Jump to content

New 20 watt amp from Schitt Audio


EmilC

Recommended Posts

On 5/22/2019 at 11:56 AM, Endo said:

 

I love this chart, especially PWK's description of the various sound levels. (For those interested, Dope-from-Hope (Vol.16, No. 1). I haven't heard everything there is to hear, but I've heard a lot... and I remain convinced that a properly designed and implemented horn is as-good-as-it-gets. Never confuse a bad implementation of an otherwise good idea with a bad idea. [ Thank You, PWK ]

power-and-horns.png

 

According to PWK's chart above, and the fact that the Heresy III's are now more efficient than the II's and I's, AND the fact I have only hit peaks of about 102 dB at my seat in this somewhat small room, I most likely haven't even broken these amps out of the 10 watt Class A mark yet. Not that I'm concerned about it anyway. Besides, this new "Continuity" design is supposed to sound like Class A all the way up to max power. I'm sorry, but if I'm dumping anything near 80 watts into my Heresy III's, I'm very stupid, and afterwords, very deaf. 

 

 

 

On 6/6/2019 at 3:40 AM, justinsweber said:

I own 2 of the Schiit Aegirs  super music. More relaxed than I expected.  Not the tightest bass but super musical.  One of the very best SS amps I’ve heard in a bit. 

 

My chain is c2600. 2 Aegirs into my 2way Coenheresy speakers. 94db efficient. 

 

Recommend whole heartily 

 

Kind of odd that you say that the bass isn't the tightest. I found that after switching over from the PS Audio Stellar M700 amps to these little Schiit Aegir amps, bass is in fact tighter, more solid and more textured. And yes, that's with the subs turned off. Although, speaking of the subs, they get their signal from the amps, not via RCA, so even through the subs, I could tell a slight difference in punch, tightness and detail moving up to the Aegir amps. 

 

p3678736123-5.jpg

 

p3849978936-5.jpg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are trade offs when bridging an amplifier. Higher gain, higher output impedance, and higher slew rate. The slew rate may be  what you hear as an improvement in bass quality.
  Driving LS II with bridged Micromega MyAmps. Doubt going from 30 watts to 120 is audible with LS II. Something is. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
On 6/6/2019 at 2:40 AM, justinsweber said:

I own 2 of the Schiit Aegirs  super music. More relaxed than I expected.  Not the tightest bass but super musical.  One of the very best SS amps I’ve heard in a bit. 

 

My chain is c2600. 2 Aegirs into my 2way Coenheresy speakers. 94db efficient. 

 

Recommend whole heartily 

I totally agree. A very sophisticated sounding amp on Klipsch speakers. Warm, laid back, full sounding midrange but very detailed at the same time.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
22 minutes ago, SWL said:

Aegir. No doubt.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

With everything I have read about the Vidar and Aegir, I am leaning toward the Aegir.  My LaScalas are as efficient as the mighty Klipschorns but the LaScalas do not go as low on the bass, I am currently using an 8wpc single ended tube amp that uses KT66 tubes and I can play the LaScalas extremely loud. I want to find a great sounding solid state amp to replace the tube amp. The best sounding solid state amp I ever had was in a Pioneer SX-424 receiver I used in the middle 1970's, it was only 12wpc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also have an Aegir that I use with my Klipschorns. Very nice amp in my system but not totally quiet (very faint hiss). Otherwise a great amp, though I use a Crown now on the bass bin and let the Aegir have the K402s. The Aegir loves the mids but the Crown gives better bass detail.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, rjw1678 said:

With everything I have read about the Vidar and Aegir, I am leaning toward the Aegir.  My LaScalas are as efficient as the mighty Klipschorns but the LaScalas do not go as low on the bass, I am currently using an 8wpc single ended tube amp that uses KT66 tubes and I can play the LaScalas extremely loud. I want to find a great sounding solid state amp to replace the tube amp. The best sounding solid state amp I ever had was in a Pioneer SX-424 receiver I used in the middle 1970's, it was only 12wpc.

