Thank you for this....as a long time headphone fan i would like to make some comments on Schiit: they are absolutely my #1 favorite provider of headphone amps and DACs. The company strives to provide consumers with the best value-for-the-money equipment across a wide range of offerings. Whether you are getting your first gear or something a bit more advanced, you cant go wrong with Schiit. Jason and Mike (co owners) strive to educate the community, listen to feedback, evolve their products, and offer new options each year. They rock!!!
@@PassionforSound A group of writers were tested at various blood alcohol levels for how well and quickly they could address a topic. The group did its best at 0.05-0.07.
@@PassionforSound No thank you. Your videos are very informative and easy to digest. None of that annoying overzealous hype that a lot of reviewers seem to have either. Just to the point and detailed. It’s awesome 👏
You have earned another subscriber my friend! It's not too often you get to hear wonderful in-depth interviews with pioneers of these industries, so thank you very much for sharing these.
Having been in Retail Audio since 1971 just adds to my enjoyment. I was a Sumiko dealer and the Model 9 really sounded good for super reasonable money. On the other side I have a Theta transport and DAC. Still sounding superb.
Great interview documentation! You asked great questions and the helpful descriptions of the various "term of arts" used for audio technology was extremely helpful. This was insightful and educational at the same time. Thanks for the great content!
Nice interview Lachlan. It's fantastic how generous Jason is with his time and knowledge. It's refreshing to see a manufacturer who isn't caught up with simply chasing the highest possible measurements. P. S. I received the tshirt in the post yesterday, thank you. I had to explain to my wife the reference 😂
Glad the t-shirt arrived safe and sound, Jeff! I agree that it's so refreshing to speak to industry experts and hear very grounded views on audio. Dan from Bottlehead was similar in this regard. Rob Watts' interview was a bit different because we were so focused on the technical aspects of digital audio.
Glad you like the content. Jason actually recommended the Bifrost 2 to me later in the interview and I've since had one sent out for review. It's pretty amazing!!
@@PassionforSound I really enjoy that lush texture Schiit manages to creat in the mids. On the internal ak4490 dac inside my Jot they've done it as well, but in a far lower performance overal. The bifrost manages to deliver this smoothness with the detail, which is something I've been looking for the past year. There are some piano tracks in which this is very evident. For instance Thinking of You from Chihiro Yamanaka has a solo from 2m to 3m10s in which you can feel this smoothness and such nice decay of the notes one over another. Just delightful.
Fantastic Interview! I know some others have interviewed Jason and or Mike from schiit but it's always a treat when you get to listen to them. Especially when you get Jason and Mike Moffett going lol. Their are a hoot! Keep up the interviews! I think they will help grow your channel ! I still look at the number of subscribers and think many are missing out! Their are some great ones out there like neslon pass, Dan dagistino, the always terrifc Andrew Jones, Paul at ps audio etc. One thing I noticed is that since you have interviewed folks on the diy side with bottlehead, you could do more with the folks at diy audio site. Perhaps you could interview 6l6 from diy audio. He does all the wonderful build guides for all the diy pass labs first watt (f5, aleph j, m2, f4, f6, amp camp and many other. Might also what consider interviewing and building Waynes whammy diy class a headphone/preamp kit. He always has a terrifc linestage preamp kit as well. Just tossing out some ideas as I think more in depth interviews from some of neslons very smart flock of pass labs forum folks would be great!
Hi Brandon, thanks for the suggestions. I tend to focus on interviewing people involved with products I'm very familiar with because I can ask deeper questions for conversation, but I'll never say never and I DO love me some DIY!
Oh nice, I love Jason Stoddard and his takes, this is awesome!!!! Stoked that you did this. Have him on more, because I appreciate what they do and what that are about, and what they are doing recently. I get they wanna see cost stay down for their philosophy for affordable amps; but I wanna see them make the cascading thing, in making a discrete Asgard 3+ or magni 3+ (with the better numbers) with all of that, would be cool..Great interview. 👍🏼😎
The first five minutes on Heresy vs. Magni 3+ really highlights the issue I have with the ASR forums. I guess if taking op amps and a good power supply is all it takes, it's far too simple and I personally am not interested in such a design (it's cheap of course).
I agree. There is a difference IMO between audiophiles and what I've begun to call measurementphiles. I'm not saying either is right or wrong, but the two approaches often don't align.
@@PassionforSound Ergo, if there's no way to thoroughly and objectively measure sound signals, then such comparisons are quite limited in their usefulness--I'd think this is one of issues I have with ASR reviews, but I'm not an expert at all, so this is just a guess.
Yeah, I'm no expert on the measurement side either, but I have lots of experience with listening to, comparing and reviewing products and there's not enough correlation between the measurements provided and the subjective listening experience for me to base any decisions solely on the data on ASR. It's probably fairly good at showing what sounds crappy, but not at separating what sounds ok and what sounds great.
Cool interview, I love my Schiit Loki. It has a nice little just a little something, warmth maybe, that makes my computer sound sound nice. The reason amplifiers sound different while measuring the same is because of the limitations of the standardized tests. The transfer function of an amplifier can be pleasant, as in some distortion can be in phase second harmonic simply sounds more pleasing. The more complicated the signal the greater the distortion from what looks on paper as great, but with a real signal it can sound bad. This is subjective, Pass Labs has a fantastic set of white papers cover this that includes objective measurements. Also, the load on the amplifier from the headphones has an effect, and more importantly the headphones actually induce a back wave in to the amplifier. And of course a headphone or speaker is not a resistive load and it's reactance varies based on frequency, these impedance swings can cause issues with cheaper amplifiers.
Jason is the only Californian I gladly welcomed to Texas. He is a solid dude! Love how he talks about his many failures on the path to a successful product.
There¿s no greater conflct than the fact that in the next couple of days I'm going to have to decide whether to get the magni 3+ or heresy as my very first amp (Stack since I'm getting the modi as well) Great interview btw, love the content!
