Schiit Audio Saga 2

Introduction to the Schiit Audio Saga 2 Review

Budget stereo preamplifiers seemed to me like a thing from the past. Currently, manufacturers in stereo Hi-Fi go for integrated designs, even up to price points a couple of times higher than circa $300. There are some Chinese companies that have some offerings, but they are very scarce. Even those known for packing incredible amounts of features, like Fosi Audio or SMSL, focus on integrated amps. Why is that? Well, I see two main reasons for that. First of all, integrated amplifiers seem to be the best solution for 95% of consumers. It’s a steady market and a safe choice, even with stiff competition you’ll find there.

Another thing, pertaining to this budget especially, is the cost optimisation. Trust me when I say it as an experienced DIYer: enclosures are expensive as Schiit. And when we are talking about devices under the $300 mark, they are a big part of that price, even considering bulk ordering like Schiit, SMSL, Fosi and others do. So, splitting one device into two is seen as a huge additional cost for a fraction of the market that will actually be interested in that product. In that case, the question is, why even bother?

Well, besides reviewers like myself who own stacks and stacks of different devices and can make use of a preamp. My first thought goes to owners of active speakers. A preamp can integrate all of your sources and feed them with what you currently need. A DAC with a volume control usually lacks analogue inputs, which excludes sources like turntables or radio receivers. On the other side of said preamp, we can see a huge amount of class D power amplifiers. I know a lot of people who blend stereo and headphone systems with the use of separate components, often of various price points, manufacturers and technologies. The most extreme example might be my good friend who runs class D amplifiers from Fosi Audio using his high-end tube headphone amplifier. So a stereo preamplifier under $300 (and probably under $1000, too) is a niche product, but the market exists. 

That brings us to today’s star: Schiit’s Saga 2. It’s one of their newest releases and one of the first to receive their smart integration called Forkbeard. More on that in a separate paragraph. So, how does it fit into their lineup? You can argue that Midgard, their amazing headphone amplifier, would make an excellent preamp as well. That’s a fair point, and I even mentioned it in my review of it. Well, first of all… Specialisation. Midgard lacks the most important feature of any preamplifier on planet Earth. A remote. I see that smirk. It’s a serious matter! We’re lazy creatures.

You sit down, you get into the zone: music plays, your life is better. And you play the next album, which is slightly louder. Now, you need to get up and walk there. Change the volume, go back. The volume around the preamp is different from what it is on your couch. So, you might need to go and fine-tune it. I had a high-end switched volume control once. It was a chore in daily use. Sounded great, but still sold it. The other thing is, of course, the amount of inputs available. So a practical, remotely controlled preamp can steal my heart!

Packaging

It’s my third review of a Schiit Audio product from a similar price point. It’s simple. It is a foam insert in a box. It worked for the third time. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Design, Build Quality

The design of Schiit Audio devices is simple and industrial. The powder-coated steel frame is black, which is the only option. Remember the whole essay about enclosures and their cost? Silver finished is way more expensive, and we’re counting cents here. The volume knob and control buttons are silver, though, which work together with white LEDs for inputs and gain settings.

The device is narrow, slightly wider than half of the industry standard width of 440mm. The fit of components is good – nothing wrong with it, yet nothing exemplary. You can see the focus went on price and the inside of the device. Used are quality components, both connectors and electronics. As usual, you won’t find Schiit skimping on that.

Tech

Boy oh boy, we have a lot to talk about. As is standard with these guys. First of all, I want to highlight and commend (again) Schiit Audio for doing things the hard way. Volume control, arguably the most important component of a preamp, is based on a relay attenuator. The knob on the front is connected to a motorised Alps potentiometer, which indirectly controls the volume. The control logic reads its position and drives the relays accordingly. It gives you the physical feel and precision of a potentiometer, without ageing, channel matching, and impedance limitations.

Please note that due to constraints and cost, the volume control doesn’t go to minus infinity. It features 64 1dB steps. Even when you turn it down, you’ll hear sound leaking depending on the overall gain of your system and your speaker’s sensitivity.. That’s when the gain switch comes to the rescue. Together, they give you comfortable volume control over a wide range of sources and output devices. They also avoided a problem known from my Ragnarok: its remote has an extremely narrow angle in which the sensor sees it. The Saga 2 has it fixed, and it doesn’t have to sit exactly in front of your dominant hand. But wait, there’s more.

