Should I sell my accuphase for this schiit

I recently spent several days "auditioning" a Schiit Aegir...it's a great sounding amp (I have very efficient speakers so one is enough), and although I had trouble with the first amp they sent me...it's "protection" kept shutting it off...the second amp works fine (great service at Schiit...they got the new one to me immediately). After a while I put the Aegir aside and my Dennis Had Inspire SE Firebottle HO (high output...supposedly 10 to 17 watts per channel depending on tubes) went back in the system. The Had amp sounds better in every way...the Aegir has a hard to describe "sheen" of Technology At Work or something that renders its sound seemingly artificial-ish...nice detail and tonally very nicely done...but the single ended Had tube amp just sounds better to my ears, which are the ones I use to listen to things. In any case, I still recommend the Aegir to the "efficient speaker" crowd although I'm shipping it back to Schiit. An interesting experiment but my brain must simply be accustomed to tubes and their inherent harmonic palette and musical rightness that clearly fits my tastes...oh well. Note they charge a re-stocking fee AND return shipping's on you...but to satisfy my curiosity it was worth it.

@georgehifi According to the "audiofool"’s comprehensive comparison ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRK-8Z714BQ ... the Aegir does not seem to suffer much from bridging. In fact, power aside, a pair of Aegir mono blocks sounds better than a stereo Aegir. And he agrees with you that bridging *normally* has negative consequences. just sayin ...

that said

@wolf_garcia interesting to hear your comparison. I have been toying between a pair of monoblock Aegir’s and Freya + vs a Line Magnetic 805ia SET integrated amp (48 wpc) for my Spendor A7’s ... $2800 all in vs $4500 ... but I think I know what’s going to sound better. The LM seems to have amazing synergy with the Spendors/A7’s. Haven’t heard the Aegirs but did have a Vidar in house that was pretty good.

According to the "audiofool"’s the Aegir does not seem to suffer much from bridging.

It is only 20w, "he talks about bass driving" and says "seem".
It was probably stressed in stereo mode and bridged just gave him more ooph!
There is no magic way of bridging an amp without the pitfalls.
Better comparison would have been on >100db speakers. then the stereo would surely have shone through.

Cheers George

I would suggest that the ascend acoustics sierra 2ex are on the inefficient side, so that may be a consideration.  I found the Sierra 2 a little boring, I guess I prefer a little more personality in my speakers, Ascend usually voices their speakers boring ruler flat, but that may be your thing...

I'm wondering how much time the Aegir needs to break in.  I'm at 70 hours on the Freya + and it's changing my mind on Schiit Audio break in requirements.  YMMV.

I would suggest that the ascend acoustics sierra 2ex are on the inefficient side, so that may be a consideration. I found the Sierra 2 a little boring, I guess I prefer a little more personality in my speakers, Ascend usually voices their speakers boring ruler flat, but that may be your thing...

I had the exact same experience with the Sierra 2’s and RAAL towers. They measure extremely well and nothing was wrong but nothing stood out for 2 channel. Never excited me. Much like Benchmark, they seem to be designed/built to measurements to a fault. As such, I think the ribbon clarity and ruler flat neutrality of the Sierra lineup is great for AV/Home Theatre. I now use their wall-mountable Sierra Luna’s/Duo in my small 5.1 room - for that purpose they fit my requirements perfectly.