I just wanted to post here that my attitude towards gear has changed a lot, I personally subscribed to a lot of 'objectivist' beliefs and bought into the L30/E30 Topping stack. I ran that setup for over a year, and I've just recently moved to a Jotunheim 2/Modius stack. It's absolutely breathed life into all of my headphones. Suddenly I have beautiful microdynamics, nuance and detail. Many times you simply don't know what you're missing out on, and its only harder when you're stuck in a bubble. My biggest regret is not doing this any sooner. Needless to say, I'm a fan and will certainly be buying more Schiit in the future.
I'm so glad you tried this out for yourself. I understand the objectivist approach when there's so much noise and ambiguity to cut through, but it really doesn't tell the whole story, does it? Congratulations on finding your musical enjoyment! 🙂🙂
Awesome vid! It’s so cool to hear from people from HiFi companies which build quality items and the prices are more than reasonable. I own numerous Schiit products and really dig em all. Thanks for the great vid! ✌️🎶🤗🔊
So glad you liked it! I've got a few other similar interviews already with Geshelli Labs, Bottlehead and Chord. I'm currently planning one with ZMF soon.
@@PassionforSound Yeah, man. I’m watching your Bottlehead vids right now. I love what you did with the Mainline. I replaced the crossover parts in my Tekton Pendragons with those exact Jantzen caps, Mills resistors, etc., and it absolutely made a difference which wasn’t exactly subtle. I tried “dumbing down” my rig, and now have a Schiit Freya +, a Parasound A23+ amp, and I recently replaced my Mani with a tube based Tavish Classic phono stage, although that last one was quite an upgrade, as did the amp and preamp end up being. I had much more expensive components before that, which just proves the subjective nature of HiFi and that expensive doesn’t always mean better. I could go on & on, but I’ll spare you and get back to watching your vids. Have a good one, man! ✌️🎶
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Nick. I definitely agree that expensive isn't necessarily better. Case in point is those Jantzen caps which are fantastic and very affordable
super cool to hear company insiders talk about their products and tech. I'm curious if Schiit has an updated perspective on MQA technology. I know they were not big fans and considered more of a temporary trend back in 2016. Curious if their opinion has changed?
Glad you found it interesting, Mr Moo! I think we would have seen some MQA support by now if they'd changed their minds, but who knows!? I hope to do another interview in the future with Mike Moffat (potentially with Jason again too) so hopefully that will be equally as interesting
Nice interview. In my case, the first impression of an amp or DAC or headphone is what I give more importance. My brain and ears don't have a chance to become biased or over-analyze and lean to my personal preference. For example, my Schiit Magnius sounded boring and closed-in with the Modius upon first listen. Even running it balanced, it still sounds boring and closed-in with the extra power and lower noise. I still prefer my Asgard 1 and 2, (and my previous Vali 2), even if they measure worse, are single-ended and have much less power. Their sound is way more holographic/out-of-head and fun for me.
Great interview. Looking forward to the next part. Just wish I could get hold of this Schiit in the UK. Any update on when your L30 review is coming out? Thanks.
Great interview, thanks. Do you do any blind, volume matched comparisons of amps? I ask because, as Jason intimated, once I started doing this the differences I was hearing between amps became much smaller (vanishingly small in many cases). Expectation bias is a powerful thing...
Hi Alan, I don't do blind comparisons because I'm not setup for it with sufficient quality gear to ensure transparency. I also don't feel a strong need for it because I rarely come in with any specific expectations. I try not to read other reviews, etc. until after my thoughts are formed. I also find that spending extended time with devices reduces the impact of any initial biases that may occur. I'm not saying I can guarantee complete impartiality, but I do my best 🙂
Passion for Sound Thanks for your thoughtful reply. If at all possible, you might consider getting set up for doing blind comparisons. Doing so would add a level of legitimacy to your channel that is sorely lacking among many UA-cam audio reviewers. It would be a nice differentiator and I think you might be surprised as Jason was when they first started doing blind listening sessions at Schiit.
Thanks Alan. I should clarify that I AM setup now (just recently) to do blind tests of DACs. It's the amps and headphones that are a bit trickier, but I might be able to rig something up using my XLR switch box to feed headphones...
Glad you liked it. Have you seen the Geshelli, Bottlehead and Chord (Rob Watts) interviews? I think they're all great because they're all great people with huge amounts of knowledge and experience
You mentioned in your Soloist 3x review that the A90 was more 2D soundstage where the Soloist was more 3D. You said you have a theory that it might be capacitance within the ICs thus causing small timing issues. I wonder if the feedback has something to do with it as well. Looping back the signal multiple times must take some time no? I'm no electrical engineer but still trying to wrap my head around what is going on :)
Hi Snow, the Soloist uses feedback for the gain stage so I don't think that's what's causing it because the Soloist uses feedback to manage the gain settings. However, if the issue is occuring inside the chips used as I suspect (chips are generally inferior to discrete components) then the feedback may be adding to the issue as it means the signal is being handled more by the chip.
This is exactly what happened to me. I tried the vali 2 with a sundara few weeks go and i immediately fell in love. And saw the review and measurements on ASR of the vali 2 and it's in the bottom of chart. Like wtf? It sound so good specially on the sundara. Ordered one but i need to wait for at least a month coz it backordered 😭
Don't stress over the measurements. They don't tell the whole story because not everything can be measured. Maybe check this out while you wait for delivery to help you feel good about your choice: feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/836781496-johnhdarko-beware-the-measurements.mp3
@@PassionforSound ah yes i was just browsing for some reviews when i saw it on ASR. It wont sway me away since i already heard the vali 2 and thankful that i dont need to blind buy :)
Just found this video, but I bought heresy over 3 about a year ago due simply to color and not believing I’d hear the difference myself (my first headphone amp, so I wasn’t incredibly picky)
@@PassionforSound I never tested side by side with Magni 3 (nor with 3+), but I quite enjoy my heresy. I only have one pair of “good” headphones and I’ve never had another amp to compare to, so I have no reference really. In terms of rabbit holes, yeah I’ve done a deep dive in educating myself. My income doesn’t allow my gear to keep up with my knowledge, though. I just hit near-term endgame with HD560S after buying and testing a few pairs of headphones and sending back the ones I didn’t want. Out of Monolith M570, HifiMan HE400i 2020 and Sundara, and the HD560S, I most enjoyed the sennheiser for the money. I feel very strange for not liking the Sundara after all the reviews I’ve watched and read, but they weren’t for me. I almost pulled the trigger on the M570, but couldn’t say no to the clarity and presence of vocals (I guess mids) in the sennheiser. I figure if I want a bass boost to match the boomy bass of the planars I tested I can just use EQ. Sorry for long ass response. I appreciate you responding to my comment in the first place and really enjoy your content. Cheers!
