I haven’t tried out the Reva MK5 but everything they make is pretty solid. As far as break in periods go, it’s hard for me to tell. They send loaner units to review, so I have no way of knowing how many hours that they have been run. I’d be interested to find out though. I would assume there is some kind of break in period.

Correct. I have a Phono Preamp going to a Preamp, then going to the amps.

Absolutely! 1-2 amps can feed to 1-2 speakers.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi if one amp is a av receiver when I run it through there will is still be 5.1 for movies

Yes. I have a receiver using 11.4.2 surround sound with only the front speakers going through the LC30. Then my turntable also goes to the LC30. Then I can use my receiver in surround sound or my turntable with the front speakers.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi thanks for answering my questions.

Anytime!

Oh my god yes really? lol

I agree. I do prefer an internal power supply. They use that same power supply for multiple models so I’m sure it cuts costs down, plus it allows for a smaller footprint.

I have looked at them but I didn’t purchase the V3. Fosi sends items to me for free so I can review them. I don’t currently have a relationship with Emotiva so I would have to buy that myself. I am not really in the market for an amp as I get them for free. I do like Emotiva products though.

I do prefer individual power supplies because it helps with heat and if one fails it doesn’t destroy both amps. It’s mostly personal preference. I can’t think of any scientific reason to opt for two over one. To be totally transparent though, they send them to me to review so I don’t get a lot of choice. I suppose I could have requested a single power supply. I just didn’t.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi Much appreciated. Maybe it's instructive that that's what they sent you.

Possibly. It could also just be what they had available. It’s hard to say.

I am looking at several MC carts. As soon as I get one, I will make an updated video.

What? I’ve never heard anyone say that Moving Coil Cartridges are bad.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi I mean using MC mode on this device

You have to use MC mode on MC cartridges. I still don’t understand what you are asking.

Thanks so much!

That’s awesome! Thanks for the feedback!

According to www.galion-audio.com/pages/ts-a75 it is 75 at 8 and 100 at 4 unless I’m missing something.

Thanks so much! I guess it would depend on the rest of your system. Both are very good amps. I would suggest trying to find a place to listen to listen to them to compare if at all possible. There is no substitute for that. It’s definitely a touch choice between those models!

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi I ended up getting a Musical Fidelity A1 on eBay for $800, new/open box. It’s fantastic. Although only 25 watts, it pushes enough sweet class A power to get a satisfying full sound at a volume loud enough to shake windows. I’m running my KEF LS50 Meta’s with an SVS SB3000 sub.

That’s awesome! Congratulations!

Thanks so much. To be fair, I won’t turn down a $3,000 amp but I like the idea of showing all of them. You have to start somewhere and not everyone can afford that or even wants it if they can.

I used the DAC in the node. I try not to add extra stuff when testing if I don’t have to.

I agree. I hate stacking any components, for any reason. Unfortunately, I simply ran out of space in my test spot. It was crystal clear, or I would have moved it. If I was setting it up permanently, I would certainly move it.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi Understood, thanks!

Thanks so much for the feedback!

Wow, thank you so much for advice. Very detailed. I haven’t messed with op amp swapping before but I may get into it at some point. Right now I rely on manufactures to send samples to me so maybe I can get some from one of the op amp manufactures. My goal is to not spend any money on this hobby, but that is a pretty small investment.

I agree. I think it sounds really good. I did a video where I relaxed the power supply with one from Sbooster and it made a huge difference!

