New from Schiit Audio: Vidar 2

[Bob from Florida]

If you have DC offsets in your AC mains, that can exasperate mechanical hum from your transformer.

 

[Ritz]

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.

There's zero hum with my original Vidar. I'm going to order the Vidar 2 anyway and hear for myself. If it hums, I'll send it back and then potentially look at one of those fancy class D amps (like the Hypex kits or the Audiophonics amp) towards the top of Amir's SINAD list instead.

Best,

 

[Holdt]

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.

It should not. I would not have a humming amp in my house.

 

[Elgrosso]

When searching about hum on my Gjallarhorns I found few people online saying they had hum on their Vidar and Aegir too, and one guy with the G-horn (and I mean transformer hum not through speakers, and this without DC in mains).
And of course on many other brands as well, some of higher quality too.
It appears it's random, but with my limited knowledge I believe it’s related to the transformer itself, some pieces don’t have consistent build quality and start to vibrate.
And on top of that many other variables play a role, like personal sensitivity, placement in the rack, listening distance, room noise floor etc.
So I don't know the distribution of these good & bad units, but I’m pretty sure some users just don't hear their amp humming.
Maybe 20-30% of the toroidal amps I had were humming, for some it was low enough to keep them.

 

[jomo]

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.

See if this helps

https://www.reddit.com/r/Schiit/comments/y0mokp
I also have an early 90s B&K ST-202+ and I had to torque down the transformer mounting bolt to get rid of the hum after I renewed the inside. It's a common issue and usually occurs from the transformer not being held down tight.

 

[foreigner4]

02/03/23 bought a Schiit Vidar 2 https://www.schiit.com/products/vidar2 assistant to DAC/headphone amp iFi Zen DAC V2 https://ifi-audio.com/products/zen-dac-v2/

To eliminate RF interference from the computer through the ground loop, I had to disconnect the ground contact in the power cable of the amplifier.

02/13/23 - Schiit SYS passive pre https://www.schiit.com/products/sys , with which the sound became clearer than from the adjustable output of the iFi Zen DAC V2, the quality of the Alps potentiometer is probably higher.
02/16/23 - DAC Schiit Modi Multibit 2 https://www.schiit.com/products/modi-multibit-2, which clearly added dynamics to the system.

It's been a month and a half. After the upgraded Cambridge AM10 there was not enough bass at low volume.

03/17/23 - equalizer Schiit Loki Mini + https://www.schiit.com/products/loki-mini-3 , which turned on when listening to music quietly with activation of the bass boost at a frequency of 20 Hz.

Several times (4-5 times for an hour) I drove the Indiana Line DJ310 speakers at a sine of 20 Hz to run in suspensions.
WARNING: Control the volume! Start with the minimum, otherwise you will kill the speakers!

https://www.indianaline.com/product/indiana-line-dj-310/ - inexpensive three-band speakers with a 10 inch woofer, 94dB 2.83V at 1m.

A week and a half after the purchase of the equalizer, i.e. about 2 months after the purchase of the amplifier, a month after the purchase of the DAC, a clear and fast bass suddenly appeared in required quantity.

The equalizer was turned off as unnecessary from the path by a shorting toggle switch and its power was turned off.
I don't use it anymore, but on squeaky records like Electric Light Orchestra's 1981 "Time", bass EQ comes in handy.

04/06/23 I ordered a full-fledged Schiit Saga S preamplifier https://www.schiit.com/products/saga-s with a remote control, a relay attenuator, an option for switching passive / active modes, without / using a JFET buffer (to reduce the output resistance up to 75 Ohm).
It will not radically change the character of the sound, but it will significantly add to the ease of use.

The Schiit SYS passive preamplifier is cheap, high-quality, but with a powerful Vidar 2 and sensitive speakers, it is problematic to find the right volume control position between “very quiet” and “very loud” every time. It is better not to save and buy immediately Schiit Saga S preamplifier or another.

The result of warming up was delayed - by almost 2 months.
I used to be skeptical about “warming up”, I thought that after some time the user himself would adapt to the equipment.
Satisfied with the result.
Sorry for the style, my English is not native.

IMG_20230407_111458.jpg на ixbt.photo:


The main impression of Vidar 2: a powerful little amplifier with a precise, slightly warm sound.

 

[Trudius]

See if this helps

https://www.reddit.com/r/Schiit/comments/y0mokp
I also have an early 90s B&K ST-202+ and I had to torque down the transformer mounting bolt to get rid of the hum after I renewed the inside. It's a common issue and usually occurs from the transformer not being held down tight.

I can report back that on my second Aegir now the hum is gone after loosening the 4 screws for the transformer on the bottom. Now neither of the 2 amps has that problem. Thanks.

