More Disruptive Schiit (Vidar)

[Filipe]

@vmartell22:

 

Never got any reply from Schiit. No reply at all. Hope this helps somehow!

 

Regards,

 

Filipe.

[schiit]

Hey all,

 

If you're having trouble with your Vidar, please contact us via [email protected], or the distributor you purchased it from, and we'll make it right. 

 

Some thoughts: 

 

1. There shouldn't be any mechanical hum audible at the listening position, unless the transformer is bad or there's really something odd with the AC line. Check the AC line for DC on the line, proper phasing, and proper voltage. If that's all good, contact us or the distributor for a transformer swap. 

 

2. If you're getting significant hum from the speakers, it's most likely a ground loop. Unplug everything from Vidar, including all inputs, and turn it on. If the hum is gone, you're either looking at a ground loop, or you have a source with residual hum. Try an EbTech HumX or other ground loop breaker to eliminate the ground loop. Note: Some small amount of low-level hum may be present if you are using very efficient speakers, but again, it shouldn't be audible from the listening position.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

 

All the best,

Jason

[biosailor]

7 hours ago, Brinkman Ship said:

 

I have no issues from buying from online vendors..and I think the Freay preamp is an absolute home run...

But I agree with you completely trying to wrestle performance out of a screwed up amp is about as fruitful as banging your head against the wall. All the DIY fix it tricks are a waste of time.

 

A power amp should be quiet. Period...class A, B, C,D or tube...you should be hearing music, not noise of any kind.

I should've been more precise. I too, bought components of my audio chain on-line. Those were components (DAC/headphone amp/pre-amp) from highly respected vendors. I knew I was not going to have problems at all. This is why I went ahead and ordered a new power amp. Not cheap either. But when the equipment is faulty, you run into a lot of extra cost and you're left without an amp for a long time.

So, if on-line vendors, you have to be very sure that their products have excellent reputation!

[firedog]

7 hours ago, Corvo said:

@biosailor, I totally agree with you. For me, this has been a hobby for years. I like to try new gear an have always been aware of the risk when buying online. I had something like a dozen different amps over the years. Some of them from online vendors. Cheap Class D amps and tube amps from china, used amps, amps from known online vendors in europe or from a local store. I kept selling them after a few years to try something new. After having followed Schiit for years, I gave them a try because I liked their philosophy, the design and prices. While totally happy with the SQ (actually, some of the best I had), this time and 1st time in all these years, I encountered a problem like this. Well, schiit happens. My goal is to find a way to make that damn thing almost silent or at least not audiable from where I sit. That's all I want, because I plan to keep this amp if possible. But I know for sure, that these 5 items from schiit will definitely be the last I purchased. I will try to keep in contact with schiit and I even should ask them for replacement. If it wasn't for the long and expensive way back to the US. But for now, they don't answer to my emails anymore, which is not the way business should be done. But maybe there is a run on them from other unhappy listeners...who knows.

Have you tried the amp at another location? Or unplugging EVERYTHING in your home and turning off all the electric box switches except the one to the amp?  You should eliminate the possibility of DC interference on the line.  

[Corvo]

Yes I did firedog. Same story. I'll give it another try though, just to be sure.

[Corvo]

Hi Jason. I appreciate your statement here. But I would guess I read about a dozen posts on forums reg. vidar/buzz/hum. Being in europe I'm hesitating to send the amp overseas without a guarantee (as far as possible) that the replacement will be fine. Judging from the very similar problems described across various forums I wonder if a bad product design can really be excluded from your side? Maybe just a faulty batch, I don't know. Don't get me wrong please,  I really want to keep it. And faulty transformers can happen. But it's kinda hard to believe, that it occured to so many people or that so many have a DC offset at home. I had a lot of amps, never the slightest noise....

[charlesphoto]

^ No amount of forum typing, hand wringing, case unscrewing, or fantasy wishing will make a broken product fixed. Send it back for a refund and move on. It’s a shame as this was an amp I had my eye on, but will stick with my little ol’ rebuilt Naim 110 with its measly  35 watts/channel for now. 

[schiit]

2 hours ago, Corvo said:

Hi Jason. I appreciate your statement here. But I would guess I read about a dozen posts on forums reg. vidar/buzz/hum. Being in europe I'm hesitating to send the amp overseas without a guarantee (as far as possible) that the replacement will be fine. Judging from the very similar problems described across various forums I wonder if a bad product design can really be excluded from your side? Maybe just a faulty batch, I don't know. Don't get me wrong please,  I really want to keep it. And faulty transformers can happen. But it's kinda hard to believe, that it occured to so many people or that so many have a DC offset at home. I had a lot of amps, never the slightest noise....

 

Corvo,

 

The vast majority of Vidars in the field have zero noise issues. In my experience with them, at the shop, at home, at friends' homes, at the Schiitr, at many shows, there have been zero noise issues. Sure, we get bad transformers from time to time, but those are (at least usually) sorted after burn-in. We do listen-test for mechanical and electronic noise, and all products are measured with ATE (automated test equipment) before shipping. 

