Schiit Aegir Power Amp Impressions

@crazychile they have 4 post. I don’t know how to share a picture from my phone or I’d show ya.

I really need to look into level matching as I don’t fully understand it yet. From my understanding you can do biamping with the heresy III but Guess it wouldn’t be a true biamp unless disconnecting the internal crossover. Just trying to figure out if that’s true.

would loveeee to try the Aegir Vidar combo and let ya all know my thoughts.

 

Since we're on the subject of bi-amping, I'm curious why running an Aegir in mono the power output goes from 20w/channel to 80w/channel into 8 ohms (specifically why a 4x increase instead of 2x)?

EDIT: I know this isn't biamping, just tangentially related in the "using 2 amps" category.

 

From ohm’s law, power = voltage squared, divided by resistance.
Bridging 2 amplifiers doubles the voltage (series connection) so the power increases by 4x.
This is because double the voltage draws double the current, and power = voltage x current. The current may be limited by the amplifier, which is why the theoretical 4x increase is not always achieved.

 

Finally could double my aegir. I kinda dreamed of this since last year and am very happy to see that realized. Single Aegir looked interesting when I got my hands on during the sbaf loaner tour last year, but SR1a was hella too inefficient. Later that year, duel Aegirs were auditioned in another meeting, but wasn't fully convincing for sr1a.

This year, I moved on to a complete new world: multiple 15 inches and moderately high efficient drivers (94 dbspl/W/m). I lurked again to get an aegir for myself. Modius and Freya-S changed the original plan of one aluminum loaf to two. Oh well.

Everything was ready in the house last Saturday, I immediately hooked up all the Schiits together and started to have fun.

Not to say much about one Aegir. It's already well documented in this thread. And I don't change much from my initial impression. Basically super JLH1969. Moderately sweet and delicate. Honestly hard to nitpick.

Changing to two Aegirs, however, make quite a difference. It's not just being louder. This balanced configuration sounds like a different product, reminding me of Benchmark AHB rather than Vidar or Aegir. My take on AHB is a power amp version of THX789, which is very good at clarity and transient but comes at costs of everything else. Dual Aegirs, with an aid of Freya S, are nearly (95-99%?) there in clarity and background cleanness. But without sacrificing resolution and engagements.

Compared to other Schiits, dual vidars may be equally fast or tad faster, but not as clear as dual aegirs. Single aegir is noticeably sweeter and softer (in a a good way), but delicacy mostly remain for mids and highs with x2. I thought I hate this character/direction as a harmonic/warmpoo/sweetness lover, but folks, they do sound frickingly good well beyond my demand.

I already liked M3's dual 15-inch eminence drivers around 60-150hz driven by both JLH and single Aegir, but two Aegirs lifted it to whole another level. Extremely articulate, clean, clear, and moderately punchy/slamming.

Refer to my signature for my current configuration.

Lastly, picture or didn't happen.

 

@Vtory any reason why you didn't just stick with one, given that your speakers sensitivity (other than 'why not' I guess)? I've been thinking of doubling up since I got my first one, but the main reason I ended up with the aegir in the first place was that sweetness/softness really tones down the harsh qualities of my speakers, and the thought of losing it makes me sad even if I could add back some slam.

I've been toying with the idea of vertically biamping with 2 instead of running them as monoblocks, but that's a different story altogether...

 

vtory - you prefer balanced Modius over Bifrost 2 with dual Aegirs?

As much as I love the Aegir, if I can be critical of one thing is there's little depth which doesn't take advantage of how the burrito filter layers and creates this illusion of three dimensional depth, like sounds float in the air. I hear this with my Event Opals, but not so much with Aegir after trying a few different speakers out.

Got an XA25 and a vintage Tandberg coming in to compare, so that will be interesting.

 

So you're comparing a pair of powered Event Opal monitors, which don't have Aegir as part of the chain, to Aegir driving some other speakers? I just want to have a clear understanding of what's being compared. What are the other speakers that you're driving with Aegir?

You could have the Event Opals set up in an ideal way for your room and listening position, and they sound amazing, but even if you put different speakers in the exact same position as the Event Opals, that doesn't mean that that's the ideal spot for them. Unless I'm misunderstanding something you said, it seems like comparing apples and eggplants.

 

I was just about to edit my post by saying it's possible the speakers might be the issue once I get other amps in for a demo. Although it is unlikely because I've had other amps/DACs that have provided a deeper stage than when I had Aegir hooked up to the same speakers. So the depth problem remained consistent when I used different speakers (and yes in their ideal placement in my room). I surmised from that it's probably the amp. We'll see after the Pass and Tandberg get here to do a shootout.

 

Simple but silly reason was.. I wanted to know what would happen to Modius when fully balanced. My magic 8-ball says something positive to me (without full justification), too. Maybe my strong preference toward XLR connections (mechanically robust) mattered.

Now I realize I can't go back to SE at least with the current rig. Bifrost 2 allows a different story though.

