New from Schiit Audio: Vidar 2

[Trudius]

Unless I need something to heat up my room, I think I'll stick with Vidar over Aegir. By pretty much any measure, the numbers speak for themselves. However, I don't have speakers that are efficient enough to really "take advantage" of a lower power Class A type of amp.

Best,



Aegir:

Power Output:


Stereo, 8 Ohms: 20W RMS per channel

Stereo, 4 Ohms: 40W RMS per channel

Mono, 8 ohms: 80W RMS



Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 3Hz-500KHz, -3dB



THD: <0.01%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 20W RMS into 8 ohms

IMD: <0.01%, CCIR, at 20W RMS into 8 ohms



SNR: >112db, A-weighted, referenced to full output



Damping Factor: >100 into 8 ohms, 20-20kHz



Gain: 12 (22dB)



Input Sensitivity: AKA Rated Output (Vrms)/Rated Gain. Or, 14.3/12. You do the math.



Input Impedance: 22k ohms SE, 44k ohms balanced



Crosstalk: >95dB, 20-20kHz


Vidar2:

Power Output:

Stereo, 8 Ohms: 100W RMS per channel
Stereo, 4 Ohms: 200W RMS per channel
Mono, 8 ohms: 400W RMS

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, +/-0.03db, 3Hz-500KHz, +/-3dB

THD: <0.004%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 100W RMS into 8 ohms
IMD: <0.005%, CCIR, at 100W RMS into 8 ohms

SNR: >123dB, A-weighted, referenced to full output

Damping Factor: >100 into 8 ohms, 20-20kHz

Gain: 20 (26dB)
Input Sensitivity: AKA Rated Output (Vrms)/Rated Gain. Or, 28V/20. You do the math.

Input Impedance: 22k ohms SE, 44k ohms balanced

Crosstalk: >90dB, 20-20kHz

The Vidar is class A/B. It is supposed to be able to drive any type of speakers, including electrostatic and magneplanar.

 

[Ritz]

The Vidar is class A/B. It is supposed to be able to drive any type of speakers, including electrostatic and magneplanar.

Yes, I believe I said that already.

Best,

 

[only.shallow]

Just replaced my year old Vidar 1 with the new Vidar 2 this past week; I have a Schiit Saga S preamp, Modius DAC (AKM), and a pair of Revel M16 speakers. I'll be honest why I really bought the Vidar 2... I got sick of sticking my hand in the back of the Vidar 1 to shut it off each evening before bed so here we are. The front stand by button is great and as far as subjective listening impressions go, my test songs have some more detail to my ears and bass sounds a bit smoother. This could all be bullschiit of course, but it doesn't sound "worse" to me.

According to Schiit's report, the Vidar 2 measures better so I'm excited to see it measured here on ASR this year if anybody is willing to send Amir one. The Vidar 2 is a heavy boy so I don't think I'll be mailing mine for testing anytime soon. I'm happy with my purchase and can sleep well at night knowing I have a solid warranty for a product pushing the $1000 mark.

 

[Joe Smith]

I'd love to see a direct ASR comparison between the Vidar 2 and a Buckeye or VTV Hypex NC252MP amp...struggling over which way to go, but I have time to decide. I do wish one of these implementations had a front power button, but at least the standby switch in front of the Vidar is a step in the right direction...

 

[only.shallow]

So I'm reporting back with one flaw that I can't seem to shake from the Vidar 2. It hums... and I didn't notice for a while since I've been doing spring cleaning this month and moving furniture around despite listening to music every day. I sit about 2 meters away in my usual listening position so I don't notice it when I play music but when I'm close to my system, it's there; I can hear it a few feet away. Nothing else in my chain makes any noise either, it's all dead silent.

Anyways, I emailed Schiit and they said it was normal; "The transformers will make a bit of noise unfortunately that's just a reality with 60Hz AC and transformers. They should be essentially silent from about 1-2 meters away or further." -Schiit

What do you all think? Should I learn to live with it or return it and put funds towards another amp? Is this truly normal? If I return it, I could use the funds and save up for a Benchmark and be happy with that for good, long while? I'm really not trying to experiment with amps unless I build another system in the future which will be years at the very soonest. Thanks for any help and suggestions.

