Schiit Audio Saga Preamp and Vidar Amp

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by LeeS, May 30, 2018.

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  1. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    I think it's 'Aegir' (with these Norse names who knows though), and yeah, that's definitely an amp to watch and wait for. :pineapple:

    Also, Musical Fidelity is allegedly planning to bring back their legendary A1 integrated amp (apparently the guy who runs Pro-ject loves the A1, and Pro-ject just recently bought MF, so he's made noises along these lines).

    So it's a bit of a renaissance in low-power, high-quality pure Class A amps in 2019-2020, looks like. :agree:
    .
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
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  2. RND4mGuy

    RND4mGuy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    Do they ever offer the Sagas in black finish? I've been checking for months and it's always silver. I'm curious if there's anything "remotely" similar to the Saga at the sub-$500 price pt.
     
  3. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    At one time they did offer black. As to when they will again (if ever), have no idea. You should email 'em and ask (and tell us what they say! :) ).

    'Good amps wear black'. :thumbsup:


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2019
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  4. Wasabi

    Wasabi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lutz, FL
    I've been looking for a black Saga for awhile. I've emailed them a couple of times and they said they make them when their supplier has some blem/seconds metal then they offer it.
     
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  5. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I've got a Saga coming with a few extras, should be here Tuesday. Going to swap out my Odyssey Candela. Right now I have way more gain than I need, after rearranging my room (I had furniture arranged such that it was just smothering sound, when I opened that up, holy shnikes). I'll be able to roll the LISST, Tung Sol, and Russian NOS tube but then on Thursday, I've got a Ken Rad Black Glass 6SN7 to try out. Based on reading, I'll most likely use it in tube buffer mode.
     
  6. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Saga arrived today, unexpectedly. Initial impressions are positive, maybe even very positive.

    In my system, the difference between passive and tube buffer modes is immediately apparent. I haven't yet gone up a notch or two with passive to compare to tube buffered, nor have I rolled the tube yet, but it's at least warming up right now. Maybe a touch forward at the moment, but it does sound exceptionally transparent, so far. And passive mode still provides far more volume than I need in that room, so that's good.
     
  7. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    Definitely tell us how it breaks in, and tube-rolling results. :)
    .
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2019
  8. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I got it used so it's basically broken in already, though the gentleman I got them from did end up choosing his AN UK gear over the Saga, and wasn't using the second system the Saga was in so sold it. So it has some hours on it but it just came off a 20* F truck so it's literally warming up :)
     
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  9. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    One more easy observation - the Saga is far, far more quiet at idle than my Candela. I could hear some noise - a mixture of what I would think is tube rush (kinda like white noise?) and then a little higher pitched noise that came through the Odyssey. With volume at halfway, I could hear it from my listening position. Now with Saga, I hear nothing at the listening position, and if I put my ear up to the tweeter, I hear the faintest little bit of that combination of noise from before. It's there, but very quiet. And that's with the volume on the Saga either all the way down, all the way up, or in the middle. Love that!
     
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  10. RND4mGuy

    RND4mGuy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    Can you shoot me a PM if you see the black finish offered? After you snag yours of course. I'll do the same for you. My Oppo 205 is tired of preamp duty .
     
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  11. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Not going to lie, kinda blown away sitting here listening to this thing. I keep a file of my "reference tracks" and one of those is Clapton Unplugged - Old Love, followed by the closing track, Rollin' and Tumblin. Those two just about knocked me out of my chair. Stunning realism, IMO. That's an album that conveys musicality and detail, it's pretty neat to pick out all the little things going on and through the Saga, those little details draw their own little space and I guess what I'm saying is yet again, my system seems to have gained another level of invisibility.

    Now for some minutiae. I did not like the stock NOS tube that it came with. Haven't tried the Tung Sol or the LISST yet, but since swapping in the Ken Rad? It's not coming out until it fails and I buy another. Totally transformed this thing. Now, mind you, I would have liked it enough to keep it even just in full passive mode but Tube Buffer mode was, well, exaggerated. Everything became rounded off, a little wooly, it just wasn't all that fun to listen to. Now, I don't like razor sharp sound, or anything even approaching "cold," but it's not cold or flat in passive mode. In fact it sounds very good and I think, possibly, unamplified music might sound a tick better in passive mode during critical listening. But for enjoyment, the Ken Rad in tube buffer mode is just a ton of fun in the Saga.

    Things I don't like or at least annoy me? Not a whole lot. The volume is tricky because once you use the remote, you basically have no visual indicator where the volume is at. That's not the end of the world, and I can say this volume control is wonderful in all it's clicky quirkyness. Sounds great and balanced low, high, or in plaid mode.

