Schiit Vidar 2 Stereo Amplifier Review

[JeremyFife]

Thanks for another interesting review, that mid-price power amp space has quite a lot of choice now.
Looks like a competent piece of kit, perhaps not remarkable.

Some of the common discussion points with amps like this revolve (endlessly) around frequency independence (which looks good here) and an ability to handle difficult loads. Given that the Vidar 2 blew a fuse and wasn't tested with Amirm's reactive load, are there any concerns about performance into lower resistance loads? Schiit's site documents performance down to 4 Ohm, but not below as far as I can tell. Does it matter?

 

[anphex]

2-3 years ago: yes
today: no

 

[olieb]

Stand-by is not off,there could be a led indicating it for example,or sense circuit waiting for signal.etc.

Edit:yep,it uses a led:

View attachment 367027

Well, obviously there is no sense circuit (or other useful stuff).
So this amp can't stand the idea of being switched off and therefore takes 1-2W for stating its presence by acting as some kind of little lamp?

 

[Sokel]

Well, obviously there is no sense circuit (or other useful stuff).
So this amp can't stand the idea of being switched off and therefore takes 1-2W for stating its presence by acting as some kind of little lamp?

I really don't know either.
If going from Stand by to On also involves the 30 seconds for checks it does not make much sense.
If it doesn't though it could come handy during short breaks.

 

[bboris77]

@amirm, did you notice any transformer hum/buzzing coming out of the unit during your testing? It is a fairly common issue with many class AB power amplifiers and receivers that annoys me and may eventually push me to a class D speaker amplifier.

 

[Sokel]

@amirm, did you notice any transformer hum/buzzing coming out of the unit during your testing? It is a fairly common issue with many class AB power amplifiers and receivers that annoys me and may eventually push me to a class D speaker amplifier.

That's not about class,there are reports about hum,buzzing,etc all over the classes.

 

[PlasticDoc]

Class AB, SINAD 88dB, US: ~$800, EU: ~€1000, nice as it is... it is still an idiosyncratic stillborn.

At this price, in 2024, it has no chance against either Hypex or Purifi for the "price is no object" consumers; or against the likes of Fosi ZA3 / Fosi V3 PFFP for "cost conscious" consumers.

This is why sites like ASR are relevant to the audio consumers.

Note: I own both types of amplifier (class AB and class D), but they are from different manufacturers.

 

[bboris77]

That's not about class,there are reports about hum,buzzing,etc all over the classes.

I know, it’s ultimately about qc quality and luck. However, the odds are much higher that a high power/capacity transformer such as the ones used in class AB speaker amps will have some audible and physical vibration. At least that has been my experience from dealing with them.

 

[Matias]

A Nord NC502MP runs circles around this amp with higher SINAD, higher power and lower price.

Nord Value-Line MP NC502 Stereo Power Amplifier - Nord Acoustics Ltd

Our new Value-Line range of lower priced amplifiers. Built to compete with the budget box shifters offering a no frill amplifier with the same sonic

nordacoustics.co.uk

 

[Gorgonzola]

Looks like a solid but unremarkable amp. Has highish noise & distortion by SOTA standards.

But I predict a lot of people will really like this product. A glance at the harmonic spectrum tells me why -- 2nd order harmonics is salve that sooths all sores.

 

[Koeitje]

Schiit Europe site says;



JSmith

In the EU you will have a two year warranty regardless.

 

[daniboun]

Class AB, SINAD 88dB, ~US $800, EU: ~1000€, nice as it is... it is still an idiosyncratic stillborn.

At this price, in 2024, it has no chance against either Hypex or Purifi for the "price is no object" consumers; or against the likes of Fosi ZA3 / Fosi V3 PFFP for "cost conscious" consumers.

This is why sites like ASR are relevant to the audio consumers.

Note: I own both types of amplifier (AB and D), but they are from different manufacturers.

Agree
The Sinad/Price ratio is clearly inconsistent. Unless the "Made in USA" justifies the price....
In the end @ $800 you have a ton of better alternatives

"All of our products are developed with the latest APx555 audio analyzer, as well as a full half-dozen Avermetrics analyzers for in-line testing. We burn-in every product from Asgard on up for a minimum of 1 day to help catch any early failures. (Ragnarok and Yggdrasil get 4 days each). We also keep very close tabs on any service and support needs, so you can rest assured of years of great sound."

 

[restorer-john]

At this price, in 2024, it has no chance against either Hypex or Purifi for the "price is no object" consumers; or against the likes of Fosi ZA3 / Fosi V3 PFFP for "cost conscious" consumers.