No apologies needed - it was a good read. I've got the HD560S here now and they're impressive. They have a very different presentation from the Sundara so I can imagine not liking the Sundara if you like the HD560S (and vice versa)
But if people are buying the two models about equally, have they had a chance to compare the sound? I had no chance to compare the sound before I bought mine.
Can't decide between magni 3+ or an asguard 3 for my sundaras. Already ruled out the heresy. Rather get a discreet amp. Asguard is intriguing since it's class AB.
I love my Gungnir DAC. What I don't like is their customer service. Can't call them. E-mail only. Had to get my DAC repaired. 41 e-mails later, it was finally fixed. This, IMO, is a major problem dealing with Schiit Audio. You might want to think about it before purchasing their products. I don't have that kind of time and I suspect most people don't.
@@PassionforSound BTW, I've had this DAC since 2013 so obviously they make a great product however, once before I had to go through the same tedious process. They're certainly not giving away their products so I feel certain they have the funds to hire one or two people to handle a customer in a personal manner. Merely my opinion. Thanks for responding.
@@PassionforSound I don't believe Multibit was available when I purchased mine. Don't get me wrong, their products are very good. But how about all the equipment they have sold world wide? I was in sales my entire life. If I treated my customers the way they do, I wouldn't have had any customers. Many sell similar products. What separates one from the other is customer service. Theirs is absolutely pathetic. And I have told them so repeatedly. I will never purchase another Shiit Audio product for that reason. Sorry, their unconcerned attitude should turn off any possible customer. It also took almost two months to resolve my issue.
Nice. Waiting for the rest. Negative feedback stuff is interesting. My experience is limited but i didn't like THX 789 that much. It's really sterile. I've checked other peoples opinions and almost all of them saying sterile must mean something. However downside of Schiit's low negative feedback discrete design is their gain is too much for sensitive headphones. 15 db gain on both Magni 3+ and Asgard 3. Their low gains have a lot of feedback so using them on low gain is not ''optimal''. The trend in the headphone world is sensitive and low impedance headphones now.
Glad you liked the interview and I agree about the high gain - that's the trade off. It's one of the reasons I was so impressed with Burson's new Soloist. They use feedback to drop the gain really low for IEMs, etc. but it's done really well and maintains a very natural sound.
@@PassionforSound Checked out your review. Looking nice. I'm personally in the market for a new dac and amp at lower price point. E30 and THX 789 didn't play well with my Ananda which is already spacious, light/lean and ''solid state'like'' sounding. I'm looking for punchy and dynamic sound to balance Ananda's character. It would be nice if you can review the Zen Dac and Zen Can. They look quite unique. Hybrid Burr Brown dac, discrete class a amp at reasonable price point. They are fully balanced too.
Are you running balanced or single ended? If SE, check out my review of the Topping L30 tomorrow - it's nuts and would pair beautifully with the E30. If balanced, the Geshelli Erish has a richer sound, but competes at the level of the 789. Oh, but you'd need a balanced DAC like a Modius perhaps.
@@PassionforSound I've sold the 789 and E30. Planning balanced this time. Curious about L30 review though. I thought it would sound closer to 789 with lots of feedback measurement focused architecture. Erish is just too ugly :) I'll give Zen stack a shot since i can return them to Amazon but i'm still interested in both L30 and Erish or maybe Modius, Magnius, Asgard Schiit stuff.
The L30 is really surprising, but some of those others are great too. I've got Asgard 3, Modius and Bifrost 2 all in the pipeline. I suspect Modius and Magnius or Bifrost 2 and Magnius will be excellent depending on budget. It's a shame you're not a fan of the Erish looks (I understand) because it's an excellent little amp.
I THINK he mentions it at the end, but don't hold me to that - I have the memory of a dad with a 4-month old who thinks our sleep is generally unnecessary
Hi Mark, sorry, you're right - I missed that when I edited the review because I'd discussed it in a recent video (that not everyone will have seen). Discrete means that the amp uses individual parts like transistors, resistors and capacitors to amplify the signal. Integrated means that a chip (or sometimes multiple chips) to do the same job
Why are you comparing this to Schiit Modius? The Schiit Modius is a DS DAC which costs a whole lot less. You should compare it to either Schiit Bifrost 2 or Gungnir Mulitbit which are also R2R.
Hi Lambis, firstly I can only compare it to what I have here at the time. Secondly, as I said in the review, the Modius and D50 comparisons were for people who might be considering an upgrade from lower priced delta-sigma DACs.
@@PassionforSound Got you.It would be very interesting to compare this to other R2R at the same price category. But thanks for the clarification and the quick response. Appreciate it. BTW, what's your real name?
I'd love to provide more comparisons, but until the channel pays its own way, I have to make do with products I can afford to purchase (and those I choose to keep) or what suppliers will lend me at the time. If you'd like more comparisons, please consider buying with the affiliate links in the video descriptions, becoming a patron (link in description) or getting your friends to subscribe.
I'm so glad I didn't subscribe to the douchery on ASR and others and approach everything from the measurement perspective and forget the goal is sound.
