While it’s a bit late, a few people asked me what I thought were the best products of 2018. That’s a difficult choice, as I didn’t get to experience as many as I had wished, and some are still due to be reviewed. As well, I didn’t get to explore Bluetooth headphones as I had hoped, so they will be missing in this comparison. I went over everything where I’d posted a review in the last year, added items that are here for review, grouped them and selected the best of each. Here is the list. Best closed-back headphones $500-1000 […]
Schiit Audio
7 posts
Jason Stoddard’s latest chapter in the epic “Schiit Happened” saga is called “Sailing off the Edge of the World”. If the product name didn’t make you think “What the ****” then you can probably see how completely unexpected this new product is, if not at least for the fact that it re-uses the name of their now defunct DSD DAC. Yes, the Loki is a 4-band analog EQ. I was expecting it to be digital, but apparently the problems with both digital and analog EQ, the latter of which had manufacturers and the audiophile press shunning them in the past […]
In a long chapter post in the Schiit Happened thread on Head-Fi, Jason Stoddard announced the Magni 3, replacing both the standard and Uber models with a much better circuit and pressed aluminium casework which brings the price down to the Magni and Magni 2’s $99. The pressed case will also adorn the Modi 2 and Vali 2, the latter of which has dropped in price. Quite interestingly, the Magni 3 topology is essentially the same as the Vidar amp. Jason’s summary was post was thus: In case it gets buried, to summarize, today we: 1. Introduced Magni 3, a […]
A few hours ago Mike Moffat and Jason Stoddard announced their new turntable, the Sol, at the Schittr. The turntable will have a belt drive, aluminium plinth and uni-pivot arm. The whole story, mostly told by Mike (which contains some NSFW language, be warned) is quite funny.
Mike was happy. He had every reason to be, having just completed his Magnum Opus of DACs, the Yggdrasil. Manufacturers often make a statement product, then from that cheaper products sharing the same “look”, imitating the top component, to entice the consumer with a hint of the device they cannot afford, suggesting instead that some of the magic can be had cheaper. Schiit Audio on the other hand, house the Yggdrasil in much the same style inexpensive aluminium case as their cheapest, $99 components, albeit larger, thicker and in more pieces. What they offer is not enticement, but a […]
