Schiit Announces Asgard X, New Mesh DAC Card
Schiit Audio’s latest headphone amp/DAC receives some trickle down tech from its flagship Mjolnir. The new Asgard X fits within the Texas-based company’s mid-sized footprint, but pulls in some of the same new design elements. This includes a brand new output stage Schiit is calling Continuity A.
The modular nature of the Asgard X allows for the implementation of an optional DAC module, so along with the release of the new headphone amp there is also a new digital card that also includes Schiit’s app remote Forkbeard EQ/Volume/Filter selector. That’s a big update in functionality that was previously only available in the much higher end models.
Much more in the press release below:
“ASGARD X: CLASS A…PLUS!
Schiit Introduces “Mini Mjolnir” and Optional Mesh™ DAC Card with Forkbeard™
June 11, 2025, San Antonio, TX. Today, Schiit Audio introduced Asgard X, an all-new, zero-feedback Class A headphone amp and preamp, as well as an optional Mesh™ DAC card with Forkbeard™ to create an ultra-flexible all-in-one desktop audio control center. Asgard X debuts Continuity A, an all-new, perfectly complementary, Class A output stage. Asgard X is available now from $399 and the Mesh/Forkbeard DAC card is available now at $150 at schiit.com.
“In June 2010, we shipped our first order for the original Asgard” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit Audio’s co-founder and designer of Asgard X. “Many in the industry thought we were crazy, providing such a high-quality product at such a low price, and selling direct. Today, however, we are one of the US’s leading audio companies.”
Stoddard states that he wanted to do something special for the 15th anniversary, including reviving the iconic Asgard, and introducing a new DAC card to bring Schiit’s entire modular lineup into the Forkbeard universe.
“We named it ‘Asgard X’ during development because it was so experimental, so out there,” said Jason. “We went through five iterations to bring as much as possible of Mjolnir 3 to this new Asgard. And we got very close!”
Asgard X, in fact, uses the same zero-feedback topology of Mjolnir 3, including the exact same discrete front end, with the exact same parts. However, to drastically shrink the Asgard X, an all-new output stage was needed: Continuity A™.
Continuity A solves the problem of NPN and PNP device mismatch in complementary Class A designs, by running NPN and PNP devices at the same current at the same time on both positive and negative rails. This approach, together with a massively overbuilt parallel architecture—Asgard X has 12 individual 3A transistors in its output stage—results in something much more practical than Mjolnir 3’s all-out single-ended Class A design. The result is an amp that actually has more output power than a Mjolnir 3, in a much smaller, cooler-running product.
“By eliminating the mismatch between NPN and PNP devices in Continuity A, we’ve arguably created something even better than traditional complementary Class A topologies,” Jason commented. “But stating that outright is being hyperbolic, and I’d still argue that single-ended, single-device-type, current-sourced Class A topologies like Mjolnir 3 have the overall edge.”
Also debuting with Asgard X is the Mesh DAC card with Forkbeard, which brings Schiit’s new Mesh DAC (combining their unique time- and frequency-domain optimized digital filter with a standard delta-sigma modulator) and Forkbeard control system to the desktop for the first time. On the Mesh DAC card, Forkbeard enables app-based control of a 3-band parametric EQ, balance, volume, Loudness, NOS mode, and phase inversion. The Mesh DAC card also includes Schiit’s new high-rate Unison 384 USB input.
“The Mesh/Forkbeard DAC is also compatible with every Schiit modular product ever made,” said Jason. “This means every Jotunheim and Jotunheim 2, Asgard 3, Asgard Piety, Lyr 3, and Ragnarok—they can all use this card. They can go high-rate, they can be Meshed, and they can all be part of the growing Forkbeard universe. ”
Asgard X and the Mesh DAC Card are available now at schiit.com.”
More info Asgard X | Mesh DAC Card
If you want to hear about the Forkbeard remote app and more from Schiit designer and founder Jason Stoddard, you can also check out the interview below, available on your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.