Anyone heard Schiit's Aegir?

Kinda early but I’m curious also...note that major mags seemingly (I might have missed it if they did) haven’t reviewed a Vidar amp or a Freya preamp (I have one of those) although Schiit does buy adds, so one does seem to have to wait until users talk about them.

☝🏻What is the efficiency of your speakers?

I heard it at AXPONA 2019 in the Schiit room. Sounded wonderful. 

Here is a related link:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-new-schiit-aegir-amplifier-now-shipping?highlight=Aegir

Def Tech ProMonitor 100
Hmmmm! judging amps with cheap wall mount, surround sound 5" two ways, I wouldn't base a judgement using these.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2X-Definitive-Technology-ProCinema-Pro-Monitor-100-Speakers-Bookshelf-Pair-TWO/293026264202?epid=23015348717&hash=item4439b9f48a:g:U64AAOSweEFcncEO

Cheers George 

rockrider,

did they make you pay return shipping after your fifteen days?

All the best.

JD

If you like dynamics and subtlety of snare drum and the like, do your self a favor and get some Klipsch RP 600M. Dynamics are unheard of for only 550 dollars.

rockrider, please no offense, but I totally agree with George on this one, and I have heard your speakers and matching sub. Yes, they can show you amplifier differences, but the real nuances of music, not a reviewers pair of speakers. I also believe that some products require longer break in than others. Please tell us what amplifier you are using with your Def Techs, prior to the Schiit ? Enjoy ! MrD.

Bstat, hey buddy. Have you actually heard the RP 600s, or are you going on all of the fabulous reviews ? I am a Klipsch guy, mostly the Heritage line. I have not heard them, but have a pair of earlier RB3s, maxed out by me, a few pair of maxed out Heresys, and my lovely, maxed out Lascalas. Did you change out your Vandys ? Enjoy ! MrD.

Haven't heard them directly, going by the numerous review from folks I trust.
I do have an upgrade plan in place for the 4 decade old Vandy 2Cs (alas, I don't think the Treo CT is in my future, so have to go bang for the buck route).

Next (buy 1 or 2 used Vandersteen 2wq subs - will be keeping an eye out for good deals on the interwebs) - in my mind these are a better deal than used REL T/9is overall (Vandies hit lower and have the high-pass x-overs with high level connections, also) Although RELs are prettier.
Then:
buy the Magnapan LRS
Then:
Klipsch RP600M - so I can switch between them and the maggies depending on my mood) Haven't figured out how to integrate the subs going between the 2 sets of speakers yet.

Then, if wife hasn't killed or divorced me at this point, will buy an Aegir for tweeter and mids duty and put the Pro amp on the woofers. Am looking forward to the day when this is all complete (likely a couple years) it took loads of research to come to this point.

Happy cinco de mayo! 
Spinning Nilsson, smoking baby back ribs, sipping a margarita and this pops up. 

https://apple.news/A6QJ4VPhsQi2MXHYGwNIdow

I believe heavily, in class A amplification. I have had many in my lifetime, and still own a few. I have a HK Citation 12, that was worked on by an engineer buddy of mine from 30 years ago. He changed the amp to a 1 wpc class A amp, to run a pair of Stax top electrostatic headphones I owned, and listened to a lot, at that time. Sold the Stax, as my headphone listening time diminished, but then used the amp on my then pair of Klipsch Lascalas ( I have had several pair, and still own a pair ). I have not heard a better, purer, more lucid, amplifier, than this one, and I am not exaggerating. But, there is a problem. Although my Lascala’s are 104 db, determined at 1 meter from the speakers, and anechoically, I am a good 8-12 feet away ( I change my listening position often, based on the recordings ), and I do listen to both very dynamic music, and I listen louder than many. So, where am I going with this ? I believe you all know. So, although I love this amp, I do not use it. Keep in mind, the class a design keeps the output stages linear, 100 % of the time, but all class a amplifiers still sound different from one another. Be it as it may, this is true. The 1st watt is the most important watt, but if that is all you’ve got....well.  Actually, the amp does do well with much of my music, and, I can keep it down a bit, so, I will be connecting it back up. Thank you for reading. Enjoy ! MrD.

No offence to Rockrider, but I concur on his speakers being the limiting factor.  I’ve got a Schiit Vidar, and am amply impressed with the the, uh, amp.

I’ve read some owner’s opinions of the Aegir on SBAF forum, and there is a consensus that it bests the Vidar in all regards, but you need reasonably efficient speakers or a pair of the Aegirs as monoblocks.  

That's nice to know since I'm considering one. Thanks!

Not to dismiss RR’s speaker system as I have not heard them in person, I believe I had a similar speaker type in the Polk RTI bookshelf’s. I had to slim down my system when we lived in a small condo many years ago.  The RTIs sounded wonderful mated with a receiver. However, I’m not certain I would be inclined to hear actual amplifier differences. Much like our built in ceiling speakers in our kitchen. They sound great, but not resolving enough to hear no differences. 

