Does Anyone Buy Schiit for the Sake of Schiit?

@mrskeptic They do almost everything themselves and don’t have to worry about markup from distributors and then retailers so they can keep the prices low.

This does present something of a conundrum to posh retailers who have stuff on their shelves with bone crunching price tags that need to be sold - would they dare to stock Schiit even if they could? Customers may find that they prefer Schiit if they audition. Ouch.

Isn’t competition a beautiful thing?

Yes, Schiit have very experienced and highly reputable engineers on board. I suspect this may be a recent (last couple years or so) development.  That Yggy thing I mentioned a few posts above was June 2018 - that was then, this is now.

I have one of the last batch of their Sol turntable. From what I've heard in the comparable range, the Sol blows away the competition. It's no question that Rega, Thorens, etc. make nice turntables, and I know if you dropped some $ tweaking them, they do get better with upgrades. Even right out of the box, my Sol was a great sounding unit, and eventually I did some accessory purchases and some DIY tweaking too. It now absolutely sounds fantastic and completely runs circles around a Rega P3. I really wish they'd bring the Sol back into production or at least produce a few more tonearms so I can easily swap cartridges. My only regret was not purchasing extra tonearms when I could.

-Lloyd

@fuzztone 

"Shenzhen is cheaper, sounds more musical and better customer support"

Couldn't agree more!

I won't buy something just because of the name.  I buy audiophile gears based on extensive quality reviews and trials.  I purchased Schiit Modius and I kept it because I think it is a dac outperforming may DACs I had tried below $500 and other had reviewed below $1k.  It takes away digital glare so I could listen to music many hours without fatigues, while still retains details and commendable SS width and depth.  The only thing remained to be seen is its long-term reliability.

I found the forumers who praise the Schiit as very good to excellent "budgetary" products but NOT audiophile grades are rather snobbish.  If you do not beleive they are audiophile grade then do not buy it, because you are downgrading yourself to a non-audiophile at the same time.  Why do you proclaim yourself to be a audiophile when you purchase and actually enjoy with a non-audiophile product?  Snobbish!  That is the first explanation I could think of.  In addition, they are one of direct-sale companies that aim to serve well the audiophile community with quality yet affordable audiophile grade equipments.  This business model puts themselves a competitor of not only other manufactures but also dealers.  That is the second explanation I could think of.  If you proclaim yourself as a audiophile and enjoy using the Schiit product, give the appraisal that Schiit actually deserves.  Don't be that stingy.

Cost does not always determine quality. Many companies work hard to keep costs down. Direct to consumer sales low advertising budget. To say Schiit is low quality because you had one product and did not like it is what we typically see here. You “heard” they have bad customer service? People rendering opinions on gear they have never heard. If Schiit shut down for a year for r&d, then advertised for 6 months that their new high end line of product was coming out, signed a contract with multiple retail stores, then doubled the price when they put them in the stores man there would be saying how great they are. Thing is though everything was the exact product before the marketing campaign, retail launch. Buy what you want and let others buy what they want and only offer opinions from real experience.