I'm not going to call it douchery, but I agree that there's a disappointing amount of negativity and over-reliance on numbers that seems to get in the way of celebrating the enjoyment of the music.
@@PassionforSound I shouldn't use that language, but they are so abrasive. It's lost on them that they might be missing something. It's like using some kind of analyzer to rate French cuisine and discounting a persons preference. Wine would be even better. I'm sure you could get a very detailed analysis on that. I agree there is some BS on the purely subjective side, but people ought to be free to like what they like. Here's the big thing for me though. Same as with politics, attack the idea - not the person. They love to BASH Nelson Pass or Doug Self etc. Why? They are actually making a product available to the person that doesn't care to own an Oscilloscope. What are many of the most vicious people on ASR doing to allow the masses to enjoy good music.
I completely agree that the culture is destructive and negative. Like you, I have no issues with those who want to focus on measurements, but am repelled by the attacks on anyone who says anything different. I understand your perspective and feelings on this completely 🙂
OF COURSE IT COULD BE THE COLORS!!!!!!! Thats what people are ONLY looking at!!!!! If you do the "thunderdome thing" make them look the same at least. Bad test, I call no go!!
I don't agree on this on, RBM. I prefer the look of the Heresy, but I would by the Magni 3+. No doubt there will be people in both camps. Obviously it's hardly scientific, but that's the beauty of their approach - they can keep both selling if they perform well.
Responding to both Rocco and RBM, I completely understand where you're both coming from and totally respect your views. My point is that both sides are true. Some will buy regardless of colour while others are deeply influenced by colour (and then there's people all in between).
All their good shit is always on 'backorder " and over DOUBLE the price in Australia!, they lost their shit before way better chi fi products took over
Hi Rysio, that's a result of the virtual meeting setup. I'm looking for improvements (and may have them now). Hopefully you'll find my normal review videos to be noticeably better
Thank you for this....as a long time headphone fan i would like to make some comments on Schiit: they are absolutely my #1 favorite provider of headphone amps and DACs. The company strives to provide consumers with the best value-for-the-money equipment across a wide range of offerings. Whether you are getting your first gear or something a bit more advanced, you cant go wrong with Schiit. Jason and Mike (co owners) strive to educate the community, listen to feedback, evolve their products, and offer new options each year. They rock!!!
Well said. Glad you liked the interview!
And they have (sort of)
This is such a cool interview. Thanks for posting!
My pleasure! Stay tuned for the rest of the interview. It'll be 2-3 more parts.
Don't sell out like that Darko guy who shuts his comments off. Keep up the good work 😃
Certainly not planning to do that. The comments are too important 🙂
I love these interviews with different designers. Keep them coming :)
And as I see Jason enjoys his craft beer.
Will do, Alex! Yes, he actually talks later in the interview about the role the local brewery takes in their product design process...
@@PassionforSound Ha this one will be interesting, as I see myself as craft beer lover. Thanks again.
@@PassionforSound Only how he thought it impaired his sonic judgment!
Interesting, isn't it? There might be an episode in that - testing auditory acuity after different numbers of drinks 😁
@@PassionforSound A group of writers were tested at various blood alcohol levels for how well and quickly they could address a topic. The group did its best at 0.05-0.07.
LOVE the way Jason talks....
It’s really nice having a well spoken reviewer of all things audio. That’s not to say others aren’t, but this guy just does it so well
Thanks Jake!
@@PassionforSound No thank you. Your videos are very informative and easy to digest. None of that annoying overzealous hype that a lot of reviewers seem to have either. Just to the point and detailed. It’s awesome 👏
You have earned another subscriber my friend! It's not too often you get to hear wonderful in-depth interviews with pioneers of these industries, so thank you very much for sharing these.
Hi Andrew and welcome! Glad you liked the interview. I've got more planned for 2021.
Really great interview! I love hearing about all the details of the industry. Looking forward to the other parts!
Glad you're enjoying it. I'm always amazed with the places these conversations take me - often not topics I had on my question list.
Excellent interview, Jason did a wonderful job of explanation that was not at all difficult to understand. A big thank you to both of you.
Glad you're liking it. The next couple of parts are as good or better, I believe.
Having been in Retail Audio since 1971 just adds to my enjoyment. I was a Sumiko dealer and the Model 9 really sounded good for super reasonable money. On the other side I have a Theta transport and DAC. Still sounding superb.
Nice. You're a long term follower of Jason then!
Great interview documentation! You asked great questions and the helpful descriptions of the various "term of arts" used for audio technology was extremely helpful. This was insightful and educational at the same time. Thanks for the great content!
So glad you liked it! There's a total of 4 parts. Part 3 drops in about 1 week from now
Nice interview Lachlan. It's fantastic how generous Jason is with his time and knowledge. It's refreshing to see a manufacturer who isn't caught up with simply chasing the highest possible measurements.
P. S. I received the tshirt in the post yesterday, thank you. I had to explain to my wife the reference 😂
Glad the t-shirt arrived safe and sound, Jeff!
I agree that it's so refreshing to speak to industry experts and hear very grounded views on audio. Dan from Bottlehead was similar in this regard. Rob Watts' interview was a bit different because we were so focused on the technical aspects of digital audio.
That's really nice content. Love schiit, really happy with my bifrost 2.
Glad you like the content. Jason actually recommended the Bifrost 2 to me later in the interview and I've since had one sent out for review. It's pretty amazing!!
@@PassionforSound Can't wait for a Bifrost 2 review! Can you compare it to the Topping D90 and Denafrips Ares II? All around the same price...
@@PassionforSound I really enjoy that lush texture Schiit manages to creat in the mids. On the internal ak4490 dac inside my Jot they've done it as well, but in a far lower performance overal. The bifrost manages to deliver this smoothness with the detail, which is something I've been looking for the past year. There are some piano tracks in which this is very evident. For instance Thinking of You from Chihiro Yamanaka has a solo from 2m to 3m10s in which you can feel this smoothness and such nice decay of the notes one over another. Just delightful.
