It’s out today! $1,800.00, limited run of 250 (supposedly)
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Tubes will never be the equal of transistors with low impedance loads, so we added a switchable, integrated impedance multiplier that makes your low-impedance headphones look like high-impedance headphones. Switch on the multiplier, and your 32 ohm headphones look like 256 ohms to the amp, so you can use a wider variety of headphones.
This part seems very interesting
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It’s a SS output buffer which he call an impedance multiplier.
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This is a cool looking project. I read through the “Improbable Startup” thread on Head Fi and it’s a fun story. By his description it seems this amp is more of a fun diversion rather than anything else. And I’m all for that!!
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I wonder if they’ll have one at the Schiitr?
That would be worth visit to hear it. 
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For sure. If I lived in LA I’d go check it out
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Interesting! Are there other tube amps that have that?
It’s not a new idea, so I would assume so.
There is some discussion of the idea here SRPP+ All-in-One & Impedance Multiplier Circuits
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Super thankful that you linked this, I’ve been more curious about the reasons behind this or that with audio because I don’t generally know much about it.
I like Schiit but they are the posterboy for midfi sound IMO. Not sure that adding 80 tubes and their typical build-out is going to change that. I’m rooting for them but color me skeptical this product is going to match the price point relative to other options on the market.
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My view is if you like Jason’s tuning, you may well like it. The Schiit amps while competitive at the lower price points have never really stood out to me.
On the other hand I have a great deal of respect for what Mike Moffat has done with their DAC’s.
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The Freya + is super popular (hype train level almost) and with excellent reviews but I found your mid-fi poster boy moniker to apply to it as well. It’s good for what it is, but there’s a lot more fi after the Freya +.
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Freya+ is squarely in the cross-hairs of Midfi as is the rest of Schiit’s entire catalog. I’ve owned 8 of their products and thought each presented a fine value for their price point including my current Mani and Sys setup for my analog rig. But it’s clearly midfi sound at a midfi price. Nothing bad about that at all as that is what 85% of the market desires.
But this amp at this price and all the tubes that are throwing at it has a few red flags raised. Of course all the fanboys will say it’s the great thing ever; Amir will trash it for terrible measurements. The truth will be in the middle and I’m sure it’s just “fine” but not 1800 fine. Used for 1k maybe I’ll kick the tires on it in 2 years.
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Anybody on this forum heard the Folkvangr yet? Nearly every forum where there is a thread for it people sing nothing of praises. Still trying to sort the truth from the fanboyism.
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I think @j.fopps has heard one recently
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Yes I was at the Schiit store in Cali last week. I was thoroughly impressed by it and I’d love to own one. Only thing stopping me is that I decided to take a break from new purchases for now, but if I break that the folkvangr is the first thing I’m buying.
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I have been buying a lot of Schiit lately and my latest purchase from them was the Folkvanger. It showed up on Monday and have used the 800S, Atrium, 580 Precision, and LCD-4 on it. I like 800S on it the most but need to give the LCD-4 more time as that was sounding promising. 580 precision is great too but I think the 800S is just a step up overall unless I’m looking for a warmer sound. Atrium sounds fine but the 800S seems to pair a lot better. On any of my other amps I would usually pick Atrium over 800S since it sounds punchier but on the Folkvanger it’s been the other way round.
I was expecting a warm sound that rolled off a bit on both ends but it really hasn’t sounded like that. With the stock tubes it sounded very clear and spacious. Vocals were some of the best I’ve heard, just felt more real I suppose. Low end is well extended and treble has good air to it. I just rolled in some new tubes to replace the two in front. These are NOS 7062 Phillips tubes and these have added more decay and sense of being in a room / space. I’m getting a bit more depth and low end presence too.
Early impressions but that’s what I’m hearing so far. It’s the amp I go to for vocal heavy or acoustic music. It sounds great on other genres but those two really stand out to me. Here’s the setup right now:
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Nice. What other amps do you have?
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also will be curious your thoughts if you try it as a tube pre… The Freya + is a nice pre for sub $1k and this may make a decent option as a step up for those wanting a hp / tube pre combo.
I’ve been through a lot of amps recently. For awhile the Formula S + Powerman and the Flux Volot were my main amps. Decided I preferred Volot and sold the Formula S. Then I got the WA33 Elite and that was better than both of those. I still have the WA33 Elite but have boxed it up temporarily now that Folkvanger is here. I also purchased the Schiit Tyr and Freya recently (you can see the Tyr in the bottom of the image I posted) with an adapter box to use with headphones.
So the Folkvanger and Tyr are my current amps both connected to the Bricasti dac.
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