This is the craziest "self" review I ever read.....It doesn't measure good....It doesn't sound good with IEMs.....We had a bunch of extra tubes so here is how we are getting rid of them....Our less expensive headphone amp sounds better....Limited to 250 units because it is so "special".......Love this Jason Schiit guy!....
"June 27, 2022, Valencia, CA. Today, Schiit Audio announced its first limited-edition amplifier, the 10-tube Folkvangr. The first DC-coupled, output transformerless (OTL) and output capacitorless (OCL) headphone amp, Folkvangr also includes an 8X impedance multiplier to increase versatility with low-impedance headphones. Folkvangr is limited to a 250-piece run. It's priced at $1799, including a full complement of input and output tubes. It's available today for purchase at schiit.com.
"Folkvangr is completely bonkers," Jason Stoddard, Schiit's co-founder and head of analog development, said. "There's no other way to put it. There's no reason for a 10-tube amp that dissipates 100 watts at idle, to produce only about a watt or so at its best. It measures very badly, and it's not what we'd use for any kind of IEM. But it's the answer to a question that's bugged me for years--what do tubes really sound like--and, at least to me, it sounds very good."
Stoddard further explained that he's always wondered what a direct-coupled tube amp would sound like, so, a few years ago, spurred on by their surplus stock of 6N1P and 6N6P tubes, he decided to design one. Design iteration led to what he considered a great-sounding amp, so he started the process of putting it into production.
"We didn't intend this to be a limited-edition amp at first," Jason admitted. "But tubes have become more expensive and much harder to get. So, to keep classic designs like Valhalla 2 in production, we decided to limit the number of Folkvangrs we would make."
Jason also explained he didn't expect Folkvangr to be a big seller in any case, since it's a very hot-running, impractical amplifier that doesn't put out an especially large amount of power. "On paper, Vali 2 beats it," he said, laughing.
Folkvangr is available to order now at Schiit.com for $1799.
And I bet they are sold out!......
