I love this DAC

[DSJR]

You know, this is one area where online supply is king. I do hope the company can make a living from this venture and that prices won't suddenly rise once they become established. trouble is, what would customs make of this stuff if imported into the UK - I've been stung on some "bargains" in recent times..

[Werner Berghofer]

Dave,

trouble is, what would customs make of this stuff if imported into the UK

I don’t know the tax situation in the UK, but when importing the Valhalla amplifier this spring I had to pay the usual value-added tax; in Austria this is 20 percent. Even encluding this tax I consider the price of the Schiit products very reasonable and attractive.

Werner.

[bryan76]

Hi Dave,

The Schiit products are available in the UK, from an agent called Highend Workshop based in High Wycombe. I contacted them a few weeks ago and Mark there confirmed that he stocks all their products. The Valhalla which I am interested in is £329 (inc VAT I assume) also with a 3 year warranty.

I am also looking at the Icon Audio HP8 MkII to replace my headline. My experience of the Beyer headphones, or at least the DT770, is they tend to be a bit bright....I'm hopeful a valve amplifier might deal with this better, even though the headline can sound really great.

Bryan

http://www.highendworkshop.co.uk/

[Tim]

Hi Dave,

The Schiit products are available in the UK, from an agent called Highend Workshop based in High Wycombe. I contacted them a few weeks ago and Mark there confirmed that he stocks all their products. The Valhalla which I am interested in is £329 (inc VAT I assume) also with a 3 year warranty.

I am also looking at the Icon Audio HP8 MkII to replace my headline. My experience of the Beyer headphones, or at least the DT770, is they tend to be a bit bright....I'm hopeful a valve amplifier might deal with this better, even though the headline can sound really great.

Bryan

http://www.highendworkshop.co.uk/

That's good to know, thanks Bryan I'm going to explore this

[Maximum]

I can recommend the NJC Audio Monitor II headphone amp. It doesn't get a lot of mention although it has been reviewed on this site. It's neutral and revealing with plenty of energy and punch. Some talk about it is on this thread...

http://www.avforums.com/forums/headp...mp-review.html

The only issue you might get is loud recordings if you are using an early gator board, which seems to go away at about -3db. This might not be an issue on mk2 boards. I suspect this will put you off though.

Sound character wise I'd say it blends the tidy, neutral, clean nature of the LM4562 and the open, fast, detailed, spacious nature of the AD826 you get when using the beresford's headamp, with the extra weight and drive you'd expect from a ballsy amp.

[petkov]

I have spoken with the SCHIIT guys and asked them if I could hope to secure a discount in case I buy a headamp and a DAC. The answer was, that no discounts are made unless and until the prices are raised to what they should be. I am ready to bet you any money that we will see a significant price rise in the future. Probably now is the time to buy a SCHIIT product.

[Marco]

ROFL! What an unfortunate name for a product....

You'd have thought that the owner wouldn't have used his name on them (if that is indeed the case), knowing how it would be interpreted in English speaking countries!

Marco.

[Werner Berghofer]

Marco,

knowing how it would be interpreted in English speaking countries!

Schiit Audio is located in California. Don’t know if you consider this an English speaking country ;-)

Just read some pages from their website, and you’ll note a certain humour and tonge-in-cheek tone. An example:

And yes, that is our name. And yes, it’s pronounced exactly like you think. Shee-tah. It’s a proud German name, host to a long line of audio engineers who slaved away in crumbling Teutonic fortresses as lightning lashed the dark lands outside, working to perfect the best amplification devices in the world … Or, well, no. Yep, Schiit is our name. As in “Hey man, that’s some really cool Schiit.” Or, “We like music and Schiit.” And now that we have your attention, can we show you some Schiit?

The names of the various products of Schiit Audio have their origins in northern mythology. Performance and build quality of their gear are outstanding, the prices are quite attractive: guess they could be sold with any brand and product name.

Werner.

[DSJR]

Well, it's got us talking about them, so that's one great reason why they used the name.

Very sad if they do put the prices up hugely in the future. I know people have to make a living, but I suspect such well finished casework isn't cheap to produce, no matter where it's made on the world. The bits inside are cheap enough though (except the transformers perhaps?), so you never know