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Schiit Asgard 3 Headphone Amp & DAC Review

don'ttrustauthority

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Almost a year later... And it appears there is a new AK4490 G2 DAC board being supplied. Any idea what is that about? I was interested in the Asgard with DAC board but there seems to be precious little in terms of reviews or info except here, which was amazing to learn how the board performed. Thanks for the great tests and results.
Given the short lifespan of the 4490, unless it comes back when AKM gets back up, a review on this may be not coming. You could write info@schiit dot com as they test their gear and may have tested this.
 

Theriverlethe

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Almost a year later... And it appears there is a new AK4490 G2 DAC board being supplied. Any idea what is that about? I was interested in the Asgard with DAC board but there seems to be precious little in terms of reviews or info except here, which was amazing to learn how the board performed. Thanks for the great tests and results.
I think the G2 has been around for awhile... probably the one reviewed in this article.
 

Bisounours

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New here but I recently bought a used asgard 3 and I have a question about channel imbalance on this kind of unit.

I've never had significant channel imbalance issues on an amp so I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is normal channel imbalance or something else.

If I have the Asgard 3 volume knob all the way to off on low gain mode and then turn it just enough to turn unmute the volume, the right channel starts at what I would consider my normal listening level while the left channel has near 0 volume as to be expected based on where the dial is. As I turn the dial, the right channel volume seems to stay the same as the left channel continues to increase as expected. This occurs until about 11:30 on the volume dial where they seem to be close enough in volume to the point that its hard to discern a difference. The right channel might still be a little louder but its difficult to say with just listening to the channels together or separately.

Is this the expected channel balance experience or is this worse than normal?
 

Jimbob54

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New here but I recently bought a used asgard 3 and I have a question about channel imbalance on this kind of unit.

I've never had significant channel imbalance issues on an amp so I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is normal channel imbalance or something else.

If I have the Asgard 3 volume knob all the way to off on low gain mode and then turn it just enough to turn unmute the volume, the right channel starts at what I would consider my normal listening level while the left channel has near 0 volume as to be expected based on where the dial is. As I turn the dial, the right channel volume seems to stay the same as the left channel continues to increase as expected. This occurs until about 11:30 on the volume dial where they seem to be close enough in volume to the point that its hard to discern a difference. The right channel might still be a little louder but its difficult to say with just listening to the channels together or separately.

Is this the expected channel balance experience or is this worse than normal?
Doesn't sound very normal to me. You shouldn't be able to go from silence to normal levels in either ear like that, nevermind just one.
 

Bisounours

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Doesn't sound very normal to me. You shouldn't be able to go from silence to normal levels in either ear like that, nevermind just one.

Dang. Is there anything else I should try/check? I'm guessing getting schiit to fix this would cost me as much as just buying a new magni/heresy.
 

Vini darko

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New here but I recently bought a used asgard 3 and I have a question about channel imbalance on this kind of unit.

I've never had significant channel imbalance issues on an amp so I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is normal channel imbalance or something else.

If I have the Asgard 3 volume knob all the way to off on low gain mode and then turn it just enough to turn unmute the volume, the right channel starts at what I would consider my normal listening level while the left channel has near 0 volume as to be expected based on where the dial is. As I turn the dial, the right channel volume seems to stay the same as the left channel continues to increase as expected. This occurs until about 11:30 on the volume dial where they seem to be close enough in volume to the point that its hard to discern a difference. The right channel might still be a little louder but its difficult to say with just listening to the channels together or separately.

Is this the expected channel balance experience or is this worse than normal?
Welcome to ASR. Yeah that's not normal and way worse than expected.
I see it has a normal volume pot. If your feeling adventurous you could replace with a alps blue pot or disassemble it and clean it (assuming it's the pot thats at fault)
Screenshot_20210920-231706.png
 
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Bisounours

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Welcome to ASR. Yeah that's not normal and way worse than expected.
I see it has a normal volume pot. If your feeling adventurous you could replace with a alps blue pot or disassemble it and clean it (assuming it's the pot thats at fault)
View attachment 154679
Would the pot be the sort of normal factor in channel imbalance in a headphone amp? I could definitely give it a shot with a bit more internet searching. I guess I'll email schiit first and see if they have any ideas. Thanks for the suggestion!
 

Theriverlethe

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New here but I recently bought a used asgard 3 and I have a question about channel imbalance on this kind of unit.

I've never had significant channel imbalance issues on an amp so I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is normal channel imbalance or something else.

If I have the Asgard 3 volume knob all the way to off on low gain mode and then turn it just enough to turn unmute the volume, the right channel starts at what I would consider my normal listening level while the left channel has near 0 volume as to be expected based on where the dial is. As I turn the dial, the right channel volume seems to stay the same as the left channel continues to increase as expected. This occurs until about 11:30 on the volume dial where they seem to be close enough in volume to the point that its hard to discern a difference. The right channel might still be a little louder but its difficult to say with just listening to the channels together or separately.