Absolutely. The Multibit design in Bifrost 2 makes all the difference
Sure can 😁
Great interview, highly anticipated something like this, thanks a lot!
Glad you're enjoying it. Part 2 coming next week.
Always love to see Jason
I still have an asgard 1 (10 years later?) and still using it for my LCD-2.
And I love how Jason mentions blind tests and Bias.
EDIT: Multipass!
That would be a great setup. No wonder you stuck with it!
Fantastic Interview! I know some others have interviewed Jason and or Mike from schiit but it's always a treat when you get to listen to them. Especially when you get Jason and Mike Moffett going lol. Their are a hoot! Keep up the interviews! I think they will help grow your channel ! I still look at the number of subscribers and think many are missing out! Their are some great ones out there like neslon pass, Dan dagistino, the always terrifc Andrew Jones, Paul at ps audio etc. One thing I noticed is that since you have interviewed folks on the diy side with bottlehead, you could do more with the folks at diy audio site. Perhaps you could interview 6l6 from diy audio. He does all the wonderful build guides for all the diy pass labs first watt (f5, aleph j, m2, f4, f6, amp camp and many other. Might also what consider interviewing and building Waynes whammy diy class a headphone/preamp kit. He always has a terrifc linestage preamp kit as well. Just tossing out some ideas as I think more in depth interviews from some of neslons very smart flock of pass labs forum folks would be great!
Hi Brandon, thanks for the suggestions. I tend to focus on interviewing people involved with products I'm very familiar with because I can ask deeper questions for conversation, but I'll never say never and I DO love me some DIY!
Oh nice, I love Jason Stoddard and his takes, this is awesome!!!! Stoked that you did this. Have him on more, because I appreciate what they do and what that are about, and what they are doing recently. I get they wanna see cost stay down for their philosophy for affordable amps; but I wanna see them make the cascading thing, in making a discrete Asgard 3+ or magni 3+ (with the better numbers) with all of that, would be cool..Great interview. 👍🏼😎
Glad you liked it, Joshua. There's 2 or 3 more parts in this interview and they've said they'll gladly do this again so stay tuned! :)
@@PassionforSound Oh, that is great..I will indeed stay tuned 😃. He is such a great guy to talk to and see interviewed, Mike too..
Yeah, trying to get Mike onto an interview to talk DACs in the future
@@PassionforSound Ohh nice..
I didn't know Schiit till I came here. Schiit equals knowledge. 😎
LOL. Yep, now you can call yourself a Schiit-head 😁
That was fantastic content- I just learned a bunch of interesting stuff about this topic. Excellent work and a great channel.
So glad you found it helpful, Dave. I've got an interview with Geno and Sherri from Geshelli Labs coming very soon 🙂
The first five minutes on Heresy vs. Magni 3+ really highlights the issue I have with the ASR forums. I guess if taking op amps and a good power supply is all it takes, it's far too simple and I personally am not interested in such a design (it's cheap of course).
I agree. There is a difference IMO between audiophiles and what I've begun to call measurementphiles. I'm not saying either is right or wrong, but the two approaches often don't align.
@@PassionforSound Ergo, if there's no way to thoroughly and objectively measure sound signals, then such comparisons are quite limited in their usefulness--I'd think this is one of issues I have with ASR reviews, but I'm not an expert at all, so this is just a guess.
Yeah, I'm no expert on the measurement side either, but I have lots of experience with listening to, comparing and reviewing products and there's not enough correlation between the measurements provided and the subjective listening experience for me to base any decisions solely on the data on ASR. It's probably fairly good at showing what sounds crappy, but not at separating what sounds ok and what sounds great.
Yes, groupthink is a dangerous phenomena. But what's the Microsoft VP got to do with it? Am I missing something?
@@PassionforSound I believe he's referring to the work history of the person who started ASR
Cool interview, I love my Schiit Loki. It has a nice little just a little something, warmth maybe, that makes my computer sound sound nice. The reason amplifiers sound different while measuring the same is because of the limitations of the standardized tests. The transfer function of an amplifier can be pleasant, as in some distortion can be in phase second harmonic simply sounds more pleasing. The more complicated the signal the greater the distortion from what looks on paper as great, but with a real signal it can sound bad. This is subjective, Pass Labs has a fantastic set of white papers cover this that includes objective measurements. Also, the load on the amplifier from the headphones has an effect, and more importantly the headphones actually induce a back wave in to the amplifier. And of course a headphone or speaker is not a resistive load and it's reactance varies based on frequency, these impedance swings can cause issues with cheaper amplifiers.
Exactly! Glad you like the interview 🙂
Jason is the only Californian I gladly welcomed to Texas. He is a solid dude! Love how he talks about his many failures on the path to a successful product.
Superb, really special interview!! Thanks a lot again, I love the channel, and I am very happy with the Moondrop Starfields!! Greetings!
Glad you're enjoying the IEMs and the interview! Part 2 arrives mid week
There¿s no greater conflct than the fact that in the next couple of days I'm going to have to decide whether to get the magni 3+ or heresy as my very first amp (Stack since I'm getting the modi as well)
Great interview btw, love the content!
Thanks Andy. That IS a tough decision. I reckon I'd go for the 3+, but that's just me. Both are great amps
The definitions are a nice touch
Thanks fun guy. Glad they're helpful
Fantastic interview! Great job, keep it up!
Thank you! Next part drops mid-week next week.
Anyone remember the Richard Clark blind amp challenge? Close your eyes while Jason is speaking. He sounds like Don Imus, Howard Sterns sworn enemy.
He does a bit. Imus was a touch lower in tone and more chesty.
I just wanted to post here that my attitude towards gear has changed a lot, I personally subscribed to a lot of 'objectivist' beliefs and bought into the L30/E30 Topping stack. I ran that setup for over a year, and I've just recently moved to a Jotunheim 2/Modius stack. It's absolutely breathed life into all of my headphones. Suddenly I have beautiful microdynamics, nuance and detail. Many times you simply don't know what you're missing out on, and its only harder when you're stuck in a bubble. My biggest regret is not doing this any sooner. Needless to say, I'm a fan and will certainly be buying more Schiit in the future.