 

[only.shallow]

Quick update from my earlier posts. Schiit accepted the Vidar 2 return quickly and easily as it was within their return window. I mentioned my feelings about the audible hum to their customer rep and that it should be mentioned on the product page. They basically said thanks for letting them know and they'll pass it along, lol. I got my refund quickly so no complaints on that front but I did lose $100s on the initial shipping to me and then shipping back for the return plus the restocking fee... Pretty upsetting but I still love their other products I have in my system and they have always been profesional and helpful so I'm still a customer.

Anyways, this unfortunate situation led me to finally take the dive into Class D and I bought a 2 channel amp from @Buckeye Amps. What can I say, it's amazing! Dead quite, very powerful, and it mates well with my Schiit Freya S and Revel M16s. Dylan was also patient with all my annoying questions as I was paranoid about dropping a lot of money again on a new amp.

As for the help above about tightening the screws, I read about that prior but the company themselves said the hum was normal so I didn't want to mess with a brand new amp and possibly void the warranty. Like I said, a heads up about a hum you can hear four to five feet away would have been great. Too bad, I like the Vidar's look but in the end of the day, it's all about the music sans annoying hums.

 

[Holdt]

Quick update from my earlier posts. Schiit accepted the Vidar 2 return quickly and easily as it was within their return window. I mentioned my feelings about the audible hum to their customer rep and that it should be mentioned on the product page. They basically said thanks for letting them know and they'll pass it along, lol. I got my refund quickly so no complaints on that front but I did lose $100s on the initial shipping to me and then shipping back for the return plus the restocking fee... Pretty upsetting but I still love their other products I have in my system and they have always been profesional and helpful so I'm still a customer.

Anyways, this unfortunate situation led me to finally take the dive into Class D and I bought a 2 channel amp from @Buckeye Amps. What can I say, it's amazing! Dead quite, very powerful, and it mates well with my Schiit Freya S and Revel M16s. Dylan was also patient with all my annoying questions as I was paranoid about dropping a lot of money again on a new amp.

As for the help above about tightening the screws, I read about that prior but the company themselves said the hum was normal so I didn't want to mess with a brand new amp and possibly void the warranty. Like I said, a heads up about a hum you can hear four to five feet away would have been great. Too bad, I like the Vidar's look but in the end of the day, it's all about the music sans annoying hums.

You have sound reasoning.
"Fool me once.."

 

[foreigner4]

I hear the buzz of my Vidar 2 only if I put my ear close to its body.

 

[lanceman25]

New to the forum. Interesting thread. I purchased a Vidar 2 that was faulty and I blew 2 different speakers. I chalked it up to operator error but there was crazy amounts of hum in one channel. Needless to say there was definitely something wrong with the amp.

The whole replacement debacle was a bit of a Schiit show too, but at least the guy that works at the Schiiter was nice and apologetic, and threw in some free swag as a token of an apology. He encouraged me to try and get some reimbursement / discount for the damage to my speakers but I let it go.

Anyway, I don't have any audible hum in my replacement Vidar 2 with my Dynaudios X14s, or other speakers for that matter.

I'm upgrading to the Special Fortys and I'm looking forward to the combo of the Vidar 2 and the Dynaudio S40s. If anyone has heard that combination, I would appreciate hearing your impression.

Cheers!

 

[Lizard84]

Interesting, I purchased a Vidar 2, I only have about 20 hours of listening in on it but I’m happy to report it is dead quiet. No hum whatsoever.

I like the design, look and the weight of it, it has plenty of power and is well suited to the Maggie LRS+’s I have in my system. Right now I’d call it’s sound to be near the warm side of neutral. These impressions are with the amp paired with a Threshold NS10 preamp and a Topping E50 dac.

 

[leebergtally]

I got my Vidar 2 the other day and after some initial listening I am quite pleased with it. I won't wax eloquently about the sound, but sufice it to say it's way better than my 50-year old McIntosh MC2105 that's sometimes sounds harsh, and is most likely in need of restoration. The Vidar 2 is rated the same wattage which is sufficient to drive my inefficient Polk SDA SRS 2.3's. I do hear some mechanical transformer hum if I put my ear up to the Vidar 2, however I hear no hum or noise in the room, nor out of the loudspeakers. So far I am quite pleased. Using a Loki Mini+ EQ, a Modi+ DAC, and a Mani Phono Preamp. Driving the Vidar with an old, but quiet Acurus Act 3 in Stereo Mode. The Acurus doesn't seem to add or subtract anything from the sound and has a remote.

 

[Edge Of Break Up]

Quick update from my earlier posts. Schiit accepted the Vidar 2 return quickly and easily as it was within their return window. I mentioned my feelings about the audible hum to their customer rep and that it should be mentioned on the product page. They basically said thanks for letting them know and they'll pass it along, lol. I got my refund quickly so no complaints on that front but I did lose $100s on the initial shipping to me and then shipping back for the return plus the restocking fee... Pretty upsetting but I still love their other products I have in my system and they have always been profesional and helpful so I'm still a customer.

