John
If your loudspeakers: sit in a small room; or on a desktop; are high-efficiency; or you prefer to listen at lower volume levels; or your loudspeaker listening is a combination of all of the above, you’ll want to pay strict attention to this news story.
Sub-$300 Class D switching amplifiers are a dime-a-dozen on eBay and Amazon and the ones I’ve tried sound sufficiently cold/reedy that loudspeaker matching becomes a full-time research post. Today, Schiit Audio is throwing a monkey wrench into the cogs of this Chinese-manufacturer-dominated cottage industry with the introduction of two new low-power, low-noise Class A/B loudspeaker power amplifiers. Hello Zu, Klipsch, JBL et al.
The smallest of the two new models is called Rekkr (US$149) and the larger one is called Gjallarhorn (US$299).
Rekkr puts an all-discrete, current feedback circuit inside a Magni Plus-sized chassis and powers it with an outboard linear PSU for 2wpc into 8 Ohms – or 4wpc when two are run as mini-monoblocks.
Gjallarhorn ups the ante, box size, power output (and price) by using a larger Jotunheim-sized chassis to house the linear power supply and 80VA toroidal transformer alongside a current-feedback, all-discrete circuit that also sports Schiit’s Continuity S™ output stage for “more linear performance”. The net result is 10wpc into 8 Ohms – or 30wpc when two are run as monoblocks.
Schiit co-founder Jason Stoddard says, “When you’re sharing walls, you don’t need a 10,000W monster amp on your desktop, or even in your TV room. You need something that sounds great at low levels. You need something that doesn’t hiss like a demented cat when the speakers are 4 feet away from your ears. That’s what we’re designing for with Rekkr and Gjallarhorn.”
If you’re in the USA, Gjallarhorn is available for purchase now and ships immediately; Rekkr is available for purchase now but won’t ship for another 2-3 weeks. Both are assembled in the USA.
Further information: Schiit
Photos: Lee Shelly