I believe so. Obviously every component has a different sound signature and will either add or subtract from the sound, but I think the Kara does a really good job of being mostly transparent. The Aegir2 seems to steal the show in terms of power and definition, but it couldn’t do that without a very good preamp. I’ve had more time to play with it now. I recently used it to test a Galion amp in another video. The Kara sounds just a little bright, maybe tinny to a small degree, but is super clear. Very detailed. Did you try the different gain settings on the Kara? Yes, I did. If so which did you like, and why? The Kara has three gain settings, passive, low, and high. I didn’t notice any difference in any setting other than the intensity and power that gain itself provides. Same clarity and transparentness, same very minor brightness. I found with the Schiit Vidar and Aegir, I preferred low. They simply don’t need that much power. with the Galion, I preferred high gain mode. Passive mode was ok too, but I found myself cranking up the volume a bit too much on all three amps. I will note that the Fosi phono preamp I use requires a bit more boost than if I was using a Schiit phono preamp. It is the only one I have right now though. Plus passive gain mode cannot convert between SE and Balanced. The other modes can. As a viewer, might be good if just one component changes at a time? I agree. I am working towards that. Unfortunately most of the higher end stuff I get are only loaners. Some I can keep for two weeks, some for 90 days. Once I get bigger they may let me keep them. I don’t make any money from this, maybe one day I will. I try to pick out the stuff that I buy very carefully because I would end up buying everything and getting divorced. In the Freya + video, you seemed to really be impressed right away. Have you ever just gotten your setup dialed in perfectly? It almost gives you chills. That’s what happened to me. Obviously, it’s all subjective. I use a tube phono preamp because I prefer the warmth and openness of tubes. When I paired that with the preamp, Freya+, it was awesome. I really wish Schiit made a tube power amp and tube phono preamp. Did you try the passive stage on that preamp too? Yes, I did. Mostly the same reactions that I had to the Kara. The passive setting was a little light on power for my phono preamp. Instead of low and high it has Differential Buffer and Differential Tube gain settings. Differential Buffer also has no gain. I much prefer the Differential Tube Gain setting because I prefer the warmth of tube amps and it has 12-13.5db of gain. I've got the og Saga, and hoping to get more impressions of the benefits of what moving up may offer. Hopefully that cleared some things up a bit. If you have any more questions just let me know!

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi Thanks for kindly answering all my questions! That is very helpful! Good luck with your promising channel!

Thank you so much! Anytime!

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi I believe Jason Stoddard said in Schiits video in the last 2days that they are working on a tubed phono pre? Also Lounge Audio makes a killer mm phono pre, that far exceeded my old Project tube box phono pre. You can get it with a headphone output that is like a magnifying glass for your turntable. Or stethoscope :) It sounds pretty great for a solid state. LCR Gold with silver.

Thanks, I'll look into those!

Just a little bit, but I do think the trade off is that it seems to keep the highs from being too bright. Maybe it’s just my imagination.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi thank you 👍

Anytime!

Nope. That would need to be controlled by a preamp.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi I mean that Kara doesn’t have tone control, just the volume knob

Oh sorry. Schiit doesn’t put them on many of their products. If using the Kara you’d need to get a separate EQ.

I agree. It sounds really good and it’s priced right!

That’s fair. I was really impressed with how detailed it was, so I guess I got a bit stuck on that. I’ve spent a lot more time with it and some point I may do follow up video. The bass is tight and bit prominent. The mids are open and have good separation. The highs are very realistic with a bit of a sparkle to them. The highlight of this amp for me is definitely in the minute details and the open, realistic soundstage.

It sure does. You can just leave the headphones plugged in permanently if you want to. Then use the button on the device or the remote.

If running the Aegir in stereo yes. If buying two Aegirs and running them in Mono no. Maybe just my opinion, but that was my experience.

I agree. I always plug amps up for a few hours prior to my tests. It is a loaner unit too so it’s been used quite a bit and probably well past the break in period. I just disconnect everything so I can show everything getting connected.

It takes my Schiit Modi Multibit DAC 3-5 hrs. to sound its best. It takes my Schiit Vali 2++ headphone amp at least an hour to get “into the groove.”

Thanks! That’s good info. I try to give it at least two hours to warm up before a review. I haven’t timed it exactly but 2 hours seems enough for most everything.

It’s very possible. I looked it up and found about 8 different ways to pronounce it. I live in Tennessee, US so you’re lucky I got that close. 😂

Rimes with Kegger 😂

That I might be able to remember!