Is this the expected channel balance experience or is this worse than normal?

Did you buy it through eBay or use any method with buyer protection? You could ask Schiit about warranty repair but what you describe is bad enough that the seller almost certainly deliberately sold a defective unit.
 

Bisounours

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Did you buy it through eBay or use any method with buyer protection? You could ask Schiit about warranty repair but what you describe is bad enough that the seller almost certainly deliberately sold a defective unit.
I did purchase it on Ebay. The description did say "It does have some channel imbalance up until about a 1/4 of the way up the dial and then both channels play equally." but from Schiit's own FAQ and this review I did expect some sort of channel imbalance. However, this does seem worse than described and/or unusual as far as expected channel imbalance goes.

I did reach out to schiit and they said it could be repaired for "Basic Repair for $30" or "Board Swap for $120". I'm sure shipping this hefty amp to California won't be cheap.
 

Theriverlethe

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I did purchase it on Ebay. The description did say "It does have some channel imbalance up until about a 1/4 of the way up the dial and then both channels play equally." but from Schiit's own FAQ and this review I did expect some sort of channel imbalance. However, this does seem worse than described and/or unusual as far as expected channel imbalance goes.

I did reach out to schiit and they said it could be repaired for "Basic Repair for $30" or "Board Swap for $120". I'm sure shipping this hefty amp to California won't be cheap.
If you’re not past the window, you’re probably better off going with eBay or PayPal buyer protection. Your description sounds much worse than the seller’s.
 

Lpd2

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Try another 1/4"??? I have this amp and one of my adapters didnt fit. Similar issue. Do you have any name brand adapters?
 
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Tortie

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New here but I recently bought a used asgard 3 and I have a question about channel imbalance on this kind of unit.

I've never had significant channel imbalance issues on an amp so I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing is normal channel imbalance or something else.

If I have the Asgard 3 volume knob all the way to off on low gain mode and then turn it just enough to turn unmute the volume, the right channel starts at what I would consider my normal listening level while the left channel has near 0 volume as to be expected based on where the dial is. As I turn the dial, the right channel volume seems to stay the same as the left channel continues to increase as expected. This occurs until about 11:30 on the volume dial where they seem to be close enough in volume to the point that its hard to discern a difference. The right channel might still be a little louder but its difficult to say with just listening to the channels together or separately.

Is this the expected channel balance experience or is this worse than normal?

Schiit doesn't seem to bin their volume pots. It's one of the corners the company cuts to keep prices low. I had a Magni 3 and then a Asgard 3. Both had poor channel matching. Haven't experienced this with any other brand/company.
 

Tortie

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I did purchase it on Ebay. The description did say "It does have some channel imbalance up until about a 1/4 of the way up the dial and then both channels play equally." but from Schiit's own FAQ and this review I did expect some sort of channel imbalance. However, this does seem worse than described and/or unusual as far as expected channel imbalance goes.

I did reach out to schiit and they said it could be repaired for "Basic Repair for $30" or "Board Swap for $120". I'm sure shipping this hefty amp to California won't be cheap.

Last time I shipped an amp to California for repair the USPS lost my amplifier. Got stolen for sure because it packed well.
 

Orion76

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I was just checking their website and you can now get the Asgard 3 with a ES9028 DAC Module. Looks like the older AKM4490 DAC has been retired?
 

Jimbob54

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I was just checking their website and you can now get the Asgard 3 with a ES9028 DAC Module. Looks like the older AKM4490 DAC has been retired?
Imagine they ran out of stock of AKM like most of the rest of the world
 

Lpd2

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So are the old 4490 units covered under warranty? I got another DAC and sort of forgot about it. I'd like a proper all-in-one though if they have that ability now.
 

Veri

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I'd like a proper all-in-one though if they have that ability now.
I believe they have ESS Sabre add-on cards now with higher voltage output, to make for a rather decent all-in-one. No idea about the warranty but they should honour it and have some cards on hand for replacement purposes.
 

Lpd2

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I believe they have ESS Sabre add-on cards now with higher voltage output, to make for a rather decent all-in-one. No idea about the warranty but they should honour it and have some cards on hand for replacement purposes.
Yeah looks like 2v and usbc on product page specs. Very nice. Could pack it up with the macbook air for travel, plus my new mobo and itx chassis both have usbc. But will it be enough for my incoming he6sev2 adorama edition...
 

tvrgeek

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I see the ESS DAC upgrade is available for $150. New DAC and the new USB port. 2 year warrantee on it. Now that makes the decision to upgrade, Modius or Bifrost.
 
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