Schiit Asgard 3 Headphone Amp First Impressions
This is the latest headphone amp from Schiit and is the first in this Asgard series in 7 years! The Asgard 1 and 2 were Class A amps, and the new Asgard 3 is essentially an AB amp which runs mostly in Class A mode and then can linearly switch when it needs more current. I haven’t owned either of the Asgards previously, but I have used them and I remember they got very, very hot. Most Class A amps do. The new Asgard 3 is warm to the touch on the top chassis, and the bottom can be hot. I put an Acrylic stand between the RME ADI-2 DAC and the Asgard 3’s top just to make sure I don’t overheat either unit, as shown in the top photo.
As far as my first sound impressions, I find the Asgard 3 to have a surprisingly neutral sound signature, with a slight amount of warmth. It’s not as warm as other Schiit amps I’ve owned in the past, which kind of threw me off, and I actually think it has softer transients and a more relaxed low end.
When I plugged my ZMF Verite into the Asgard 3 and the ADI-2 DAC, I surprisingly found the ADI-2 to have more punchy bass, which sort of blew my mind, however I still liked using the Asgard 3 for it’s more softer tonality since I can find the RME ADI-2 DAC to be fatiguing after a while.
The low gain switch on the Asgard works really well for IEMs, and gives you some play on the volume dial. The high gain has audible noise on higher sensitive headphones/iems, and you can definitely hear hum on any IEM I tried. That shouldn’t really be an issue as the only time you’ll need to switch to high gain is when you use a headphone that isn’t sensitive and has higher impedance, and such as the case with my use of the Verite and the Hifiman Arya.
Anyway, for $199, I find the build quality outstanding and nothing even comes close to it that I’ve tried in this price range. It looks great, the knob is solid, and I didn’t hear any issues with channel imbalance at the lowest rungs. The switches have nice click/clack sounds and feel great.
The Asgard 3 also has optional add-on expansion slots for adding a DAC and Schiit provides at this time the 4490 USB DAC as well as their multi-bit USB DAC. I decided not to include either one in my purchase since I already have the RME ADI-2 DAC.