I do think it’s fair to compare. Comparisons are always fair. Yes a nearly $10k amp should sound better. I would hope so for the price difference. For some it’s about getting as close to the sound of the $10k mode as they can afford. You won’t know unless you compare. As far as the verbiage, that’s provided on their website and more than likely written by the marketing department. That’s their job, sell products. Do I think it’s the greatest amp ever created? No. I do feel like it’s about as good as you will find in that price point for my ears? Yes, I do. In fact, I think it sounds pretty good for an amp at twice the cost. All retailers embellish their products with lavish descriptions and high praise. I don’t care about that, or what the specs say. I only really care about what it sounds like for the price. Is it a good value? Is it pleasing to listen to, or would I pass on it for something else? A lot of that is subjective.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi Well said. I just don't like all the posts calling it a Giant Killer. That it is not in any way. Is it better then some of the competitors at its price point and lets say twice that? Yes IMO. I know Thomas has a lot of friends in this industry. But I find it very miss leading to call it a giant killer. By all measures it is not. Thanks for the reply.

Honestly, that is the exact reason that I started doing this. I got tired of seeing ads that show the greatest thing ever invented, only to buy it and be disappointed. I don’t know that I would consider their marketing to be a complete lie though, I actually was very impressed with it and would love to keep it. It’s just a loaner for evaluation. If I thought it sounded like junk or was over priced, I would have said so. Even if that meant not getting any more products from them. I think it’s maybe a bit of an enthusiastic representation, but I’ve definitely seen much worse. There truly is no substitute for listening for yourself. If you have the opportunity to listen to something before buying, do it. Just because I liked it doesn’t mean anyone else will. Certainly the rest of the system is equally important.

What do you mean? The A75 is a great amp at a great price. Not everybody likes a boring flat response. And the internal components are of great quality. Not sure why you have an issue with it.

I thought it was interesting that he put it in the sub $10k category and didn’t even tell the name of the other brand or brands in his comparison. I can’t take it too seriously. Especially when I really enjoy this amp.

I’ve spoken with him but we’ve never met in person. Seems like a good guy.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi Nice guy ,knows his stuff and his live demonstrations are pretty entertaining..not a dry sales pitch .

I’d love to see that in person. I’ve seen his KZbin videos and they look pretty good.

Thomas who? Not Thomas Tan, he has already addressed your previous comment. Does everything that a company sells have to work together? That’s like saying Best Buy sells vinyl records, yet they won’t work with the cd players they sell. You’re pretty hung up on this. Please explain.

So all amps sound the same?

Well, at least you’re not a drama queen…

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi …,only 🙃N Thursdays! lol!

😂

I did a review on it as well. Very nice amp. I love them both!

I'm curious about how you think the Galion compares to the Vidar 2. For instance, would you say it's 80% better?

It’s really hard to quantify. I wouldn’t say it’s that much better and it would also depend on every other components in your system. For me the Galion seemed to have tighter and more prominent bass, more detailed mids, and the highs were about the same. That being said, you may not want those things. They are both excellent amps and priced fairly for what you get.

Creepy little way I avoided the guys question about cost? How. What question? I see a statement about it. I answered how I think it compares to the Vidar 2, but how am I going to say what percentage better that it is? It is better in some respects, but not in others.

You answered none of my questions. Also, you are barely able to write a legible sentence. Where did you get a “110 price increase?” It’s more than $110 for sure. All I can do is tell you is how I think it sounds. Is it worth the cost difference to you? You decide. I would buy two Vidar,for just slightly more money, and run them in mono. The person who originally posted the question hasn’t responded. If they did, I would answer as honestly and directly as possible. I’m done entertaining a troll who has nothing better to do than hang out here and insult people. Have a good day. All future comments that are not constructive or offensive will get you banned and all comments removed. If you would like to have a civilized conversation, I am willing.

