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

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

  1. Forza AudioWorks

    Forza AudioWorks MOT: Forza AudioWorks

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    That was helpful, thanks!
     
  2. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    I’ve solved my rolls box problem in a really expensive manner.
    Instead of getting a two channel pre amp to add to the chain, I’m just replacing most of the chain!

    I was in Magnolia the other day killing time while I got my car smogged and the salesman said he had a sweet pre/pro on close out. So I ended up buying a Rotel RSP 1582. It’s getting a little dated, no Atmos, no Dolby Vision etc, but I don’t have an Atmos system and I have a work around for HDR. The deal was just SO GOOD I had to take it. Like 75% off good.

    Anyway, this thing has 8 channel 4v balanced outs, so all good there.

    I also got an Emotiva XPA5 to amp the rest of the channels.

    I will report back when I have chance to do some real testing. First impression though is big improvement. No noise and all the volume. Also a much better pre than the Yamaha AVR.

    So far I highly recommend this Rotel and believe you can get the same deal or close to it at any Magnolia.
     
  3. yonson

    yonson Facebook Friend

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    I normally have a pair of Vidar running the towers in my main system, however since it's that time of year where I don't need to run the heat or the A/C, I've swapped over to my Parasound JC 1's (they use double the power vs. Vidar, and put off a TON of heat) in my main system and decided to do a little experimenting with Vidar on some spare gear I have. I also decided to do some comparisons between the DAC/preamp in the Oppo 105D and a Modi Multibit along with a Magni 3 as the preamp, I'm using a SYS to switch between them.

    Currently I'm only running a single Vidar and i have to say I'm quite impressed, it has delivered everything I've asked for without issue. I had planned on doing a comparison between a single Vidar and Monoblocks, however I honestly don't even think it's worth it on this system, but I'll probably end up doing it anyway...

    [​IMG]
     
  4. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I’ve been comparing single vs dual Vidars on my system for the last couple months, but only focusing on the monoblocks recently. I’m running mine with smaller monitors, but I’d be curious whether your impressions line up with mine.
     
  5. yonson

    yonson Facebook Friend

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    I have a smaller set of towers that I'm going to swap in there eventually as well, but they are doing surround duty in my home theater and I'm not looking forward to moving these again...
     
  6. yonson

    yonson Facebook Friend

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    I'm still quite impressed with Vidar as a stereo amp, however I did have my first protection excursion this morning (4 ohm stereo) while I was working around the house and had it cranked. I'm pretty sure it was over-current as all I had to do was power cycle it and it was back to jamming. I checked the temperature and the hottest part of the heatsink was just under 70 degrees C, and I've had them over that before without going into thermal protection...
     
  7. Elcid

    Elcid New

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    How does Freya S / Vidar combo compare to Rega Elex R integrated amp? Thanks
     
  8. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    erm......



    1. [​IMG] Don't be a dotard!
      Read these "rules" AND introduce
      yourself
      before your first post

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/what-is-sbaf-10-articles-for-behavior.5555/
     
  9. yunie_

    yunie_ Acquaintance

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    @rlow just wanna ask, is a single vidar enough to power your atc scm 19? Especially at low volume
     
  10. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    About the same as most of the decently powered amps I’ve tried with them, which is to say it was ok, but the ATCs like some power and volume to get going, like most lower sensitivity speakers. The only amp I’ve heard that sounded significantly better was the Kinki Studio Ex M1, which was a low volume champ, but I didn’t think it matched well for other reasons.
     
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2019
  11. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    Had a question from the user side in regards to heat and setup. I’m possibly looking at placing a Vidal in an enclosed media rack/shelf, which would leave about 3” each side from the heat sinks and about 2” of clearance above the Vidar. Sound doable? Or is this a heating disaster with auto turn off disaster waiting to happen?
     
  12. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    CANNOT RECOMMEND.

    In all seriousness I probably wouldn't put any class A/B amp in an enclosed rack.
     
  13. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    You may be able to make it work if you can get enough airflow using fans. Without that, no chance. With the kind of airflow you need fans will probably be noisy.
     
  14. recstar24

    recstar24 Friend

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    thanks guys - my gut was initially leaning towards class d tech due to space constraints and heat. Appreciate the feedback!
     
  15. Dana Reed

    Dana Reed New

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    That's a cool thermocouple. Where did you get it, and exactly where did you place the probe? I have a couple of Vidars on a pair of 1.7i, and I can also get them to shut down at certain volume on some tracks. To me it always seemed to be a current problem, rather than temperature, but I was just using an IR thermometer pointed in the fins near the back. I could get them to cut out on a certain point whether the amps were already hot or not, or even if I pointed fans at them from underneath.
     
  16. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I got the thermocouples on Amazon or eBay, I forget which. They were not expensive. I placed the probes on the rearmost fin of the heatsink, at the bottom. It's close to the hottest point, but it does not have to be exact anyway. So long as it is consistently reproducible you can learn what the baselines are even if the display is relative rather than absolute.

    I attached the probes with a combination of aluminum foil and kapton tape, as per here;

    http://www.ecd.com/support/learning...e-attachment-methods.aspx?Post=3916&tabid=371

    And yes, I'm pretty sure I can make them shutdown from either overcurrent or over temperature as well, but now that I have a feel for what they can handle neither situation has happened for a long time.
     
  17. Dana Reed

    Dana Reed New

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    Thanks for the info!
    I also haven't had them shut down in a while, now that I know how loud I can go with them. Admittedly this is pretty loud, reaching >100 dB at 12 feet away in a 20x10x8 room. Sometimes I just want a little bit MOAR, at least when I have the house to myself.
    This led me to try a pair of Class D monoblocks from Red Dragon audio (1100W/ch 4Ohm), which can push the Maggies until they are too loud and no longer sound good. But at equivalent volume levels, I personally like the sound of the Vidars better.
    It's possible that I just want the Maggies for critical listening at reasonable to high levels, and maybe I should get a pair of Klipsch or Tektons for MOAR rocking.
     
  18. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    If what you want is sheer output, just grab some Cerwin Vegas, or some PA speakers used off of CL, and EQ to your liking at 100+ dB.
     
  19. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Moving this here.

    So are you using the NAD currently in that room/setup? If so, a single Vidar should easily increase the output and headroom without an issue, and I’m going to bet will sound better overall. Although I know the NAD stuff punches above its weight, it’s pretty limited on power - a single Vidar will probably put out 2-3x the power of the NAD or more depending on the frequency since it doubles its power output into 4 ohms. And based on measurements Jason has posted in the past, it will push significantly more power than its specifications. And the nice thing is with Freya you could always upgrade to monoblocks down the road if you felt you needed even moar power.
     
  20. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Cerwin Vegas are junk and so are most of the crap marketed as "PA Speakers" at Guitar Center, Monoprice, etc...

    Real PA Speakers can sound pretty amazing but typically start at $2k/speaker.
     

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