What you are looking for is a single ended class A SS amplifier. Unless mistaken all single ended tube amplifiers are class A. Admittedly most all SE class A amplifiers use output devices with curves like pentode tubes except the SIT amplifiers from Nelson Pass, Firstwatt. Static induction transistors (SIT) have curves much like triodes.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I received my Schiit Audio Aegir amp about 2 hours ago. I have a pair of Klipsch LaScala speakers. My previous amp was an Inspire Hot Rod KT66 tube amp built by Dennis Had(8 watts) and my pre-amp is a McIntosh C2500 with Sovtek 12AX7LPS tubes. Within the first couple minutes I could tell that the Aegir was a noticeable improvement over the Inspire Hot Rod tube amp, even though the tube amp sounds very nice. The more I listen to my system with the  Aegir, the more I want to listen to it, very nice sounding.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/12/2021 at 5:41 AM, henry4841 said:

What you are looking for is a single ended class A SS amplifier. 

I agree, I am using DIY PASS design class A amps for mids and highs and can highly recommend them. I am also building a SIT amp and hope it out performs the M2x I am using for mids. If it does, I will move the M2x to HF duty and retire the ACA I am using now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I received my Schiit Audio Aegir amp about 2 hours ago. I have a pair of Klipsch LaScala speakers. My previous amp was an Inspire Hot Rod KT66 tube amp built by Dennis Had(8 watts) and my pre-amp is a McIntosh C2500 with Sovtek 12AX7LPS tubes. Within the first couple minutes I could tell that the Aegir was a noticeable improvement over the Inspire Hot Rod tube amp, even though the tube amp sounds very nice. The more I listen to my system with the  Aegir, the more I want to listen to it, very nice sounding.
That's great news. I've found that the Aegir paired with a tube preamp is an excellent combination. An upgraded power cord was a noticeable improvement as well as with the Vidar. The magic is real, baby. [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, grendel23 said:

I agree, I am using DIY PASS design class A amps for mids and highs and can highly recommend them. I am also building a SIT amp and hope it out performs the M2x I am using for mids. If it does, I will move the M2x to HF duty and retire the ACA I am using now.

Which diy Pass A amp did you build? I have built most all of them including the Zen versions as well. I recently finished my SE Vet amplifier I won on the lottery. Fantastic sounding amplifier that sounds like my many SET amplifiers. Mine is the first build using the 2SJ28 V-fet. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, henry4841 said:

Which diy Pass A amp did you build?

I built the M2x, F5 and ACA. I prefer the M2x over the F5. I didn't win the Vfet lottery, so bought Tokin SITs and am building a Sissy SIT. I am hoping it combines the best traits of my SS class A amps, and my 300b SE tube amp.

I have been sidetracked by my newly acquired K-402s, I have to re-arrange my living room to fit them in, then I will get back to amp building.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/12/2021 at 3:41 AM, henry4841 said:

With everything I have read about the Vidar and Aegir, I am leaning toward the Aegir. 

Good luck with your new Aegir. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

 

Being a total Newbie faced with the same decision I thought more power was better power so I bought a Vidar. Then, I bought another Vidar. Then, I bought an Aegir so I could drive the highs and power the lows on my Cornwall IIIs with 2 Vidars as monoblocks. Schiit says that's 400 watts per channel into 8 ohms. Sounded pretty good. Pretty good but I expected something more so I thought a Schiit Saga would make a good pre amp. I guess it did but I wanted something better, I guess. So, I got a Schiit Freya+ pre allowing me to go balanced from Freya+ to the Vidars and use the Saga as pre for the Aegir. Sounds pretty good. I have no complaints about Schiit. I'm not here to criticize. I thought staying with Schiit components would allow all the individual pieces to work and play well together. I think it's good shit. Good, but not great-to my ears but what do I know? I seem to be seeking something more. 

I realize there are many other factors influencing the finished product sound including the room and the source and more. I think the room is probably okay. It's about 15' x 20', carpeted and stuffed full of furniture and bookshelves loaded with books. My source for now is a (probably mid-fi ?) CD transport: Audiolab 6000CDT. One friend has suggested I'll never get quality sound with CDs. I don't have my turntable set up yet. So, where do I go from here? I'm going to experiment with some low dollar, low watt tube type amplifiers. I have read that there is some sort of synergistic effect in the combination of tubes and Klipsch speakers. I like the looks of the Decware product and I had a nice telephone conversation with Steve Deckert. Okay, I'm sold. But anything from Decware is a year away and I'm too impatient for that.

