Schiit Vidar Impression Thread - UPDATED WITH REVIEW (CHECK FIRST POST)

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by Rotijon, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. defiant00

    defiant00 New

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    Quick question for those more experienced to hopefully put my mind at ease. Just got my Modi Multibit > Saga > Vidar setup, but like an idiot left it all on while plugging in my sub to Saga's 2nd output, resulting in a loud pop and buzz from the speakers. Everything seems fine, but as a more general question, is that the sort of thing that could damage an amp or is it typically just the speakers that would be at risk?
     
  2. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    Depends what cable you decide to 'hot swap.' In general, 'hot swapping' is not a good thing. Take a second to turn connected components off.
     
  3. defiant00

    defiant00 New

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    Well yes, I don't intend to do it again, but I was also curious in general since it would seem to me that to the amp it's just like any other signal (and in this case not as loud as full volume from Modi Multibit and Saga). Was also generally curious if amp failure is a risk, or if it'll likely just clip (if anything) and the speakers are the real concern.
     
  4. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Vidar has a lot of protections built into it. If you blew any transistors though it would probably just stop working.
     
  5. defiant00

    defiant00 New

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    Yeah, that's my one bit of personal audio-nervosa, that I screw something up, but not enough that it's obviously dead (and then I unknowingly use it for years in a messed up state)
     
  6. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    Which sometimes fail.
     
  7. defiant00

    defiant00 New

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    Well, in this case I think I'm good, as it was loud but not as loud as Saga turned all the way up, and it didn't trip any of the protection.

    Actual impressions are more difficult since I've gone from a crappy receiver to these three, but it's definitely a noticeable improvement. Biggest thing by far is how much lower the speakers now reach, while the sub is still nice for home theater I no longer feel I need it for regular music. Again, probably says more about the old receiver, but it is a big difference.
     
  8. Josh358

    Josh358 Facebook Friend

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    I had an XLS in and compared it to an A21, driving Tympani IVA's. No contest -- the A21 was infinitely superior, as was every other amp I compared the XLS with.

    The XLS has some remarkable characteristics. For example, it turns piano into, well, keyboard. A hard trick, I know, but if you're expecting to hear something with hammers and strings, forget it.

    It's also IM city when you push it. The image collapses laterally to a tiny pinpoint the size of the Planck radius. Well, almost. The sound becomes become strained. A mean trick, as I've never heard another power amp of any description do this.

    It also has the peculiar characteristic of making the sound cleaner than it should be. By that I mean that each instrument is placed with uncanny precision, and that at reasonable levels it sounds very transparent, but that there's nothing around it. No acoustic, nothing. The clarity wows you at first, but then you realize that you're floating in the vacuum of space.

    Biamped, it didn't get the bass right, either -- the job for which I was trying it.

    That said, it is capable of making nice sounds for very little money. There are people who are happy with them. But even an Emotiva XPA-2 beat it, and for 700 bucks a Vidar will beat either of those.

    By the way, if you do a search, John Curl has recommended some mods for the early Parasound units that he says can make them the equal of amps costing several thousand dollars. On DIY audio, IIRC.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  9. Josh358

    Josh358 Facebook Friend

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    I bought my Tympani IVA's used a few years ago and I could never seem to get them phased. No matter what I did, the image would never gel. Finally, I opened them up and discovered that the midrange in one of them had been wired out of phase with the other! The poor original owner had been listening to his treasured speakers with an out-of-phase midrange for 30 years.

    The same guy had also added Cardas connectors and made a crossover mod. But he wasn't very good at soldering and all of the solder joints were cold. They were playing, but the bass of one speaker was feeding into the midrange because part of the crossover network had come loose, and the woofers were playing only because the wires were sitting there -- they weren't actually soldered. It sounded dreadful.
     
  10. Telstar

    Telstar Bottom 1% of posters on SBAF

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    I think it was the Vidar opinions that brought me here. Well, after reading enough reviews and impressions I decided against it. I don't think I'll miss it ;)
     
  11. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Are you concerned specifically about some of the functional issues some people have experienced? Because from a "sound quality for the money" perspective, I would love to know something that's better (excluding perhaps some primo vintage stuff). I've compared a half-dozen "well reviewed" integrateds and power amps against Vidar so far (many were more expensive) and I still prefer it (combined with Saga or Freya).

    Also, I ordered my Vidar the same day it was launched, received it 2 days later, and have run it almost every day since then with zero issues.
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2018
  12. Telstar

    Telstar Bottom 1% of posters on SBAF

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    No, in the end I went the DIY route. But I did audition a few amps in the 2k range. I could have taken and returned the Vidar but I'm pretty sure I do not like that kind of sound. In a word: too sterile.
     
  13. hifiandrun

    hifiandrun Almost "Made"

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    DIY is great. But I would not describe the Vidar sounded as sterile. It is a sweet amp, even use the direct signal pass of Freya, even compared with my moded Dynaco ST-70.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    He just wants a pat on the back that he made the right decision. But really, can't go wrong with DIY.
     
  15. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    I, too, felt the Vidar could not replicate the full harmonic overtures of the Stradivarius instruments each of us Italians has in our ancestral homes.

    Full disclaimer: I am not Italian and have never heard the Vidar.
     
  16. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    My wife would like to disagree with that statement.
     
  17. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    Yeah, I'm sure Marv mean't
    just about anyone is likely to put together 'diy Vidar'
    way-way cheaper,
    that is not going in flames a few times in testing,
    not getting fingers burned, electrocuted
    and it's guaranteed to sound great.
    Oh, and you can throw all of it into a shoe box.
    Your wife is gonna love it, the whole process.
     
  18. Telstar

    Telstar Bottom 1% of posters on SBAF

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    Nope, I don't need any validation.
    And If i have the occasion in the future, i'll try to listen to it, but I didn't feel it was worth the hassle of buying and returning it after a week or two. I had other amps in home for audition, from a local brand and I think the Vidar would be similar to them. I'll also try to hear the vintage Pioneer M22/24 that was mentioned here. Ebay prices are around 1500€, so not going to buy and resell that either.
     
  19. Telstar

    Telstar Bottom 1% of posters on SBAF

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    You just need pretty and SMALL boxes ;)
    Incidentally mines are smaller than the Vidars :D
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes. I will post in Vidar thread that Vidar sounds sterile (it does not) through clairvoyance, and then announce what a hassle it would have been to buy it and return it, and also state that I have other amps at home to compare it to which which would have sounded about the same, and that I ended up DIYing my own amp, all the while providing zero details other than my DIY amp is more compact.

    SBAF contribution score to Vidar thread: -362
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2018

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