New Schiit SYN - Analog Surround Sound Processor

[EJ3]

A moderator removed the link in the post above mine. It was to an audio site (legit, relevant) that had been hacked.

10-4, Thank You!

 

[USAudio]

Not totally comparable products, but the Black Ice Audio Fusion F360 looks like it also offers a matrix circuit like the Syn:

Black Ice Fusion F360 Version II Tube Preamplifier — BLACK ICE AUDIO

The all tube Black Ice Audio F360 Version II preamplifier uses one 6SN7 dual triode tube with zero negative feedback for inexpensive tube rolling that can easily be voiced to any amplifier; tube or solid state.

blackiceaudio.com

Though at $2500, it is significantly more expensive, and has a tube input stage.

At $399, the Schiit also gives you a DAC/digital inputs, headphone out, mic input, etc.

 

[mhardy6647]

Not totally comparable products, but the Black Ice Audio Fusion F360 looks like it also offers a matrix circuit like the Syn:

Black Ice Fusion F360 Version II Tube Preamplifier — BLACK ICE AUDIO

The all tube Black Ice Audio F360 Version II preamplifier uses one 6SN7 dual triode tube with zero negative feedback for inexpensive tube rolling that can easily be voiced to any amplifier; tube or solid state.

blackiceaudio.com

Though at $2500, it is significantly more expensive, and has a tube input stage.

At $399, the Schiit also gives you a DAC/digital inputs, headphone out, mic input, etc.

... and the site's not working at ca. 9pm EDT on 30Sep2023

 

[BradC]

That's how I use it, on my PC with headphones. Its fun to use the shaping when gaming.

This "crossfeed like" headphone feature is interesting to me.

I miss the physical crossfeed from my long ago sold headroom amps.

Any chance Schiit has any plans to explore this space in more products? I am just about to order a magnius/modius stack, but this might be a neat alternative to the magnius/lokius pair. Something in the lokius spot in a stack with some analogue crossfeed could be a fun product IMHO

I might be a niche customer, but for my office heaphone setup I use my phone as a source and can't access fancy DSP like when I use a PC.

(Actually the whole product is interesting as I have a spare set of surround speakers in my crawlspace that just might need to migrate to my office/guest bedroom with something like this )

 

[EJ3]

... and the site's not working at ca. 9pm EDT on 30Sep2023

The site work the moment I hit on it! Interesting to see that Jim Fosgate is involved.

 

[mhardy6647]

Yeah, I think I was having a connectivity issue. We were at our son & daughter-in-law's, and I think his WiFi was suspicious of me.
I will need to go back and look at it.

 

[dzerig]

This "crossfeed like" headphone feature is interesting to me.

I miss the physical crossfeed from my long ago sold headroom amps.

Any chance Schiit has any plans to explore this space in more products? I am just about to order a magnius/modius stack, but this might be a neat alternative to the magnius/lokius pair. Something in the lokius spot in a stack with some analogue crossfeed could be a fun product IMHO

I might be a niche customer, but for my office heaphone setup I use my phone as a source and can't access fancy DSP like when I use a PC.

Magnius is on it's way out, about to be replaced by the NOT BALANCED (it does have xlr out for a different reason) headphone amplifier that uses a circuit the design which introduces a supposed halo effect ... not audible with all headphones, or all users of headphones, so WMMV by a quite a bit.

The new product is $220, called Midgard. or some such. Do not rely on my description, I don't know what they are saying this might do.

 

[Ian Wendt]

Magnius is on it's way out, about to be replaced by the NOT BALANCED (it does have xlr out for a different reason) headphone amplifier that uses a circuit the design which introduces a supposed halo effect ... not audible with all headphones, or all users of headphones, so WMMV by a quite a bit.

The new product is $220, called Midgard. or some such. Do not rely on my description, I don't know what they are saying this might do.

The supposed Halo feature appears to be what they're calling their amplifier topology, not an effect related to surround sound or cross-feed.

 

[mhardy6647]

I thought "Halo Effect" meant something else entirely.

 

[T.M.Noble]

I thought "Halo Effect" meant something else entirely.

That's kind of the idea. There is some legitimate science behind what we are doing with Midgard so we are giving it out to those who have the ability to test the unit and see if we get interesting results.

A bit of marketing with some fun engineering.

 

[MRC01]

This "crossfeed like" headphone feature is interesting to me.
I miss the physical crossfeed from my long ago sold headroom amps.
...
I might be a niche customer, but for my office heaphone setup I use my phone as a source and can't access fancy DSP like when I use a PC.

I resemble that, used a Headroom Maxed out Home for many years. Their crossfeed worked but wasn't the best. I found Jan Meier's crossfeed to sound much better. The circuit is "open source" and also available in many DSP implementations. Here's a thread on building your own, which requires only basic skills.