 

[AaronJ]

So I'm reporting back with one flaw that I can't seem to shake from the Vidar 2. It hums... and I didn't notice for a while since I've been doing spring cleaning this month and moving furniture around despite listening to music every day. I sit about 2 meters away in my usual listening position so I don't notice it when I play music but when I'm close to my system, it's there; I can hear it a few feet away. Nothing else in my chain makes any noise either, it's all dead silent.

Anyways, I emailed Schiit and they said it was normal; "The transformers will make a bit of noise unfortunately that's just a reality with 60Hz AC and transformers. They should be essentially silent from about 1-2 meters away or further." -Schiit

What do you all think? Should I learn to live with it or return it and put funds towards another amp? Is this truly normal? If I return it, I could use the funds and save up for a Benchmark and be happy with that for good, long while? I'm really not trying to experiment with amps unless I build another system in the future which will be years at the very soonest. Thanks for any help and suggestions.

I think this is a known issue with the Vidar. Legend has it that if you open it up and tighten the bolts holding down the transformer the hum may go away. 60 hz hum should be audible from the speakers, not from the amp I’d think.

 

[Overseas]

Do all amps with toroidal transformers hum?! Not my Rotel A11 Tribute.

 

[only.shallow]

I think this is a known issue with the Vidar. Legend has it that if you open it up and tighten the bolts holding down the transformer the hum may go away. 60 hz hum should be audible from the speakers, not from the amp I’d think.

Yes I've read on forums about that issue with the Vidar 1 but I've never noticed it much when I owned a Vidar 1 in the past. The hum is coming strictly from the Vidar 2 when it's turned on from standby mode; there is no hum coming through the speakers. Also if Schiit is telling me the hum is normal, I rather not open up the amp, especially if I may return it.

I owned a Yamaha A-S701 prior to buying a Vidar 1 and it was fairly quite. Not sure if the guts are the same or similar though.

 

[Overseas]

No toroidal in 701, only in higher Yamaha models.

 

[AaronJ]

Yes I've read on forums about that issue with the Vidar 1 but I've never noticed it much when I owned a Vidar 1 in the past. The hum is coming strictly from the Vidar 2 when it's turned on from standby mode; there is no hum coming through the speakers. Also if Schiit is telling me the hum is normal, I rather not open up the amp, especially if I may return it.

I owned a Yamaha A-S701 prior to buying a Vidar 1 and it was fairly quite. Not sure if the guts are the same or similar though.

An audible hum coming from a device would annoy me and I personally wouldn’t keep it. Hum coming from the Vidar may be typical according to Schiit, but nothing about it should be accepted as normal.

 

[Overseas]

I guess Hk 980 had same hum. It is manufacturer's problem. Was the 'hum' in the specs?! Don't think so.

 

[only.shallow]

An audible hum coming from a device would annoy me and I personally wouldn’t keep it. Hum coming from the Vidar may be typical according to Schiit, but nothing about it should be accepted as normal.

Yeah... if Schiit would have had a small disclaimer about a hum on the product page, I may have just kept my Vidar 1 and saved up for a Benchmark later this year. They did get back to my inquiry quickly though and I enjoy everything else I've bought from them over the years.

 

[Hapo]

An audible hum coming from a device would annoy me and I personally wouldn’t keep it. Hum coming from the Vidar may be typical according to Schiit, but nothing about it should be accepted as normal.

...this is just the sort of issue that steered me away from the brand...

 

[Ritz]

I think this is a known issue with the Vidar. Legend has it that if you open it up and tighten the bolts holding down the transformer the hum may go away. 60 hz hum should be audible from the speakers, not from the amp I’d think.

Some additional physical isolation may help. I don't have this with MY Vidar, but it's not uncommon with amps that have big transformers.

