That was my experience with the 5692 red base also. The only 6SN7GT I have kept around are the 1940s Tung Sols. I picked up a handful before prices went nuts. It is over kill but the old Tung Sol 6SN7GT works a treat in a Schiit Saga.
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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.
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Great review dude! @antdroid
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Nice write-up, Anthony.
It looks like Schiit has really upped their refresh game. 
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Excellent impressions Anthony.
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Hi Anthony,
thank you for your thoughts on the Asgard 3!
I already had it and the Lyr 3 on my radar and am surprised about the low end vs the RME.
I still own the THX AAA 789 and would love a smoother alternative for the next months before I get a Tube amp build or bought.
Did you already sell your THX amp? - if not, I would be very interested in a comparison of the A3 and your THX.
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Thanks @antdroid for the review .
I believe you have or had the SMSL SP200. If I’m right, how it compares to the Asgard ?
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For $199 this amp is a “steal” for sure…
I had the first gen Asgard and only had it for a few months before I sold it, you could fry eggs on it for sure.
Used to be I could build a DIY amp that would equal or surpass commercial class A amps, but its hard to do this anymore with amps like these…
1/2 watt in Class A at 32 ohms, before it goes into Class AB…and its $50 less than the prior Asgard 2!
Its really a great time to be in this headphone hobby!
Alex
…and a 5 year warranty!
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I sold both the Monoprice, Massdrop and SMSL THX amps in the recent past. I think from a clean, highly resolving stand point, the THX amps have the edge. From build quality, the Schiit wins, as well as price.
I sold the SP200 mostly because the angled look was bugging me, but otherwise is a wonderful deal.
@lost33 and yea, the 5 year warranty is great!
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I took the time to read thru most of this long thread and noticed a few comments about Schiits love hate relationship from some sites and custormer service and quality issues.
Way back in the early stages of Schiit there were some minor bumps in the road, but these were fixed quickly and the world moved on, but for some it just was not enough…for some it never is.
That said some of those warring folks have settled down and even have developed a relationship of mutual respect…never ceases to amaze me.
To some it was measurements arent good enough and now look at Schiits Magni 3+ and Hersey! OMG a $99 device that measures very well!! One discrete and the other op amp based…made a lot of measurebators very happy!!
But as most of us know measurements arent everything…
As far as customer service and quality control, each time I had a issue I emailed Schiit and got a nice fast response and the issue was taken care of. Once my bifrost 1 developed a strong AC hum emanating from the chassis, right where the power transformer is located. It was loose laminations in the transformer…Schiit replaced the entire motherboard in the unit and came back and worked for 2 years flawlessly. Another time a B-stock Magni 3 developed a scratchy pot and they sent me a “new” replacement even before I sent the scratchy pot one back and they sent free shipping to me!
When I have good service, I always send a note and tell them how well they did treating me as a customer and have developed a good working relationship with Schiit…sometimes patience and good manners do more in situation than gettting upset or angry at someone…the old you catch more flies with honey etc…
I would not hesitate to buy any Schiit products. They stand by what they sell and for the most part have done an excellent job at telling the community their story as seen in the Jason Stoddard “chronicles” over at head-fi.
I have asked the community program to review the Magni 3+ and Hersey stack in the near future…I want to see how well this stacks up to the THX AAA amps especially the Hersey.
Alex
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They made some early mistakes and learned from it and are delivering products that are even less than the ones that replaced it with more features. That’s impressive to me. I’ve also never had issues with schiit personally. Some people can’t let bygones be bygones though. Too bad as they may be missing improvements.
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When I first moved over to headphones (not too long ago) I loved the look of a Schiit stack and I also thought the mentality and sense of humour of the company was great.
However, investigation moved me away from Schiit and towards other items that had better reviews.
I still love the look of the Schiit stuff and have my first “Schitt stack” waiting for me to pick it up from the Miami office.
It’s nothing special (Modi + Heresy) but I am really looking forwards to getting it!
