Review: Schiit Audio Wotan Power Amplifier
Review of the Schiit Wotan power amplifier. Over the past 10 years or so, HiFi maker Schiit Audio has slowly drifted into two channel speaker amplification from its once headphone-dominated start. In truth, it is more likely a return to 2 channel for founder Jason Stoddard, who originally got his start in HiFi at Sumo many years ago. But as for the trajectory for Schiit as a company, things are definitely continuing to spend precious R&D dollars on speaker amplification, as witnessed by the launch of a new stereo power amp – Wontan.
The Wotan is a major part of a three product release that includes a new mobile app which controls not only volume, but also unique information about the system as a whole. The Folkbeard, as it is called, is essentially a small optional port located on the back of the new Wotan, Freya (Tube) Kara (solid state) Pre Amps, and Gungir 2 DAC. Collectively, Schiit Audio sells all three products (plus cables) as a whole system called the Gigastack starting at $4,247 (based on your options). Outside of the Gigastack, if one decides to purchase the Forkbeard, it arrives in the form of a small, red module that plugs directly to the unique port on the back panel. For the Wotan specifically, it offers a small glimpse into the well being of the amp’s current state. This is important when it comes to Schiit amplification, as not all Schiit amps are made for all speakers. They do an excellent job with most speakers, but historically some of the high tone, lower output amps struggled a bit when it comes to the highest demand models, like electrostatic panels found in Mangepanes, Soundlab, MartinLogan and the like. This should be considered consistant with other amps of the same class/output/pricepoint. Even so, Jason and Co. hope to address some of that with Wotan’s 200 watts into 8 and 400 into 4 ohms of Class AB power.
Without a formal transfer of title, it does appear that the most recent version of the flagship mono Tyr power amplifier is currently on the “last call” section of Schiit’s direct-to-consumer site. Likely indicating that the current flagship is intended to get an update to Forkbeard at some point in the future. The new Wotan does offer up the same 200 watts per channel, but in a dual mono configuration available in a single box. A really cool feature for the Wotan specifically is the ability to turn off the feedback on the fly, even from the Forkbeard app. There is no choke this time in the design (compared to the Tyr monos) and the inputs are now both SE and balanced, also switchable from a button on the front panel of the amp. Another big change is the addition of fans (two of them) on the back panel. While this feature may be a turn off for some, I didn’t experience them turn on with any speakers I paired with the Wotan. According to the site, the fans engage slowly at first, then accelerate if things don’t cool down. So obviously, the noise floor would not be relatively affected much with them engaged at full throttle. With any luck, the extended listening volume of the speaker should drown out anything the fans create in the mix. Just to put a point on it though, I never had the fans spin up any of the speakers in the systems I ran during critical listening sessions.
When on, the Schiit Wontan created no extraneous noise through the speakers, which is more than could be said for many of the power amps currently in my possession. There was a slight coil whine coming directly from the amp itself, but no hiss or buzz coming from the tweeters at any volume. Power was also plentiful, if the Forkbeard app is to be believed. The sliding gauge provided in the app barely moved out of its initial position during listening sessions, with plenty of space to move onward to ear deafening levels.
The Wotan appears to be an evolution of sorts for Schiit. Whereas Vidar had the power, and Aegier had the tone, Wotan sums up the two and adds a little sparkle all its own. Tonality is far from boring, but includes the dynamic thrust you need to have strong, leading edge transients. This was perhaps the best part of the most recent iteration of the Aegir power amp from Schiit, but now things have all been turned up a notch even further. Things aren’t so tonally shifted that one might confuse the amplification with a soupy tube amp. No, they do sound somewhat “solid state” when compared to the in-house ampsandsound tube Stereo 17 “Little Nugget”. Side by side comparisons brought out a bit more in the mids for the ampsandsound, but an extended top end for the Wotan. The articulation in the treble was as detailed, but light and airey as it should be. Even when scaled upward with the $16k DeVore Fidelity O/96 two-ways, the Wotan rose to the occasion with hyper realistic imaging and instrument placement that felt three dimensional in nature. In short, it has the punch you need for a lively feel, but it also has the finsess necessary for more tender moments in music like jazz and folk. The embedded texture, the “thumbprint” of the amp is subtle enough to remain almost undetectable to the uninitiated, but yet brings an endearing character to those who care enough to notice. For a more financially practical pairing, the new Warfedale Super Linton’s in for review nearly matched the amplifier cost at $2.5k (stands included). With a little more in the upper bass and upper mids, the combined rig (along with the Kara pre) still proved its mettle with dynamic punch and classy tonal structure. Perhaps a credit to the overall wattage, Class A, or other unknown design spec, the Wontan eventually was able to win out as my favorite pairing with the Wharfedale Super Lintons. While the DeVore’s say that the Wotan is capable of scale, the more down-to-earth Wharfedales tell a tale of high fidelity riches at a lower pricepoint – much of which might be considered Schiit Audio’s mantra for all its audio products. With both speakers (96 and 90 sensitivity) the sliding scale in the Forkbeard app for the Wotan never breached past “A” at normal listening levels, which signifies moving out of class A amplification.
