Schiit Wotan is a stereo power amplifier that offers a respectable amount of power and currently sits just right below the flagship Tyr monoblocs in the American company’s speaker amps line-up. In other words, and using the nomenclature from their own website, this is a “dual-mono, high power Nexus™ differential power amp”. Marketing jargon aside, what should be noted right from the beginning of this review is that Wotan is a dual-mono design which has two channels of amplification (or is a stereo power amplifier, if you will), and – again referring to what Schiit wrote about the Wotan – is “their most advanced amp they’ve ever build”.
At this precise moment I would like to switch our attention to somehow bigger picture and give some historical context of the whole Schiit operation, especially in the context of electronics designed for driving loudspeakers. And not only that, since all those things are actually interconnected in a very, very interesting way. As you may or may not know, one of the Company’s founders, Jason Stoddard (the other being Mike Moffat, previously from Theta Digital) was working on famous Sumo Andromeda amplifiers. These powerhouses were quite indeed the representative of the good old-school of making big, solid-state power amplifiers that were able to drive practically anything. Yet they also actually sounded quite good and not that solid-state in the pejorative sense at all as you might think.
The aforementioned Sumo Andomedas, together with even better-known things like the Krell KSA and Pass Labs Aleph series may be considered one of the very best of the breed, irrespective of the fact that they were produced many years ago. Those amplifiers were also somehow on a totally different pole than all those small single-ended valve amps. This is also because they were designed to drive speakers that the latter simply were unable to. I’m thinking Magnepan magnetostatics or Martin Logan electrostatics. All of these were big planar (emitting sound from a flat panel in a cardioid or, plainly speaking, eight-like fashion) speakers with the impedance dipping to around 1 Ohm in the high frequencies and also being a capacitive load too. Those parameters combined meant that they posed a significant feat to any amplifier driving them. And smaller solid-state gear had huge problems which translated to strained and sometimes thin and flat sound.
It should also be mentioned that there was a plethora of other interesting dynamic speaker designs in the times where the Andromedas and other Krells had their reign. I’m especially thinking of complex yet making really big sense designs like the Genesis, Infinity IRSes, Vandersteens or bigger Dunlavys. So, as you can now probably see in a wider scope, we also have a really deep historical context that while going way beyond the current Schiit operations, is still something really worth mentioning.
Especially in the light of the fact that the whole idea of seriously big, powerful stereo power amplifier like Wotan doesn’t come from nowhere. It is actually an interesting heritage from even more interesting times. I know that I will possibly stir lots of more or less audiophile cauldrons here, but I will also state one more thing. When you look from the perspective of what has been invented in the last half-century in audio, the times where the Andromeda were produced were really interesting ones.
Look at the wide application of the vaccum-deposited Beryllium in Yamaha and Pioneer speakers. Or at using V-FETs with great (and not-so-great in some cases) results. Or really interesting experiments with the circuit topologies. Not to mention some ground-breaking designs like when Arnie Nurdell made the Infinity System V. Or when total esoterica like Hill’s Plasmatronics that used a field of ionized gas (and also had helium tanks to make things even more interesting and complicated) mesmerized people at one certain audio exhibition.
Now, for some comparison and even more insight, fast forward to today. We have the Class D that is more and more prevalent. I don’t at the same time mean that’s bad. We also have some speaker companies that brag about using the technologies that were actually applied decades ago without even mentioning them in the marketing papers. Times change. And there are really interesting things going on today. Yet what I wanted to say in this longer introduction is that the Wotan has very interesting heritage and it’s actually more technical than of sentimental nature.
So, when Jason Stoddard mentioned “bring back big” slogan here and there, that may actually really mean something. Now for some information on Wotan. 200WPC at eight Ohms and 400WPC at four. Dual-mono, which means two amps, two power supplies (with two separate transformers). And some interesting things like switchable feedback. Differential Nexus and at the same time balanced topology (which is not the same thing). All for 1999 USD. Add something like 50 bucks for Forkbeard which it also supports. In current reality that’s not that much. Yet power’s not everything, so let start off with the design choices here.
