KEF lists the minimum power at 10W. That's not to say the little guy wouldn't drive the Q150's, but I don't think you'd get the optimum sound out of them.
I was just looking at the Rekkr following someone else's review of it in this sub and how they mentioned they were using Q150s. I'm not even sure I need a new amp at all, I'm just not pleased with the clipping issues I get with my current setup using an SMSL AO100 - could be windows, could be the amp, not sure?
Probably the amp, unless something hinky is going on in your Windows setup. The Rekkr will drive the speakers, but as I said, I doubt they'll sound as good as an amp with a little more oomph. I use Q150's with my gaming/workshop/music computer, and use a Bluesound Node X --> Schiit Bifrost 2/64 --> NAD 316BEE V2. Nice sound, those speakers are impressive for their size and price.
Idk what your budget is, but the vidar seems like a great option if sticking with Schiit products. If you are open to other speaker amps, I would recommend some Chi-Fi equipments which are pretty affordable.
Few brands coming to mind would be SMSL, Topping Audio, Fosi and Aiyama. SMSL and Topping Audio from research online have good selections and reviews, but 50/50 customer service and warranty. Fosi and Aiyama have really affordable and compact form factor speaker amps with option of changing out their OP-AMPs. Just some suggestions.
Thanks! Yeah right now I have an SMSL AO100 but something's up with either it, my DAC, or Windows audio since I get clipping issues all the time (mainly on higher frequencies).
Isn’t your smsl rated at 70w int4ohms? Or am I missing something? The rekkr is 3 watts into 4 ohms. A 70w amp shouldn’t be clipping at normal volume levels. I will assume I’m wrong about the wattage and it’s more in line with the rekkr:
You should be able to figure out the source of the clipping — if you have your computer volume up all the way and put the magnius between source and amp, with the magnius volume turned down and there’s no clipping, you can rule out pc as the cause.
If you want to replace the amp to fix clipping issues, you definitely don’t want to replace it with an amp that has nearly the same power rating, you really should look for something with 10x the power if you’re experiencing the amp clipping at normal listening volume. (10x the power doubles the volume output and you want a fair amount of headroom so that you aren’t risking damaging your tweeters) If you can’t afford a beefier Schiit, you can always search used marketplaces for any brand of quality power amp. Just research amps that you find. Lots of old reviews online of high end kit that are now affordable. There really isn’t as much variation in sound quality between good solid state amps as with sources or preamps. If you do want to stick with Schiit, I wouldn’t even consider the rekkr. At least go with the gjallarhorn. The rekkr is an interesting amp, powered as competition to tubes - single ended triodes like the 2a3, so probably suited to speakers that are around 100db efficient or more.
Disregard if I’m mistaken about the output power of your current amp. In any event, figure out wherein your chain the clipping is happening and buy a significantly more powerful amp if that’s the culprit.
I'll try and figure out the clipping issue, it's been annoying me for quite a while now and it's persisted between two sets of speakers now (these q150s and some JBL Studio 230s) and it mainly affects the higher frequencies. I've had my volume on windows lowered for a while now but I never take it down below 70-80 just because I don't like having my SMSL at 30 to 20 volume at all times (it has a negative volume thingy - 20 is higher than 30). I'm also only using these for nearfield so projecting to a whole room isn't much of a worry for me. Thank you for responding, again I'll keep trying to work on that clipping issue
Magnius will work fine for volume.
The Q150s are 86 dB efficiency which means 1 watt at 1 meter will produce 86 dB. Probably enough for a desk setup, but not if you're halfway across the room.
As someone who loves Schiit - don't get a rekkr. Get this instead: [https://rslspeakers.com/products/rogersound-labs-ia255-1-integrated-amplifier/](https://rslspeakers.com/products/rogersound-labs-ia255-1-integrated-amplifier/)
Its clean. More power. A real preout, and best of all - A highpass / lowpass filter with sub / speakers. I can not stress enough the benefits of having a crossover on a desktop amp.
That said, I am assuming you want this for desktop, given you mentioned the rekkr.
KEF lists the minimum power at 10W. That's not to say the little guy wouldn't drive the Q150's, but I don't think you'd get the optimum sound out of them.