I'm so glad you tried this out for yourself. I understand the objectivist approach when there's so much noise and ambiguity to cut through, but it really doesn't tell the whole story, does it? Congratulations on finding your musical enjoyment! 🙂🙂
I went with the Magni 3+. I actually like the black/red theme but not so much the op amp topology. But of course now I’m curious.
Haha. I think you made the right choice.
I wish I heard this earlier. Fascinating stuff!
Glad you're finding it interesting!
I think this interview just clinched my big rosy purchase. Let’s see if it’s notably different from Modius.
I hope you love it!
Awesome vid! It’s so cool to hear from people from HiFi companies which build quality items and the prices are more than reasonable. I own numerous Schiit products and really dig em all. Thanks for the great vid! ✌️🎶🤗🔊
So glad you liked it! I've got a few other similar interviews already with Geshelli Labs, Bottlehead and Chord. I'm currently planning one with ZMF soon.
@@PassionforSound Yeah, man. I’m watching your Bottlehead vids right now. I love what you did with the Mainline. I replaced the crossover parts in my Tekton Pendragons with those exact Jantzen caps, Mills resistors, etc., and it absolutely made a difference which wasn’t exactly subtle. I tried “dumbing down” my rig, and now have a Schiit Freya +, a Parasound A23+ amp, and I recently replaced my Mani with a tube based Tavish Classic phono stage, although that last one was quite an upgrade, as did the amp and preamp end up being. I had much more expensive components before that, which just proves the subjective nature of HiFi and that expensive doesn’t always mean better.
I could go on & on, but I’ll spare you and get back to watching your vids. Have a good one, man! ✌️🎶
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Nick. I definitely agree that expensive isn't necessarily better. Case in point is those Jantzen caps which are fantastic and very affordable
Jason where is our CD transport / amplifier that makes POWER into 4 ohms? Thanks- we love you and Mike!
Schiit back and enjoy the interview!
super cool to hear company insiders talk about their products and tech. I'm curious if Schiit has an updated perspective on MQA technology. I know they were not big fans and considered more of a temporary trend back in 2016. Curious if their opinion has changed?
Glad you found it interesting, Mr Moo! I think we would have seen some MQA support by now if they'd changed their minds, but who knows!? I hope to do another interview in the future with Mike Moffat (potentially with Jason again too) so hopefully that will be equally as interesting
Great video. Just picked up a Mani. Looking at a Freya+, and Vidar, to feed some Martin Logans.
That will be a wonderful setup! Glad you liked the video
Nice interview. In my case, the first impression of an amp or DAC or headphone is what I give more importance. My brain and ears don't have a chance to become biased or over-analyze and lean to my personal preference.
For example, my Schiit Magnius sounded boring and closed-in with the Modius upon first listen. Even running it balanced, it still sounds boring and closed-in with the extra power and lower noise.
I still prefer my Asgard 1 and 2, (and my previous Vali 2), even if they measure worse, are single-ended and have much less power. Their sound is way more holographic/out-of-head and fun for me.
I tend to agree. I do occasionally change my initial impressions, but often the first impression is right in my experiences too
Great interview. Looking forward to the next part. Just wish I could get hold of this Schiit in the UK. Any update on when your L30 review is coming out? Thanks.
Glad you're enjoying the interview.
L30 review comes out this Saturday 🙂
straight schitt
Great interview, thanks. Do you do any blind, volume matched comparisons of amps? I ask because, as Jason intimated, once I started doing this the differences I was hearing between amps became much smaller (vanishingly small in many cases). Expectation bias is a powerful thing...
Hi Alan, I don't do blind comparisons because I'm not setup for it with sufficient quality gear to ensure transparency.
I also don't feel a strong need for it because I rarely come in with any specific expectations. I try not to read other reviews, etc. until after my thoughts are formed. I also find that spending extended time with devices reduces the impact of any initial biases that may occur. I'm not saying I can guarantee complete impartiality, but I do my best 🙂
Passion for Sound Thanks for your thoughtful reply. If at all possible, you might consider getting set up for doing blind comparisons. Doing so would add a level of legitimacy to your channel that is sorely lacking among many UA-cam audio reviewers. It would be a nice differentiator and I think you might be surprised as Jason was when they first started doing blind listening sessions at Schiit.
Thanks Alan. I should clarify that I AM setup now (just recently) to do blind tests of DACs. It's the amps and headphones that are a bit trickier, but I might be able to rig something up using my XLR switch box to feed headphones...
interesting topic! Thanks for the video!
My pleasure. The rest got even better so stay tuned 😉
Jason looks like exactly what I would picture the guy from Ferris Bueller's day off would looks like today.. Cameron.
and that's why we love him so
Great interview. Thanks.
Glad you liked it. Have you seen the Geshelli, Bottlehead and Chord (Rob Watts) interviews? I think they're all great because they're all great people with huge amounts of knowledge and experience
@@PassionforSound I've started the Geshelli one, I have an Archel2 GMR which I love.
Awesome! I've got the J2 coming soon for review if you're interested in that
@@PassionforSound Definitely
You mentioned in your Soloist 3x review that the A90 was more 2D soundstage where the Soloist was more 3D. You said you have a theory that it might be capacitance within the ICs thus causing small timing issues. I wonder if the feedback has something to do with it as well. Looping back the signal multiple times must take some time no? I'm no electrical engineer but still trying to wrap my head around what is going on :)
Hi Snow, the Soloist uses feedback for the gain stage so I don't think that's what's causing it because the Soloist uses feedback to manage the gain settings. However, if the issue is occuring inside the chips used as I suspect (chips are generally inferior to discrete components) then the feedback may be adding to the issue as it means the signal is being handled more by the chip.
