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Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

Rate this headphone amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 6 2.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 4 1.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 49 22.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 163 73.4%

  • Total voters
    222
One of the problems here is Tyler (Hands on SBAF) who has virtually no real understanding/education of electronics.

Jason is a technical guy with excellent writing skills and knows extremely well how to cater the 'hearing' crowd and use the right words to get their interest.
SBAF folks that believe in fairy tales (not all do) swarm plenty around Schiit.

An amplifier can NOT change properties of a driver. A driver simply reacts to a voltage (current) which is applied. This is an electrical signal without magic or 'the unknown' signal.
IF one does want to change the sound the voltage applied to a driver MUST change as well.
You cannot change the sound in any other way electrically (of course you can acoustically)
A driver just has 2 connections so how can one 'change driver properties' without changing the input signal other than in fairy tales.

This means the voltage across the driver HAS to change for something to sound different. One can simply measure the voltage across the driver. The AP555X from Amir can do that with great accuracy which is over 100000x more accurate than any acoustic measurement.

So the 'one must measure acoustically' in this case is a complete bogus story and makes no sense at all.

Schiit are just winging it here. It is very obvious, at least for high impedance headphones that there is no effect measurable. Not electrically (well there is, XLR is slightly worse) and not acoustically.

There could be in low impedance headphones and why I suggested the very insensitive, low and varying impedance and low distortion DCA Expanse to be measured.
IF something indeed improves it could and should be with this headphone.

IF something changes in the sound the voltage across the driver MUST change. These are 1:1 coupled. There cannot be an acoustic change without the voltage across the driver changing.

I read the marketing blurb. It is filled with 'grandpa Paul' theories and makes no sense at all. It is important that 'mystery' remains.
Jason has an AP (and used it) and as he said he has no evidence of 'Halo' working and wants to involve others.
Funny as you really cannot possibly 'null' the sound of headphones and Jason (should) know that reallllly well.
That's why he expects nulls as they will show differences but only because of unavoidable acoustic errors with magnitudes higher differences depending on each run you make.

When @amirm can not show any improvements with the Expanse all that remains is placebo. It is either that or the voltage across the driver is changed is such a significant way (VERY measurable) that it would even become audible. The changes shown now (by Amir and Schiit) and as claimed by Jason seems not to be measurable do not point in a direction indicating something actually is different enough to claim: we don't know how but trust us it happens magically.

There is no such thing as 'magic' and 'yet unexplained/unmeasured' in the electrical domain (what the Midgard is). People have looked for it and no evidence is ever found.
None will be found here either. There is an electrical change (measurable) across the driver or there isn't.

/rant

Edit: regardless of the workings of the 'Halo' circuit the amp itself seems fine. Good performance, much power, good looks (to me) and great price, certainly for a US made product. I would recommend it as long as no reports are coming in from failing amps in the future.
 
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I've been wondering why Schiit prefers to design discrete amplifiers. Are they superior in some way, or perhaps less expensive to build, or do they just believe it sounds better?
 
I've been wondering why Schiit prefers to design discrete amplifiers. Are they superior in some way, or perhaps less expensive to build, or do they just believe it sounds better?
Jason says building an op amp based, high measuring amplifier is too easy for him. Maybe he has ADHD.

Probably just a gimmick to save money. I bet op amps are really expensive, and by using discrete parts you save a ton of money.
 
I've been wondering why Schiit prefers to design discrete amplifiers. Are they superior in some way, or perhaps less expensive to build, or do they just believe it sounds better?
I don't know about them but do know some other companies got burned bad during the pandemic with Op-amps become unobtainable. With discrete components, they have more flexibility.

From design point of view, discrete parts allow much higher operating voltages than typical op-amps. If that is needed, it can be a plus with possibly other compromises.
 
An amplifier can NOT change properties of a driver. A driver simple reacts to a voltage (current) which is applied. This is an electrical signal without magic or 'the unknown' signal.
IF one does to change the sound the voltage applied to a driver MUST change.
You cannot change the sound in any other way electrically (of course you can acoustically)
A driver just has 2 connections so how can one 'change driver properties' without changing the input signal other than in fairy tales.

