Schiit Jotunheim impressions

Yes, most people just buy a 6X0 (especially 650 since it's "veiled"), feed them with crappy entry level gears/even portable stuff, disappointed & then quit.

Another reason is because 6X0 are quite popular (not counting Bose Beats), so many people buy them as gifts to non-SBAF member* (and back to above).

*you know, thsoe who 1)think more expensive equals better, and 2)places where people are encouraged to spend on $$$$ stuffs.

Back to Jotun. We know that Jotun SE isn't much worse than balanced. How about power? Its SE output has roughly only 30% of balanced.

 

Does using a balanced HP cable on Jot make a difference if you are running it from a SE source (Modi Multibit)?

 

Supposedly, yes.

 

I think that the Pivot Point topology itself is what's attributing to most of the Joti sound. Marv and some others ran some headphones SE and have provided us with positive impressions. Though if you really want to squeeze out that last bit, going balanced will certainly help.

I'll just wait for the Magni sized SE Joti without the added expansion slot, I'm sure that will be a real winner.

 

So whether or not the source is balanced, this is true is what you're saying.

 

Although I only did comparisons between SE and balanced with my UERMs, I'm sure the same would apply using the hd650s. This is regardless of whether the source is SE or balanced.

 

Fraggler was making some very nice cables last year around this time. Not sure how busy he is these days. Much better than the budget offerings that I've seen.

 

I haven't heard any of Luis' offerings but one day I'll get around to it. Ether Flow hits many checkboxes for me.

 

Alright I got my first hour on Jot vs EC 2A3 time with hp-s. First of all: HD800X is awesome on it, most of the time.
Yes, there is a bit of edge on the Jot, but that is also there with HD650M (simply less in quantity because doh). The edge manifests as 'tzzzz' and sharpness in many recordings with hi-hats that annoys more with HD800X but there is also more to gain with HD800.
HD800 haters gonna hate, HD800 lovers, don't be afraid. I am not. Well, with some recordings, I am.
Has to be said that my dac is rather unoffensive and smooth, Yggdrasil sounds edgy next to it. Further, everything is relative to EC2A3 with EML Mesh tubes (so I'm super picky).

So far to my ears Jot is simply pretty transparent little thing (+ some tzzz). Lets you hear what your cans and upstream really are like.
- Really sharp and strong transients. Sharper than on EC, but a little unnatural. Makes your face explode with the facetweeter (in a good way).
- Macrodynamics are superb, only slightly below the EC.
- Micro stuff falls more behind but is still way-way better than on any SS amp I've heard. The sound trails are not as easy to track and soundscape contours aren't as clear.
- Soundstage is n o t flat. It's smaller than on the EC, less carved out, but nicely 3D. There is depth. Really blown away here by this, and it's ss.
- Bass is amazing. So clean, dynamic, and there are proper room cues to bass in hp-s. The latter I've only attributed to totl tube amps so far. Different than EC, cleaner but less in tonal gamut and microdynamics. You really wanna have HD800 here, the acoustic drums, ... wow.
- Tonal richness is not comparable to EC, but which amp is? Another totl tube, yes. Still, from memory better than other SS amps I've heard.

If anyone is still figuring whether to buy HDVA600, please stop now. This little box is much better. For 3x less.
I really like it with every hp I've tried so far.

*HD650 is SE, HD800 bal.
**Dac is SE.

 

I've recommended Venus Audio a couple of times. I have bought 3 cables from Venus Audio in the last year and have been very pleased with them.

I get the impression that it is a one man operation*, hence low overhead.

* Based on when Dale Bucholz was ill, earlier this year, Venus Audio's ebay store noted that it was not taking orders until he recovered.

 

What's the consensus on the more expensive/ exotic balanced HD650 cables (dragon cables, etc)? Worth exploring?

 

I didn't ask for sound quality, by power I mean volume. On Valhalla 2 (800mW to 300 ohm), volume pot is on 10-11 o'clock position. Jotun SE outputs 350mW.

 

Embarrass is not bad word for it. Though that's from memory, the HA-1 was rather disappointing, Jot is awesome.

Not heard Alpha Dogs but I like Slants better with Jot with most recordings than with my EC.

 

The eBay page said they had some in stock, so I ordered one. That and Jotunheim should get here around the same time as the 650. If I don't like this combo, I'm done. I will forever blame SBAF.

 

Yes. Go look for atomicbob's measurements, but it also makes a small subjective difference. In any case, it's super-easy to recable the HD650, so it's not high stakes. It's a small difference, but nice to have. That said, SE sounds great out of the Jot, so don't worry either way, you can't screw this up