Schiit Audio Aegir
Theworld’sonlyscatalogicallynamedcompany,SchiitAudio,has
releaseda new20-wattperchannelamplifierthatuses‘constant-
transconductancetopology’circuitry.(Atransconductanceamplifier
is onewhoseoutputcurrentis proportionaltothevoltageatits
input,ratherthantheoutputvoltagebeingproportionaltothe
inputvoltage.)
CalledtheAegir,thisnewamplifierfromSchiitAudiousesa com-
pletelydiscrete,fullycomplementary,current-feedback,linearpower
supplyandan‘intelligent’microprocessormanagementsystemthat
meansthatthereneedbenocouplingcapacitorsord.c.servosinthe
signalpathandalsothatthemicroprocessorcantakecareofoutput
stageprotection,ratherthansomecircuitsolution.
Thepowersupplyitselfis completelylinear,witha 600VAtrans-
former,150,000μFoffiltercapacitance,andfiveregulatedpower
supply rails. ‘Our first Continuity speaker amplifier extends the benefits of
linear transconductance beyond Class-A, resulting in a cooler-running, more
affordable amplifier,’ said Jason Stoddard, Schiit Audio’s co-founder.
‘Both Bob Cordell and John Broskie have long discussed the problem of
transconductance droop in Class-AB amplifiers. Our unique Continuity tech-
nology, introduced with the Lyr 3 headphone amplifier last year, addresses
both transconductance droop and the inevitable mismatch between NPN and
PNP output devices.’
Although power output into 8Ω loads is specified as 20-watts per
channel Schiit says the Aegir will deliver 40-watts per channel into
4Ω loads and, if you’d prefer more power, can be configured as a
monobloc, in which case it’s rated to deliver 80-watts into a single 8Ω
loudspeaker... though you’ll then need two of them for stereo. The
specifications put the frequency response at 3Hz–500kHz (–3dB) and
channelseparationat >105dBat1kHz,withbothTHDandIMDat
lessthan0.01%.Thesignal-to-noiseratiois specifiedasbeingmore
than114dB(A-weighted).
TheSchiitAegirhasunbalancedinputswhenyou’reusingit asa
stereoamplifieranda singlebalancedinputwhenyou’reusingit asa
monobloc.Thisis becauseSchiithasconfiguredtheAegirsothatinits
monoblocmode,eachchannelis drivenwithonehalfofa balanced
signal.Thisconfigurationmeansthatyourpreampneedstohavetrue
differentialbalancedoutputs,notjustunbalancedoutputsconnected
byXLRterminals...andyes,Virginia,somepre-ampsdothis.(Schitt
suggestsyouuseitsFreyapreamp,whichhastruebalancedoutputs.)For more information, contact Addicted to Audio on 1300 888 602
or (03) 9810 2900 or at http://www.addictedtoaudio.com.auschiit audio
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