The new Schiit Aegir Amplifier now shipping

@snapsc, nice share of the above link.

@kalali, I attended AXPONA Friday morning and heard their (Schiit) Aegir in an audio system. I discerned nothing offensive about the SQ, which is the best I can discern when I have no prior experience with ANY of the other components in the setup. (That’s the primary handicap of industry or consumer audio shows in general: reference context is a black hole.)

But encouraging one to become educated about a designer’s product by reading the entirety of a relatively short write-up (15 min for most) before pontificating about their confirmation bias in a post is not an evil thing to do. George is usually open minded about most technical discussions. And maybe he read the entire write-up on the head-fi site by now.

And I agree with the last point made by the OP: George always supports manufacturers who devote their resources in product development and consumer marketing with the consumer’s pocketbook in mind (as in savings to the consumer).  

My two cents.  I have not looked at the Aegir in any detail, but i recall when it was announced they spoke of a Vidar with lower power and class-A - and the usual snarky (clever!) lines "more money, less power, schiit engineering". Gotta love that.
Now, whether it worked initially for them or not, i did this very thing 20+ years ago, when i took our 200 wpc high bias AB amp - same chassis, same circuit topology, same power supply designs - the whole 9 yards.
And changed it as follows:
-- "mostly" class A
(thermal reality limited being 100%, but this is simply a bias setting)
-- higher current-- lower rails (note the transformer cores were identical, just the winding count changed)
-- threw some expensive parts in where i always wanted them anyway
-- raised the price to cover the expensive parts
Superb results with no surprises.  Became a bit of a cult amp, and I use the prototypes to this day.
So, whether Schiit did this or not, the playbook works just fine.
And i didn't even come up with a new confusing name for a complementary push-pull design running class A with no crossover distortion :-)  What a load of marketing confusion. Why can't we just say what things are and do?
Mike's a very smart guy.  I still have a Theta DSPro laying about and it's still quite good against modern units. I love my Modi3 (in bedroom system) and when its working my EITR is excellent.  QC on both left much to be desired - both were initially defective. Not clear why...overall parts quality, soldering, etc. seems first rate, most of the corners cut are aesthetic and in the area of support/service.

G

George always supports manufacturers who devote their resources in product development and consumer marketing with the consumer’s pocketbook in mind (as in savings to the consumer).

This in no way means I don’t support the other end also, eg: as I recommend to "glitz queens" that can afford them, Gryphon Antileon amps if they have the speakers that need them eg: Wilson Alexia ect ect. nothing Schiit makes can drive these successfully.

itsjustme
And i didn’t even come up with a new confusing name for a complementary push-pull design running class A with no crossover distortion :-) What a load of marketing confusion. Why can’t we just say what things are and do? What a load of marketing confusion. Why can’t we just say what things are and do?

+1 yeah, with you there, a "new word" to wow the wow’able.

Cheers George

" Mike's a very smart guy ". Reading about both the Vidar and the Aegir, I would say Jason Stoddard is a smart guy as well. In fact, not taking anything away from either of them, Mike seems to be the digital guy, Jason seems to be the amplifier guy, with both overlapping to the other. BTW, Georgehifi has been a huge advocate towards Schiit gear here. Enjoy ! MrD.

I know Jason did SUMO and yes, Mike did Theta.

And yes, both seem sharp.
I know a lot more about what Mike has done. So i only speak about stuff i have some experience with.  That's all.
'later