And then there are those specs, that – apart, of course, from the power ratings (or maybe especially considering that it’s a low-power amp) are, well, simply stunning. Like SNR above 120 dB at full power (which is that 2W, to remind you, so that indicates a really low noise floor). Or that 3Hz – 500KHz frequency response. Yes, those are numbers, but in this particular case an important ones, as they indicate that something interesting is going on inside. And it is. Rekkr is also a current-feedback design:
“Most of the amps we do are current feedback. The sole exception would be Syn, which was done as voltage feedback in order to achieve some particular control range goals. We prefer current feedback because it is easier to make stable, and does not have the tradeoff between Miller compensation and slew rate, or asymmetrical slew, and is in general higher bandwidth than voltage feedback. Voltage feedback aficionados will say, “Yeah that’s fine, but VF is typically lower distortion due to higher loop gain.” But we’re not looking for high loop gain and high feedback, we prefer moderate to zero feedback”
And Jason’s take on that specs?
“The good specs and low noise? Mainly because it’s a small amp with lots of regulated supplies. The stacked rails are fully regulated. And, as a smaller amp, we don’t get the switching transients of large diodes driven by large transformers. When power goes up, something has to give, and it’s usually noise, at least in linear-supply, Class AB amps.”
Summing this whole technical stuff up: what you actually get is a thoroughbred power amplifier. Only much smaller. With a wall-wart external power supply, (This wall-wart is actually my only gripe regarding the design. I’d just like to have an option to have something more substantial here). But still with regulated rails, current feedback, “linear” Class AB and all those stuff that is usually associated with the higher-end and much bigger and more expensive amps. Such statements will surely raise some eyebrows. And will definitely involve that one, almost fundamental question – how does it sound? Especially in real-world usage, and not only meaning desktop-related environment. But before we get to this, there’s also one very important and at the same time, intriguing angle to cover.
Schiit Rekkr and the “first watt” thing
This is where it will get really interesting. Let me first start with the context here. And with all those power and volume related stuff, since many people will want to know this in the first place. I used Rekkr not only as a desktop power amplifier, but also in my main system, where it was powering some big-yet-still-reasonably-sensitive speakers. Both of these configurations provided really valuable insights that summed up gave a pretty clear image of what the Schiit Rekkr really is. Sure, it’s home might be desktop, but it’s definitely not limited to it. This all boils down to an equation where you have this power amp’s output versus the sensitivity of your speakers versus the distance from them. And, of course, your room size, which in the case of the desktop – will be your desk. To simplify this a bit, let’s start with the desktop (or a nearfield, if you prefer to call it that way) situation here. I used Acoustic Energy AE100v2 stand-mounts with a rated sensitivity of 87 dB at 1 meter that were just that distance from me when listening in a desktop environment.
Those speakers are well-acclaimed and also known to require a robust amplification to sound their best. And when the first notes of the music started to play, suddenly, this whole power-vs-sensitivity situation became much more irrelevant than I initially thought it would be. This is simply because the Rekkr paired with a really good (not necessarily expensive) desktop monitors will change your whole perspective on what’s really the first most important thing when listening in a close-quarters situation. It’s the general clarity and quality of that – famous in some circles – first watt of amplification. Or maybe not even the first watt, I would say that it in such a case it would rather be the first half of the watt or maybe even a quarter. In other words, when dealing with closer distances and more sensitive speakers, it may be wise to consider turning the whole power thing upside down. Meaning, that it’s not the maximum power output that’s most important anymore. As is the quality of signal transform when dealing with the smaller power envelopes, how the amplification chain will deal with the really tiny (judging from the output power of your 100WPC stereo integrated) signals. True, the maximum loudness and maximum volume are also important, but the more I listened to the desktop setup with the Rekkr, the more I understood that the focus here changes. So now let’s go on with the sound in detail.
Schiit Rekkr – the sound
Since some time ago I reviewed the Rekkr’s bigger sibling, the Gjallarhorn, we also got this aspect to cover, which is interesting itself because of two reasons. One is that while the Rekkr can be somehow viewed as a lower-powered version of its bigger brother, Gjallarhorn, they also differ a bit sound-wise in the context of, which can be even more intriguing here, power. What I mean by that is that while the general sound character is in both cases similar, I do feel that at those lower power levels that I was so delving upon above – this is where the Rekkr shines. Don’t get me wrong, at low volumes both are great, but I feel that the Rekkr listened at very low volumes in the desktop environment might have some slight edge. Or perhaps allow me to rephrase this in a different way: as long as you don’t have your desktop speakers that are 85 dB in efficiency or below and you don’t need to crank the volume up, or if you have really efficient desktop speakers – it may well turn out that the Rekkr here will be the better choice, all things considered.