This means the voltage across the driver HAS to change for something to sound different.

So the 'one must measure acoustically' in this case is a complete bogus story and makes no sense at all.

S

IF something changes in the sound the voltage across the driver MUST change. These are 1:1 coupled. There cannot be an acoustic change without the voltage across the driver changing.
They are changing the voltage. He is adding feedback _- doesn't that change the voltage? Presumably through both the 1/4 and the xlr. With xlr the transducer behaves differently due to the different electrical connection to the transducer?
 
I've been wondering why Schiit prefers to design discrete amplifiers. Are they superior in some way, or perhaps less expensive to build, or do they just believe it sounds better?
the latter
 
I'm not saying it can.

I'm saying to measure what they are claiming, you need to measure the output from the transducer.
you just need to measure the voltage across the driver. This is what the AP is perfectly suited for.
 
They are changing the voltage. He is adding feedback _- doesn't that change the voltage? Presumably through both the 1/4 and the xlr. With xlr the transducer behaves differently due to the different electrical connection to the transducer?
when the voltage does change this is measurable. The AP is best for that job. Microphones are not.

With the HD650 there was no significant change. There might be with the Expanse but will not know until it is measured by Amir.

This is only with the XLR out and not on the 1/4.

The voltage across the driver is the only thing that matters.
 
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or do they just believe it sounds better?
Also factor that the phrase "discrete amp" makes the marketing juicier, and if anything, this product panders to the kind of people that react positively towards such phrase.
 
I'm not saying it can.

I'm saying to measure what they are claiming, you need to measure the output from the transducer.
Schiit is saying the driver CAN change. This Halo circuit is supposed to reduce distortion, yet we see no proof this is true.

Have the measurements been published that Schiit claims prove there is lower distortion? I have to agree with @solderdude acoustical measurements aren't ideal, but I'd at least like to see some proof.
 
I've been wondering why Schiit prefers to design discrete amplifiers. Are they superior in some way, or perhaps less expensive to build, or do they just believe it sounds better?
With op-amps, Texas Instruments or whoever has done a lot of the hard work for you, so if you believe Jason Stoddard, professional pride has something to do with it, though it's worth noting that the op-amp Magni's outperform their discrete headphone amps by many measurable metrics. Much like various other buzzwords like "class A" or "no global feedback", product differentiation sells to the subjectivist crowd regardless of whether this actually corresponds to any audibly meaningful difference in performance.
 
I've been wondering why Schiit prefers to design discrete amplifiers. Are they superior in some way, or perhaps less expensive to build, or do they just believe it sounds better?
To get full discrete you need to use the RCA inputs as the XLR ins are converted to SE via op-amp.
 
With op-amps, Texas Instruments or whoever has done a lot of the hard work for you, so if you believe Jason Stoddard, professional pride has something to do with it, though it's worth noting that the op-amp Magni's outperform their discrete headphone amps by many measurable metrics. Much like various other buzzwords like "class A" or "no global feedback", product differentiation sells to the subjectivist crowd regardless of whether this actually corresponds to any audibly meaningful difference in performance.
Agree but I think it is not differentiation just for the subjectivist crowd, it is product/brand differentian in general. If you are manufacturing using the same components everyone else is using, I imagine it becomes quite hard to differentiate your brand. If you do discrete, you differentiate your product and you differentiate your brand as an engineering company. How successfully, I don't know.
 
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Schiit is saying the driver CAN change. This Halo circuit is supposed to reduce distortion, yet we see no proof this is true.

Have the measurements been published that Schiit claims prove there is lower distortion? I have to agree with @solderdude acoustical measurements aren't ideal, but I'd at least like to see some proof.
distortion actually is slightly worse. below any audible thresholds so of no consequence to the sound.

The only way I know that can change a driver is by feeding too much power into it and damage the voicecoil.
 
when the voltage does change this is measurable. The AP is best for that job. Microphones are not.

