Schiit Audio Skoll F
The Skoll F delivers quiet, precise vinyl playback with deep detail, clean transients and unusually flexible cartridge matching. Future Audiophile admired its full bass and revealing midrange, while Tracking Angle praised its quiet backgrounds, convincing timbre and balanced, fully discrete design. Remote-adjustable gain and loading make this a remarkably versatile phono stage.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
88/100
Cartridge Compatibility
96/100
Build Quality
89/100
Value for Money
96/100
Pros
Quiet, detailed and precise presentation reveals sustain, decay and low-level musical information.
Remote-controlled gain, resistive/capacitive loading and filter adjustments make cartridge setup easy from the listening seat.
Fully balanced connectivity and up to 70dB gain provide exceptional flexibility for MM, MC and low-output cartridges.
Strong value: reviewers found its feature set and musical performance unusually ambitious at $399.
Cons
Its clean, modern voicing can sound leaner through systems that already lack mid-bass warmth or deep-bass weight.
Tiny front-panel icons and LEDs are not especially intuitive, making the remote or manual important for setup.
One reviewer experienced DC issues when using the balanced input with XLR-terminated phono cables, although balanced output worked correctly.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 88/100
Reviewers find the Skoll F unusually clean, detailed and involving for its price, with quiet backgrounds helping it reveal sustain, decay and low-level information. Its presentation favors clarity, precision and a modern sense of control over added warmth; deep bass weight and ultimate stage scale are the principal trade-offs noted.
Transparency Noise Floor
90/100
Tracking Angle calls the Skoll “super quiet,” crediting its quiet backgrounds and transient clarity for an impressive retrieval of detail and decay. HiFi Turtle also found it much quieter than the Mani, while Howard Kneller describes it as quiet with ample gain, though noting its residual noise character leans more toward hiss than hum.
Tonal Balance Musicality
88/100
The sound is described as detailed, clean and modern rather than overtly warm or ethereal, but HiFi Turtle still heard a meaty, luscious midrange and no glare or harshness. Tracking Angle found timbres complex, involving and enjoyable, while Howard Kneller cautions that lean-sounding systems may pair better with a warmer alternative.
Dynamics
89/100
Reviewers praise the Skoll F's transient clarity, headroom and macro-dynamic punch, with Tracking Angle hearing rich, inviting sound that remained lively and forceful. Its handling of pops and clicks was also positively noted, although the largest kick-drum slam was less fully developed than with more ambitious equipment.
Soundstage Imaging
84/100
Tracking Angle heard a reasonably big soundstage, particularly with the EBI cartridge, and HiFi Turtle found imaging and panned details notably improved over the Mani. That reviewer also says the Skoll F is not the widest- or deepest-sounding option, so its spatial presentation is capable rather than expansive.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Cartridge Compatibility
96/100
Four gain settings from 40dB to 70dB, selectable resistance and capacitance loading, and both single-ended and balanced connections make the Skoll F exceptionally adaptable to MM and MC cartridges. Reviewers also highlight the remote-controlled setup, plus relay-switched inputs that can accommodate two arms or turntables; Tracking Angle specifically notes that its gain should cover even very low-output cartridges.
Build Quality
89/100
Tracking Angle describes the Skoll as a “wonder of miniaturization and efficient product design,” with fully discrete differential Class A, zero-feedback gain stages and passive RIAA equalization. Its low output impedance, relay switching and balanced architecture point to a thoughtfully executed electrical design, though the reviews offer little on long-term physical durability.