DIY Meier Crossfeed Questions

I have been thinking about experimenting with crossfeed lately as I've been listening to some older Jazz recordings. This would be on a nightstand headphone set-up running off of an iPhone so software/DSP isn't an option. So, in looking for a hardware solution I came across this short tutorial...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[BradC]

I resemble that, used a Headroom Maxed out Home for many years. Their crossfeed worked but wasn't the best. I found Jan Meier's crossfeed to sound much better. The circuit is "open source" and also available in many DSP implementations. Here's a thread on building your own, which requires only basic skills.

DIY Meier Crossfeed Questions

I have been thinking about experimenting with crossfeed lately as I've been listening to some older Jazz recordings. This would be on a nightstand headphone set-up running off of an iPhone so software/DSP isn't an option. So, in looking for a hardware solution I came across this short tutorial...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks for pointing out that thread. Looks like a pretty straightforward project.

Dumb question: Did you put the crossfeed circuit on the line in side or headphone driving side of the amp?

 

[MRC01]

Put it on the line in side, because the voltages are predictable and consistent. The driving side could have a much wider range of voltages, depending on the sensitivity of your headphones and how loud you listen.

 

[Left]

It has been some time since the initial review. I wonder how many people are still using the Syn as a speaker matrix decoder and whether they set their TV and Disc players to "Surround" mode or just leave in stereo (LtRt vs LoRo)?

 

[DSJR]

No idea why I'm thinking of this - or even in this thread in all honesty as surround has never been a goal of mine - but here goes for giggles...

Back in Jurassic times when Dolby Pro Logic was the system for surround sound, Kate Bush brought out an album 'The Red Shoes' and the title track was a hoot, as almost all of it came out of the rear speakers!!!

I'll link to it in case anyone here wants to give it it a go with the Schiit processor Ohhh, she was something else back in the day - oh bloody hell, she still does it to this older fella

 

[dzerig]

It has been some time since the initial review. I wonder how many people are still using the Syn as a speaker matrix decoder and whether they set their TV and Disc players to "Surround" mode or just leave in stereo (LtRt vs LoRo)?

If you input surround mode off your tv into Syn you will lose surround channel signals.

I keep mine in the closet. I got it to hear but I don't like having 3 extra speakers so much in my present setup I'd rather not.

I got it not for TV but for the Hafler circuit, which I really like and set up with my first cheap steroe 45 years ago. Hafler is taking the signal you get from the source and stretching it so it seems wider. It's fundamentally non-invasive in terms of altering the positioning of the sounds, it is more like using a wider resolution monitor with the same information from the pc.

Syn seems to keep this in spirit, while adding some flavoring in the form of frequency "shaping" if i understand.

I think this is truer to the original stereo recording than remixed 5.1, which moves stuff from their original positions (assuming stereo was the original) slightly.

Halfer's especially useful for bootleg live recordings where one is attempting to recreate the atmosphere of the hall.

If you like the idea of Hafler circuits, really the only way to get surround the way the original stereo recording intended, Syn is a dream come true. Except for where to put the all those damn speakers?

One day I'll set up a room for this.

 

[USAudio]

Not sure if this has been posted here yet, but here’s a post about the Syn development process:
Mortal Syn?

 

[jbattman1016]

Not sure if this has been posted here yet, but here’s a post about ithe Syn development process:
Mortal Syn?

I feel like this article does mention that sure a lot of people are chasing for the best, when good enough it fine, but it all depends on the end user. For me, if I'm going to take the time to put in surround speakers, I would rather have dedicated audio tracks for those channels.

 

[USAudio]

I have a Syn, and it works fine for cinema with my 5.1 system. However what was most surprising was how much I've been enjoying it with music. The vast majority of music is available only in a 2 channel format, and Syn does an enjoyable job upmixing to 5.1.

Review from an audiophile perspective:
Syn in a nutshell
and
Schiit Syn Review, Discussion, Impressions, Measurements

 

[bobcat11]

I'd rather have the old Carver Sonic Holography

SRS wow!, Q Dash sound. All kinds of devices have come out to produce a larger image from just two speakers. Most of them failed because you couldn't move your head. I've had carver SRSQ sound, and even the built-in sound card in my old PC had virtual speaker surround Cole Dolby Spruce.
There's some new kind of filtering software that gives you control over the position of the speakers, and can give you a wider sweet spot, but it is really expensive. I can't remember the name right now. But I'm very interested in a plug-in that will do this on my PC with a good sound card or an external dock that has the processing power and the software built-in to produce a large stereo sub field that is convincing with two speakers. It is possible, just hard to do.