RCA inputs are selected using relays, not an integrated circuit like in many other products. It’s a plus; those are transparent to sound. What about XLR inputs? Well, we’re not getting any. It features a single-ended input only. Again, cost and space are issues. Is it a bad thing? At this price point and feature set, I think it’s a reasonable choice. Not a lot of accompanying devices will have XLR outputs (except some DACs, obviously). Then, the gain stage. As usual, fully discrete. Or, fully passive, if you wish…The lowest gain setting skips the active stage; it’s just a volume control with a selector.

The other two gain settings engage the active circuit and provide actual gain. The outputs consist of an RCA and an XLR, a pair each. That makes perfect sense, as active monitors, even the most affordable ones, feature balanced inputs, either XLR or TRS. The single-ended output works wonderfully with most stereo equipment, including Schiit’s own Gjallarhorn. Saga 2’s compatibility is very good indeed. There is a headphone amplifier built in. It’s a rather simple follower utilising OPA1656, which can pump out up to 150mW, load not specified (assuming 32Ohms). 

Last, but not least, is Forkbeard. It’s a novelty feature from Schiit Audio: an integrated, wireless (BT) control system that integrates Schiit’s devices into one ecosystem controlled over a phone app. In the case of Saga 2, you can control volume, gain, and the input selector. So it directly matches your remote.

But wait, there’s more. When you add more and more devices, the feature set grows. PEQs, DAC controls are cool, but what about live headroom management between a preamp and a power amplifier? It will show you live performance, including power output and available headroom. Shame my Gjallarhorn is not Forkbeard ready, as it is an older unit.

The sound of the reviewed Schiit Audio Saga 2

Analogue sources: Pioneer PL-50LII with Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge, Wayne Colburn’s/DIYaudio.com Pearl 3 phono

Digital sources: Roon server, HiFiMan Serenade, Questyle M15

Preamplifiers: Schiit Audio Kara, Schiit Audio Midgard, Wayne Colburn’s/DIYaudio.com Whammy

Amplifiers: S.M.S.L AO200 mkII, Fosi Audio ZA3, Schiit Audio Wotan

Speakers: Indiana Line Diva 3, KEF LS50 Meta, Fyne Audio 502, ATC SCM40

Eyyy, that’s pretty good! That was my first thought when I plugged it in for the first time. Initially, I paired it with KEF LS50 Meta and Schiit’s Gjallarhorn power amplifier. From the start, I was pleasantly surprised by how mature and refined the sound was. Overall, the sound signature reminds me of Gjallarhorn, which I reviewed some time ago. Tuning is flat, with no range being focused on. It’s neutral to the core. A standout features are detail, textures, and lack of colouration. And then we take a closer look…

Bass

It is clean and tight. The Saga 2 offers excellent control over this range. Tuning is on a leaner side, with emphasis being put on textures rather than rumble. When listening to Take What You Want by Post Malone and Ozzy Osbourne, I noticed how well this pre handled big, boomy bass notes. Zero bloat, nor losing tempo. The very rhythmic sound instantly made me tap my feet. On the other hand, I listened to some bass music, Abraham by Miles Mosley.

I think this is where the Saga 2 shone the most: it is an incredibly revealing pre for its price range. The mid and high parts of the bass are reproduced with utmost quality. Fast, layered with details. It was incredibly easy to pick up all the extra noises that happened when you’re playing a live instrument. Especially one so expressive as the bass. Circling back to the Post Malone and Ozzy, sometimes I felt like Saga 2 limited the amount of subbass rumble a bit; it doesn’t go as low as possible.

Midrange

Very similar to the previous paragraph, to be honest. Textures, details, and nice dynamics are the play. When listening to Lita Ford’s and Ozzy Osbourne’s Close My Eyes Forever I took notice how effortless their voices were. This pre is doing an excellent job at conveying the signal with minimal influence. Even sources from a much higher price point were able to shine, and their qualities weren’t masked by this Schiit. The midrange of the Saga 2 is absolutely stunning and is something I would expect from a much more expensive piece of kit.