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Hey the Modi and Hersey are an excellent choice and will work very well…compared to what we had years back this is really state of the art stuff!
Please post your experience!
Alex
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I would not get the internal DAC as it was recommended to me by many people to get the Bifrost 2, I opted to get the phono out for my turntable though to keep it tidy for my vinyl listening. @BuffaloWing I moved our convo about the Schiit stack over here since the other area was based around ZMF
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Makes sense.
I’m in two minds about the Lyr.
Is it the right choice for the Verite? Don’t want to undercook it, also don’t have $2k to drop on a Glenn etc.
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Yeah I would check with @ProfFalkin @TylersEclectic or @Torq they would be my go to guys for that question for sure as I believe they all own those headphones and multiple amps!!
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Excellent. Hopefully one of those folk can add some thoughts.
Unlikely the Verite will go anywhere any time soon, so probably wise to match an Amp to it now.
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Tubes… get some dang tubes 
honestly go for the best hybrid or tube amp you can afford so you aren’t getting yourself stuck into Side grading hell cycle…
ZMFs sounds excellent, even outstanding, on solid states… but you add tubes to them and it’s just a whole different league of enjoyment.
As far as recommendations… I would pick your budget and try to get as close to that as you can for tube amps available in your region… I think the Schiit stuff as of late, especially is a killer deal (but that is here in the states, I’m not sure what kind of added fees would be piled on top ordering to the beautiful and one of my favorite places on earth Australia )
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I have no problems recommending the Lyr 3 for the Verite to anyone looking for an amp that is pretty affordable, and still adds a bit of tube flavor to the sound. But, if you want my current opinion on the best budget amp for Verite, then read on.
We had a local meet here in CO the same weekend as canjam, and oddly enough, I found a super great amp for the Verite that won’t bust the wallet open too badly. How does about $350 sound?
It is the Shortest Way 51 amp. Made by the same gentleman (Zampotech) who made the Eddie Current ZDT Jr, I believe. He has an order page he linked to here, and I think these impressions are pretty spot on. It is probably the best pairing for the Verite I’ve heard in a budget category ($100 to $600), period. I was able to compare it directly to a EC ZDT Jr and EC Super 7, as well as my Asgard 3.
Now, full disclaimer, I really don’t like the ZDT Jr. At. All. It does funky stuff to the mids and treble, and changing the tubes doesn’t seem to fix that. So, I was completely expecting it to blow the zdt Junior out of the water. What I didn’t expect was that it was trading blows with the Super 7 in terms of tonality, speed and resolution. The Super 7 was audibly better, but it’s also Unibtainium and well into the $1500+ category. I digress…
The SW51+ is a neutral sounding amp, in contrast to the zdt which is warm, wonky, and generally unpleasant to listen to.
51+ has better staging and imaging than the Asgard 3, and also had that holographic tube quality in the sound which made it a compelling pick for about $150 more. It ready did amazing things for the Verite. It presented a not too warm, not to much distortion, with just enough of both to create a euphoric and engaging listen without straying away from a clean and resolving presentation.
Now… Switch Headphones to something like a planar or low impedance driver, and the Goldilocks qualities of the amp disappeared. It seemed to struggle to drive those headphones and the staging and amazing tone became more flat and uninviting. This is an amplifier you will NOT want to use with most Focal, Audeze or Hi-Fi man headphones.
And that’s where the Lyr 3 comes back into this. If you only need to drive the verite from an inexpensive amp, I’d go SW51+. For everything else, Lyr 3. Those are my top 2 budget picks.
Or, if you really want to get into tubes the right way, do yourself a solid and get the Asgard 3 or {Insert affordable SS/Tube Hybrid amp here} and then pinch every penny you get until you can afford the ZMF Pendant, DNA Starlett, ECP T4, or (my preference, in order) an Eddie Current ZDS, Aficionado, or Super 7.
ZDS vs Af vs ECP 3F (Via Sonnet Morpheus):
Sorry Aficionado fans, the ZDS is better.
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Well stated and very thorough recommendations.
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