The American company Schiit Audio launched its first headphone amplifier, the 10-tube Folkvangr. The model was released in limited edition. The headphone amplifier is DC coupled, transformerless (OTL) and output capacitorless (OCL), and Folkvangr has also included an 8x impedance multiplier for increased versatility with low impedance headphones. At the same time, Folkvangr was released in a limited edition of 250 copies.
“Folkvangr is absolutely crazy,” admits Jason Stoddard, Schiit co-founder and head of analog development. “There’s no other way to put it. A 10 tube amp dissipates 100 watts at idle to produce a watt or so at best. But it answers a question that’s been bothering me for years – what tubes actually sound like – and, at least to me, it sounds pretty good.”
“We didn’t initially plan on making the amp as a limited edition,” Jason added, “But the tubes have become more expensive and much harder to come by. Therefore, in order to maintain the production of classic projects such as Valhalla 2, we have decided to limit the number of Folkvangrs.
Folkvangr uses a total of 10 tubes – two matched 6N1Ps for input and voltage gain, and eight matched 6N6Ps for output. Eight individual DC servos keep the output tubes at a low bias level, and an analog computer-style protection system monitors and turns off the output if any tube malfunction occurs. In standby mode, 10 lamps consume 7.2A of heating and 100mA of DC bias.
A switchable impedance multiplier is an electronic circuit that operates similarly to a transformer. The impedance multiplier makes the amplifier’s 32-ohm headphones feel like 256-ohm headphones, optimizing the load for the tubes. Folkvangr also features a larger 400VA transformer and discretely regulated high-voltage rails at +/-100V and +200V, coupled with over 10,000uF of filter capacitance – all in a tube amplifier. Like all Schiit products, Folkvangr is made in the USA, in California.
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