I have a lot of Schiit Audio at my house. I hope to have a Schiit Audio T shirt and Bumper stickers.
Haha. Good luck in your quest!
This is exactly what happened to me. I tried the vali 2 with a sundara few weeks go and i immediately fell in love. And saw the review and measurements on ASR of the vali 2 and it's in the bottom of chart. Like wtf? It sound so good specially on the sundara. Ordered one but i need to wait for at least a month coz it backordered 😭
Don't stress over the measurements. They don't tell the whole story because not everything can be measured.
Maybe check this out while you wait for delivery to help you feel good about your choice: feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/836781496-johnhdarko-beware-the-measurements.mp3
@@PassionforSound ah yes i was just browsing for some reviews when i saw it on ASR. It wont sway me away since i already heard the vali 2 and thankful that i dont need to blind buy :)
Good to hear. In the end what matters is what we enjoy. You can't listen to a distortion graph 😉
Amir aka: ASR has a personal vendetta against Schiit Audio.
Does he, Miles? I've seen what appears to be some bias against/towards some brands, but hadn't seen that with Schiit products
Just found this video, but I bought heresy over 3 about a year ago due simply to color and not believing I’d hear the difference myself (my first headphone amp, so I wasn’t incredibly picky)
It's a really nice amp. Hopefully you did hear a difference. Did it start you down the rabbit hole of sound?
@@PassionforSound I never tested side by side with Magni 3 (nor with 3+), but I quite enjoy my heresy. I only have one pair of “good” headphones and I’ve never had another amp to compare to, so I have no reference really. In terms of rabbit holes, yeah I’ve done a deep dive in educating myself. My income doesn’t allow my gear to keep up with my knowledge, though. I just hit near-term endgame with HD560S after buying and testing a few pairs of headphones and sending back the ones I didn’t want. Out of Monolith M570, HifiMan HE400i 2020 and Sundara, and the HD560S, I most enjoyed the sennheiser for the money. I feel very strange for not liking the Sundara after all the reviews I’ve watched and read, but they weren’t for me. I almost pulled the trigger on the M570, but couldn’t say no to the clarity and presence of vocals (I guess mids) in the sennheiser. I figure if I want a bass boost to match the boomy bass of the planars I tested I can just use EQ. Sorry for long ass response. I appreciate you responding to my comment in the first place and really enjoy your content. Cheers!
No apologies needed - it was a good read. I've got the HD560S here now and they're impressive. They have a very different presentation from the Sundara so I can imagine not liking the Sundara if you like the HD560S (and vice versa)
This was great!
Glad you liked it
But if people are buying the two models about equally, have they had a chance to compare the sound? I had no chance to compare the sound before I bought mine.
People are buying based on reviews and specs/features in most cases I think
I don't listen to measurements, I listen to sound.
Exactly!
Can't decide between magni 3+ or an asguard 3 for my sundaras. Already ruled out the heresy. Rather get a discreet amp. Asguard is intriguing since it's class AB.
Go Asgard 3 - you won't be disappointed 🙂
Since you are wearing a pair of Beyerdynamic T5 gen 3 or T1 gen 3. Is it safe to assume that you are going to review them sometime in the futrure?
We'll spotted! Sure am. Wrote up my notes on both today
100% agree about the SP200 sounding "flat." I sold mine; using the Topping A90 now. Sounds MUCH better, IMO.
Huge improvement from SP200 to A90. Even L30 would spank the SP200
I love my Gungnir DAC. What I don't like is their customer service. Can't call them. E-mail only. Had to get my DAC repaired. 41 e-mails later, it was finally fixed. This, IMO, is a major problem dealing with Schiit Audio. You might want to think about it before purchasing their products. I don't have that kind of time and I suspect most people don't.
Hi Laurie, that's not good to hear! Thanks for sharing your experience
@@PassionforSound BTW, I've had this DAC since 2013 so obviously they make a great product however, once before I had to go through the same tedious process. They're certainly not giving away their products so I feel certain they have the funds to hire one or two people to handle a customer in a personal manner. Merely my opinion. Thanks for responding.
No sweat. I can't speak to their customer service because, as yet, I've had no issues. It's yours a Multibit or standard Gungnir?
@@PassionforSound I don't believe Multibit was available when I purchased mine. Don't get me wrong, their products are very good. But how about all the equipment they have sold world wide? I was in sales my entire life. If I treated my customers the way they do, I wouldn't have had any customers. Many sell similar products. What separates one from the other is customer service. Theirs is absolutely pathetic. And I have told them so repeatedly. I will never purchase another Shiit Audio product for that reason. Sorry, their unconcerned attitude should turn off any possible customer. It also took almost two months to resolve my issue.
Very sorry to hear, Laurie. I know what that can be like
Nice. Waiting for the rest. Negative feedback stuff is interesting. My experience is limited but i didn't like THX 789 that much. It's really sterile. I've checked other peoples opinions and almost all of them saying sterile must mean something. However downside of Schiit's low negative feedback discrete design is their gain is too much for sensitive headphones. 15 db gain on both Magni 3+ and Asgard 3. Their low gains have a lot of feedback so using them on low gain is not ''optimal''. The trend in the headphone world is sensitive and low impedance headphones now.
Glad you liked the interview and I agree about the high gain - that's the trade off. It's one of the reasons I was so impressed with Burson's new Soloist. They use feedback to drop the gain really low for IEMs, etc. but it's done really well and maintains a very natural sound.
@@PassionforSound Checked out your review. Looking nice. I'm personally in the market for a new dac and amp at lower price point. E30 and THX 789 didn't play well with my Ananda which is already spacious, light/lean and ''solid state'like'' sounding. I'm looking for punchy and dynamic sound to balance Ananda's character. It would be nice if you can review the Zen Dac and Zen Can. They look quite unique. Hybrid Burr Brown dac, discrete class a amp at reasonable price point. They are fully balanced too.
