I searched for an alternative amp & the Schiit Aegir amp was recommended by Louis over at Omega Speakers. I’d reached out to him about amp pairings since he’s building a front ported pair of Super 3 High Output Monitors for me. He indicated that the Aegir amp was ‘excellent’. I also noted that it measures well over at Audioscience...if that’s your bag...to consider it.
Man...boy oh boy...Louis was right...it is excellent! For those seeking a First Watt like amp on a budget...look no further. The Schiit Aegir amp is built like a German tank (albeit made in the USA)...& the SQ is impeccable. I also love the low power/idle button on the front panel; you can toggle the unit on/off without reaching around to the back panel to fully cut the power supply on/off. It can be set up to run in mono mode if you need more power. I have it configured in a traditional 2 channel set up utilizing the RCA input from a LTA MZ3 preamp. It’s not running out of steam with the pair of Spendor A1s that it’s currently driving.