So, I'm soliciting advice from the more experienced as to what I might do to improve the quality of my sound  system. Any thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, grendel23 said:

I built the M2x, F5 and ACA. I prefer the M2x over the F5. I didn't win the Vfet lottery, so bought Tokin SITs and am building a Sissy SIT. I am hoping it combines the best traits of my SS class A amps, and my 300b SE tube amp.

I have been sidetracked by my newly acquired K-402s, I have to re-arrange my living room to fit them in, then I will get back to amp building.

 

You do not have to find a static induction transistor to get the same type of triode curves, all that is needed is some drain to gate feedback. Nelson showed a schematic with this arrangement during one of the BAF lectures where he described the circuit and how it gets the same results as the SIT Sony V-fets. Basically it is an old tube trick instead of completely triode strapping a pentode and getting much less power the "Schade" type plate to grid feedback gives power like a pentode but distortion and curves like a triode. I prefer this arrangement over the overrated ultra linear type feedback output stages.

 

With the Mosfet drain to gate feedback, Nelson explained using just a resistor drops the input impedance of the Mosfet so low that you basically need another power amp just to drive it so he added an input transformer and bootstraps it to the output to process the feedback and instead of lowering the input impedance it increases it making it easy to drive with any source or preamp.

 

Single ended Class A, current source loaded with bias around 3 amps you get 20 watts output @ 1% THD. It can get to 50 watts before clipping but the distortion is high so it is conservatively rated at 20 watts.

 

I loved the idea so much I made one and let me tell you amazing with Klipsch speakers. I have been toying around with adding some positive current feedback like the F7 to get the damping factor to >100 but haven't tried it yet. It controls the La Scala's just nice but some of my other speakers could use some more damping it seems so I will get around to trying to improve upon Nelson's fantastic design that nobody seems to know much about and not many have built it. I highly recommend making one or having a builder make you one they are just the Bees Knees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your input. May I ask what brand power cable you switched to? Length? 
And what tube preamp?
Power cables are Viborg. Silver and black....can't remember off hand which model. Five and three foot lengths

Tube preamp is a Zero Zone. It's a Chinese knock off of a Conrad Johnson design apparently. I took a chance on this relatively cheap pre that was getting good reviews on Audiokarma. It uses (4) 12AX7's and sounds excellent especially with the Aegir.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, grendel23 said:

I built the M2x, F5 and ACA. I prefer the M2x over the F5. I didn't win the Vfet lottery, so bought Tokin SITs and am building a Sissy SIT. I am hoping it combines the best traits of my SS class A amps, and my 300b SE tube amp.

I have been sidetracked by my newly acquired K-402s, I have to re-arrange my living room to fit them in, then I will get back to amp building.

The F5 was not to my liking. Too reveling with my reveling horns. Many like the M2 along with myself. It is a keeper for me. One you may want to consider is the BA-1. It is one of my favorite amplifiers. I built the one board output version with 3 pairs of output devices instead of 6 pairs. The BA-1 is the single ended version. careful matching of the output devices are necessary for a better sound. I bought the pairs of output mosfets in tube of 25 which insures you will get better matching. My thoughts are with 6 output devices Nelson has presented the diy XA30 with the BA-2 which is PP. Much like the F4 with more output mosfets.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/21/2018 at 7:58 AM, Madman1 said:

My 14watt eico makes all my Klipsch sing at almost unbearable levels.

PWK used to demonstrate his Mono Klipschorn with a 10 Watt Brook Amplifier to Ear Splitting levels. When I got my Khorn I sold my 200 wpc. amps and got 75 wpc. amps. It was still too much power because I built a Red LED based Peak Voltage detector with a ladder network. When I hit 10 Watt PEAKS (usually 10 to 17 db on good recordings) it was really too loud even then. 2 Watt Peaks were more normal for loud listenting, but usually 2 watt peak readings was all I needed.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...