Perhaps not transparent in an absolute sense, but I can’t find any faults here. The Saga 2 tells how it is. What about instruments? Same thing! Mark Knopfler’s guitar from Money for Nothing has an amazing edge and drive. It sounds full-bodied and sharp in the right sense. The Saga 2 is direct and doesn’t round off the edges.

Treble

It is perfectly neutral in sound. Neither bright nor warm, it strikes the middle just right. The Saga 2 has a good amount of detail here as well. A prime example struck me when I was listening to Chocolate Chip Trip by Tool, a very intense, multilayered song with tons of cymbals. The reviewed unit handled it very well; every strike was well articulated and separate from others.

I don’t think I can ask for more from a piece of kit at this price. Textures are conveyed with no issues as well. Take a listen to ” Hey Boy Hey Girl by The Chemical Brothers, it’s a track that features a lot of energy in the top range. Acid synth sounded crisp and fresh. The Saga 2 doesn’t add any harshness on its own, so even more aggressive tracks like this one are to be enjoyed fully.

Soundstaging

The Saga 2 presents a solid performance in terms of soundstaging. Staging is spherical, with decent sizing and precision. Listening to the opening of the famous “Jazz at the Pawnshop” by Arne Domnerus, a song called Limehouse Blues. I love the beginning, so see how truthful the soundstaging of a tested unit is. The recording engineer managed to capture a captivating image of a small, intimate setting.

The shape of the soundstage is spherical. It has a good size for its price. On the exact other side of the spectrum is Watcher in the Sky by Ghost. The chorus of the song is backed by a huge wall of sound; even during those intense moments, the Saga 2 didn’t lose control over the positioning of instruments. The compression I got was absolutely fine considering the price.  

Comparisons

Schiit Midgard

Well, what is your priority? Despite looking similar, they are as different as possible. The Saga 2 is clearly a preamp first feature-wise: starting with better volume control with wider gain control, remote control, and possible Forkbeard integration. The included headamp is a basic one, and it shows when compared to the much more advanced and powerful Midgard. Soundwise, Saga 2 has a warmer, fuller sound compared to the airy, holographic, and detailed presentation of Midgard. The choice comes down to the feature set first and sound signature second. Both are solid choices, but they are created for different users.

Schiit Kara

Kara is a very interesting product due to its very high voltage rails. It uses a +/-32V power supply for incredible headroom both for the preamp stage and for the headphone amp. It has way more inputs and more precise volume control, and is also relay-based. It is also over three times as expensive. Soundwise, Kara leaves both Saga 2 and Midgard in the dust. It is a superior preamplifier to both. Seemingly more open and airy than Midgard, while having even better tone and balance than Saga 2.

This thing brings sound to a whole different level. The headroom of the power supply gives it infinite dynamics and a very effortless sound. The Headphone amplifier of the Kara is a very interesting thing to consider. While it doesn’t drive a Susvara, it does incredible things with Sennheiser’s HD800S. I think it might be the best sound from those headphones, coming from Kara F + Yggdrasil More is Better. Good thing to keep in mind.

Schiit Audio Saga 2 Review – Summary

A very competent device that fills the void in the market. Once again, Schiit Audio surprises us with excellent value. It’s one of a few companies that can fight Chinese brands in the realm of affordable audio. The Saga 2 is a nicely featured preamp that uses a rugged and precise relay-based volume control. It has three gain settings, including passive mode for purists and those who don’t require additional gain.

Forkbeard integration is an additional feature many will find intriguing, although some of us have to wait until the Android release. The integrated headphone amplifier is a decent unit, but nothing to write home about. It is a preamp first and foremost. Sound signature is well balanced with a slight preference towards detail and textures, over mass and warmth. It is a very mature tuning that excels as a universal partner for any device on the market and any sound genre you might wish to listen to.

I wholeheartedly recommend you consider the Saga 2 as your new preamplifier; it will make many people happy.