 

Of course, that doesn't mean something isn't wrong with your specific amp. Again, as I noted above, if it's mechanical hum, it's an unusual AC problem. It's possible to check it out if you want to be sure. If it's electronic hum, it's usually a ground loop. Costs nothing to check, as noted above.

 

So where to go from here?

 

If you purchased from a distributor, they can inspect and fix it locally. Contact them. No need to try to make it quiet if your AC is up to snuff and there's no ground loop. 

 

If you purchased it from us, we can fix it. Contact [email protected] and link to this conversation, and we'll get it up to snuff, or issue a full refund, whichever makes you happier. Again, no need to mess with the amp yourself. There's no problem showing you, via video, that the amp is running fine at 230V before shipping.

 

Hope that helps!

 

All the best,

Jason

[dinamanu]

14 hours ago, schiit said:

Hey all,

 

If you're having trouble with your Vidar, please contact us via [email protected], or the distributor you purchased it from, and we'll make it right. 

 

Some thoughts: 

 

1. There shouldn't be any mechanical hum audible at the listening position, unless the transformer is bad or there's really something odd with the AC line. Check the AC line for DC on the line, proper phasing, and proper voltage. If that's all good, contact us or the distributor for a transformer swap. 

 

2. If you're getting significant hum from the speakers, it's most likely a ground loop. Unplug everything from Vidar, including all inputs, and turn it on. If the hum is gone, you're either looking at a ground loop, or you have a source with residual hum. Try an EbTech HumX or other ground loop breaker to eliminate the ground loop. Note: Some small amount of low-level hum may be present if you are using very efficient speakers, but again, it shouldn't be audible from the listening position.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

 

All the best,

Jason

We know that you are good and fine help desk 
I just see to much schiit here hope moderator take some hit

[Corvo]

Finally some good news. I was always convinced, that the screws must be well tightened. It was the other way round. I played with the screws on the bottom and by unscrewing them, the buzz started to change. So in the end, I found that one screw, which by loosening it a bit let the noise drop to a minimum. Now I would say it's just a normal amount of transformer noise. Then I put some foam material underneath the amp, because the rack I have causes some resonances. Long story short, the amp is actually silent now from where I sit.  Sometimes the solution can be almost too obvious. 

 

Still a slight electrical hum left from the speakers, but that one too, is hardly audiable and not necessarly the fault of schiit. But I'm convinced, that if Vidar would have been designed with some heavier materials, even the (normal) transformer noise would not be an issue. Especially the top cover, which seem to cause most of the resonances. Just my 2 cents...

[Brinkman Ship]

35 minutes ago, Corvo said:

Finally some good news. I was always convinced, that the screws must be well tightened. It was the other way round. I played with the screws on the bottom and by unscrewing them, the buzz started to change. So in the end, I found that one screw, which by loosening it a bit let the noise drop to a minimum. Now I would say it's just a normal amount of transformer noise. Then I put some foam material underneath the amp, because the rack I have causes some resonances. Long story short, the amp is actually silent now from where I sit.  Sometimes the solution can be almost too obvious. 

 

Still a slight electrical hum left from the speakers, but that one too, is hardly audiable and not necessarly the fault of schiit. But I'm convinced, that if Vidar would have been designed with some heavier materials, even the (normal) transformer noise would not be an issue. Especially the top cover, which seem to cause most of the resonances. Just my 2 cents...

Way too much trouble to go through...I'll pass on this amp.

[Corvo]

Can't blame you. But after all, to my ears it sounds fantastic.

[labjr]

"Yep I fixed it"

 

"Oh I guess it's still humming!"

 

"I have a solution!"

 

"Damn! still buzzing.""

[schiit]

Guys, again, it shouldn't hum. If it does, contact us or the distributor and we'll get it sorted. 

 

Corvo, our offer below stands:

 

On 4/24/2018 at 6:46 AM, schiit said:

 

Corvo,

 

The vast majority of Vidars in the field have zero noise issues. In my experience with them, at the shop, at home, at friends' homes, at the Schiitr, at many shows, there have been zero noise issues. Sure, we get bad transformers from time to time, but those are (at least usually) sorted after burn-in. We do listen-test for mechanical and electronic noise, and all products are measured with ATE (automated test equipment) before shipping. 

 

Of course, that doesn't mean something isn't wrong with your specific amp. Again, as I noted above, if it's mechanical hum, it's an unusual AC problem. It's possible to check it out if you want to be sure. If it's electronic hum, it's usually a ground loop. Costs nothing to check, as noted above.

 

So where to go from here?

 

If you purchased from a distributor, they can inspect and fix it locally. Contact them. No need to try to make it quiet if your AC is up to snuff and there's no ground loop. 

 

If you purchased it from us, we can fix it. Contact [email protected] and link to this conversation, and we'll get it up to snuff, or issue a full refund, whichever makes you happier. Again, no need to mess with the amp yourself. There's no problem showing you, via video, that the amp is running fine at 230V before shipping.

 

Hope that helps!

