pulled out of the L1 after a year of use. I have a lot of Russian Military NOS 6922 Type IIIs (the really tough ones that are very transparent and dead neutral). I also have some NOS National 7DJ8s that I plan to try in the Lyr 2.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
7DJ8s should rock in that. I swapped a few in to a Decware CSP2, and they just sing. Fairly good price compared to "boutique" 6DJ8s, too.
Jim J.
I tried the 6922 Type IIIs and they were outstanding. Then I tried the National 7DJ8s and I have settled on those in the Lyr 2. The 7DJ8s were slightly better than the 6922 IIIs.
I suppose they should last a very long time in the Lyr 2. The pair I am using now spent 1 year in the Audible Illusions L1 and are performing beautifully.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
I use an Asgard 2 to drive my Audeze LCD2 phones, which it does with aplomb.
One annoyance: the Asgard 2 runs in pure Class A, so it's hot. That's ok in and of itself, but the on-off toggle switch is on the back panel. There's also a hi-lo gain toggle switch back there. So you won't want to leave it on all the time, and if you use an equipment rack you'll be fumbling around blind for the right toggle switch. You have to wonder how much improvement in performance and cost was achieved by that layout.
Happy listening,
Jim
"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno
I have a Valhalla, which is my go-to amp for my Sennheiser 600s.
I bought it used, and heard all sorts of terrible stories about how they won't honor warranties if you're not the original seller. Well, of course it developed a problem that was not tube-related and I had to send it in. To be honest, the initial round of questions made me fearful, but at the end of the day, they repaired my amp and the price tag was under $32 (plus shipping it there).
So I would rate them gruff exterior but kind-hearted underneath.
Jeff
"Decaf is for cowards."
Jack Kevorkian
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