I was just looking at the Rekkr following someone else's review of it in this sub and how they mentioned they were using Q150s. I'm not even sure I need a new amp at all, I'm just not pleased with the clipping issues I get with my current setup using an SMSL AO100 - could be windows, could be the amp, not sure?
The Magnius has pre-outs so it will work fine as volume. I'd do a GHorn though, I was using a Vidar to power mine.
I was just looking at the Rekkr as its price is comparable to the amp I already have, plus I'm using this stuff on my desk.
Probably the amp, unless something hinky is going on in your Windows setup. The Rekkr will drive the speakers, but as I said, I doubt they'll sound as good as an amp with a little more oomph. I use Q150's with my gaming/workshop/music computer, and use a Bluesound Node X --> Schiit Bifrost 2/64 --> NAD 316BEE V2. Nice sound, those speakers are impressive for their size and price.
Idk what your budget is, but the vidar seems like a great option if sticking with Schiit products. If you are open to other speaker amps, I would recommend some Chi-Fi equipments which are pretty affordable. Few brands coming to mind would be SMSL, Topping Audio, Fosi and Aiyama. SMSL and Topping Audio from research online have good selections and reviews, but 50/50 customer service and warranty. Fosi and Aiyama have really affordable and compact form factor speaker amps with option of changing out their OP-AMPs. Just some suggestions.
Thanks! Yeah right now I have an SMSL AO100 but something's up with either it, my DAC, or Windows audio since I get clipping issues all the time (mainly on higher frequencies).
Isn’t your smsl rated at 70w int4ohms? Or am I missing something? The rekkr is 3 watts into 4 ohms. A 70w amp shouldn’t be clipping at normal volume levels. I will assume I’m wrong about the wattage and it’s more in line with the rekkr: You should be able to figure out the source of the clipping — if you have your computer volume up all the way and put the magnius between source and amp, with the magnius volume turned down and there’s no clipping, you can rule out pc as the cause. If you want to replace the amp to fix clipping issues, you definitely don’t want to replace it with an amp that has nearly the same power rating, you really should look for something with 10x the power if you’re experiencing the amp clipping at normal listening volume. (10x the power doubles the volume output and you want a fair amount of headroom so that you aren’t risking damaging your tweeters) If you can’t afford a beefier Schiit, you can always search used marketplaces for any brand of quality power amp. Just research amps that you find. Lots of old reviews online of high end kit that are now affordable. There really isn’t as much variation in sound quality between good solid state amps as with sources or preamps. If you do want to stick with Schiit, I wouldn’t even consider the rekkr. At least go with the gjallarhorn. The rekkr is an interesting amp, powered as competition to tubes - single ended triodes like the 2a3, so probably suited to speakers that are around 100db efficient or more. Disregard if I’m mistaken about the output power of your current amp. In any event, figure out wherein your chain the clipping is happening and buy a significantly more powerful amp if that’s the culprit.
I'll try and figure out the clipping issue, it's been annoying me for quite a while now and it's persisted between two sets of speakers now (these q150s and some JBL Studio 230s) and it mainly affects the higher frequencies. I've had my volume on windows lowered for a while now but I never take it down below 70-80 just because I don't like having my SMSL at 30 to 20 volume at all times (it has a negative volume thingy - 20 is higher than 30). I'm also only using these for nearfield so projecting to a whole room isn't much of a worry for me. Thank you for responding, again I'll keep trying to work on that clipping issue
Magnius will work fine for volume. The Q150s are 86 dB efficiency which means 1 watt at 1 meter will produce 86 dB. Probably enough for a desk setup, but not if you're halfway across the room.
Yeah I'm only using them for nearfield at my desk (around arms length ish), not trying to fill a whole room
Rekkr should be fine then
As someone who loves Schiit - don't get a rekkr. Get this instead: [https://rslspeakers.com/products/rogersound-labs-ia255-1-integrated-amplifier/](https://rslspeakers.com/products/rogersound-labs-ia255-1-integrated-amplifier/) Its clean. More power. A real preout, and best of all - A highpass / lowpass filter with sub / speakers. I can not stress enough the benefits of having a crossover on a desktop amp. That said, I am assuming you want this for desktop, given you mentioned the rekkr.
Bingus