Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Schiit Vidar

Not sure how to search this forum to see if this has been discussed before, sorry in advance if it has!

Currently thinking of an amp upgrade for my M5s, this is my first music only stereo set up, is in my cabin so not everyday listening and originally had a budget of about $500. Currently running my dad's Old Nikko STA 6060 and just doesn't have the power @32W per channel at 8ohm and have been getting annoying distortion on certain taxing parts of songs. Room is 7'ish ceilings and sort of an open space 15'x20'ish.

I am a bass player so I prefer the low end to be heavier and few things make me happier than hearing drums that sound like I'm at the venue. For this I know is a heated topic but to boost/Control the lower end to my preference I will likely include a Schiit Loki EQ

I've been researching and have come up with:

Schiit Set up - Vidar amp, Loki EQ, SYS Volume/Input Selector, and Mani Phono Thoughts on this? It's over budget but not crazy and seems like it would do nicely for me. A little worried about transformer hum issue with the Vidar...

I also found a Used Bryston 3B-NRB online for $499, I could use in a similar set up but in lieu of the Vidar difference between new W 5year warranty and Used but tried and true.

Hmmmm...still struggling with amplification, huh?

I don't remember if you ever mentioned whether you have bookshelves or on-walls. I'm curious about that.

Hey Mojo!

Haha yea The Nikko has sufficed for the year but just isn't enough power and is still a little noisy even though I've had it serviced twice. Have always wanted to play around in the separate power amp world and my HT just got an upgrade a couple years ago so this is the opportunity to dip the toe in I think!

They are bookshelves

I can't see why the Vidar in stereo wouldn't sound good. The magnitude and phase responses of the M5 bookshelf are well-behaved.

It would be good to know the peak (dynamic) power rating into 6 Ohms. The M5s can handle 1200 peak Watts. It's the peaks that count. If you like it very, very loud, you may be listening at 5 W/channel nominal. Well-recorded music may present 18dB peaks. Those peaks will try to extract 320W out of the amp. Maybe 70% of that peak will be in the bass where the M5 dips down to 6 Ohms.

Only 2-channel? No sub?

There is nothing posted to their site except the RMS ratings, but I did find this review with some measurements.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/schiit-vidar-amplifier-review.12633/

Oddly, in this situation I don't have it cranked like I do movies. The environment is more relaxed and less intense although having the ability to crank it up is always desired even if it's 10% of the time. If I find it lacking I could always get another one and run each in mono for 400W RMS into 8 Ohms for not to much more $$ down the road. Although I think that might be overkill in this setting. Haha something I never thought I'd say!

Yea just 2 channel, I thought of adding a sub, but man hearing a bookshelf speaker hit the range the M5's can makes me grin ear to ear every time. Sub might be added down the road but for now I am very happy with the speakers if I can put together amplification that gives is consistent and reliable sound. I think if I have a spare sub kicking around, I'd probably start putting together a HT system for up there, been trying to avoid that haha.

Those measurements indicate 310W peaks into 4 Ohms with less than 1%THD+N. I'd say you're good to go.

I hear what you're saying about M5s and no sub. They are indeed very satisfying on their own. But when you properly integrate a good sub or two, there's no going back!

Thanks for taking the time to take a look, appreciate it!

Haha a slippery slope indeed

Jritz, what did you end up deciding on for amps? ( I was following this thread with interest!

Hey Kodiak

Haha, I've since gone nuts. I ended up finding a Bryston 3B-NRB within a couple hrs of me last December. Since then I've gone down the rabbit hole pretty far and revamped the whole set up to LFR660s and the Axiom Combo DSP/ADA1000. Which has been amazing! I did buy some Schiit stuff, and wasn't all that impressed. I sent back the EQ as it was very noisy and replaced the volume control, kept the turntable preamp which is okay. I mostly listen from Ipad though.

I am going to sell the Bryston, if you're interested It did a great job powering the M5s.

Hey jritz. I know you went you deep! I was sort of reading your 660 thread but didn’t realize you traded the m5 back. I thought maybe you had the m5 now in a different setup or location.

Good to hear the Bryston powered the m5 well. That’s great.

Enjoy those 660 LFR!! Congrats!!