 

All the best,

Jason

 

[Ralf11]

hey @schiit - you can buy bolts (and presumably) machine screws in bulk with  dab of locking compound on the side - if you switch to those you will get fewer user complaints

 

it does sound like some thicker sheet metal might be wise too

[schiit]

15 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

hey @schiit - you can buy bolts (and presumably) machine screws in bulk with  dab of locking compound on the side - if you switch to those you will get fewer user complaints

 

it does sound like some thicker sheet metal might be wise too

 

Thank you for the input.

[Corvo]

@schiit, thx for your offer, very appreciated. But I can assume, that the transformer is OK, so it would be pointless to ship the amp overseas and back. It seems, that the mounting somehow wasn't in its favorite position.

 

If I put my ear close to the plugs of my other devices, I can hear them buzz too. But Vidar is more powerful,  has a more or less light metal cover and most of all ventilation holes in front and on top. In fact, by closing those holes with my hands in past and louder days, the noise dropped considerably. I second what Ralf suggested. And I would guess, that if for whatever reason the transformator makes noises, the outer design and the mounting of vidar won't help much.... 

[schiit]

22 hours ago, Corvo said:

@schiit, thx for your offer, very appreciated. But I can assume, that the transformer is OK, so it would be pointless to ship the amp overseas and back. It seems, that the mounting somehow wasn't in its favorite position.

 

If I put my ear close to the plugs of my other devices, I can hear them buzz too. But Vidar is more powerful,  has a more or less light metal cover and most of all ventilation holes in front and on top. In fact, by closing those holes with my hands in past and louder days, the noise dropped considerably. I second what Ralf suggested. And I would guess, that if for whatever reason the transformator makes noises, the outer design and the mounting of vidar won't help much.... 

 

I wouldn't assume the transformer isn't the problem. Like I said, the vast majority of Vidars don't have this problem.

 

If you've had this problem from Day 1, and you've ordered from us, contact [email protected] and we'll swap it out. It's really that simple. Costs you nothing. If you purchased from a distributor, contact them and they'll make it right.

[dbanker]

On 10/2/2017 at 7:11 PM, rlow said:

I've had a Vidar since 2 days after it came out and it works great - zero issues. And I love the sound of this thing. Saga + Vidar beat 3 other integrated amps I owned, 2 of which cost much more than than the Schiit stuff did. They have all been sold except one, which is in the process of going out the door. 

Thank you for all of your great input on the Saga and Vidar across several forums.  

 

When you say the Saga and Vidar beat 3  other integrated amps you've owned, which amps are these if you don't mind sharing?  I have a NAD 326bee right now and am wondering how much of an improvement this specific setup would be...my system consists of Monitor Audio Silver 300's and a Bluesound Node 2 as the source.  Thanks!

[sebassie]

When switching off my Freya-Vidar combination I hear a loud PLOP from the speakers. I assume that this is bad for the loudspeakers. When I push the mute button on the Freya before switching off the combo there is a soft PLOP. The same soft PLOP I hear when switching off the Vidar only. Just wondering if others have the same problem. Is this soft PLOP normal or should the microprocessor in the Vidar prevent this DC altogether?

[Corvo]

Hi sebassie

Dunno if it's normal but I get the same plop when switching off my vidar.

[sebassie]

So I am not alone:-). It is no big deal, but after a while is gets annoying. Before I got the Vidar I used another power-amp with the Freya and encountered no problems at all.

[h.rav]

@Corvo I live in a 230V country and I have no problem at all with hum. I do have a dedicated line. My guess it's your AC line.

[jacksonpolk]

Hi, I didn't read the entire post but I would like to share my experience with the amp.

 

My speakers are Polk LSIM 707 @ 8ohms, 88db and I own a pair of Vidars.

 

I have tried all of the configurations below and a brief description of my findings, will elaborate if there are any interests?

 

1. With one Vidar, stereo mode, already sounds better than my Cambridge 740A at same power rating.

2.  With two Vidar, still using RCA only, the soundstage, channel separate is better than #1.

3.  I tried XLR mono and was disappointed and noticed the sound to be rather lean and     cold and it lacked the warmth and soul of #1 and #2.

4.  I was running #2 until a friend suggested to run in biamp configuration. Basically using RCA but all four channels to run two speakers, just traditional biamp way. This is the best out of all the above, it has just the just balance of power and musical, neutral slight warm quality that I was looking for.

 

I do, have issues with slight distortion for one amp only when in XLR mode, should send it back for repair.

 

Again, not sure if anyone visit this post anymore, will elaborate more if anyone is interested in my findings.

 

Cheers.

[Eliza]

Getting rid of the mechanical buzz (hum) is very simple. There's a massive power supply, and cheap mounts that transfers the vibrations of the power supply into the chassis. Remove the screws holding down the power supply and the buzz should disappear. Just don't shake the amp around after you remove the screws. An expensive amplifier will have rubber mounts all the way around to eliminate mechanical buzz. A cheaper amplifier will cut cost, and not use rubber power supply mounts. If this doesn't get rid of the buzz you'll have to put some rubber between the power supply and the chassis. I've encountered this problem before with transformers (and motors).