And then, there’s that thing that you will not be able to argue with. Space. If you look at the real estate prices here in Europe, you’ll get what I mean. And it’s also about the available desktop space. I could paraphrase it as follows: there was a movie called “The Day The Earth Stood Still” and I could start filming a movie “The Day My Desktop Spaced Ended” quite some time ago. So, let’s see and hear what the Schiit’s version of the Norse Mythology dwarf (this is what word “Rekkr” stands for) has to offer.
Schiit Rekkr – few words about design
First things first: the size. This thing is 12.5 x 8.75 x 3.1 cm. So, it’s actually exactly the size of the reviewed not that long ago Modi Multibit 2. It uses the same size of the enclosure as the Schiit’s “smaller” phono preamplifier Mani or the passive line pre, SYS (the latter might be one of logical first choices if you needed volume control and a source selection). And as the new Vali 3 headphone amplifier. Second is the mass – it’s 0.45 Kg, so it’s actually substantial for the size. One practical note here: while the Rekkr is not that light at all, if you are going to use some more, say, ambitious speaker cables that may be a bit heavy (what you won’t completely notice connecting them to an amp weighing ten times more), do consider that these cables may be pulling the Rekkr backwards in the direction of the abyss being your desk’s end. This is one thing. The other, the same as with Gjallarhorn: only bananas here, which is actually sensible choice here, given the amount of real estate on the back of the unit. Using typical-but-very-small speaker terminals here wouldn’t be the wisest choice at all.
Since this is actually true stereo power amplifier, you will get an RCA inputs and a pair of outputs. And a power socket, and a power switch – everything located at the back. In the front you have only a Schiit’s logo, white power led and… a radiator. Yes, this thing has a radiator, like a part that has a set of fins that get warm during use. This is another interesting example of how Schiit does things – they may be smaller than what you’re accustomed to, but still so very true to their function. When I asked Jason about any design challenges when getting the final working Rekkr version, he instantly replied:
“Mainly just how to get the heat out of it. That’s why a Magni won’t survive long driving speakers–it’s higher voltage, lower current, designed for higher-impedance, higher-efficiency headphone loads. A small custom heatsink, lower voltage rails, and a whole lot of copper lands on the board take care of the heat problem. For protection, it uses the same transparent, analog-computer-style current sensing as Gjallarhorn and many of our headphone amps.”
What is also of note and may not be directly obvious is that there’s a copper between the output transistors and the radiator. And that’s only just a beginning because the Rekkr is also a fully discrete power amplifier, so, as Jason has put it:
“No op-amps, no capacitors. One caveat: there is a DC servo. That’s an op-amp. We can have a very long argument about whether that’s in the signal path or not. My input: yes, but less damaging than most coupling caps in most applications.”