Schiit Ragnarok Reviewed Ecstatically In Stereophile ....

As the title suggests, our premiere high-end audio journal has swooned for the Schiit integrated amp.

Some of you must own a Ragnarok; would you consider posting your impressions of it's sound quality and musical performance here? I am completely uninformed as regards Schitt, not being a headphones guy (or DAC guy, really.)

I'd be particularly interested in how it stacks up in the clarity, tone and PRaT department vs. current Naim amps (I have a Nait XS2).

Cheers!

 

They didn't actually swoon over it. John Atkinson seriously called in to question its operating characteristics but later gave some credence to them after reevaluating its bias performance.

 

Herb's review...?

 

Basically said it was the best amp he's heard in his LIFE

 

Their design philosophy on amps is a non starter for me. This is what can happen when clueless cos decide to mfg a "complete line." For me to even contemplate purchasing this amp, they would have to be the last audio co on planet earth.

 

Can you elaborate? What specifically re: their 'design philosophy' is a non-starter for you?

 

Funny name on an amp. Ragnarök is in principle the same as Harmagedon: the final battle and the end of the world as we know it.

 

Schiit Audio Ragnarok integrated amplifier »

 

Herb's review definitely made me want to try one out on the LS50's.

 

After purchasing several of their products, I am more than pleased.

 

34% THD Current starved. Rated for 60 W/c & clips @ 40W/c. Lame mfg's design.


Editor: Thank you, Mr. Reichert and Mr. Atkinson, for taking the time to review the Ragnarok. This is a true milestone for me, as I never anticipated the reception to our initial products, or the growth of the company, that would allow us to do "moonshot" products like the Ragnarok that would attract the attention of Stereophile. I won't bore you with a recap of all the crazy design decisions that went into the Ragnarok (and delayed its introduction by a good 18 months), but an entire chapter of the Schiit Happened book is dedicated to the odyssey. With respect to the measurements, I do find it odd that in Mr. Atkinson's testing the Ragnarok does not exceed its specified power output—I will have to take a look at that one when it comes back to us.

I do commend Mr. Atkinson on following through with the testing on this amplifier and modifying his tests in order to accommodate our algorithm. Creating an algorithm that was fast enough and flexible enough to do real-time bias and protection, and to differentiate music from faults, is a new and challenging idea—and was by far the most demanding part of developing the Ragnarok.—Jason Stoddard, Co-Founder, Schiit Audio


Read more at Schiit Audio Ragnarok integrated amplifier Manufacturers' Comment »

 

Here's the chapter about the Ragnarok from the Schiit Happened thread
Chapter 27: Twilight of the Gods—Ragnarok from 2009 Until Today (today being Aug 2014 when the chapter was written)

There are some other posts on Head-Fi where Jason talks a little more about the design of the amp and what it's doing. The amp has been out for over a year. They haven't been going into meltdown. The microprocessor management is working.

I've been considering a Ragnarok amp as my second headphone amp. An amp to compliment my hybrid Cavalli amp. An amp to pair with the Cavalli in a sort of Yin Yang sort of way. Two different sounding amps while each doing things that I like and having a sound quality I like. I haven't yet heard the Ragnarok with speakers. For me the speaker taps on the Ragnarok are just a bonus item. I'm interested in it for the headphone amp. The speaker connections just give me an option to maybe play with some passive speakers later.

 

Curiouser and curiouser ...

34% THD? Wouldn't that essentially be a fuzzbox? How could Herb Reichert (a man prone to sudden enthusiasms, admittedly) be so smitten?

(I re-read Atkinson's bit again, more carefully this time - I get Lester's concerns.)

Too bad they're mail-order only. I'm aching for a demo ... on the other hand, regardless of how good it sounded to Herb, maybe something that apparently complex (read: likely unreliable) isn't for me. How long these things been on the market? How happy is the Schiit sect? Should I just stick with my relatively normal Nait XS2?​

 

I love this company but I need a remote control for my amp. And Black as a color option. My only two gripes. Otherwise Schiit for life.

 

34%? For reals? Wouldn't that be 3.4% or something?

 

Yeah, it seems many of the reviews of the 'Rok demo it into LS50's. It must have the juice to 'raise their eyebrows'!

 

That number is taken out of context. Ragnarok is designed different from typical amplifiers. Standard testing procedures do not work with the Ragnarok so the 34% number is bogus, as explained in the article.

 

Enough juice for Spatial Audio M4's?

 

I think if you stay undr 30 WPC, the ragnarok doesnt exceed 0.5 % distortion which is okay.

excellent headphone amp for sure and one of the best SS headphone amp available, not convinced how good it is for speakers though

 

Much ado from a can't do co. They should have designated it Handicap Amp.

 

Given that we all know Stereophile is going to measure the stuff they review, I guess I'm not quite sure why Schitt wouldn't have explained their design philosophy AND provided the measurement procedure they used to test their amps ahead of time (with Atkinson feeling free to evaluate and reject/accept the logic behind it). They must have known it wouldn't measure well compared to normal amps, yes?

 

So it's terrible?

 

Are you saying, then, that the very glowing reviews it gets are suspect?

I don't get the whole "software-controlled biasing" deal either; but still. If'n it sounds as good as Herb says, and is reliable
....

 

Are people bothering to read the measurements page? Stoddard explains what his algorithm is doing, and then Atkinson tests again and verifies that the amp works as designed.

 

Softcore sliding logic. Slow too. 5 to 6 min for bias to recover. This has zero to do with the devotees. This is an amp that I would never use for organ music, rock synthesizer music or large scale orchestral music.
Editor: Thank you, Mr. Reichert and Mr. Atkinson, for taking the time to review the Ragnarok. This is a true milestone for me, as I never anticipated the reception to our initial products, or the growth of the company, that would allow us to do "moonshot" products like the Ragnarok that would attract the attention of Stereophile. I won't bore you with a recap of all the crazy design decisions that went into the Ragnarok (and delayed its introduction by a good 18 months), but an entire chapter of the Schiit Happened book is dedicated to the odyssey. With respect to the measurements, I do find it odd that in Mr. Atkinson's testing the Ragnarok does not exceed its specified power output—I will have to take a look at that one when it comes back to us.

I do commend Mr. Atkinson on following through with the testing on this amplifier and modifying his tests in order to accommodate our algorithm. Creating an algorithm that was fast enough and flexible enough to do real-time bias and protection, and to differentiate music from faults, is a new and challenging idea—and was by far the most demanding part of developing the Ragnarok.—Jason Stoddard, Co-Founder, Schiit Audio


Read more at Schiit Audio Ragnarok integrated amplifier Manufacturers' Comment »