Schiit Audio’s 2nd Schiiter-less Meet in Corpus Christi, TX

Introduction

On Thursday, March 30, 2023, Schiit held its “2^nd Schiiter-less Meet” at Nueces Brewing & BBQ in Corpus Christi, TX. I live only two hours away and couldn’t miss an opportunity to rub elbows with the Schiit gang and hear some great audio. I’ll also admit that I was there to pick up as much news and info as I can, and for that alone, the meet did not disappoint. Here is a rundown of some of the exciting new things I learned about what’s going on at Schiit.

A new approach to home theater

The Schiit team had set up a 5.1 home theater with Klipsch speakers, to show off their new amplifiers, the Gjallarhorn ($299) and Rekkr ($149). Both of these are very small form factor components; the Gjallarhorn is nine inches wide, and the Rekkr is five inches wide, and they both feature fully linear power supplies.

Schiit Gjallarhorn Amp

Schiit Rekkr Amp

The surprising thing about this 5.1 home theater system was that there was no component for decoding any of the fancy surround-sound formats like Atmos. That task was handled by the new Schiit Syn universal surround DAC/preamp/headphone amp ($399). The Syn is an all-analog component that uses circuitry to “shape” the “width” and “presence” of the sound, so you can apply surround-sound effects to the sounds of games, TV shows, or video games, and listen to them through speakers or headphones. The Syn has optical, RCA, and USB inputs so you can connect it to both analog and digital sources, and it has line-level outputs for main, surround, center, and subwoofer speakers. The Syn is a great example of Schiit’s ability to bring innovative audio products to market at affordable prices.

Schiit Syn, Front.

Schiit Syn, Back.

Schiit Syn, Internals.

A new Class A headphone amp?

Also on display was a prototype of the Mjolnir 3 solid-state headphone amp. It runs in single-ended Class A, produces 2w per channel into 32ohms, and features a lot of heavy components for power storage and heat dissipation. I was asked not to photograph it, but I can say that it’s a pretty big headphone amp, about the size of a Freya+, and it has both a balanced and a single-ended headphone output, and it sounded very good with the several pairs of headphones I listened to it with.

A new Schiit phono stage?

Pictured here is a prototype of a tubed phono stage that a Schiit team member put together back in 2016. It was driving a moving-magnet Audio Technica cart on an Audio Technica turntable. I listened to it with a Schiit headphone amp and HIFIMAN Arya Stealth Magnet headphones. I’d say the sound quality was muscular. I don’t think that particular turntable and cartridge setup is going to deliver very much subtlety of detail or ambiance, but the energy of the music definitely came through.

Schiit Protoype Phono Stage Board.

Jason Stoddard talked to me about a new phono stage he is planning. While I am not at liberty to divulge any details, I can say that if Schiit can build this thing and sell it at the price range they’re shooting for, it will be a massive middle finger to quite a few audio manufacturers. This theoretical Schiit phono stage will provide features that usually cost at least $3,000 or more. I currently own several phono stages, but I am VERY excited about this thing and cannot wait to see what comes of it.

The Urd is almost here.

I am also excited about the Schiit Urd, the upcoming CD transport, expected to go on sale in the middle of 2023. Its price is TBD. It is rumored to have AES-EBU, S/PDIF, and USB inputs, and two USB outputs. That’s right, two USB outputs, so you can take the digital output of this CD transport and feed it to a number of the desktop DACs that have only USB input. That feature alone makes the Urd an appealing prospect. I can’t think of another CD transport that has USB output. Jason Stoddard has promised me a review unit, so be sure to check back for a review of this exciting new product.

Jason Stoddard recently did a livestream where he talks about the Syn and few other topics in his typical direct and down-to-earth style.