New products from a S***** company – T.H.E. Show Newport 2014
Yes, the title is yet another play on words from the low hanging fruit that is Schiit audio. Schiit continues to defy typical audiophile convention with their every-man truly-budget pricing. The product line now finally reaches the plains of audiophile pocketbooks with the flagship headphone/loudspeaker amp Rangarok ($1,699), but lets not forget that Schiit also makes a fine headamp for $99. Five new products were introduced at this year’s Headphonium including the new Ragnarok (shipping in June).
Not merely satisfied to redefine personal audio, Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat are continuing to reach out their long arms of budget-minded production into even more untapped regions of HiFi. The Mani is a phono stage preamp coming in August 2014 that will retail for a mere $129 and should offer plenty of gain and load adjustments to get your vinyl rotating just the way you like it.
Stoddard is also introducing a $99 USB “Descrewifier” called the Wyrd. The back is marked by a pretty simple USB in, USB out and external power jacks. According to the product’s placard the Wyrd claims to reduce pesky power supply noise and power issues via a “low-noise (2.5NV) power supply” and “optimized oscillator circuitry” while also simultaneously questioning its place in the universe as the world’s most expensive USB hub.
Jason has even taken to supply the hungry masses with updates for two of the amps that originally put him on the map. The Lyr and the Valhalla will be sporting a new facelift this month when their “2” versions are released into the wild. Both amplifiers will now feature switchable gain settings to help make them more compatible with a wider range of headphones. Also new to the mix is the addition of analog pre-outs, so you can attach your desktop loudspeaker rig to the back and still tap into a little bit of that “tube magic” as a pre amp. The Lyr 2 and Valhalla 2 are up the company’s site now and retail for $449 and $349 respectively.