Alright, I have the final puzzle piece in place with regards to my home theater setup. I really feel like this setup is the best setup for me. I love the shit out of this. So I’m going to run through the list. Here we go.

So here’s the thing: The Apple TV unit really honestly ties it all together like nothing else. It does everything you want it to and then wraps it up in a rechargeable slick controller that’ll easily tie in with the Freya as a unit. The setup sounds excellent, and if you don’t give a shit about surround sound like I don’t, this setup is the best possible setup you can achieve. The only piece that I think I might want to swap out at any point is the piece I didn’t put in the list above.

This is the only component in the stack I might actually replace with a piece of Schiit. I don’t think the Topping is a bad unit, I think it does the job it’s assigned. I like the feature set it has. I like the interface, the design is thoughtful for a piece of Chi-Fi. I don’t think the performance is subpar in any way. I think it’s a decent performer. It does get pretty warm, but I also don’t think that’s indicative of the unit having flaws, either. The Vidar doesn’t get warm, but the only reason it doesn’t is because there’s a large volume of air between the huge transformers inside and the outer shell. Not to mention the series of fins it has to dissipate heat.

I dunno. The setup as it is, I love it. It sounds good. Granted, I understand the selection of Klipsch speakers may not be the best speakers I could’ve selected, they’re still decent enough. I think one of the things I really hate is how subjective the word “audiophile” is. You can’t look at objective tests because reviewers shit all over the objective testing. Their “golden ear” is apparently the bar set for everyone as far as listening quality.