Can't decide between the JDS Element III Mk.2 Boostd, or a Modius + Jotunheim 2 Stack, for HD800s.

simply neither, and you should stop convulsing (or at least stop overemphasizing using bold italics; it's a bad look) over self imposed limitations in choice.

Vali3 + MMB. BF2 OG if you care to stretch.

 

how is this thread still in the advice threads subforum and not been moved already?

There is a never a clear winner. Everyone hears differently.

@Quinton595 - you are looking for someone to validate a decision for you, which certainly no one can do. They are your ears, and you've already said that you probably won't be able to hear the difference anyway... so the only recommendation is to purchase whichever is least expensive for you to obtain.

If you are capable of hearing a difference, then purchase the one with the best return policy and decide if it floats your boat. If it doesn't, then return it and try the other one. The only way is by listening to your music yourself... not listening to YT videos, people on ASR, or people here. The best they can do is steer you in a direction and possibly eliminate junk from you list. Only by listening can you find what you want.

Or... you can just do what my wife does... turn on the tv, listen to music thru a soundbar or via bluetooth headphones from her phone. She is perfectly happy. Based on your posts, I suspect that you may be perfectly happy with that approach too.

Don't over-analyze... enjoy the music

 

For sure, I'm surprised this thread hasn't been to see our friend Dale Carnegie yet.

 

Lock this thread already.

 

There have been several votes for the Schiit stack, including suggestions for *other* Schiit. In contrast, there are zero votes for the JDS. Even taking all the other canoodling and lack of confirmation bias answers floating around, just from the votes alone the answer seems rather clear to me.

 

hello,

atomicbob has the BEST knowledge of system synergy of anyone on planet.

purchase his suggested setup and start listening to music.

if you don't like it, try something else when funding allows.

(if you are unable or unwilling to engage this forum with a simple introductory post, why did you? this is an extraordinary arrogant way to request advice. I have never had to do this. I find it odd and unnecessary. I have been online for umpteen years and this has never been required. I choose to ignore this protocol, as I don't think it should apply to me. you are a closed, elitist forum with no consideration for others. the hazing you have received has been much gentler to what i have seen in the past. this is, admittedly, a forum about headphones and all sorts of other stuff and: "Not your normal web-forum. Now 2000% more biased. Club for 10 year olds at heart." this is on the f*cking home page. the "I'm not being sarcastic." "I'm not being facetious." is pretty much some of the most obnoxious bullshit i have seen from a newbie. this community has attempted to advise you on amplification for your chosen headphones. and it hasn't worked. [paraphrase: " I am too burned out to consider anything but the two choices I have in my original post."])

please, just go home to ASR.

thank you.

 

@Quinton595 dude, just PICK ONE and buy it. Each of these products have a return policy - which they have for this very reason. You can read, and re-read, and watch YouTube reviews until you burn your retinas out. And yet, it won't make a bit of difference until you buy something, listen to it for a week or two, and decide whether it works for your use case and you like it or not. This really isn't hard, man. Taxes are hard. Kids are hard. This is easy, and you have a way out of either option.

Just make a freaking decision and go with it.

 

Lmfao this is amazing. I respect the custom meme-making hustle.

 

Thank you to everyone who stuck with this thread, I appreciate the help and opinions you've provided.

This will be my final post, as I know I must make a decision now.

 

@Quinton595 you're one lucky bastard. I don't know how you just managed to get a ton of good advice from a bunch of knowledgeable members, but you did. Count your lucky stars, my friend.

 

Honestly, now I want a vali 3 with a JAN5670 tube!

 

This thread must be proof that we are living in a simulation... either that or @Quinton595 is the luckiest bastard on Earth!

 

Frankly, I don't know whether this is an earnest offer, or if it's some kind of sarcastic joke at my expense that I'm not picking up on. I believe that it is earnest, though, and so I thank you, sincerely, for that offer. It is exceedingly kind of you to offer that, and it is.... surprising, to me, that you would make such an offer, after all this.... [Gesture's wildly to everything in this thread]. I appreciate your generosity.

I do not feel comfortable accepting free hardware, though, as despite my crippling financial situation, I hold as a core belief that I must earn that which I come to own. Especially since the only reason it's being offered is because I "put up" with you all? After I was the one who ignored the forum's rules and decorum in the first place??? I certainly haven't earned a free Jot.

--

I will no longer comment on audio equipment, so that this thread may come to an end in that regard. I have to just make a decision. However, because of this generous offer, I want to leave you all with a little bit of information about me; something I shared in private with a user here who reached out via DM's.

I'm going out on a limb here, and choosing to be a bit vulnerable, because I think it's important, for others who might one day stumble across this thread, in a similar situation to mine. I ask that you read it in its entirety, before responding.