Schiit Wotan – what’s under the hood?
If we compare Wotan to the previously reviewed and also very good Aegir 2, we can see that it’s more or less twice as big. This also means that it should be twice as heavy, which it is. So, let’s start off right from the more practical side of things: as it was stated in my favourite Batman movie, you need to “mind your surroundings”. That means the Wotan will need something really substantial to be placed on. In my case it as the Tewo Audio anti-vibration platform that was, in turn, placed on the floor.
Your mileage may actually vary here, but what I would like to mention is that you should also consider the space around this thing. While it doesn’t get too hot at normal listening levels (more on that later on), this is still not an amplifier that can be tucked away at some closed space. Moreover, there are fans. Yes, Wotan has two small fans. They only engage when the situation requires it, so they should be off most of the time, and thus inaudible. In my case, when using mostly relatively effective speakers in my 30 square meters room, I didn’t manage to get them spinning. When speaking about fans and head in general, we should also mention another important and interesting thing. It’s the fact that Wotan is rather generously biased in the Class A. But let me get to that later on, since for now, we need to get to the get back to basics, to the genesis of where did the Wotan came from. This is definitely something for Jason Stoddard, one of the Schiit’s founers who – as usual – is more than willing to explain that:
“The best sounding, and best-selling, amp in Sumo’s repertoire was always the Andromeda 2 or Andromeda 3. That was a hulking, 240 watt per channel differential amplifier that could drive pretty much anything. And, although we have a flexible amplifier in the line that can do 100W into 8 ohms stereo or 400W in mono, I always remembered this. And, since we had a better balanced differential topology than anything in the Sumo days, I figured it was only natural to give it a shot. So, in short: an amp that can laugh at pretty much any speaker load is always good. Why not give it a try? It turned out pretty well, I think!”
Now when we know what was the original idea behind it, we can take a closer look at what’s inside. You see, on paper Wotan looks powerful but somehow lacks all that flashy design solutions, like Continuity and Halo that you can find in the Aegir 2. Or Continuity S that you can find in Gjallarhorn 2 (the differences between them were explained by Jason in the review of Aegir 2 here). In other words, it has “no systems”, and that may actually be a misleading when it comes to the overall sonic result. Wotan has less tricks up its sleeve at first glance, but let Jason explain that, since something tells me that he’s got the point here:
“I guess at first glance it doesn’t seem like much–Wotan is, like Vidar and the out-of-production Ragnarok 2, just a “standard” output stage, no tricks, no fun. But there are a few factors that make the tricks less necessary:
- Wotan, despite running cool, actually has a decent amount of Class A bias to it. Not enough to brag about in terms of wattage, but enough to see that the meters rarely move in Forkbeard into any speaker load. Forkbeard reports if the amp is running in Class A, and Wotan is usually Class A, just because it’s so big and brutish.
- Wotan is also a differential amplifier, so any problems common between the positive and negative phase get canceled, gone. This leads to a different sound.
- Wotan’s also the only one of our amps where you can turn off overall feedback. This has a dramatic impact on the sound, at the cost of some numbers.
Then there’s that thing with Wotan being a differential amplifier. I mentioned earlier that it’s not the same as balanced. And, once again, Jason does a great job explaining it:
- Balanced: both the positive and negative speaker terminals are actively driving the load. There is no “common” or ground reference. This means any ground imperfections are taken out of the equation, resulting in different sound.
- Differential: the amplifier amplifies the difference between the positive and negative phases of the input signals. This means it carries balanced XLR inputs all the way through to the speaker, the way they should be; and also it automatically converts any single-ended (RCA) input signals to balanced, keeping the balanced advantages even with RCA inputs.
Being both balanced and differential also means that Wotan is not bridgeable:
Both positive and negative outputs are active, unlike a conventional amp. There wouldn’t be a problem bridging it, but it wouldn’t do anything for you. Output power would be the same, and the negative terminals would just sit there, not driving a load. Unless you connected them together. Then the amp would go into protection and shut off.”