It shuts off instantly when you kill the power

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi . Ya, it's got anti-pop shut-off and soft start circuitry as most do these days 👍. Still that 75 watts has a "deep bench" if you will, from what's been reported. Peace.

Yeah, that thing is a beast!

Thanks, it’s been a lot of fun!

Thanks so much! You might check out the Freya too.

Not that I can think of. I always use dlr if it’s available, but the rca would be the weak link in that scenario.

Thanks so much!

That knob is fine. It uses a 128-step relay-switched stepped attenuator instead of a potentiometer. It’s supposed to make that noise.

😂😂😂

Honestly, I’ve gotten that question a lot!

No it wouldn’t. It’s supposed to sound like that. It’s a r2r ladder pot.

I even explained it in the video. Crazy that we are still talking about it.

I’ll have to check those out!

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi thomas told me about the fuse amp rating, etc when I asked about those ceramic fuses early on after getting my amp.

I love when a manufacturer is engaged with their customers!

Thomas seems like a really good guy. It strictly cosmetic so I wouldn’t sweat it either.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi yeah he saw my pic I sent when I gave my quick impressions for his website.. saw the bends and said he can give me a $150 credit and can show me how to reshape it back... told him never mind about the $150 credit and I will just leave the bent tips like it is.. as it looks like it was designed like that...

That was pretty nice of him. Most manufacturers would make you beg for it.

I suppose it’s possible that they included the extra cables so the review might be more relevant in other countries, but they didn’t mention anything about that to me.

I think you confused me with Adrian from Audio excellence. I am not a Magnepan dealer.I have people telling me it can drive their Magenpan LRS+, 0.7i, 3.6R with zero problem.

Thanks for the response. I don’t have any Magnepan experience.

So no need to pair with a preamp?

It has a 128-step relay-switched attenuator, rather than a traditional potentiometer, which does make a clicking sound. It’s far more reliable and accurate, but it does take a bit of getting used to.

I feel like it is a bit worse on KZbin than in person. To be honest, I hated it at first and completely forgot about it after I used it a few times.

Is the kara a fully balanced design, What kind of sound signature does it have

I own both of these and I think the video is accurate, the volume noise is significant. However, you get used to it and all the positives of these Schiit products FAR outweigh this negative.

It is balanced. I would say it’s incredibly transparent. It really seems to do exactly what it should. It amplifies the source without really adding much to it. I will say that I is crystal clear, very detailed. If anything I would say it accentuates in all the right places. Good highs and lows and excellent mids. A very neutral preamp.

Yeah, it bothered me for about 30 seconds. I will say I sit pretty far from the amp when actually listening so it’s not a big deal at all for me.

Just going from the turntable to the phono preamp, then phono preamp to the A07. Nothing else needed.

It can be a common thing. Sometimes the preamps in the turntable can be more powerful than the smaller preamps. That being said, I would compare the two to see if the preamp has better clarity or maybe helps provide a better sound in some way. If not, it may not be the preamp for you. Unfortunately it can be a lot of trial and error to get the sound you are looking for. Just because one is more powerful doesn’t mean it sounds better.

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi thanks for the reply!

Anytime!

@@Groucho3321 I have the same "issue" with the gain being lower than my amps built-in phono preamp. How is the clarity for you? I feel like i have to max out the treble for it to be clear. And while i have it directly connected to the amp i have no need to use an eq..

@@AndreS-gn6gd I'm not blown away, to be honest. I need to test it a bit more before deciding to keep it.

Thanks so much! I forgot to mention that! I’m a tube fan so I probably would never do that myself, but it certainly should have been included in the review!

@@NoFrillsHi-Fi It's an unusual feature for a tube headphone amp to work in a solid state mode without the tube. The only other one I've seen is the Schiit Lyr. Do you know any other dual-mode tube/solid state hybrid headphone amps?

I don’t to be honest. Schiit also sells solid state tubes!

You would use the Aux port. Using a 3.5mm to RCA adapter, unless your sub has 3.5mm input.