Schiit Aegir Power Amp Impressions

Hello !
First post here, I've read the vidar thread and the aegir now.
Just recently bought a freya, and I'm liking this schiit So now I'm in the hunt for the correct power amp for my system.
I have on the front end the marantz hd-dac1, a mofi studiodeck turntable with the mastertracker cartridge, a lehmann black cube se2 phonostage.
on the speaker side, I have a pair of focal electra 1038be2. those are 93db efficient, 8ohm nominal, but go down to 3.5ohm in the bass region. For the amp, I use either a primaluna prologue integrated (kt88) or a vintage ( serviced ) marantz model 16 power amp.
The freya is used at unity gain for the primaluna, and the tube gain for the model16.
So far the primaluna is clearly tilted up ,too bright and not very balanced. The freya with vintage model 16 is more balanced with better bass, but lack some "air" and soundstaging and precision. So far i prefer the vintage amp, but I believe i can do better...
This led me to think the 1038 are underpowered. So my first idea was to get a vidar ( or 2 ) , as it seems to be a good candidate. But now this aegir in monoblocks is making me think again, especially with the big ass powersupply, and class A operation.
What do you guys think ? will 2 aegir be enough ? or go for 2 vidar ? are the schiit amps a good match with focal ? this beryllium tweeter can be pretty hot....

 

Assuming the option of a balanced chain (Gungnir Multibit A2) under what conditions would you get better sound via bi-amping using a Vidar + Aegir (as opposed to monoblocking Aegirs)?

I'm only considering high-efficiency speakers (Trio 15, Tetktons, etc) and it seems like Aegir monoblocks might have made the Vidar's key advantage for me (the low-end) a bit moot?

Really been enjoying these early Aegir reviews - thanks y'all!

 

Because the monoblocks can swing higher?

 

You might run into trouble with the sub-4-Ohm Electras in monoblock mode, from that point of view a single Aegir would be more sensible.

 

I see your point here, but wouldn't one aegir be underpowered and defeat the purpose compared to the similarly powered primaluna ?
The primaluna tube integrated can definitely go pretty loud, but can't handle the 3 x7inch woofers, so presentation is pretty bright, but with all the tube spaciousness and clarity..

My model 16 has been recapped last year with elna silmic2 and sprague caps, by a pro, transistors and transformer are still 50years old though.... Got it from my father, and i will likely keep it forever lol
Still, with the freya before it, i get the tube sound and the control of transistors, wich gives me a sense of density and tightness to the sound, overall the sound seems more relaxed, and balanced to my ears.

The dealer where I bought the focals have no clue about the schiit stuff, and told me he got the best results with the 1038 with a parasound A21 , which led me to think that more power or Class A operation would do the trick. ( never heard the A21, could be in the budget as well )

Unfortunately the focals cannot be bi-amped, so single amp or monoblock operation only.
For monoblock operation, I have the freya, and can go balanced from there, but my sources are not balanced. Does it matter ?

 

Have you tried both the 8 and 4 ohm taps on the Primaluna? I didn’t think the Dialogue Premium HP was very bright with my Maggies, and it gave me better bass than 220+ W of Peachtree Class D power.

 

I definitely wouldn’t worry about impedance issues with your speakers - if they’re 8 ohm nominal, I’m sure Aegir monos will be fine with them - Jason says the monos should run 4 ohm nominal speakers fine and I trust him on this - unless you’re trying to run a large room at high SPLs. Jason had originally rated the monos as 160w in 4 ohms, but didn’t publish this officially once it was launched, since I’m sure this may not work perfectly in all cases.

Now whether you will get the bass control you want, if @purr1n said there’s only a slight loss of bass control with the Aegir monos compared to single Vidar, again you’re likely ok. Vidar bass control is excellent. Both Aegir and Vidar have a damping factor >100. Of course if you want to play everything safe on the low end, you could go with Vidars, which monoblock would have a ton of power and control. And the top end is pretty good - but it’s not a ‘delicate’ top end as is being described about the Aegir, so may or may not be a good match with the Focals tweeters, depending. @yotacowboy said the bass control was impressive on his speakers, so that’s a good sign as well. The Primalunas having really high output impedance (meaning low damping factor) it’s no surprise the bass power and control isn’t there, especially since your speakers are below 4 ohms in the bass region.

You may want to wait for some more impressions to seal the deal, but it seems like the Aegir monos could be a great match. Personally that’s what I would go with considering your speaker’s rated sensitivity.

Edit: to your question about balanced out, if your sources are single ended, you will only get balanced out from Freya in tube mode.

 

I can add another data point here: my old Cayin TA-30 is essentially the same as Primaluna Prologue Classic, minus some fancy caps and the autobias circuit. Compared directly to the NuForce STA200, low bass from the Cayin EL34 integrated was flabby and uncontrolled (worse than just being "wooly"), and slightly rolled off below 30hz, in my system.

Now, comparing STA200 bass to Aegir mono bass, there's a tautness and agility with Aegir that isn't there with the STA200. Both have great pitch definition and extension, but STA200 has a bit of mudiness/overhang in the upper bass compared to Aegir. Connecting some dots: I do think Aegir monos would trounce the PrimaLuna stuff in the bass department, given your speakers.

 

Thinking of upgrade my Ragnarok 1st gen to Aegir monoblocks to get a little more power and hopefully more class A sound for two channel. I have a pair of Spatial M3 Triode Masters (93db) that are 10-12 ohm so may be good match. Any thoughts on if Aegir would be a step up in sound quality over the Ragnarok?

 

Well if you believe Jason, check this out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sch...bable-start-up.701900/page-3048#post-14887437

 

Very helpful thank you.

 

I think that's a fair assessment of the Prologue using EL34 (depending on which ones). Now a PL Dialogue HP with KT88 or larger would be a different story, and pricepoint too.

I've been scratching my head trying to find some full Class A or highly biased SS amps in this price range and honestly coming up empty, even considering monoblock setup. Used Pass Labs, First Watt or clones, used Classe, Sugen...

A good test would be comparing MB Aegir to Pass Labs as that to me is the benchmark for this design. If it can get 80-90% there at 1/4 of the price, that's damn impressive.

 

Correct, yes - I should have been more explicit about tube type.

 

This is actually quite helpful. Assuming I am using one vidar amp for an 87db/w speaker, is there a reason why the Freya sub would be more appropriate that the Saga?

 

It will probably work, that post is just a rough starting point. It's very conservative because a majority of home speakers exaggerate their sensitivity specs.

 

Quick impression from Schiitr Aegir setup (Yggdrasil, Freya, Aegir Monoblocks). Very clean and little heat. Did not sound dry, warm, V-shaped or bloated. Slam but not overly aggressive or pillowy bass. Someone spent a long time to get the balance right. A+!