In other words, you can actually say that Wotan is bridged by design. The flipside is that you get this amp “as is”, which means no bridging. Yet with the power available on tap, I can’t see anyone actually needing to do this. Even those big planar speakers would be really happy with the wattage that’s available. And when mentioning numbers, let’s take a closer look at the power supply that is in big part responsible for the weight of Wotan. We have two 600VA transformers and a total of 160000 uF of filtering capacitance. This means that Schiit took really no shortcuts here.
Such capacitance, together with the fact that this is a differential design means it’s also really quiet. Moreover, there are nine regulated rails in this amplifier and only the output stage rails are unregulated (which in this case is actually a good thing, making them regulated would indeed require a separate power supply unit that would be the size and weight of the actual thing). Now it’s time to mention something that probably most of those interested in this particular amplifier have already noticed. The switchable feedback. Again, Jason has more than a few words to say about it:
“The feedback switch eliminates the final loop around the output devices, leaving the voltage gain alone. Though that’s a bit misleading, since Nexus (our differential topology) is actually a current feedback design, so it’s more proper to say that the entire voltage gain section of the amp is now isolated from the output stage. This, of course, reduces damping factor and increases gain. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t heard many speakers where feedback improves the situation.”
This is something that has been introduced for the first time in a bigger speaker amp (Schiit headphone amplifiers have that possibility earlier, some of them, like Mjolnir, even had the possibility to switch between single-ended and push-pull). I would like to comment on the whole feedback thing more at this point, since this should be viewed with the bigger picture in mind. And especially considering the fact that most companies that use big amounts of feedback in their amplifiers brag about the damping factor.
The whole thing with the oh-so-very low output impedance and thus high or very high damping factor is somehow exaggerated. And also comes from the marketing point standpoint, where someone makes an assumption that the customer will have no idea about how the whole system works (I mean output stages of an amplifier and crossover and voice coil of the driver).
Well, usually in the crossover of practically (almost) any speaker you will have a low-pass coil with a certain inductance and resistance as well. And that resistance will be, believe me, magnitudes higher than the output impedance of most, if not all, amplifiers. See the bigger picture now? Let’s, for the sake of clarity, wider out aperture here when looking at this particular subject. Output transistors (in the case of solid-state amplifiers) are actually only one part where you will have resistance. Before (or after, depending how to look at it) you will have a power supply with capacitors that have their own ESR (series resistance).
Moreover, most of the amplifier will also have something that is called emitter degeneration resistors at their output (or, technically speaking, at emitter for BJTs and drain for FETs), which are nothing else than resistors directly coupled to the output transistors. They are used for reasons that I will leave for another story, but they are there.
So, summing up this part, the whole thing with the huge amount of feedback giving the low output impedance and high damping-factor is more of a marketing gimmick than a real-world advantage. This doesn’t mean that the feedback is bad per se, there are situations that it may not be detrimental for the actual audio signal, or even desirable (there are some very, very good subwoofers for example that use motion feedback with great results, Rhytmik Audio being obviously one of them).
And then there obviously that one last thing that I would like to mention here. This is something that will possibly be overlooked yet may be actually the most important factor here when it comes to the sonic prowess of this amplifier. You see, it’s quite big, quite hefty and while it’s not being marketed as a Class A amplifier at any rate, let me point out something.
But first, a side-story that will be a good example in this particular case. At that very precise moment, I have on my desk the smallest power amplifier that Schiit ever produced, Rekkr. It is used with Amphions Argons0 that while being very good on their own are not the efficiency kings. Yet the Rekkr have no problems driving them at normal listening levels in a nearfield situation. Now consider this: Wotan has actually many times more Class A power than Rekkr at its maximum. And you can check whether it goes outside of the Class A region by looking at the Forkbeard “VU Meters” in the app, since Wotan is obviously Forkbeard-enabled. We will get back to that later on, and now let’s get to it.
