Schiit Ragnarok 2

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Vtory, Feb 12, 2019.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,831
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    East Coast
    upload_2019-2-12_13-52-26.png

    Related link 1: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-2918#post-14775222
    (will be replaced once the official product page is disclosed)

    Related link 2 (Schiity rumors thread): https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...alks-about-mcdonalds.5246/page-31#post-245193

    Quote from @schiit (reference: the link 1 above)
    [​IMG]
    (copied and pasted from the link 2)
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
  2. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,831
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    East Coast
    Just a couple of speculations from irrational fanboy-ism

    Quote from Jot FAQ:
    So, my guess is that nexus is probably refined, improved, extended and/or renamed gain stage topology of Jotunheim.

    Finer stepped attenuator: 64 (rag1) to 128 (rag2)

    Also it may be reasonable to assume continuity output stage for rag2 -- but if so, why do they not write it down as a major feature?

    Damn, anyway can't stop drooling.
     
  3. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,026
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Rapallo, Italy
    Topology geekery and HE-6-driving-power power aside, the remote is the stand-out feature over the OG Rag.
     
  4. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,937
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Texas and California
    Home Page:
    If you wanted, say, an 18/36W rated Ragnarok 2, that would be a fine choice. Continuity is still a hot-running output stage. So no, Ragnarok 2 is not Continuity.

    (The deeper technical points I'll cover in a future chapter, but I've touched on this before: the lower the current in a Continuity output stage, the higher the sense resistor. The higher the sense resistor, the lower the effective output voltage, especially into lower-impedance loads. Bottom line, there's no free lunch.)
     
  5. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

    Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,831
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    East Coast
    Thanks for explanation! That makes a lot of sense. I am definitely a more (not so voltage-hungry) headphone-oriented listener.. so my primary focus tend to be low(er)-power and low(er)-gain.

    Now I notice that rag2 is more powerful than aegir. Didn't pay attention to rated power.
     
  6. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    More pics at Head-Fi:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Love how it looks, except that the right channel speaker outs are directly above the balanced inputs, which would make it difficult to use those inputs if the amp was vertically lower than source.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
  7. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    Why? I'm having a hard time seeing the problem.
     
  8. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    If one has an audio rack / cabinet in their living room, and on an upper shelf lies an Yggdrasil with balanced outputs on that same side, and they place the Ragnarok 2 on the shelf below, the balanced cables are going to have to be run to the side of the right channel speaker outputs (or one will need to carefully thread the two), especially if one is using banana plugs on their speaker cables. This will be more difficult with XLR interconnect cables with thicker shielding like Mogami starquad. It will also be more difficult in a cabinet with limited space available behind Rag 2 to route cables, especially as Rag 2 is deeper than Rag 1. It may also introduce some amount of noise running speaker cables that close to interconnects.

    I imagine this is why you often see analog and digital inputs along the top of an integrated amp, with speaker connectors and IEC inlet at the bottom. Most people with a living room setup are going to have their amp on the lowest shelf so it's closer to the floor and easier to run the speaker / headphone cable without straining the connectors or binding posts. The way Rag 2 is set up would be perfect for a desktop setup in which a user places it on top of a DAC like Yggdrasil, but isn't optimal IMO for a living room. I may be the outlier, but the two-shelf, living room setup with Yggdrasil on top shelf and Rag 1 on bottom shelf is what I'm currently running.

    /thread derailment
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
  9. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    I was thinking along other lines. The cables are balanced and shielded, so the noise issue is likely a non-issue.
     
  10. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    Gotta say I do love the look of it.

    Now all Jason needs to do is drop all the stuff on the front, and make a giant Vidar in the same case.

    250w/ch stereo, 1Kw mono! Call it Odin! :bow:

    Seriously though, will be very interested to read the chapter on this one and all the goodies inside.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
  11. beemerphile

    beemerphile Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2015
    Likes Received:
    755
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Danielsville, GA USA
    When will they see the light and put the power switch on the front?
     
  12. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    I'll settle for a compromise: Remote controlled standby.
     
  13. manatworks

    manatworks Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    226
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Ohhhh nice, i’m in the market for higher power amp for planar stuffs so this should be interesting to demo (and hopefully stop me from going to power amp route)
     
  14. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2018
    Likes Received:
    2,191
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Missouri
    I'm thinking of putting together a secondary (primarily vinyl) system, and this would make things a lot easier - although I'll still go with a standalone phono stage.

    TT -> Phono -> Ragnarok 2 -> RT600i speakers

    I would be in no rush to add transport + DAC, and I wouldn't need a headphone amp. Since I already own the speakers, I could get away with spending <$3,500.00 on the Ragnarok 2, TT, and Phono Stage (assuming Ragnarok 2 checks in between $1,699 and $1,899). Sweet!

    Leave it to Schiit to come up with another compelling, versatile product.
     
  15. Syzygy

    Syzygy Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2018
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    DFW, Texas
    What's the lonely unlabeled black jack on the back below the IEC?
     
  16. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    Ground plug? That's my best guess.
     
  17. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    That's ground for the phono preamp to the turntable. Pretty standard.
     
  18. Syzygy

    Syzygy Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2018
    Likes Received:
    2,144
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    DFW, Texas
    Ha, it's been about 25 years since I looked at an integrated.

    Don't worry, a little white Sharpie and you won't even know that the ground symbol wasn't screen-printed.
     
  19. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,102
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Seoul, South Korea
    AFAIK the current multibit DAC module that goes into the Lyr 3 isn't exactly balanced, whereas the AK4490 module is. Doesn't matter for Lyr 3 since it's an SE amp anyway, but if the balanced Rag 2 were to accept the multibit card, perhaps Schiit is developing a balanced multibit module too?
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
  20. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,738
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Canada
    The Multibit card is used for Jotunheim too. It is balanced - “cheap-ass balanced” are the words Mike used for it, in that the “balancing” is done in analog, rather than with muitiple DAC chips like Gungnir Multibit/Yggdrasil. Don’t know if it will be exactly the same card used in Rag 2 or not, but it would likely make sense that they all use the same card. I expect there might be updates to the card though at some point, in particular with the new USB, depending on how the timing of that works out.
     

Share This Page