With the HD650 there was no significant change. There might be with the Expanse but will not know until it is measured by Amir.

This is only with the XLR out and not on the 1/4.

The voltage across the driver is the only thing that matters.
The voltage you speak of is presumably identical on the 1/4" and the xlr.

Perhaps voltage change fails to reach the driver though the 1/4" but it does reach the driver from the xlr?

In which case, microphones are better?

Expanse won't show anything as the impedance is flat. You need Grado, or something like it with low and wonky impedance (sr 60x more than doubles at 100 hz).
 
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The voltage you speak of is presumably identical on the 1/4" and the xlr.

Perhaps voltage change fails to reach the driver though the 1/4" but it does reach the driver from the xlr?

In which case, microphones are better?
No.....in XLR mode there appears to be a current sensing resistor or perhaps the return wire of the headphone is routed through part of the feedback loop.
This is why the output R is about 2 ohm higher.
This is not possible with TRS jacks so becomes a regular amp in that case.
Regardless .. the voltage across the driver is what determines what comes out of the driver. Whatever the feedback or even feedforward mechanism is.
So measuring that voltage (which is exactly what the AP will do) is the best way. Microphones will do exactly the same but over a 1000x less accurate.
There literally is no reason to measure acoustical output over the electrical output when that output is measured with an actual load. The AP can do this because both inputs are galvanically separated.

The problem is this needs to be measured or I need to have one on my bench and reverse engineer what has been done. Schiit dont want that.

The current set of measurements from Amir and Schiit dont show what needs to be shown. The high impedance test at least shows that it isnt current drive and seems to indicate that for lower currents there is no change even with variable headphone R.
There could be with HPs like the Expanse which @amirm has but it would require him to set the test all up again.
When that also shows no impact it is just marketing blurb.

We can see that it is a good headphone amp anyway, certainly for the price.
A game changer design it does not seem to be so far.
 
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We can see that it is a good headphone amp anyway, certainly for the price.
A game changer design it does not seem to be so far.
The Mighty JStud hinted strongly that a speaker amp with the design is forthcoming and my speakers would seem to be exactly the sort of design (large, floppy woofers) that would benefit. I've been waiting for this particular amplifier to go to version 2 for some time so I am excited.
 
When the changes are in the same order of magnitude as with the HD650 I would not get my hopes up.:)

The only thing that might work in this case is a negative output resistance which would basically do the same as light parametric EQ which would be based on the impedance curve of the speaker. That would be the only thing such an amp could do. It would not be exactly like EQ because of the phase of the current changing as well though.
That principle never caught on and is known for decades.
Have a read here to get a grasp of this (section 4) and given the component count I am betting on Figure 3 design with a 2 ohm sensing resistor.
It would also explain the increased distortion and why it does nothing with high Z headphones (not enough current opposite the output voltage feedback)

Also read this:

Alas, there are no measurements showing any effects with low impedance headphones so it will remain a mystery.
As the mighty Jason already stated there are no measurements to back his story up and we have to trust him that it does what was promised.
The best thing is that works like a charm. Think of the 'combo burrito filter' and other claims that are swallowed like hot cakes but there is no evidence other than anecdotal.
Cables, power conditioners, sound improvement things like stones and pieces of tape actually work extremely well for most people on the same premise.
Suggest it and they will hear it.

Maybe it is about negative impedance which you could definitely hear... changing the driver properties only happens in dreams. This requires mechanical modifications. Of course, just like using EQ, you can change the drive voltage based on the current (determined by the impedance) which might be what this amp could be doing but it hasn't been shown that it actually does.

In the end it is a kind of feedback that alters the voltage across the driver and this can be measured. This voltage does determine what the driver does so does not change the driver properties itself but adjusts the voltage across which is determined by the speaker properties. This is something different as claiming it change properties of the driver, instead it uses properties of the driver to modify the electrical input to it.

That might work somewhat well with single driver speakers (headphones are just that) but for multiway speakers it might cause instabilities etc.
 
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