Reviews for Asgard
"The effect the Asgard 3 had varied from headphone to headphone, but in general, there's a few big things that it did apart from simply raising the volume. The dynamic over-ears immediately expanded the soundstage. There was also a clearer separation between instruments. Depending on the headphone, songs could be close and intimate or feel wide and spacious.
"The frequency response of each headphone almost seemed to tighten, as if the slack were taken out of the speaker. Mids and highs have extra sparkle. Bass notes have more definition and control. It's more musical and precise, making both music and games much more enjoyable to listen to.
"As a test, I bypassed the AK4490 DAC and connected my work PC to the Asgard 3. The sound profile instantly changed. Listening to the Meze 99s, that tight controlled bass suddenly became very fat and overwhelming, as if my HP Elitedesk with just sending ALL OF THE FREQUENCIES at one hundred percent. Even on my much more expensive gaming PC, the AK4490 dramatically improved my audio experience.
"It's not all about music, though. This effect of running a good amp even to a mid-level gaming headset is like jumping from an SD to an HD screen. The added sense of space and detail provides a legitimate advantage to your ability to hear enemies before they hear you and an added sense of immersion with that widened soundstage.
"The combination of the Asgard 3 headphone amp with the AK4490 DAC is enough to elevate any content you'd care to enjoy, whether or not your headphones "need" amplification."
"A new model with more features and supposedly better performance than the earlier model, and at a lower price. This is almost unheard of, and it would be pretty academic if the manufacturer didn't make good on the promise of better sound. Luckily, they do.
"I thought that the pure Class A of the Asgard 2 would make it a tough (if not impossible) act for Schiit to follow, but I was completely wrong. While the manufacturer is very vague in their description about what a "Continuity Constant-transconductance Output" actually is, but whatever it is it betters the pure Class A output stage of the Asgard 2 by a goodly margin because, at once it gives better sound, more output, and does so at a lower price than its predecessor!
"With the Asgard 3's larger feature set and improved performance over the Asgard 2, coupled with the US$50 drop in price to US$199, this thing is a steal. It punches way, way above it's pocket-money price range and you should be ordering one for yourself right now. Get to it!"
"Excellent headphone drive. Doesn't require balanced to get the most out of it. Pre-amp function. Works with IEMs as well as insensitive headphones.
"We're used to saying that that products are over-priced these days, but I'd say that the Asgard 3 is under-priced given the sound quality. It sits in a very crowded market, in which it provides a solid performance and a noticeable upgrade from which is going to require at least 2-3x as much money."
"The Asgard 3 gives-off all the vibes of an American muscle car: it's big, brash and burly and you feel like you're getting a lot of metal for your money. It has an easy-to-love utilitarian design, and like the muscle cars of today, the Asgard has actually gone and gotten itself better at handling and packs a bunch more features in than it used to.
"...The stock Asgard 3 amplifier earns a place on our recommended buy list where it sits in good company with other recommended desktop amplifiers."
"At Green Audio Review we like value for money. We like versatility even more. The Asgard are all these things.
For amazing prize and performance; for serious versatility/functionality; and, perhaps most importantly, for modularity and longevity, we are very happy to award the Schiit Asgard 3 with our very first Green Award. Holy Schiit: Land of the Gods, indeed!"
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