Best,

 

[Reed]

Just replaced my year old Vidar 1 with the new Vidar 2 this past week; I have a Schiit Saga S preamp, Modius DAC (AKM), and a pair of Revel M16 speakers. I'll be honest why I really bought the Vidar 2... I got sick of sticking my hand in the back of the Vidar 1 to shut it off each evening before bed so here we are. The front stand by button is great and as far as subjective listening impressions go, my test songs have some more detail to my ears and bass sounds a bit smoother. This could all be bullschiit of course, but it doesn't sound "worse" to me.

According to Schiit's report, the Vidar 2 measures better so I'm excited to see it measured here on ASR this year if anybody is willing to send Amir one. The Vidar 2 is a heavy boy so I don't think I'll be mailing mine for testing anytime soon. I'm happy with my purchase and can sleep well at night knowing I have a solid warranty for a product pushing the $1000 mark.

The power switch and hum have been discussed on asr before but if you want an a/b amp with decent specs you’ll probably pay more. The switch was the deal breaker for me. These are modern times. Like having to crank the windows in a car. I had a Vidar. Didn’t hum. Wonderful amp that needed a power switch in the front and a remote trigger.

 

[Matias]

Anyways, I emailed Schiit and they said it was normal; "The transformers will make a bit of noise unfortunately that's just a reality with 60Hz AC and transformers. They should be essentially silent from about 1-2 meters away or further." -Schiit

What do you all think? Should I learn to live with it or return it and put funds towards another amp? Is this truly normal? If I return it, I could use the funds and save up for a Benchmark and be happy with that for good, long while?

Honestly, the manufacturer admitting that hum is normal, step away so you don't listen is total bullschiiting their customers. It is a design compromise they made, okay, but one that you as a customer can choose to accept or not. I have been there, different brand and many years ago, and it was very frustrating for me.

Get an NCore or Purifi from your preferred manufacturer and never look back.

I'd love to see a direct ASR comparison between the Vidar 2 and a Buckeye or VTV Hypex NC252MP amp...struggling over which way to go, but I have time to decide. I do wish one of these implementations had a front power button, but at least the standby switch in front of the Vidar is a step in the right direction...

We have several NCore amps tested here in ASR already. Schiit has their AP test results for the Vidar 2 and it is about SINAD 87, good but not great. One can have better performance for 200 usd less in an NC252MP based amp. Why would you pay more to get less? To me it's not even comparable, a no brainer decision really.

 

[SoNic]

One can have better performance for 200 usd less in an NC252MP based amp. Why would you pay more to get less? To me it's not even comparable, a no brainer decision really.

If you assume that SINAD is all you need from an amp, then yes you are right.
If you listen to steady state sin waves that is perfectly true.

Now, 87 dB is from where? I didn't see that at all:

https://www.schiit.com/public/upload/PDF/Schiit%20Amp%20APx555%20Standard%20Test%20Suite_%20Vidar%202.pdf

 

[Matias]

Now, 87 dB is from where? I didn't see that at all:

4 ohms is on page 22 from the PDF:

First there is a good and a bad channel as far as distortion after 300 mW already.
At 5W, on average, I read about 0.0045% THD+N, which translates to SINAD 87. And both lines cross over 1% at around 250W.

If you assume that SINAD is all you need from an amp, then yes you are right.
If you listen to steady state sin waves that is perfectly true.

Well if you want you can enjoy hum in your amplifier, as described by the posts above and shown below in that peak in 60 Hz (before you ask it is on the PDF page 16). You would be the one listening to steady state sine wave then.

 

[AaronJ]

I would be interested to know if the transformer hum is also a problem in the Aegir and Ragnarok. Can't say I've seen complaints about either.

 

[Trudius]

I would be interested to know if the transformer hum is also a problem in the Aegir and Ragnarok. Can't say I've seen complaints about either.

I own 2 Aegirs and one of them definitely hums, the other one is quiet. I haven't tested it with the HumX power adaptor that Amazon sells and that I use with the Freya+ preamp.