Are you running balanced or single ended? If SE, check out my review of the Topping L30 tomorrow - it's nuts and would pair beautifully with the E30. If balanced, the Geshelli Erish has a richer sound, but competes at the level of the 789. Oh, but you'd need a balanced DAC like a Modius perhaps.
@@PassionforSound I've sold the 789 and E30. Planning balanced this time. Curious about L30 review though. I thought it would sound closer to 789 with lots of feedback measurement focused architecture. Erish is just too ugly :) I'll give Zen stack a shot since i can return them to Amazon but i'm still interested in both L30 and Erish or maybe Modius, Magnius, Asgard Schiit stuff.
The L30 is really surprising, but some of those others are great too. I've got Asgard 3, Modius and Bifrost 2 all in the pipeline. I suspect Modius and Magnius or Bifrost 2 and Magnius will be excellent depending on budget.
It's a shame you're not a fan of the Erish looks (I understand) because it's an excellent little amp.
Super duper guy at schiit
Yep. He's great to chat to
Measurements in anything is not the whole picture. People love to drive Miatas, and we all know they don’t even have 100hp!
So true! My NB series MX-5 (Miata's name over here) is still the favourite car I've ever owned including the RX-8 Series 2 GT!
I can confirm here that I chose the Heresy for the color scheme. Not proud to say that, but I'm trying to give some real data.
So it was you who killed the IEMagni! 😉🤣
@@PassionforSound Look man, in my defense, my pc setup was already decked out in black and red. They left me no choice, right??? I mean, right???
There's always spray paint or textas (sharpies)! 🤣🤣
The #1 question after watching this review is: What is Jason drinking?
I THINK he mentions it at the end, but don't hold me to that - I have the memory of a dad with a 4-month old who thinks our sleep is generally unnecessary
It looks like a hazy IPA which is a trendy style. Jason didn't say which brewery though.
Sorry, I meant at the VERY end (I think) - you'll have to stay in suspense till part 4 😉
Anyone tried the valhalla yet?
I haven't, but I'd like to
@@PassionforSound I'm looking forward to it!
Discrete? Integrated? What do these terms mean? This should have been defined early on.
Hi Mark, sorry, you're right - I missed that when I edited the review because I'd discussed it in a recent video (that not everyone will have seen).
Discrete means that the amp uses individual parts like transistors, resistors and capacitors to amplify the signal. Integrated means that a chip (or sometimes multiple chips) to do the same job
Kevin bacon is smart
Why are you comparing this to Schiit Modius? The Schiit Modius is a DS DAC which costs a whole lot less.
You should compare it to either Schiit Bifrost 2 or Gungnir Mulitbit which are also R2R.
Hi Lambis, firstly I can only compare it to what I have here at the time. Secondly, as I said in the review, the Modius and D50 comparisons were for people who might be considering an upgrade from lower priced delta-sigma DACs.
@@PassionforSound Got you.It would be very interesting to compare this to other R2R at the same price category. But thanks for the clarification and the quick response. Appreciate it. BTW, what's your real name?
I'd love to provide more comparisons, but until the channel pays its own way, I have to make do with products I can afford to purchase (and those I choose to keep) or what suppliers will lend me at the time. If you'd like more comparisons, please consider buying with the affiliate links in the video descriptions, becoming a patron (link in description) or getting your friends to subscribe.
Oh, and my name's Lachlan 🙂
10:40 cascading or cascoding?
Cascoding I believe
I'm guessing Blue Moon beer.
first! love your channel
Haha. Thanks
Ooh, nice hoody.
Thanks Jim. You could have one too! 😉
shop.spreadshirt.com.au/passion-for-sound/
@@PassionforSound Ooh, nice clothes!
Glad you like them!
I'm so glad I didn't subscribe to the douchery on ASR and others and approach everything from the measurement perspective and forget the goal is sound.
I'm not going to call it douchery, but I agree that there's a disappointing amount of negativity and over-reliance on numbers that seems to get in the way of celebrating the enjoyment of the music.
@@PassionforSound I shouldn't use that language, but they are so abrasive. It's lost on them that they might be missing something. It's like using some kind of analyzer to rate French cuisine and discounting a persons preference. Wine would be even better. I'm sure you could get a very detailed analysis on that. I agree there is some BS on the purely subjective side, but people ought to be free to like what they like. Here's the big thing for me though. Same as with politics, attack the idea - not the person. They love to BASH Nelson Pass or Doug Self etc. Why? They are actually making a product available to the person that doesn't care to own an Oscilloscope. What are many of the most vicious people on ASR doing to allow the masses to enjoy good music.
I completely agree that the culture is destructive and negative. Like you, I have no issues with those who want to focus on measurements, but am repelled by the attacks on anyone who says anything different. I understand your perspective and feelings on this completely 🙂
OF COURSE IT COULD BE THE COLORS!!!!!!! Thats what people are ONLY looking at!!!!! If you do the "thunderdome thing" make them look the same at least. Bad test, I call no go!!
I don't agree on this on, RBM. I prefer the look of the Heresy, but I would by the Magni 3+. No doubt there will be people in both camps. Obviously it's hardly scientific, but that's the beauty of their approach - they can keep both selling if they perform well.
@@PassionforSound The way people buy it is such a big deal though for this type of test, humans can very to the "colored" version by 70% or more.
@@PassionforSound I like black, they should offer bother colors, color affects my decision.
Responding to both Rocco and RBM, I completely understand where you're both coming from and totally respect your views. My point is that both sides are true. Some will buy regardless of colour while others are deeply influenced by colour (and then there's people all in between).
@@PassionforSound you keep forgetting that there is a "test" going on here also
All their good shit is always on 'backorder " and over DOUBLE the price in Australia!, they lost their shit before way better chi fi products took over
Passion for sound and sound quality is really terrible. Hard to understand!!!!!
Hi Rysio, that's a result of the virtual meeting setup. I'm looking for improvements (and may have them now). Hopefully you'll find my normal review videos to be noticeably better