I hear that ELAC makes wonderful smaller speaker systems that have really high quality sound. 

I’ve refrained from posting my opinions online until I’ve sold my tube amp but now the lion is out of the bag.

I auditioned Aegir monoblocks with the goal of just testing it out due to my curiosity with good well designed class A solid state amp. Well never in my wildest dreams did I realize that it would be this good and would persuade me to sell my beloved Mayer 45/ 2A3 amp but thats exactly what happened.

Schiit has hit a major homerun with their Aegir Continuity amp. To my ears , it retains a lot of the great SET attributes I’ve come to love but with way less distortion ( especially IMD) way more dynamic headroom unraveling details I’ve never heard before with the Mayer amp.

Let me remind people that the Mayer amp is no slouch at all. In fact I always thought that it may be the best pure SET power amp on the planet. Fully transformer coupled ( interstaged) and insane choke filtered power supply that cost over 10k but Aegir monoblocks will by my new reference amplifier.

The best place to use tubes is in the preamp in my opinion. I’m using the Mayer 10y preamp to drive the Aegirs and it sounds great to my ears. Now I have way more speaker flexiblity and don’t have to worry about anymore tube maintenance or expensive power tubes.

Any more Aegir opinions?

Read Stereophile magazine, they just gave it a Class A rating.   It’s in the same category as amps costing the price of a German car.

Thanks. I did read it. Looks like a winner

After initiating this thread by inquiring about the Aegir’s. I spent a lot of time reading about the various class A amps like First Watt F7, First Watt J2 and Pass Labs XA 25. After much consternation, I decided to belly up to the bar and pop for the Pass XA-25. My Zu Omen’s have never sounded this good.. The speakers have disappeared! 

Yeah, abery, it does look pretty impressive. I was somewhat shocked that Stereophile would put it in the Class A category, that’s really saying something.  Right up there with the super expensive amps.

I’ve got the schiit Vidar, and almost can’t believe how good it sounds with 3 different pairs of speakers.  Word is the Aegir has an amazing mid range and top end, superseding the Vidar.  

For those in the market, if you have reasonably efficient speakers(say above 92 decibels) and are looking at class A amps for their sound, the 799 Aegir should be on the short list.

if you’ve got a budget of a few grand or more, the best strategy is to get as much speaker as you can afford.  I’ve seen people get a pair of $99 Andrew Jones Pioneer speakers and then go spend $2500 on a Parasound amp.  That would be the wrong way to go.

I'm running Zu Omen Defs (101 db-advertised---around 96-98 db measured). The Aegir and Firtwatts seem to be ideal choices. The Pass XA 25 as well. 

I love my Dennis Had tube amp (I actually own two of the things) but have been curious about the Pass XA25 having read so much about it...I want one. However, at one fifth the cost, the Aegir might have to get bumped to first place in my curiosity contest as it seems so interesting, and my 99db speakers should match it well. Hmmmm....

wolf, r u passive biamping the Heresy III's, with 2 of the amps ?

Nope...but I'm back to bi-wiring the Heresy IIIs after putting some new plugs on a set of AQ Rockets. Using one Had amp and selling the other one.

AQ Rocket 44’s are my main speaker cables and do really well with the Vidar.  I’d be jones’n for some Aegirs too if my speakers were more efficient!
 
Thus my Jones like behaviour is limited to the new Freya +.  I keep telling myself that the balanced inputs will make the Gungnir(who comes up with these names??) even better.

Jones yerself into 2 Aegirs maybe as that uses the balanced outs from your Freya + (I can’t use those as my power amp is RCAs only...damn...). The fact that the now "Class A Rated" (oh yeah, uh huh) Aegir is so amazingly (relatively) inexpensive I imagine lots of buyers will fork over the extra 800 clams for the second one. Is there any other Class A (ish) 80 wpc rig for $1,600 out there? I wish they’d stick stereo balanced inputs on the Aegir as I do prefer balanced whenever possible, and the XLR outs on my "original version" Freya look sad and lonesome.

I just installed 2 Aegirs running monoblock into Dunlavy Cantata (same as SC-III).  The Aegirs replaced an Audiomat Arpege reference tube amplifier.    They sound spectacular and I'm absolutely thrilled thus far.    

So Schiit seem to want to have it both ways.  When giving the dry specs, they only quote monoblock operation at 80W into 8 ohms.  Then later on, in the text of the description, they say it will give 100W into 4 ohms.  If that is solid and reliable, why not quote it too in the specs?

Because they're BAD BAD BAD. And, it doesn't seem to matter much.

Help!  Where's @georgehifi when you need him?!

I would never bridge two amps, unless all I needed was more PA watts and prepared to take a hit on every other parameter, including sound quality.

I would use the Aegir just on the mids and highs, and use a Vidar on the bass

Cheers George

Anyone else got a pair of Aegirs in monoblock configuration? Curious to hear what amp you came from you what you are hearing the with Schiits.

