Schiit Midgard Review, Impressions, Measurements, Science

I hadn't intended on covering the Midgard so soon after its release, but there seemed to be quite a bit of interest in this product, particularly the Halo topology. Some deal about error correction by incorporating the transducer in the feedback loop. I haven't read into the papers on this really, so I can't say much. The Halo thing only works through the XLR output for obvious reasons. One noted downside is higher output impedance, 2-ohms in this case. I figure the reason we never saw this much with speaker amps could be this higher output impedance. As with most things, I am guessing that by the time the paper(s) on how to do this came out or become well known, the industry was obsessed with "damping factor". Yeah, the audio industry goes through fads too. There is a reason why some speaker amp designs in the early 80s, even by guys who were really good at discrete designs, used opamps. THD was a selling point at that point in time (thanks to Doug Self). Eventually people stopped caring about THD. Until NWAVGUY. Then NWAGUY disappeared for a few years. Only for Audio Science Review to appear and take the THD zealotry to the next extreme.



THD+N / SINAD has gotten so stoopid to the point where Schiit now lists specs for the Midgard as follows (LOL):

Power: plenty for all headphones except maybe Tungsten
Noise: inaudible on all headphones and IEMs
Distortion: unmeasurable at normal listening levels; 1000x lower than the typical headphones you're using
​

One thing I am interesting in is taking measurements from the transducer to see if Halo makes even a slight difference. Just curious. Schiit makes no claims, but I am curious.

...offering the potential for better control at driver resonance and improved acoustic results. However, since confirming that would require years of research and still have everyone arguing about it, we decided to do something crazy: introduce this amp at a great price and let you decide.​

That being said, I will offer my subjective impressions. I would have liked to do a blind test with the ABX machine. However it's not possible to hook up an ABX test with a balanced and single ended output because the comparator machine is SE only.

First of all, the single ended output is OK, but otherwise remarkable. It doesn't sound bad. I would say maybe it's kind of like a Magni 2 Uber on steroids for those who remember that amp. The balanced output is quite remarkable. The sound is very much solid-state but with a very spacious headstage. Headstage is wide, maybe even wider than Mjolnir 3. It's not placed in front nor it is deep, but there's definitely an expansive feeling. I don't feel crushed. The highs from the XLR output are smoother and less sharp edged than the phono jack output, but it doesn't sound artificially smoothed over. Tonality is neutral. It basically sounds like a really good class AB amp that I would find at boutique mix stage that installed passive ATC monitors. Super clear, articulated, super delineated, without sounding unnaturally fast or zippy. The Midgard, despite its stupid low price, is what I would consider one of the better implementations of "wire-with-gain" sound. The tone isn't warm and slightly veiled like the TPA5120 based high-SINAD amps (Topping L30, Magnius, etc), nor is the tone slightly leanish like the THX high-SINAD deals. It's not going to hide what Grados do. It's not going to take the edge off the highs of the HD800S. However, it's very rewarding with a neutralish headphone like the JAR600. The best part is the Midgard is hardly flat and boring sounding, like those high negative feedback designs (125db+ open loop gain). Dynamic, hefty, and with lots of detail, almost seems like the detail is brought up a little bit.

On to science...

SINAD here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...measurements-science.13897/page-3#post-418723
GONAD here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...measurements-science.13897/page-3#post-418729

 

Here is 55.66Hz from the JAR600 at almost 98db

XLR output


Phono TRS output (YEL is the XLR for ref)


Too close to call. 0.01% can go either way, depending where the cat is in the house.

 

Two-tone, 75Hz and 200Hz into Grado RS2X

Phono / TRS


XLR (YEL is phono for ref)


XLR (YEL is phono for ref)
Zoom in
FFT size 131K Kaiser7 12AVG


Maybe? Harmonics are a few db lower on the XLR output compared to phono. Still too close to call unless I can replicate consistently, on another day, etc.
(ignore the 60Hz hum, crossed out in red)

 

If you don't have a problem with the Magni+ / Vali 2++, then you shouldn't have a problem with this. if you have a problem with the Magni+ / Vali 2++, then you should go elsewhere. M^3 (with the right opamp), WHAMMY, and LG are gentle in the highs and on varying side of warm.

 

No doubt suggestions will affect what people hear. Suggestions on the latest tech, suggestions via marketing speak, heck even suggestions via looking at measurements (without understanding how they correlate to human experience or how they interact with other components). Yes, these suggestive human elements also go against "objectivist" belief! Measurements (regardless of whether they really matter or not) will influence what humans believe just as much as the fancy jewel encrusted chassis with VU meters!

I love it when Amir (he's so full of shit) says how he can hear the "massive distortion" coming from an HD650 between a 90db SINAD an 115db SINAD amp when 99.99% of the distortion is coming from the HD650 itself.

The only way to settle this is with blind testing which I am a huge proponent.

 

Thinking about this, I can see people coming to this belief because garbage in = garbage out. So obviously less than perfect distortion from an amplifying device is going to carry for to the transducer. Totally logical for smart people to believe this.

The problem is that things are much more nuanced than this. The distortion from produced by transducers themselves is a zillion times higher than amps, to the point where the amp doesn't make a difference (as long as it can reasonably drive the transducer). Think of it this way: will thirty ants in your pocket slow you down in a foot race compared to four ants?

Let me provide an example, that is show that a 90db SINAD vs 115db+ SINAD makes no difference when it comes to steady state distortion measurements.

JAR600 driven by Nitsch Piety (~90db SINAD, possibly worse) 104.93db SPL
Hanning 32k FFT 30AVG


JAR600 driven by Midgard (115db+ SINAD, possibly worse) 104.96db SPL
Hanning 32k FFT 30AVG


90db SINAD vs 115db SINAD amp makes no difference at the headphone.
Beware of false prophets!

 

Modius E balanced and SE out are more or less equivalent. Modius AKM balanced output was preferred over the SE output because the SE output of the Modius AKM sounded really phat. Modius E is a slightly better DAC anyway, unless one really loved the AKM Velvet sound.