Schiit Wotan – the sound
Let me emphasize some things here first. And also provide you with a wider context here, since in this one particular case that would be really relevant. You see, during the last few years there was quite a number of – both integrated and power – amplifiers that I’ve reviewed at hifizone.pl. Some of those were on review loan, some came and go for other reasons. Many of them were good, some really good and there were also amps that I’d rather not comment on.
The thing here is that apart from those review units, there was quite a number of really various other stuff that was also listened to, sometimes for longer periods. It should also be noted that not everything that comes here is reviewed right off the bat. Yet still, most of the gear definitely gets its time and is listened to in a more controlled fashion. This also means something else – that the scope of things that I had the opportunity to listen to was over many years was, well, quite wide, to say the least.
There were tube amplifiers. They ranged from smaller and more purist single-ended directly-heated triode designs to really powerful push-pull ones that used bigger and robust beam tetrodes in their power stages. Obviously, there was also a plethora of solid-state designs. What I want to say is it really was a broad and interesting spectrum of various designs that ranged from Class A, Class AB, Class D and we even had things like those pretty exotic (yet actually very good) Class G amplifiers (which are actually a linear designs, but with two separate rails for the output stage).
So, what am I getting at? It is my firm belief that – as long as we don’t go into really, and I mean really exotic territory – the amplification can have even more influence on the sound that speakers in many cases. And is very often underestimated. I mean really, the differences can be truly dramatic and sometimes this “middle” component in the audio chain gets treated as something that has to be there, since obviously you can’t connect you DAC directly to speakers.
This is especially true when it comes to that one aspect, which is more important than many may think. It’s the ability to convey the timbre, or – as many would probably say – the soul of music. There’s also another actually interesting misconception that when comes to the ability to create a certain aura of the album, the tube will usually excel. I am mentioning this because Wotan, among many other interesting things and being described as the Schiit’s “most advanced amplifier to date” has two interesting design choices. One is their Nexus topology. And the other is obviously something that may be even more interesting for some. It’s the switchable feedback.
Okay my dear readers, here it comes: when you think that the second from the top of the Texan company power amplifiers’ ability to drive probably anything is it’s main forte, then think again. Jason wrote to me that “Nexus has unique sound” and let me address this first. And also relate to the previously reviewed Aegir 2 power amp, which is very good in its own way. First things first, Wotan is a really noticeable step up from Aegir 2, yet it also has different sonic flair than its smaller counterpart.
The ability to drive anything and the serious power on tap shows off in a different way than many might actually think. Because the first trait that became obvious is that it’s actually not that brutish-sounding amp at all. Nor is it cold-sounding in any way. Wotan is actually on a different end of the spectrum of many solid-state power amplifiers. It’s rather something that goes more into the finesse and refined-style territory that one might initially thing, providing liquidity and quite striking (especially with the feedback off) ability to amplify the signal without making everything sounding like it was processed by many stages of amplification.
Maybe I shall put this that way: every amplifier has it’s imprint of the sound. And Wotan here is quite discreet, you can feel that this amplifier has that illusive “something” that makes you just want to listen more and more. When Aegir 2 could sound strident at some points and while it went towards providing resolution, Wotan does it in a different way. Because the resolution and the resolving power is there, yet it’s not something that will get your attention right away. Because the first thing that you will notice is, well, musicality. Or, putting it in different words: the liquidity of presentation.
Please let me provide something of a side-not here that will address all those amplifiers that I reviewed previously in the last few years. Apart from all those Class D designs, there was one particular design choice that almost always directly translated to serious sonic prowess of a certain amplifier. It was the low-feedback design or the lack of feedback altogether. Indeed, if I were to point out that one thing in the specification of any amplifier, be it an integrated or a power one, that would be it. Lack of feedback, or something done differently in this aspect that made the whole thing actually sing. Sure, there were exceptions to that rule, but this doesn’t change the rule itself.
Getting back to the Wotan’s sound, it’s really quite the opposite of some of those big and sometimes cold-sounding amplifiers. It more reminded me of the very best of the old good Treshold-style amps that while having their unique flair made the whole music just palpable and impossible to resist at the same time. I started my listening sessions in the evening, mostly because of the enormous heatwaves we had here in Poland. And interestingly, I immediately noticed something that was quite surprising. Wotan sounds really good when asked to play at lower volumes. This is something interesting, because many of those big amps (and especially many of the Class D designs) tend to play better when loud.
