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All audio gear is a waste of money. I'm quick to point out that audio gear is not an investment, or at least an investment into zero. I do think if you have money to blow, it's a good time to blow it because of current inflation, that's all I'm saying.
Went to Schiir earlier to demo the Folkvangr. Very picky amp IMO where only very few headphones sounded subjectively good. High impedance headphones like the HD600, Beyer 250 ohms sounded good subjectively and low impedance ones like the Aeon 2s and K712s are "okay" but IMO not worth the price tag if you're just going use low impedance headphones except for Focal lineup (good sound with impedance multiplier turned on). They don't have the HD800 over there so can't comment on that.
Went to Schiir earlier to demo the Folkvangr. Very picky amp IMO where only very few headphones sounded subjectively good. High impedance headphones like the HD600, Beyer 250 ohms sounded good subjectively and low impedance ones like the Aeon 2s and K712s are "okay" but IMO not worth the price tag if you're just going use low impedance headphones except for Focal lineup (good sound with impedance multiplier turned on). They don't have the HD800 over there so can't comment on that.
It’s the same length and width but it’s about 1/2 inch taller. The amp wasn’t stacked perfectly when I arrived there. The power transformer is incredibly heavy though so the amp’s center of gravity is almost 100% on the left side
Wish Schiit went with transformers instead of multiple power tubes or just use a different power tubes like the Audiovalve Solaris OTL amp design for better headphone compatibility across all impedances. I much prefer the Mjolnir 2 with planars TBH
Being a guitar player, I kind of understand the appeal of adding tube-type distortion to flavour the sound of your instrument. It works for that particular usage scenario because it involves using massive amounts of distortion comparatively and it tends to sound different than solid-state distortion.
I do not get deliberately adding barely perceptible distortion to the whole song to "sweeten" it. It would be equivalent to adding reverb to all of your recordings to make them sound more spacious, holographic and 3-dimensional. Perhaps this barely perceptible tube distortion does add some kind of similar effect. At this point in my own audio journey, I am just simply no longer into this "roll the dice/tube to see what kind of sound comes out" experimentation. Maybe it's me getting old and more conservative, but I like the predictability of solid-state transparent amplifiers now.
As a limited run experiment, it is fascinating and entertaining. Hopefully some lessons can be learned to keep improving all of their other products. Probably in the realm of headphone protection circuits and thermal management.
Edit: From a purely visual design point of view, it really bothers me that the "Folkvangr" label is not centered vertically - it sits too low.
Even in the world of guitar amplifiers, solid-state is now a viable option. I recently bought a Boss Nextone Special, and I am now selling some of my tube amps… I used to spend hours auditioning different tubes, until I realised it was just to make me feel good. The audience doesn’t care.
Went to Schiir earlier to demo the Folkvangr. Very picky amp IMO where only very few headphones sounded subjectively good. High impedance headphones like the HD600, Beyer 250 ohms sounded good subjectively and low impedance ones like the Aeon 2s and K712s are "okay" but IMO not worth the price tag if you're just going use low impedance headphones except for Focal lineup (good sound with impedance multiplier turned on). They don't have the HD800 over there so can't comment on that.
I bought the Folkvangr and I’ve had it for about 6 weeks. I am admittedly a tube amp enthusiast so keep that in mind. Sound wise, it sounds lush and a little wet, which pushes the sound stage back a little. To my perception, imaging, detail and clarity are a step above my Woo WA6-SE.
It is somewhat headphone picky, but not compared to other OTL or transformer coupled SET amps I’ve listened to. It definitely seems to favor detail oriented headphones like Focal and the ZMFs with beryllium drivers. It likes high impedance headphones, but does well with any high efficiency 40 ohm or higher dynamic headphone when set to low gain thanks to a relatively low 3.5 ohm output impedance. It drives my moderate efficiency 13 ohm planars fine at moderate volume with the impedance multiplier engaged.
The best sounding headphone pairing I’ve heard is with my ZMF Verite Closed. Second would be my Focal Clear, followed by the Senn HD800s. The Senn loses out because the relatively low output impedance of the amp doesn’t give any boost to somewhat rolled off bass, unlike the Woo.
I bought the Folkvangr and I’ve had it for about 6 weeks. I am admittedly a tube amp enthusiast so keep that in mind. Sound wise, it sounds lush and a little wet, which pushes the sound stage back a little. To my perception, imaging, detail and clarity are a step above my Woo WA6-SE.