While room treatment and acoustics play such a bit part in detail retrieval on the micro level, the Schiit Wotan was able to pull out some of the more nuanced information from audiophile classics like SRV’s TIn Pan Alley and The Eagles’ Hotel California as much as it was able to with Billie Eilish’s warm vocal tones on tracks like SKINNY and CHIHIRO from HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. The added low end punch from Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories was met in full stride across all the drums and exaggerated bass that graces the highly influential album. Granted, so much of the actual speaker (and room) design comes into play with these factors, but still, the big hits came when it was needed, and finesse and grace was felt in the background when the music called for a softer touch. Nothing too stringent, nothing needlessly edgy, no faded hues, all good things where good things should be. In the greater scheme of the HiFi rigs hobbled together for this review, the Wotan was never the weakest link. Which actually says a great amount considering the caliber of gear in for review at the moment. In the bigger picture of the Gigastack package the Wotan is probably the largest power amp value proposition on paper due to its high wattage + Class AB design – at least as a reaction to its closest competitors.
With a diverse list of features for a power amp the Wotan checks a lot of boxes when it comes to versatility and wattage requirements. A powerful standalone power amp is a necessity in some bigger systems, but might not be a fit for everyone or every system. Also, the introduction of fans might turn some off as well. On the other hand, the new status updates from Forkbeard are no doubt intriguing to those who really dig into the technicalities of system building. The $100 ask for the Forkbeard module (standalone Wotan, outside of the Gigastack package) might be a little bit much for some, but it does provide remote access to the power meter, Class A indicator, input selector and feedback on/off not found on any onboard display. However, the front panel of the Schiit Wotan does still offer clickable options for SE/Balanced, feedback and standby mode. Finally, it may not seem that noteworthy to those who haven’t experienced amplifier control via a phone app, but the Forkbeard dial was also pretty quick on the draw. It reconnected quickly and responded with a perfectly acceptable, tiny delay, which is more than can be said about most app volume controls that I have used.
If you need a little more power in your back pocket and often wonder how much “Class A” you really get out of your AB amp, the Schiit Audio Wotan is likely your only option, at least that this reviewer has ever heard of. Along with the Forkbeard module, much is revealed that is usually hidden from view. The feedback switch was an interesting toggle as well. I found a preference to having feedback off in most scenarios, which included a little more gain as well in the line. The previously mentioned volume control also works well, and is speedy (for the Kara pre, not the Wotan) so having both in the same place on your phone acts as a sort of system checkup at any time, if you will. The extra data could prove insightful to those who play at high levels, for long periods of time. This reviewer’s preference is listening levels below 80 dB, but we did let the drivers fly a few Friday evenings while the amp was in our possession. No distortion, no mushy bass, and no movement past Class A until the volume knob was past 1 o’clock and the window panes were rattling. The fans never came on either. Electrostatic panel users may find themselves in a different scenario, but owners are likely already aware of their situation in this realm. For the rest of us there is more than enough to find any desirable listening level, party or no.
More info: Schiit Audio Wontan | Gigastack
If you would like to hear Jason Stoddard himself talk more about the Forkbeard and also what is new at Schiit Audio, check out his recent interview on the audiophile show The Occasional Podcast. The episode is available to listen direct from the embed below or by subscribing via the major podcast platforms including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio, etc.