The reason I am using Modius is the sum of total benefits. I mean.. I didn't fully like Modius + Asgard 3 + Verite. Modius and Freya should move together to my liking. Dual Aegirs introduce extra synergy. On the contrary, Bifrost 2 is just great regardless of the rest of the rig.

I don't quite hear lacking depth with Aegir and Bifrost 2 in any combination. Bifrost 2 + Aegir (both single and dual) rendered a deeper stage than all the Modius-feeding configurations. "Maxed-out" Modius managed to catch up wiuth median BF2 anyway though. Maybe speakers or tastes difference. Note that I always rank Yggdrasil and Solaris (Cranesong) the first in this respect, and regard Bifrost 2 locate along with top tier players.

 

Another consideration might be if the SE outputs of the Yggdrasil gimp the soundstage depth. Someone with more experience between the BAL and SE outs can speak to this.

Aegir does have good width and height, but I lose the layering and depth compared to Yggdrasil -> Event Opals. The Convert-2 soundstage with Event Opals is as flat as pancake though. Those monitors will reveal all the flaws of the converters in my chain.

FWIW I vastly prefer the Dynaudio Special Fortys+Aegir over my Event Opal monitors. Only thing I lose is the unbelievable slam. So the depth is more of a nitpick, I love everything else about the Aegir. The S40s are more on the forward side, especially with the hotter mids, but it definitely has a better stage than my passive BM15s do.

 

@RobS I didn't like jbl 305s and 308s with Bifrost 2 regarding staging, either. But can't say much about higher actives. My M3 might be quite unusual (compared to boxed speakers) -- compression drivers and OB two ways, which may be another confounders.

 

I never found the 305s to stage well either. It's a decent monitor as computer speakers but I'd rather not listen to music on them. Opals don't have any DSP and use discrete Class AB amps. Hard to find these days as a lot of cheaper monitors have class D amps and DSP. Unless you go up to ATCs, Questeds and Neumanns.

 

@RobS , looks like you’ve been busy trying out many monitors and bookshelves. You should consider sharing you experiences on the studio monitor thread.

 

Yeah I've cycled through a bunch in the past 6 months. Mostly to try out different tweeters (metal dome, ribbon, AMT, horns etc.). I might write a few thoughts when I eventually do a shootout with the other amps coming in.

I really liked the BM15s for its punchy sound but I missed having a present midrange. The Special Fortys fixed that and then some. With Aegir, it's the most resolving speaker setup I own, microdynamics are killer. Really taken by surprise how dynamic and lively these tiny speakers are. Upended my belief you need bigger speakers for better sound quality. The woofers are insane, think the voice coil is like 3" in diameter. Bigger than my penis.

 

It's possible that it's the speakers?

One of the things that many of us learned in science class years ago, was that you should try to keep as many things constant as possible in an experiment. You're commenting on Aegir, but you're using different speakers, probably in different positions. Unless one amp was an absolute piece of garbage, the differences in the speakers, and their positioning relative to the size of the room and where you're sitting, so far outweigh any difference between amps. Are we even taking about similar speakers, as far as your Opals vs. whatever Aegir is driving?

Sorry, but if I was going to compare Aegir to something else, I would be using the same source, the same preamp, the same interconnect cables, and most certainly the same speakers in the exact same positions.

I don't care whether you like Aegir, or any Schiit products. I have a pair of Aegir amps, and someone could do a review and say they suck, and I could care less; they sound amazing in my system, although it's more about my Salk speakers sounding amazing, and the Aegir amps providing what is needed to make my Salk speakers sound their best.

 

Remember when I mentioned to @Hinterlander the Special Fortys were only decent at depth? They’re pretty forward staging speakers, so I wouldn’t immediately blame the Aegir for that.

 

Calm down hoss.

I already said before Aegir kicks ass. It's the only issue I have and not really that big of a deal for me. I could be perfectly content with it. But I have a few cheerleaders nagging me to try some other amps.

I've kept everything consistent. Yggdrasil to SYS to Aegir then to whatever speakers I have. Same cables, even the same positions. I've hooked them up to JBL 530s, BM15s, S40s, Emotiva T2s, and a few other ones. All exhibited a lack of depth with Aegir.

 

No, you haven't. You keep switching speakers, but you're making comments about Aegir. If you want to comment on Aegir, shouldn't you be keeping the speakers constant, and rotating in one or two other power amps?

Is this a speaker comparison or a power amp comparison? It can't be both at the same time.

 

That's exactly what I plan on doing when I get two other amps in. I'm just saying what I found consistent across all the speakers I have.

Imagine if I had a speaker with a 5" woofer that sucked and I had a Vidar plugged in. You think that's fair to evaluate how good the bass quality is from Vidar? I know the limitations and shortcomings of the speakers I have and they are kept in perspective when I'm evaluating new gear. Same goes for the rest of the chain.

 

Agreed. Among Dyns, confidence OG's old esotar was a little better but comes at a cost of other things. Like I said in another thread, those who prioritize depth (and are allowed to pull speakers away extensively from the wall) should consider current-gen elac amt(jet), too. Not US elac but German elac.

I should test elacs with Aegirs btw (all of them are in the same room lol), but maybe later.