Actually, it does.

It will outlast any Fosi, Hypex or Purifi product and its associated SMPS you can dream up. It will most likely still be working and repairable 40+ years from now. When all your Fosi/Hypex gear is 100ft underground, poisoning the water table with heavy metals, this funny old Schiit amplifier will still be pumping out tunes, most likely running on solar power, inverters and batteries.

I would buy this over just about anything right now. It's an honest, well designed US made power amp at a good price. What more do you want or think you are 'entitled' to?

 

[wwenze]

It is a fairly common issue with many class AB power amplifiers and receivers

Errrrrr... no

 

[daniboun]

Actually, it does.

It will outlast any Fosi, Hypex or Purifi product and its associated SMPS you can dream up. It will most likely still be working and repairable 40+ years from now. When all your Fosi/Hypex gear is 100ft underground, poisoning the water table with heavy metals, this funny old Schiit amplifier will still be pumping out tunes, most likely running on solar power, inverters and batteries.

I would buy this over just about anything right now. It's an honest, well designed US made power amp at a good price. What more do you want or think you are 'entitled' to?

“Time for the planet” Ok)
But "made in USA", "In France" or others... is no longer a guarantee of reliability.
I would rather say "assembled in the USA" from Asian components)

 

[Ze Frog]

I certainly admire Schiit for their design and decent prices, and the fact it's largely in house stuff. Certainly not too shabby, and for those who just can't look beyond Class AB then a good choice for the money. Wonder when they will start doing class D based stuff.

 

[tktran303]

Regardless of country of origin, it’s about the design that’s easy to get replacement parts and easy to service.

Ask me how I know…

And blowing a fuse is what you want. That’s what fuses are for…

The thing @restorer-john is that few people understand how to how to fix things. Even the youth of today, not only are they fed fast food, fast fashion, but fast electronics… my kids expect to be able to TALK to their speakers…

When you live in a place where It costs MORE to repair something that than replace, is that a good thing? Well, it depends on who you ask…

 

[JeremyFife]

Actually, it does.

It will outlast any Fosi, Hypex or Purifi product and its associated SMPS you can dream up. It will most likely still be working and repairable 40+ years from now. When all your Fosi/Hypex gear is 100ft underground, poisoning the water table with heavy metals, this funny old Schiit amplifier will still be pumping out tunes, most likely running on solar power, inverters and batteries.

I would buy this over just about anything right now. It's an honest, well designed US made power amp at a good price. What more do you want or think you are 'entitled' to?

Not arguing with that, and perhaps there's a thread in there about recycling electronics better. No sense of entitlement, just an interest in what's new on the market and where the good value lies. Agree that the value for money calculation changes if you try to factor in reliability / serviceability although that's a personal choice.

Question for you though: what are your thoughts or comments on the Vidar blowing a fuse? Irrelevant, related to the test methodology or indicative of a problem or shortcoming?

 

[restorer-john]

“Time for the planet” Ok)
But "made in USA", "In France" or others... is no longer a guarantee of reliability.
I would rather say "assembled in the USA" from Asian components)

The boards, the casework, the transformers and the panels, fixtures and fittings, along with all the assembly are US made.

I rest my case.

 

[bboris77]

Errrrrr... no

Ok, rather than arguing with you, I will provide a quote from Jason Stoddard, the designer of these amps:

Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

The first is thru which makes the second utterly nonsense. I can assure you that "the second" is not utter nonsense. Any time you add connectors, the potential for signal degradation increases. That's a simple fact.....

www.head-fi.org

He says: "Some mechanical noise is typical of most transformers. If you have to put your ear next to the top of the amp, it's not a problem."

The devil is in the detail as some rooms have a very low noise floor and it is possible to hear this type of transformer hum/buzz across the room. And of course, the level of mechanical noise varies from unit to unit and model to model. There is also a difference between the 60Hz hum which is less audible than 120Hz hum. It is almost impossible to completely eliminate it in these types of amplifiers, but with good quality control, any manufacturer can make it a non-issue for 99% of use cases.

From my personal experience with various receiver manufacturers, I have had recently made units from Denon (AVR-S760H) that were unacceptably loud from 3-4 feet in my room and one unit from Yamaha (A-S501) that was audible from 1-2 feet, but not from my main listening location which is about 4-5 feet away. I have a 15-20 year old Yamaha receiver (HTR-6060) that has transformer hum only audible if you put your ear to the actual unit and is quiet from a foot away. This is the kind of performance that all manufacturers should strive for IMO, but I am nuts