More Disruptive Schiit (Vidar)

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21 hours ago, firedog said:

I'm sure the Vidar is a very good amp and a great value. I really admire how Schiit designs with the goal of finding cost effective ways to give buyers a lot of value per dollar spent.

 

There is one issue potential issue buyers should be aware of:

As a monoblock, it is rated for 8 ohms only. 

Acc'd to Jason's blog, this is an actual issue. User with lower impedance speakers or those who want to keep alive the option of a future buy of such speakers will want to look elsewhere.

 

Just as a comparison, the Nord amps don't have this issue. 

Thanks for pointing out the 8 ohm limitation issue. I'm also a big fan of the tremendous value Schiit brings to the table, but I was looking at one of these for  a new system I am putting together for a friend, and it obviously wouldn't pair well with his 4 ohm speakers.

 

JC

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34 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

Wattage is a funny thing though. My Pass Labs XA160.5 amps could level my block and heat the house simultaneously. Other amps with much more wattage, can't even drive my speakers satisfactorily. 

Agreed, Chris. And those Pass 160.5's can truly heat a small home. A friend of mine owns them, and his wife, who is Philipino and loves warmth, often goes and lies down near his amps, with a pillow, when he has them on during the fall and winter!.

 

JC

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On 7/18/2017 at 10:23 PM, Speed Racer said:

Well, I didn’t even bother unpacking the second Vidar and sent it back to Schiit. 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms is WAY MORE than enough power for the Tekton Design Double Impact speakers as they are quite efficient . Especially when you factor in the gain from using the tube stage with Freya.

Vidar is dual mono back to the transformer. Power used by one channel does not affect power used by the other. So there really is no significant advantage to running two Vidar amps other than it is cool. The downsides to running two Vidar amps include more tube noise and less granularity in the volume control.

These speakers sound great and I haven’t even played around with room placement or toe-in yet. I can’t wait to hear how good they sound after 200 hours and I get them placed properly.

 

That;s an outstanding system you have put together and is very likely one of the best systems, dollar for dollar that could be assembled. Congrats.

 

JC