Anyways, this unfortunate situation led me to finally take the dive into Class D and I bought a 2 channel amp from @Buckeye Amps. What can I say, it's amazing! Dead quite, very powerful, and it mates well with my Schiit Freya S and Revel M16s. Dylan was also patient with all my annoying questions as I was paranoid about dropping a lot of money again on a new amp.

As for the help above about tightening the screws, I read about that prior but the company themselves said the hum was normal so I didn't want to mess with a brand new amp and possibly void the warranty. Like I said, a heads up about a hum you can hear four to five feet away would have been great. Too bad, I like the Vidar's look but in the end of the day, it's all about the music sans annoying hums.

Which amp did you purchase as I was considering the Buckeye Hypex NC252mp paired with a Schiit Saga S to drive my KLH Kendall floor standers. I don’t believe I need more than 150 watts at 8 ohms.

 

[only.shallow]

Which amp did you purchase as I was considering the Buckeye Hypex NC252mp paired with a Schiit Saga S to drive my KLH Kendall floor standers. I don’t believe I need more than 150 watts at 8 ohms.

Hi. I purchased the 2-channel Hypex NC252MP Amplifier and it's connected to my Freya S via balanced. I have Revel M16 speakers and they sound killer with the Freya and Buckeye. Very happy with this combo!

 

[SCG]

See if this helps https://www.reddit.com/r/Schiit/comments/y0mokp

Great find, thanks a bunch for posting! The V2 sits near-field and the xfmr hum was driving me nuts. I have Emotiva CMX-2 so know that DC offset wasn't an issue, and giving all 4 screws underneath a 1/4 turn looser did the trick.

 

[NoMoFoNo]

Reading these posts makes me remember the Vidar I owned that was good but also had the transformer hum. At that point, the thing cost $600 and was their first foray into speaker amps, so acceptable I thought.

At this point, they're much deeper into speaker amp production and the Vidar 2 is $800 and they should NOT be leaving the factory with hum. Why on earth would I pay $800 for a very heavy piece that may or may not hum when it gets to me when I can find more power, better objective performance and smaller, lighter packaging and all for less money from Nord, Buckeye or one of the other Hypex/Purifi makers?

For that matter, why not consider one of the latest chip amps based on TPA3255, cost $100 and provide arguably better objective performance and reasonable power, especially if planned use is for a desktop?

Don't get me started on their usurious 'restocking fee'. Who else charges 15% with only 15 days to decide? I can't believe they get away with this. That's $120 to return a Vidar 2 within 15 days. Absurd. A potential buyer is nuts to accept this.

 

[Ritz]

That's quite a bit of bile for Schiit there. I've been happy with my Vidar (no hum), but I am likely going to be replacing it with something more efficient like a Nilai500-based stereo amp. The really nice Ncore/Buckeye/etc amps based on higher-end Hypex or Purifi parts are not really cheaper. Even a DIY 2 channel kit like this one:

Hypex Nilai500DIY 250W Stereo Amplifier Kit

Hypex Nilai500DIY 250W Stereo Amplifier Kit

www.madisoundspeakerstore.com

is double the price of a Vidar and you've still got to assemble it yourself. I may do that just for fun though.

Schiit has always treated me well as a customer and I'll be keeping my Vidar around for duty in another room.

*shrug*

Best,

 

[NoMoFoNo]

That's quite a bit of bile for Schiit there. I've been happy with my Vidar (no hum), but I am likely going to be replacing it with something more efficient like a Nilai500-based stereo amp. The really nice Ncore/Buckeye/etc amps based on higher-end Hypex or Purifi parts are not really cheaper. Even a DIY 2 channel kit like this one:

Hypex Nilai500DIY 250W Stereo Amplifier Kit

Hypex Nilai500DIY 250W Stereo Amplifier Kit

www.madisoundspeakerstore.com

is double the price of a Vidar and you've still got to assemble it yourself. I may do that just for fun though.

Schiit has always treated me well as a customer and I'll be keeping my Vidar around for duty in another room.

*shrug*

Best,

OK. IMO the best Class D comparisons for the Vidar, which is a rather ordinary offering based on performance, are the Nord, Audiophonics and Buckeye offerings featuring Hypex modules in the $400-550 range, whereas Schiit has cranked the price of the Vidar 2 to $800. They are smaller, lighter, better performing and cost less. IMO the Vidar would be competitive at $500 or $600 but regardless, shipping these out with humming transformers is sloppy at best.

 

[Holdt]

That's quite a bit of bile for Schiit there. I've been happy with my Vidar (no hum),.......

Schiit has always treated me well as a customer and I'll be keeping my Vidar around for duty in another room.

*shrug*

Best,

What do you mean that they always treated you well?