Schiit Audio Does 2 Channel – RMAF 2016

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The second floor of the Rocky Mountain Tower of Audio Power housed several budget rooms of varying costs. Just beyond and kiddy-corner to the wallet-friendly room collective was something completely new from headphone amp and DAC maker Schiit audio – two channel products.

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The initial push into the dedicated loudspeaker realm consists of the preamp Saga ($349), balanced pre Freya ($699) and stereo/mono-capable power amp Vidar ($699).

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All the new products hold on to Schiit’s vision of high-end for less, which has definitely took the headphone market by storm. The Saga pre uses a relay switched stepped attenuator and selectable passive or tube hybrid buffer stage with 5 inputs and 2 outs.

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The Freya also does balanced operation with a selectable passive, JFET buffer or tube hybrid (6SN7 + 300v rail). Both pre amps naturally come with a remote control operation and are looking to ship in late October.

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The Vidar power amplifier is a class A/B with no capacitors, switching supplies or DC servos in the signal path. It is capable of 100W RMS/channel into 8 ohms in stereo mode and 400W in mono. Expect ship dates to start around Q1 2017.

Schiit was switching between their own Yggdrasil DAC ($2299) and Salk’s Streamplayer Gen III ($1695) in the show room. Salk also provided the loudspeaker supplement to the rig in the form of the Song3 ($2895/pair) and occasionally their higher cost SoundScape 8 ($8995/pair). The setup that was playing when I entered the room totaled $5,638 with the Song3s, which still easily falls into the budget realm compared to the plethora of $20k+ rooms that inhabit the rest of the tower of power. It is also worth mentioning that Schiit already sells a do-all integrated amp called Ragnarok that covers off on everything from headphones to speaker taps (60W/8 ohms) for $1,699.

Room 2003 wasn’t the only place you could find Schiit audio, they also had a significant presence in the personal audio tent out in the parking lot of the Marriott Tech Center. Check out the video below for a look at their wide berth of headphone offerings they displayed including the new Jotunheim we covered in full at the [Schiit Show] this year.

More info: http://schiit.com/

 

One thought on “Schiit Audio Does 2 Channel – RMAF 2016”

  • Alan R. Christilaw
    October 18, 2016 at 12:59 pm
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    Thank goodness for American goodness and innovation on the entry level front. Whatever you were recommending for friends getting into audio? In the back of your mind you knew that whatever badge it had? Ir all came from the same factory in China.

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