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Article: Schiit Audio Asgard 3 Review


Sonis

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52 minutes ago, left channel said:

Excellent review! I'm a big fan of this company and their creations.

 

It appears the module pricing has gone even lower:

  • Multi-bit DAC module, add US$200
  • AK4490 DAC module, add US$100
  • No phono preamp card listed

 

https://www.schiit.com/products/asgard-1

 

The black finish is available only sporadically, in limited production runs.

I too am a big fan of this company’s products (the name? Not so much). They give excellent high-end performance without the high-end price tag and they don’t make the audiophile pay for high-end case-work and bling. 

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@leftchannel@Sonis : agree great review and have had their products since modi/magni to fulla to sigma delta gungnir @left channel since we have communicated before if you are interested -- I now have my 'last rodeo'/system a Ragarnok 2(just the amp) and Yggdrasil GS(yes a GEB5USB) mated with a pair of Legacy Audio Studio HD monitors(springfield illinois) the amp is one Schiitfull of a headphone amp and the speakers are no slouches either! have ROON/A+3/Qobuz/TIDAL via USB as well as old Harman/Kardon fl8370 HDCD changer via coaxial to the DAC Yamaha c-750 dvd-a/sacd cd via RCA to the amp and ME2 via RCA to the amp and digital optical from my cablebox to the DAC(interchange it for digital optical from Apple gen3 TV). With Sennheiser HD598s and best of all RS-195s so I can have a cigar and Lagavulin on my protected back porch! Like i said that amp is an incredible Schiit of a headphone amp. Am in 'audiophile' heaven.AND both are BLACK beautiful.

bobbmd

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Thank you for an enjoyable and articulate review.

This company is simply superb; they have blown the value/performance quotient out of the water.

I use the Loki tone control with my Gilmore Lite Mk 2 and it is fabulous. I do not know how I managed without it previously.

Long may good Schiit sit on the shelves of retailers everywhere...

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The Asgard 3 has a stronger output than most "good fits" for the Senns, delivering power in fact between the latest versions of the Schiit Valhalla and Mjolnir into 300 Ohms.  But tube voltage swings and compression behavior do make a dense, highlighted sound.  I agree that the A3 is not the best fit, but should be a decent fit.

Mac Mini 2012 with 2.3 GHz i5 CPU and 16GB RAM running newest OS10.9x and Signalyst HQ Player software (occasionally JRMC), ethernet to Cisco SG100-08 GigE switch, ethernet to SOtM SMS100 Miniserver in audio room, sending via short 1/2 meter AQ Cinnamon USB to Oppo 105D, feeding balanced outputs to 2x Bel Canto S300 amps which vertically biamp ATC SCM20SL speakers, 2x Velodyne DD12+ subs. Each side is mounted vertically on 3-tiered Sound Anchor ADJ2 stands: ATC (top), amp (middle), sub (bottom), Mogami, Koala, Nordost, Mosaic cables, split at the preamp outputs with splitters. All transducers are thoroughly and lovingly time aligned for the listening position.

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On 11/18/2019 at 9:55 PM, Graham Luke said:

Thank you for an enjoyable and articulate review.

This company is simply superb; they have blown the value/performance quotient out of the water.

I use the Loki tone control with my Gilmore Lite Mk 2 and it is fabulous. I do not know how I managed without it previously.

Long may good Schiit sit on the shelves of retailers everywhere...

 

Schiit sells direct to consumers and has always offered great value. There are no middlemen to pay, well except in the case of their Amazon store but prices are higher there. You should read the whole story of Schiit at the book Jason wrote here is a link that auto updates when new chapters are added.

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  • 2 months later...

I have a Schiit Asgard 3 that I really enjoy.   IMHO the Asgard 3 offers excellent value for the money.

 

While it does not get as hot as the Asgard 2 does, the right side of the bottom of the Asgard 3 does get hot when left on for more than an hour.

 

As a result, for safety reasons, I would not leave the Asgard 3 on all the time.  Especially in warmer weather.

 

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Jimmyblues1959 said:

I have a Schiit Asgard 3 that I really enjoy.   IMHO the Asgard 3 offers excellent value for the money.

 

While it does not get as hot as the Asgard 2 does, the right side of the bottom of the Asgard 3 does get hot when left on for more than an hour.

 

As a result, for safety reasons, I would not leave the Asgard 3 on all the time.  Especially in warmer weather.

 

Jim

Well, it doesn’t get hot enough to pose a safety concern, but both do get warm enough to make one’s listening room feel hotter in summer..

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14 minutes ago, bobbmd said:

why does it get so 'hot'? my brand new Ragnarok 2(just the amp) altho 1000$+ more hardly gets warm even if played all day and it is one schiitload of a headphone amp

It gets hot because it is a class “A” amplifier. The output stages of class A amps are biased to be “on” all the time, where class “B” and “AB” amps are biased to only “turn on” for half of each cycle, while it’s actually a little more complicated than that, this explanation is essentially the main reason for the heat.

 

George

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8 minutes ago, bobbmd said:

@gmgraves thanks always with a simple direct answer ! now, does that make class "A" amps 'better' to me it would be annoying regardless-have a nice day

Almost all modern amps operate class “A” for the first “few Watts”. That “few” can be anything from a couple of Watts all the way up to about 30 Watts. These are called Class AB amps. Nelson Pass (Pass Audio, Threshold), for instance, makes pure class A amps of up to several hundred Watts. Many experts will opine that Class A sounds better than Class AB, and still, a smaller subset of class A is the single-end class A amp (these are usually tube). Ultimately, like everything else in Audio, it comes down to a matter of taste. Most single-ended class A tube amps have very little power (although I have seen some that use huge transmitter tubes to produce up to 50 - 60 Watts/channel) especially if they use triodes (like the eye-wateringly expensive WE300B) as the output tube!

All of these different designs have their advocates. The flea-Watt single- ended triode amps (SETs) are considered the creme-de-la-creme of Class A amps. Obviously, the folks at Schiit think that class A makes for better sound as most of their headphone amps fall in that category, as does their Aegir power amp. So, if you find that you can’t abide the class A headphone amp’s heat go with push-pull class AB (most modern amps) and stay away from pure class A.

George

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  • 3 years later...

I recently purchased the Asgard 3 and have had it on 24/7 for the better part of three weeks, an as a former owner of the Schiit Lyr 2 and an Asgard 2, I am stunned by how good the Asgard 3 is!  My old ears love Grado headphones and thru Grado's Hemp phones with extra large over the ear after market ear pads and the Grado heavier 12 conductor 12' extension cord, all I can say is WOW. It's a steal of a bargain at $279.00. At its introductory price of $199.00, this headphone amp was a crazy stupid good deal. I also am a believer in keeping the Asgard 3 on all the time. Highly, very highly recommended!

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