Not the case here, because Wotan played the Organic Dreamer’s “Sedatin Sitar” track with both delicacy and also providing a really deep insight into the track even at lower volume levels. Yet what was almost instantly obvious was the timbre. Let me put this from more engineering point of view: you can hear that this amp doesn’t smear the small-level signals.
This directly translates to one very – and I mean very – important thing. It’s the micro-dynamics. It’s just there. While the Aegir 2 was trying to cheat the system by going into high-resolution side of things, there’s something irresistible about the sound of Wotan. And what’s important is the fact that being able to have that microdynamics also means that finesse when it comes to the timbre. The finesse that many amps are simply not capable of.
On Fleetwod Mac’s “Tango in the Night” album, Wotan provided a very palpable insight into the track, together with being transparent to peculiar timbre that this album is know for. Yet there was also that dynamic swing that sometimes you don’t realise it’s there unless you play this that on amplification that is dynamically capable. The more the volume, the closer the soundstage got, but there was no loss in resolution and no change in overall character. Wotan invites you to listen louder, but that’s more because of liquidity of presentation here than the fact that it’s better when playing loud.
Schiit Wotan – conclusion
This is actually the fourth power amplifier that I did review for Schiit Audio. The three former ones were (not chronologically, but rather looking at both power and price) Rekkr, Gjallarhorn and the Aegir 2. And obviously this is also, by far, the very best one. But that should be pretty obvious, especially bearing in mind the fact that it costs twice as much as the Aegir 2. Yet what should be really, and I mean really important for anyone considering this power amplifier would be this this: it actually sounds much more fluid and organic that you might think judging by the fact that this is a solid-state amplifier that is not marketed as a Class A gear.
While It’s not that tubey-sounding looking from a more stereotypic point of view, there’s indeed something interesting in the Schiit’s Nexus topology when it come to aspects like timbre and fluidity. Regarding the feedback, it definitely sounds much better with it turned off. This is actually the reverse situation as I experienced many years ago with the Chord’s M Scaler. The latter had a remote control with the ability to bypass the processing. And my firm belief still to this day is that you can use it only to make sure that it’s actually working. The same is with Wotan, but in a reverse way – you can switch on feedback only to realise that it’s actually better without it.
Okay, there may be some situations when the feedback version would be better, since it’s more dynamically stark with more pronounced and harder lower registers, but overall, the lower-feedback version is in this reviewer’s opinion just better. Wrapping this all up we need to consider other factors, one would be the price and the other practicality. Starting from the last one, it will drive anything and at normal power levels the fans were all the time off. So that box is checked. The other would be the price. I will allow myself to stir some more or less audiophile pots here by considering that for those 2K bucks what you get will be very often something that will be Class D or something that will be less powerful, worse sounding or both. The thing with Wotan is that it’s perfectly rounded and accomplished amplifier.
Sure, bit power on tap is one thing, but that I can tell you is that I actually view this aspect as the third, or maybe even fourth of the obvious virtues of this particular design. With the sound being the first one and practicality the second. The only crowd that would not be pleased with it would be all those that simply and consciously want those top single-ended amplifiers (and by that I don’t necessarily mean tubed-ones) and have the capability to accommodate them.
For all the rest, and especially those that just want to have a great sounding power amplifier that will drive anything at a still reasonable price – this is a very serious contender. Moreover, I will be perfectly honest with you: even since this may look somehow strange, I have no other choice than to give it an Editor’s Choice award. The leap between it and the (still very good on its own) Aegir 2 warrants it alone. Yes, the Aegir has also got the Award, but all the politics aside, thing is that Schiit has another winner on its hands here.
Adam Kiryszewski
Price: 1999 USD (direct from Schiit Audio website)
Manufacturer: Schiit Audio https://www.schiit.com/home