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

To be fair Schiit does also state:

 

I heard it first hand at the LA Audio Show last month, it was impressive. When I went through my Maggie phase nearly 20 years ago I had 600 watt Krell amps that couldn't drive them as nice.

 

If history is any indicator, Schiit is very conservative with their measurements and specs. Some specs even say worst case, instead of the usual let's tweak this until we get a number that looks really good. The amps should be able to handle most speakers.

 

I heard what they could do last year at RMF, so this is very cool. I am a little attached to the Maggies atm.

 

I was under the false impression that Jason had urged away from planars, seriously happy to be wrong. My Linn amp has the clout (sad pun) but lacks in resolution/detail ..dB

 

I think it's more things like the Martin Logan impedance curves below that are potentially problematic (and pretty much non-starters for using the Vidar as mono-blocks).

 

That was with the Ragnarok or running monoblock Vidars at high volumes. They torture tested a single Vidar on Maggies for hours. If I recall correctly, Jason runs Maggies at home with an Emotiva amp.

 

Lololol better replace that Emotiva with a Vidar now.

It would be fun to see a picture of Jason's home setup.

 

Sorry to disagree, but it is not.

Bridging is the process of using the output of one side of the amp to drive the inverting input (feedback point) of the other side of the amp, in a typical Lin-topology amp. This is technically "in series" and can have sonic consequences that are not ideal.

Vidar is not a Lin topology. When used as a monoblock, it is simply amplifying a differential signal. It is not bridged.

 

Jason,

I thought I got that "not bridged" statement right based on how I understood what you have posted about the design.

Since I am going to try using 4 ohm speakers with two Vidar amps as mono blocks and one Vidar amp is stereo mode, is there anything I should try or not try? I suspect I just should have purchased one Vidar as the speakers are very efficient (98.82dB 2.83V@1m sensitivity). But curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see if I could hear any differences between the two setups. I can't imagine listening to these speakers in my home at a level that would cause the two Vidar amps to shut down.

Thanks again for coming out with these high value products!

 

I hope they post internal pics

 

I used the prototype Vidar with Maggie .7 at home and at the LA Audio Show. Worked wonderfully with them, even when played quite loudly.

 

Pardon the possibly dumb question, but would driving little Maggie MMGs with Vidars in monoblock fed balanced from the pre-outs of a Ragnarok be a totally bad idea? Because that's what I've been contemplating for awhile now.

 

Should be interesting! Good luck!

 

Er... can you both be correct? I think it's coming down to definitions/semantics.

To my understanding, a bridged amp is two amp channels fed opposite polarity signals and sending their outputs to either side of a load respectively. The mcguffin is how that second inverted channel is derived. Jason's mention of deriving the second channel from the output of the first channel is just *one* method of doing so. A phase splitter or taking halves of a balanced input would be the other most common ones.

At least this is how I've always understood it. I've seen people "bridging" stereo amps with hacked xlr-to-rca cables to act as phase splitters for years.

Granted, specifying Lin to differentiate it from other topologies takes it out of my wheelhouse, and maybe we're all a bunch of lummoxes trying to understand the spellbook of a level 93 wizard.

 

If i have one criticism of schiit, is their constant use of the phrases "Ultra high end" and "no compromise". Something i have really felt with the Ragnarok amp, which was disappointing for me, especially since the hype reached the kind of fever pitch that i dont think anything else ever touched other than the yggdrasil. The jotunheim is also nothing particularly special if i'm being honest.

The way the marketing is said and done, make it sound as if its comparable or even better than Soulution, Constellation audio, Vitus, or my personal solid state favorite, Accuphase (the only one with real value in the list if you pay japan or hong kong prices) etc

Like it or not, i think there was serious compromise made. No, i don't mean in the chassis or audio jewelry. I mean in the topology, and the cheaper parts and transformers.

As an analogy, you could make a no compromise 2 litre 4 cyclinder car. But to call it ultra high end, is like saying a Golf RS or A45 is comparable to a Ferrari 812 Superfast with a v12 engine.

Its simply not comparable. But it can still be very enjoyable and a great value for money.

Of course i could be completely wrong, and the vidars turn out to be the second coming of audio jesus, with it beating the Soulution mono-blocks in a blind test. In which case, i hope that i am completely and utterly wrong.

 

To be fair, this is what they say:

"Vidar is nothing less than a no-excuses, exotic-topology, Class-AB, linear-supply, microprocessor-controlled, power-doubling, dual-mono-ish, intelligently-managed, drives-almost-anything power amp. No Class D, no switching supplies, no fans, no compromises, nothing in the signal path but music—for a three-figure price tag."

And as far as my experience with Schiit goes, they mean this for all their products. I dont think they are interested in doing an uber-ultra-unicorn level product that will compete with the stuff that you listed.
For example: the new turntable they might make, they expect to price it between a Bifrost and a Gungnir, so I'd expect it to kick total ass at that price compared to products in that range. I wont compare it to a $10k turntable

 

Well, I think they can get away with it because there is barely any established references to compare to. I have read about Accuphase etc but have not tried anything truly high end myself, so maybe I misspeak. Not like anyone can trust Stereophile these days to get a clue..
Any product is compromise in one way or another. Even isolating the issue to sound quality alone is still vague, as there is no universal following, except maybe for SET amps (which don't apply to the criteria anyways). Going to prejudge by price or looks gets you nowhere, either. Trying to judge by technical points is also dancing on thin ice..

Car analogy is about the worst thing you could have picked to make your point. There is no consensus. Kids watched Top Gear and established an understanding?
edit: Schiit is rather like Nissan GTR vs Ferrari (anything boutique high-end), which is now better? Not that simple, huh?