Value for Money
96/100
At $399, reviewers repeatedly regard the Skoll F as exceptional value. Future Audiophile says it made a remarkable difference to a vinyl collection at this price, while Tracking Angle says its performance is so impressive that listeners would not guess it came from a $399 phono preamp; Howard Kneller also notes features absent from competing models at the same price.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
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Specifications
- Gain
- 40dB 50dB 60dB 70dB
- THD
- <0.006%, ref 4V RMS balanced, 2V RMS SE <0.02%, ref 4V RMS balanced, 2V RMS SE <0.03%, ref 4V RMS balanced, 2V RMS SE <0.06%, ref 4V RMS balanced, 2V RMS SE
- SNR
- >102dB, A-weighted, ref 4V RMS balanced, 2V RMS SE >90dB, A-weighted, ref 4V RMS,2V RMS SE >85dB, A-weighted, ref 4V RMS balanced, 2V RMS SE >70dB, A-weighted, ref 4V RMS
- Crosstalk
- -100dB, 20-20kHz -98dB, 20-20kHz -95dB, 20-20kHz -84dB, 20-20kHz
- Sensitivity
- 2.85mV for 300mV output at 1kHz 0.78mV for 300mV output at 1kHz 0.34mV for 300mV output at 1kHz 0.09mV for 300mV output at 1kHz
- Maximum Output
- 20V RMS balanced, 10V RMS SE
- Overload Margin
- >20dB
- RIAA Accuracy
- +/- 0.15dB, 20-20kHz
- Low Frequency Filter
- switchable 2 pole at 15 Hz, fully passive, for balanced XLR outputs
- Output Impedance
- 10 ohms
- Input Loading
- 10, 50, 100, 150, and 47k ohms resistive, and 50, 100, 150, or 200pF capacitive, switched via remote or front-panel button
- Topology
- Equipoise™ balanced, differential, fully discrete zero feedback gain stages, passive RIAA, 0.1% thin-film resistors, and 1-2% film capacitors, switchable passive CR LF filter, microprocessor oversight and relay switching, IR remote control, Forkbeard module optional
- Power Supply
- "wall wart" style 24/6VAC transformer, dual-filtered, regulated +45V/-19V rails, plus 5V/3.3V supply for microprocessor and relays
- Power Consumption
- 7W
- Size
- 9 x 6 x 1.5”
- Weight
- 2 lb
Manufacturer's Description — Schiit Audio
Skoll F is the highest performance, most flexible, least expensive balanced phono preamp available today. Put it in your system, sit down in your chair, and adjust everything with the included remote control, or get integrated, app-based control with Forkbeard™. You’ll give up nothing to the big-boy phono preamps out there—while keeping a much fatter wallet!
Over the Top Performance
Skoll F is insanely quiet and accurate—and it does this with uber-simple, fully discrete, differential Class A zero feedback gain stages and a fully passive RIAA network. Or, in English, there’s not an op-amp in sight. Skoll’s gain stage is compound JFET-BJT pair running on massive 64V rails for enhanced linearity and freedom from overload. The result is over 100dB signal to noise ratio for 40dB of gain, and up to 70dB of gain on tap.
Flexibility Without Penalty
Is your turntable single-ended or balanced? Don’t worry. There’s no performance penalty for either balanced or single-ended input or output. And with four gain levels, it’s ready for virtually any cartridge, from MM to MC to MI. Add relay-switched inputs for two turntables, plus relay-ladder loading for both R and C values, as well as a switchable passive LF filter, and Skoll delivers all the flexibility you need without penalty. We even went so far as to post-filter the relay power supplies and make the microprocessor turn off when not in use, in order to keep Skoll exceptionally noise- and interference-free.
Adjust Everything from Your Listening Chair
Here’s where it gets good. Skoll F includes an infrared remote control. Or, choose Forkbeard for total system, multi-stack control via your phone or tablet You can adjust literally everything from your favorite listening chair.
- Select input: choose balanced or SE input
- Change gain: choose 40, 50, 60, or 70dB
- Change resistive loading: Choose 47k, or 10, 50, 100, or 150 ohms
- Change capacitive loading: choose 50, 100, 150, or 200pF
- Select LF filter: choose no LF filter, or engage the 2-pole/15 Hz passive network
Designed and Built in the USA
By “designed and built in the USA" this is what we mean: the vast majority of the total production cost of Skoll F—chassis, boards, assembly, etc—goes to US companies manufacturing in the US. Our chassis are made in California. Our PCBs are made in California or Utah, and it all comes together in our Corpus Christi facility.
2-Year Warranty, 15-Day Easy Returns
Skoll F is covered by a 2-year limited warranty that covers parts and labor. And if you don’t like your Skoll, you can send it back for a refund, minus 15% restocking fee, within 15 days of receiving it.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Schiit Audio Skoll F
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Addicted to Audio — online and in-store — Epping, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Audio Magic - EU — online and in-store — Wola, Województwo mazowieckie, Poland (website)
- Class D Audio USA — online — United States (website)
- Golden Acoustics — in-store — Athina, Greece (website)
- Schiit Audio — online and in-store — Los Angeles, California, United States (website)
- The Analog Shop — in-store — Victor, New York, United States (website)