    I do feel it's replaced a slightly colored preamp with a more transparent one. It's not a perfect device, I wish I could shut down the tube but leave the device on, but such is life. I think it will support excellent gear both up and downstream of it. In a quiet, revealing system, I think it's a standout.
     
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  12. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan Thread Starter

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Wow, that looks great in black!
     
  13. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan Thread Starter

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Keep us informed on the tube rolling...I want to try some different tubes on the review sample I have.
     
  14. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    Yup. Which is why it's so sad and annoying that Schiit doesn't make more runs of it in black.

    They should really get their Schiit together on this. :oops:
    .
     
    LeeS likes this.
  15. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Going to be hard to get this KR tube out of this thing for me, even for educational purposes. I had high hopes for it, and they were met, solidly. It's a Ken Rad Black Glass 6SN7, I got it for $80 on the eBays. It's good enough I don't even bother with passive mode, after a few more discs.

    I'm not quite sure what else to say about this thing. I don't have a *ton* of experience with preamps. Odyssey Candela & Tempest, Aric Audio of some sort, McCormack ALD-1 (but in a totally different system and room), Anthem Statement D2. May be others but those are the highlights. But this little thing is just different. I keep trying to find flaws with the sound and all I can find is - I want to keep turning it up louder because I do so love the sound but at some point my small room cries mercy. Not the preamp's fault. And I feel like I'm being dramatic, but it really has fit really well into my system and the sound I'm after (articulate yet musical, with excellent imaging). And I'll be honest, it's price is what keeps me coming back to "ok, but how good can it really be?" It's a hell of a value. I'm sure it's not the last word in line stages but for the modest investment I have in it, it's acquitting itself very well across all types of music.
     
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  16. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan Thread Starter

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Thanks Todd. Helpful.
     
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  17. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Hopefully grabbing a couple good 6SN7s off the classifieds to roll in here, including a GE GTB which gets pretty consistent praise in the 6SN7 circle.

    No different feelings whatsoever on the Ken Rad and by extension, the Saga. Everything coming out of the stereo has this sort of firm, yet lovable hue to it, but it can certainly beat the heck out of the room on the right material.
     
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  18. zonto

    zonto Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    From what I recall reading elsewhere, you can run Saga and Freya without the tubes even installed (i.e., for passive, and for Freya the JFET mode). Not sure what happens if you switch to tube mode in that case. Probably nothing, but I'd still turn the volume down a lot before trying. I'm sure Schiit tech support could confirm.
     
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  19. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    You can. In my reading, it really doesn't cause any issues, you just lose whatever the tube might give you. So far, that's not a bad thing with the two tubes it came with. Throw something nice in it though, and it truly seems to wake it up. I don't care for passive mode, by comparison. So to me, so far, good tube > passive > "stock" tube options. Thing is, it's very capable in just passive mode, it just kinda gets out of the way in my system. And a good tube remains that, but adds some meat to the bone, as it were.
     
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  20. Thouston

    Thouston Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mattoon, IL
    Freya will not switch to tube mode if no tubes are installed.
     
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  21. RPM

    RPM Forum Resident

    Location:
    Easter Island
    Any experience of mono Vidars compared to Audiolab 8300MB? Would pairing these Audiolab monoblocks with Freya S be a good idea?
     
  22. hman

    hman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northport, NY
    Last night, I ordered one in black and it just shipped!
     
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  23. ChrisR2060

    ChrisR2060 Stereo addict

    Location:
    North Carolina
    If I replace my Marantz integrated pm-8400 with a schiit saga / vidar combo, would this be a significant upgrade? Speakers are wharfedale Linton, totem hawks... Thanks for comments!
     
  24. 33na3rd

    33na3rd Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW Washington, USA
    I can't answer your question directly, but I can tell you a bit of my experience.

    I have a Vidar, an original Saga, and a Freya S.

    I also own some other "older" amps, and would rotate them into the system every 30 days or so to keep the capacitors conditioned and enjoy the different sonic flavors. I had done this for at least two decades.

    Since bringing the Schiit gear into my system, I have lost all interest in rotating amps.


    If you do get the Saga/Vidar combo, I hope you'll post your impressions here. I'm especially curious how the combo would sound with your Linton's.
     
  25. ChrisR2060

    ChrisR2060 Stereo addict

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Thanks for your reply! Many have talked about how hot the vidar gets, what is your experience on that? If I get a vidar, it would not be placed in a completely open space.
    What I ma
     
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