Anyone heard Schiit's Aegir?


Was curious if anyone had purchased a Schiit Aegir? I was wondering how it sounds.
128x128coachpoconnor
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My Aegir just arrived a few days ago, but I'm very impressed. I was worried about the relatively low power (prior amp was a Hypex nCore with 150 watts/ch) and my medium efficient speakers (Ohm 1000s at 88 dB).  The Aegir should put out around 30 watts/channel into the 6 ohm 1000s. 

The smoothness and clarity are amazing from bass through the highs. No sense of graininess or stridency at all. Perhaps the biggest improvement is the resolution of lower level background sounds. It is a real step-up with an improvement in holographic qualities.

I was worried about the lower power. I'm not a head-banger in terms of volume -- 80 to 85 dB average is about as loud as I routinely listen. The Aegir seemed to coast along without problem at this level so I pulled out my voltmeter and sound-level meter to see how much power I was actually using. On average, at 85 dB with the odd peak up to 93 or 94 dB, I was using an average of 1 to 2 watts per channel to reach this level. Cranking it up to an average of 90 dB (which I find uncomfortable) still showed no sign of stressing the amp. 

I'm going to continue experimenting and testing as I go along in the trial period, but so far I am really pleased. 

@mlsstl  - That's helpful about the volume. My speakers are 89db 6ohm (Aperion Verus III Grand Towers) and I was wondering if a single Aegir could drive them comfortably up to 95db continuous or so. It sounds like it will be possible. How high was your preamp turned up?
The thing to remember about amp power and volume is that the wattage is a logarithmic relationship to loudness, not linear. Each 3 dB increase in volume level requires double the power.  

In my case, if 2 watts average = 85 dB, going to 95 dB would need more ln the neighborhood of 20 watts, perhaps a bit more. And you still need some extra for dynamic peaks.  You might be asking for for close to full power from the Aegir with little room left for peaks. I just don't listen that loud.

There is also the issue that speaker impedance is not a single number across the board. The resistance varies with frequency and some speakers are more difficult to drive than others. And, there are multiple ways to measure speaker efficiency, so sometimes a manufacturer's numbers are a bit optimistic. 

However, all you can do is try. You might also consider running two Aegirs as monoblocks. You get 80 watts a channel into 8 ohms that way, but you'd need a preamp with balanced output for that to work. Schiit does offer a 15 day money-back trial period (less 5% restocking fee and return shipping costs) so you do have that option if you want to experiment.
However, all you can do is try. You might also consider running two Aegirs as monoblocks.
I wouldn’t do that, yes wattage goes up, but all other properties go down, when you bridge.

Much preferable way if the speakers have bi-wirable speaker terminals.
Is to horizonal bi-amp, using the stereo Aegir in it’s Class-A glory for the uppermids/highs that’s it’s forte, and then a using a much more powerful Vidar for the bass.
And a $49 Sys passive to equalize the gain of both because they have different gains No bridging and no loss of quality on either.
They are very similar in circuit design and will sound as one, just the lower wattage Class-A Aegir is being used where it shines, in the uppermids/highs and won’t be stressed trying to do bass also, that’s up to the Vidar.

https://ibb.co/nmW6nQL

Cheers George