Schiit Sol- The Next Great Turntable?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by msinderson, Sep 5, 2019.

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  1. Ripblade

    Ripblade Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Six
    The roll out proved that lol.

    Yep, analogue ain't easy....or cheap.

    Too bad though. It's a good table. :cry:
     
    JackG and audiomaniac like this.
  2. audiomaniac

    audiomaniac Shamalamadingdong

    Location:
    Colorado
    Basically they don't need the headache.
     
  3. Ripblade

    Ripblade Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Six
    I can buy that. It's easier to think inside the box.
     
    audiomaniac likes this.
  4. geezin'

    geezin' Forum Resident

    Location:
    Flintstone MD
    I find that disappointing. I really wanted one.
     
    Gumboo likes this.
  5. Ingenieur

    Ingenieur Just a dog looking for a home...

    Location:
    Back in PA
    Something like this, with likely a low profit margin at this price, plus a complicated set-up may require more customer service interface/time than it's worth.
     
    gabbleratchet7 likes this.
  6. t4t3r

    t4t3r Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Include me in the miffed category, at least at the 799 price point. I was lucky to find another table of similar quality for a little less not long ago, but had I been in the market in months prior I would almost have definitely purchased a Sol (even though I don’t prefer belt drive tables). I haven’t always been a fan of Schiit products, especially based on their measurements and performance, but they have shown the ability to tweak and improve their designs in response to issues which is refreshing. I hope they’re able to maintain the 5 year warranty for existing owners and will also hold out hope for another Sol-esque offering down the road.
     
  7. audiomaniac

    audiomaniac Shamalamadingdong

    Location:
    Colorado
    And let's not forget they have a return policy for 15 days where you would only be out shipping and 5%. I made use of that on the Freya+. I kept the Aegir thank you.
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2021
  8. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I'm not interested in a Schiit turntable but I'll continue to purchase their DACs and headphone amps. Quality products at affordable prices. Excellent customer service.
     
  9. audiomaniac

    audiomaniac Shamalamadingdong

    Location:
    Colorado
    +1 When I returned the Freya+ I had a refund the same day they got it back.
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2021
    John Landreth and ssmith3046 like this.
  10. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I had to return an older Freya S and a set of Aegir monoblocks. I was only out shipping - they didn't even take out the 15% fee.

    Schiit is not perfect. But they are a company I root for because they seem to truly want to put very good products in peoples' hands at affordable prices. I would think we'd all root for that.
     
    jeffsab, audiomaniac, Merrick and 2 others like this.
  11. audiomaniac

    audiomaniac Shamalamadingdong

    Location:
    Colorado
    I'll be keeping an eye on them for upcoming products and wouldn't hesitate to try something else if it interests me. They responded to my emails promptly, even on a Sunday afternoon. No complaints here. :righton:
     
    ssmith3046 likes this.
  12. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    Link?

    Not that I doubt it. :(
    .
     
  13. audiomaniac

    audiomaniac Shamalamadingdong

    Location:
    Colorado
    @ around the 18:40 minute mark.
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2021
    Cyclone Ranger likes this.
  14. Cyclone Ranger

    Cyclone Ranger New old stock

    Location:
    Best Coast USA
    Well, that sucks. :(

    R.I.P., Sol. We hardly knew ye.
    .
     
    audiomaniac, 33na3rd and CatManDude like this.
  15. Dougthesnail

    Dougthesnail The Big Gabagool

    Location:
    Winnipeg
    As others have said it seems the margins were so razor-thin it wasn't worth the headache of enhanced QC and customer replacements/returns.

    It's a shame, I do enjoy The Vidar, Magni, and Modi, but maybe they were put of their element on this one.
     
  16. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Almost makes me wonder if another company could buy the IP around Sol, and improve/tweak it and be better equipped to support it and such, long term? No idea if that ever happens, but was just a random idea.

    Like U-Turn - an upscale offering for them or something. I don't know.
     
    Cyclone Ranger and 33na3rd like this.
  17. Old Zorki II

    Old Zorki II Storm Watcher

    Location:
    near Tampa, FL
    I suspect that big elephant in a room named Technics made life of mid priced tables very hard.
     
    wavethatflag and HiFi Guy like this.
  18. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    As an aside, and maybe to move away from the less interesting path this thread has taken, what do you consider the strongest design points of the Sol, and which aspects do you think make it unique?

