Awesome! I’m glad you got one. Maybe you can comment on how it pairs with the BF2 later. I have the same DAC.
I am considering getting one if only to help support him in some small way, plus you get a great amp!
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Based on the review from Passion Of Sound where he compared the Rebel amp that he loves to the Asgard 3 he said the following…
" The Asgard is richer sounding and more laid back than the Rebel."
Wow!!! I just purchased the Asgard and found the exact opposite to be true. The richness is not any better than my thx789 and worse than my monoprice thx 887. Both thx amps have smoother high end. As a matter of fact the Asgard sounds bright with highs that sound a bit raspy but getting better with burn in. The Rebel is much richer sounding and laid back in comparison to all amps that i own. Especially when compared to the Asgard.
I will say that the Asgard appears to be a very well built amp and is basically clean sounding but what a let down so far.
Does anyone find the Asgard to be richer sounding than the Rebel?
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I own both the Schiit Asgard 3 and the Rebel Audio RebelAmp and agree with your assessment.
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In terms of sound quality and performance, the Schiit Asgard 3 is barely a step above the entry level Schiit Modi 3 plus. I do however appreciate the built in power supply to avoid dealing with a wall wart. Also, the size to stack with a Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC is also appealing. However yes, one may as well skip over the Asgard 3 and go straight to the Schiit Jotunheim 2 which is an absolute bargain in terms of sound quality and performance.
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I cannot understand making any sonic comparison of the Asgard 3 to the RebelAmp in which the Asgard 3 is stated as besting the RebelAmp. I have never found this to be the case with any headphone, and I have compared a large number and variety of headphones. The RebelAmp simply outclasses the Asgard 3 by an insanely huge margin.
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I thought this conversation with “The Passion of Sound” Regarding the Asgard vs Rebel might be of interest .
I guess each to his own. He’s a very nice guy btw.
Yes, in my book Lachlan is one of the best reviewers out there. His review on the Darkvoice 336SE is the best one I have watched. We all have our good and bad days. I bet if he were to spend more time with the RebelAmp with larger variety headphones that he might sing a slightly different tune.
To my ears the Magni 3 and 3+ have a lot of treble spray. They can glare and seem bright. Others disagree, and have different ears than me.
I thinkPassion For Sound leans toward Chinese DACs, but I don’t recall for sure. His DACs may interact differently than your DAC.
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Very relevant point. My RebelAmp was bottlenecked by all of my DACs until I upgraded to Schiit Bifrost 2, in which an entirely new world opened up and it suddenly bested my Questyle CMA Twelve.
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Yes. However let us not forget that he loved the Rebel and in totality preferred it over the Asgard. I just respectfully disagree with his characterization of the Asgard sound signiture.
Also let me say that i agree he is an excellent reviewer.
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I haven’t compared the Asgard 3 to a Rebel Amp but I used an A3 for several weeks before giving it to my son for Christmas a couple of years ago (Santa has the right to play with toys before Christmas), using a built in multibit card and also a BF2 and I found the A3 to be warm and rich with a smooth treble. I didn’t experience bright and raspy highs. And my experience was consistent with what I’d read in various reviews, which is why I bought it for my son.
The Rebel Amp may be richer and smoother, but your description of the Asgard 3 makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with your amp. I had a similar issue (bright and raspy highs) when I bought my Jot 2. Based on other people’s reviews, my model seemed to be an outlier, and Schiit was nice enough to take it back and give me a new one. The replacement Jot 2 sounded completely different, much smoother.
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I think you may be right. just listened to Donna Summer in very high Res. Streaming at 3200kbps 24/96 that is a bright recording but extremely clean and dynamic on all my amps. However on my Asgard the highs sound way too sharp thin and edgy.
So i had enough. Will ask for refund or i may take a chance with a replacement. Other recordings sound nice if they do not contain a lot of high frequency energy.
I haven’t tried the Rebel Amp so I can’t comment but…
This is certainly not my experience with the Asgard 3.
I find the A3 to be much smoother than the 789 and I am someone who actually doesn’t mind the 789, I use it quite a bit for testing and comparisons, but the A3 is my preference for music enjoyment.
I would lean towards this also.
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This is a tough call for me. Get refund or replacement. The one thing i know for sure is that after giving it another drive thru playing an excellent sounding super hd of Donna Summer streaming at 3200 kbps and hearing scratchy coarseness i was convinced this had to go back.
There is the real possibility it does not like my ess9038q2m chip. However all my other amps are fine.
In my experience both ESS chips and lower-end Schiit products can have problematic treble. An awful lot of amp hissing, brightness, and screeching went away when I bought the multibit Bifrost 2. Same headphones, same amp, same sources.
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I agree that the DAC can make large differences in compatibility based on what other’s have said. I do find it funny however that the dac module used for the Asgard is an Ess 9028 chip!
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My apologies for the delayed reply - the end of spring quarter is a busy time of year for me. Here are my initial impressions:
The Bifrost 2 and RebelAmp combination is an enjoyable one regardless of the headphones and IEMs that I’ve used. None of them resulted in any harshness at reasonable listening levels, but I especially enjoyed the way that the BF2+RA pair drives the LCD-X. I often spend several hours a night listening to jazz and classical music with the BF2+RA+LCD-X combination. Rina Ketty’s 1938 recording of J’attendrai makes me smile.
I also own a Jotunheim 2 and an Asgard 3. While I do not find the RebelAmp to be superlatively better than either of those, I do not regret the purchase. Likewise, I do not regret purchasing either of those amplifiers prior to learning about the RebelAmp. The only amplifier I’ve ever regretted purchasing was the Magnius.
I hope that helps, but if you have specific questions for me, please let me know.
Regards,
Vic
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Is the ess dac chip that is used in the Asgard 3 a multibit configuration? If that is the case i was wrong on saying it was a suprising combo that ess was used with Asgard 3. Please excuse my ignorance on delta sigma vs multibit.
Btw the chip that i use is a 9038 that some say are too bright. Don’t know much about the 9028 sound signiture.
From what I can find online, the ESS ES9028 DAC card used in the Asgard 3 / Jotunheim 2 / Lyr is not a multibit card. From the press release, it seems like the multibit card used the Analog Devices AD5547 multibit D/A converter. The multibit card also seems to have been placed on hiatus or cancelled as many items with that card are on closeout.
Just bought a RebelAmp 2nd hand from Canada (I’m in the US). After a bunch of A/B’ing it is replacing my Schiit Asgard 3 and Valhalla 2. I like the sound but I also like having the pre and gain switches on the front. I’m running a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M to a Schiit Loki+ EQ then to a Schiit SYS to switch between the RebelAmp and a tube amp to be named at a later date. Been listening with the following headphones: Grado GS1000, Hifiman Sundara, Meze 99 Classic, Focal OG Clear, and my recently acquired Audeze LCD-2 Closed Backs. The LCD and the Sundara sound amazing through the RebelAmp.
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