It’s the question on how does it compare to no preamplifier, when the source is connected directly to the power amplifier. Please notice that your mileage may vary here and will also depend on how good the volume control in your source would be (and also on many other factors like the impedance pairing). For the sake of comparison, what I used was the analogue RCA output that was directly connected to the Aegir 2 power amplifier. In such a case the sound was more direct indeed, but that didn’t actually mean that it was much better or better in general.
Let me give you something of a comparison: many years ago, I reviewed Mytek DAC that had both the digital and the analogue volume control ability. When it was set to digital, the sound was in general more transparent, yet when attenuation was higher, I did prefer the sound of the analogue volume control. This is not as pronounced with the Gungnir 2 and Aegir 2 combination, which also means one very important thing. It will really depend on the quality of the volume control in the DAC or any other source of your choice.
The fact that the G2 offers digital volume control yet it also sports quite advanced version of it with dithering also means that in such a scenario the Saga 2 didn’t have pole position here. But still, there was no feeling that something was missing. And by saying that I mean that while the overall timbre was more warm and rounded, it was also very listenable at the same time. This means that the Saga 2 was holding it ground even when connected to much more expensive equipment.
Schiit Saga 2 – conclusion
If I had to sum it all up in one sentence, I would say this: Schiit Saga 2 should be listed as a benchmark preamplifier at this price range when it comes to musicality alone. What is even more interesting here is the fact that this level of sonic transparency and sheer enjoyability is very often unreachable even in much more expensive gear. Thing is, this one particular preamplifier, looking from the technical standpoint, simply proves one very important thing. It’s that you don’t need the fancy dressing, but just clever basic ideas behind audio equipment for it to work and sound really good. And Saga 2 basically proves that. Then there’s the price: I would say that it’s almost ridiculously affordable. So, if you don’t need balanced inputs yet want or need preamplifier that will be affordable yet great sounding then this is the one to get. Best Buy.
Adam Kiryszewski
Price: 279 USD
Manufacturer: Schiit https://schiit.com