Предусилители — Schiit Audio SAGA 2

Saga 2 is the USD 279 preamplifier from Schiit Audio, which the company describes as a passive-or-active, Class A, zero-feedback, fully discrete and differential design with remote control and a headphone output. Compared with the earlier Saga, Saga+ and Saga S, it adds balanced outputs and selectable gain, drops the tube option, moves to an external supply and carries the lowest price of any Saga so far.

Key specs that matter

Four RCA input pairs can be chosen with a front switch or the remote, and an XLR pair and an RCA pair are active together at the output. Input impedance is 10 kohm in every mode. Gain is 1x or 2x on the low setting and 4x or 8x on the high setting, single-ended and balanced respectively, with 75 ohm output impedance and maximum output above 10 V RMS. THD and CCIR IMD stay under 0.001% at 2 V RMS, and SNR exceeds 124 dB A-weighted on low gain and 116 dB on high gain. Response is within 0.5 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with -3 dB points at 3 Hz and 200 kHz. In passive mode output impedance varies up to 4.8 kohm, while noise and distortion fall below the limits of an APx555 analyzer. The case measures 229 x 152 x 38 mm, weighs 1.4 kg and draws 15 W.

Engineering and use context

The Equipoise gain stage runs its outputs in single-ended, current-sourced Class A within a differential configuration on 75 V rails, with no feedback beyond emitter degeneration, and Schiit relates it to the discrete buffer found in Skoll and Freya+. Volume comes from a relay ladder of 0.5% thin-film resistors in 64 steps of 1 dB, so only a few resistors and relay contacts sit in the signal path. The relays click as the knob turns, and the output can drop out briefly when many of them switch at once. The headphone stage is a booster built around an OPA1656, rated at about 150 mW. Power arrives from a wall wart delivering 24 VAC and 6 VAC, and internal circuits derive +45 V, -28 V, 5 V and 3.3 V rails. The unit supports the Forkbeard app control system alongside the standard IR remote. Its chassis comes from California, its circuit boards from California or Nevada, and final assembly happens in Corpus Christi, with a 3-year warranty.

Pairing

Schiit explains that balanced outputs without balanced inputs make sense because its Gjallarhorn, Aegir 2 and Vidar 2 amps can take a balanced feed to run as higher-powered mono amps, while most affordable sources are single-ended anyway. Passive mode suits short cable runs and power amps with high input impedance, and the active stage handles longer runs and low-impedance inputs. Schiit suggests stacking it with Modius, Bifrost or another of its DACs to get a remote-controlled digital front end.

Alternatives

The Schiit Kara F, at USD 799, is a higher-priced preamp from the same range with balanced inputs added.