With all the publicity about this amplifier, including an unprecidented Class A Stereophile rating for an $800 amplifier, I am curious as to why this amplifier seems never to have been reviewed (or allowed to be reviewed) "professionally" in its bridged mode. 

Its 8 ohm output is only 20 waits single and is 80 watts bridged.  Especially since 20 watts is insufficient for a lot (most?) speaker-room environments and  80 watts can easily accommodate a lot more speakers and users, it seems all the more bizzare.

Any thoughts?

@melm

I agree - odd that there are not professional reviews using them in a monoblock setup.

@squeak_king_77

Odd indeed. But they worked well in Mono configuration otherwise? What speakers were you using?

My Aegir just arrived a few days ago, but I'm very impressed. I was worried about the relatively low power (prior amp was a Hypex nCore with 150 watts/ch) and my medium efficient speakers (Ohm 1000s at 88 dB).  The Aegir should put out around 30 watts/channel into the 6 ohm 1000s. 

The smoothness and clarity are amazing from bass through the highs. No sense of graininess or stridency at all. Perhaps the biggest improvement is the resolution of lower level background sounds. It is a real step-up with an improvement in holographic qualities.

I was worried about the lower power. I'm not a head-banger in terms of volume -- 80 to 85 dB average is about as loud as I routinely listen. The Aegir seemed to coast along without problem at this level so I pulled out my voltmeter and sound-level meter to see how much power I was actually using. On average, at 85 dB with the odd peak up to 93 or 94 dB, I was using an average of 1 to 2 watts per channel to reach this level. Cranking it up to an average of 90 dB (which I find uncomfortable) still showed no sign of stressing the amp. 

I'm going to continue experimenting and testing as I go along in the trial period, but so far I am really pleased. 

@mlsstl  - That's helpful about the volume. My speakers are 89db 6ohm (Aperion Verus III Grand Towers) and I was wondering if a single Aegir could drive them comfortably up to 95db continuous or so. It sounds like it will be possible. How high was your preamp turned up?

The thing to remember about amp power and volume is that the wattage is a logarithmic relationship to loudness, not linear. Each 3 dB increase in volume level requires double the power.  

In my case, if 2 watts average = 85 dB, going to 95 dB would need more ln the neighborhood of 20 watts, perhaps a bit more. And you still need some extra for dynamic peaks.  You might be asking for for close to full power from the Aegir with little room left for peaks. I just don't listen that loud.

There is also the issue that speaker impedance is not a single number across the board. The resistance varies with frequency and some speakers are more difficult to drive than others. And, there are multiple ways to measure speaker efficiency, so sometimes a manufacturer's numbers are a bit optimistic. 

However, all you can do is try. You might also consider running two Aegirs as monoblocks. You get 80 watts a channel into 8 ohms that way, but you'd need a preamp with balanced output for that to work. Schiit does offer a 15 day money-back trial period (less 5% restocking fee and return shipping costs) so you do have that option if you want to experiment.

However, all you can do is try. You might also consider running two Aegirs as monoblocks.

I wouldn’t do that, yes wattage goes up, but all other properties go down, when you bridge.

Much preferable way if the speakers have bi-wirable speaker terminals.
Is to horizonal bi-amp, using the stereo Aegir in it’s Class-A glory for the uppermids/highs that’s it’s forte, and then a using a much more powerful Vidar for the bass.
And a $49 Sys passive to equalize the gain of both because they have different gains No bridging and no loss of quality on either.
They are very similar in circuit design and will sound as one, just the lower wattage Class-A Aegir is being used where it shines, in the uppermids/highs and won’t be stressed trying to do bass also, that’s up to the Vidar.

https://ibb.co/nmW6nQL

Cheers George

Thanks, George. That's a good idea for those who listen at loud volumes and have speakers that accommodate using two amps configured as you suggest. However, that wouldn't work for me. Ohms have just one driver that handles the whole range up to 8K or 9K and then use a single tweeter to supplement above that, with only a single set of terminals for both drivers.

Fortunately, for my preferred listening level the Aegir is proving to be a great choice for me.  I'm continuing to experiment with a wide variety of music (with the meters still connected) and haven't found a situation yet that seems to stress the amp or demand more power than what's available.  Obviously whether that works for others is something they'll have to check out themselves.  Those who want high volume will be out of luck with a single Aegir unless they have very efficient speakers.

Thanks, George. That’s a good idea for those who listen at loud volumes and have speakers that accommodate using two amps configured as you suggest.

No, that bi-amp’ing configuration, is not for getting louder music, bridging two amps into mono is, but looses out on quality all over.
It’s 20w of Class-A still for mids and highs with the Aegir, just not making it do bass, which the Vidar would be better at anyway.

Cheers George

So far, I have no complaints about bass quality with the Aegir. My prior amp was a Hypex nCore and before that, a Bel Canto Ice amp. I detected no loss of bass quality with the Aegir.