    Are you familiar with the Wax Engine design from Opera Consonance? It's a similar open box frame design and available with a 12" tonearm (below) in 120V for under $1000 from Chinese sources. It's a pretty mature design now, maybe introduced in 2015, maybe before, not sure, I think only the tonearm has done much evolution over the years, and with Bill Firebaugh's involvement in the design (they also build his Well Tempered tables), it's assured of having a good platter bearing and strong fundamental design. And with the 12V DC servo motor from long standing Mabuchi, you have built-in speed adjustability too. Unfortunately, you still have to move the belt for 45, so a missed opportunity there.

    It doesn't have some of the Sol adjustablity, or uni-pivot arm, so in those respects is a simpler design, and the DC motor is in a fixed location mounted on the frame, but just wondering which parts of the Sol design made you a fan, or is it just the performance of the whole package? The overall design obviously isn't that unique, but the way they executed all of the parts of that design certainly is, and maybe gives it some added charm.


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2021
  19. Dougthesnail

    Dougthesnail The Big Gabagool

    Location:
    Winnipeg
    Panasonic is such a huge electronics company that they are much more capable of taking losses on products and selling by volume. Not to mention they can utilize other components from other products much easier. I think their DD motor was borrowed from their Blu-ray drives.
     
    gabbleratchet7 and HiFi Guy like this.
  20. ermylaw

    ermylaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City
    It’s pretty rare that a thread title asking a yes or no question can result in a definitive answer.

    So this situation has that going forward it.
     
    racer59 likes this.
  21. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I saw someone bring up that table (may have been you?) about a year ago - looks like a winner to me. That said, and I can expand on this later when I get more time, but the main elements I enjoy most about Sol, and which I believe broke new ground (either at its price point or just in general) are:

    The tonearm. Flat out - having owned a number of good tables (CA Concept, VPI Classic 2 w/ 10.5" arm, GEM Dandy PolyTable Super12 with 12" Jelco arm) - the cost, flexibility, and performance of the Schiit unipivot is unreal. It's very lively and dynamic but it doesn't squash bass extension for being so dynamic. I believe the CF tube and fixed headshell gets a lot of the acclaim for that.
    Tonearm sub point - Azimuth setting on Sol is the easiest I've encountered. It's very precise yet very easy to dial in. Very much a "why hasn't anyone else done this?" type of feature. And maybe someone else has, I'm not 100% sure.
    Flexibility is really top notch. Getting adjustable VTA along with platter height and even pivot height (which isn't generally something anyone has to tweak) reveals a well thought out, thorough design.
    This is going to sound weird - the design of the headshell makes it really easy to align, and then you can really dial it in with the arc protractor. Having used Mint LPs and such on other Unipivot designs - having a few "starting points" for alignment designed right into the headshell is honestly nice.

    Sol is, for me, excellent not really because of anything individual except maybe for the tonearm. At $199, that thing is a marvel, to me. It's why I have two. But beyond that, it's just how it all comes together as a sum of a good design.

    It's really a shame that platter machining and those motor pulleys kind of spoiled a lot of the party for Schiit and some customers. It's all been made right, as far as I've seen on different fora and social media, but nevertheless, it seems to all be history now.

    If I could only pick one thing to "survive," it'd be the tonearm.
     
    wavethatflag, 33na3rd, JackG and 4 others like this.
  22. audiomaniac

    audiomaniac Shamalamadingdong

    Location:
    Colorado
    I can see somebody developing some after market parts to hot rod the Sol and making it a cult favorite. I might keep an eye open for a used one to play around with.
     
  23. Davey

    Davey NP: Hania Rani/Dobrawa Czocher ~ Inner Symphonies

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    I wonder how many they sold, and how big a market there would be for any upgrades? I'm not really sure how long it was back on the market before the pandemic shortages hit.
     
    Lucca90, toddrhodes and patient_ot like this.
  24. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I'm not surprised they cut bait on it. It's not their core market and they've done "experimental" products before that they've had to discontinue. Perhaps another manufacturer could take the design and run with it, though I wouldn't hold my breath for it. Bringing a totally new TT to the market with no prior reputation to build on is tough.
     
  25. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I'd be really surprised if there were enough in circulation to warrant an aftermarket :(
     
    Lucca90 likes this.
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