Is there is anyone here who has gone from the M700’s to the Schiit Aegir or from the Aegir to the M700’s? I would be interested to know more about your impressions, your associated equipment, your music preferences, and your volume preferences.
The draw for me is largely sound quality. For my preferences, each amp has different secondary advantages. My typical listening level does not demand a lot of power.
Although I readily agree that there is no substitute for comparing both in my room with my system — and I may break down and do that — I would be interested to learn more from the experiences of others who have tried both.
I tried a Vidar (I know, not the Aegir) a couple years ago and thought it was . . . OK. Priced fairly for what it offers. Reminded me of the old Adcom 545-2, not in terms of sound, but in terms of value. Good, but hardly a giant killer.
Having tried M700s earlier this year I’d be surprised if the Aegir came close.
I had the same dilemma about a year ago. I owned a PS Audio S300 that I was not satisfied with so I was considering the Aegir and the M700’s. I have pretty efficient speakers so power wise I did not need the M700’s. I bought the Aegir and never looked back. I figured if I needed more power I could buy another Aegir and still spend $1000 less. I haven’t bought another one because I don’t need it. In my opinion the Aegir totally outclassed the S300. I know the S300 and M700 are voiced differently and use different ICE modules so definitely not apples to apples.
The biggest drawback for the Aegir is you need efficient speakers. That being said, I’ve never yet driven it close to the point of clipping with 95db efficient speakers. I guess maybe I’m not trying hard enough .
What preamp do you have and what kind of outputs does it have?
If your preamp has ONLY rca outputs and you will NOT be upgrading anything else for a long, long time, I would lean heavily toward Aegir.
If your preamp has balanced outputs or you will be upgrading your preamp in the near future (to something like the Schiit Freya +), the M700 monoblocks would provide a solid base that would allow you to use balanced interconnect and would also allow you to easily upgrade your speakers in the future.
If you are ok with purchasing a used amp, TMRaudio currently has a used NAD M22 amp for $1600.
I suspected it might be a stretch to find someone with direct experience changing from one of these amps to the other. There have been some interesting replies just the same, so thanks!
Here is a concise update. My next move was to buy-to-try a secondhand Aegir. Near term, it’s working well enough. TL;DR forum members may exit here. The rest is details.
My setup: Roon -> ultraRendu -> DSD -> Aegir -> 88 dB efficient two-way bookshelf speakers (PSB Synchrony One B) in a 12 x 17 room with my primary listening position about 10-11 feet from the speakers. My typical listening level is 55-65 dB.
My listening material is a mix of electric blues, retro-soul, smaller jazz ensembles, chamber music, folk-Americana-roots, and lesser amounts of classic rock.
To recap: smaller room, not listening to the 1812 Overture or electronica at concert levels. For the way I use the Aegir, I hear the Stereophile Class A rating more than Adcom. I can’t seem to come close to choking it or even making it sound bad.
It’s not future-proofing to be happy with this, but it’s still being happy.
If I eventually step outside the constraints that make this good, the selling prices of secondhand m700’s are likely to be the same or lower. My curiosity to hear the m700’s remains, but I will carry that until I have more of a reason to go further.
If someone else beats me to comparing both, I would still be interested to know more.
Guttenberg did a video this morning about running 2 Aegirs as balanced monoblocks and had good things to say about the results. You have to use the balanced input and it gives you 80wpc into 8ohms.
I haven’t been quick to reply, as my experience is a bit limited…
I had the stellar stack for about a week (long story that included the SGCD preamp, and a stellar phono pre that had issues), and after I returned the lot, I got a pair of Aegirs with the Freya+ preamp.
The M700’s seemed “cold” to me, but I will be the first to admit I didn’t have them long enough to break them in properly. The Aegirs were much more engaging. Detailed and revealing, but lush. Where I thought of the M700s as “austere.” (Don’t ask, I don’t really know what all that means. Just a feeling, right?)
Anyway, it was for a system in my office, and although I really liked the dynamics of the Schiit stuff, I just felt all the gear (preamp + two monoblocks) just seemed like overkill. (the Stellar stack’s four components were waaaaay overkill.)
I went back to my Audiolab 8000A integrated, which is a much better fit sonically and aesthetically in here.
So, if I had it to do over again, I don’t regret getting rid of the M700s, but I would like to have the Aegirs and Freya+ back. Don’t have a need for them, but I’d like to hear them again.
Yes, you do have to use the balanced input to run an Aegir as a monoblock. If you run just one in stereo – like @robert.flinn and I do – you can only use the unbalanced inputs. His experience and mine (with the unbalanced inputs) suggest it also sounds good that way.
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The rest is details.
I can’t seem to come close to choking it or even making it sound bad.