Hopefully, this should help pull back the curtain, and offer at least partial explanation as to why I have been the way I have been, in this thread, and all the ones I've made on other forums.

Thank you to all who participated.

--

[Cut from a direct message to another user]

I am in a very weak position, financially, but not in the way most people think. My basics are all covered. Roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear, etc. That's all covered. It's not at any risk of disappearing.

Beyond those basics, though, I have no money. I made $1200 disposable income last year. That's it. I'm not missing a zero there, there's no typo. I made twelve hundred dollars last year. Over the last 6 years, I've made around 15K.

As you can imagine, people therefore think I'm nuts for spending ANY amount of money on audio equipment AT ALL, let alone $3000 for some HD800s and source gear, but that's because they focus on the income number alone, and forget the fact that all my basics are already covered. I agree that for most people, who have far more costs in their lives (Cars, children, spouses, houses, etc.), it makes NO sense to spend this kind of money on something as frivolous as audio, but for me, where my ONLY ongoing cost is gasoline, and all the rest are covered (at least for the next two years), the economics are different. That $1200 is my disposable income, not my life-supporting income.

Still, why put so much money into audio stuff? Surely I'm better off investing, or putting money towards retirement, right? Well, to put it frankly, music is close to the only thing I have left in this life. It is the only moment of solace I get anymore. That and sleep. In-b-4 "Wow you need therapy", yeah, I know, don't worry about that, I'm on the same page with you there. My life is... well I'm just trying to hold on, and find a reason to stick around, and music is one of the only things I have that at least puts all that on hold.

Ok but STILL, Why put so much money into it? Why not just grab an apple dongle and some Dollarama earbuds?
Well, because I, like many of you, was unlucky enough to be born with a love for high-quality sound. It's what makes the experience enjoyable to me. I don't listen to music for the words, I listen for the sounds. And since this experience is pretty much all I have to cling to in this life, I think it's okay to put some money towards it. It's worthwhile TO ME, even if it wouldn't be to you all, were you in the same financial situation.

I really CAN hear a difference between my $200 HD6XX's and my $1600 HD800s, and I really DIDN'T like the sound of anything cheaper that I tested -- trust me, I wish I did. It might not be justified to most people, in their much-happier mental states, with their much-healthier financial situations, but in mine, it is.

However, this staggeringly low income is why I stress and fret about every possible pro and con between pieces of gear. It took me 6 years to be able to save up this meagre amount of money, and finally make this purchase, but if I get it wrong, there is no upgrading in my future. There is no "selling it off" on the used market to put the money towards "something else". What is "only" a $100 loss to the members of this forum, is, to me, another entire year of needing to save to recuperate that loss. It's a massive defeat, both financially, and emotionally.

People talk about sending things back for return if I don't like my choice -- Do you have any idea how much shipping costs??? That's at least $75 CAD right there to send something back to Schiit. Realistically more like $100. Again, a massive setback.

I NEED to get this right. That's why I stress. That's why I do months of research, that's why I try to gather the opinions of dozens of people across multiple forums. And that's why, counter-intuitively, I'm leaning more towards the mid-tier options like the Jotunheim and Modius, than the cheaper options like a Vali and Modius.

I cannot stress this enough: It's not PURELY about the money, it's about the VALUE that I get in my life from the purchase. If the Jot ends up getting me more (like more power for a negative EQ preamp, or balanced outputs, or even just a nicer-looking size and form-factor), then it could be more worthwhile than a cheaper option. I worked my way down to the Jot and Element because of a combination of factors: Looks, Size, I.O., Sound, Build Quality, Price, etc. I found these to be lacking in some of the other options, like Magnis and Valis and other brands of products.

There's also the matter that because I've already spent a month trying to whittle my way down to two options, Jotunheim Vs Element, trying to now reconsider things I had already passed on, like Valis and Modis and others, is too mentally taxing. I'm willing to spend more just to be done with this decision-making process, because of the toll it's taking on me.

I know none of this makes sense to you all. I know my decision-making is probably erroneous, I know my logic is probably broken, I know I probably am just fucked in the head.... I know I probably AM better off putting the money towards literally anything else.... but being broke, nihilistic, and alone makes people do weird things.

 

@Quinton595 kudos to you for being vulnerable and open with a community of strangers. however socially awkward it may be, it reminds us that we are all humans and we don't know what other people are going through in life.

while your situation may be unusual, I think your analysis paralysis is more relatable than you think. this is a hobby that facilitates neurotic thought patterns and behaviours. many members here have been through similar, though with more disposable income, it still took similar tolls on their mental wellbeing.

I would just remind you of the paradox of choice, and that you will not know what you are missing regardless of what you end up purchasing. it is critical you come to peace with that and try your best to appreciate whatever it is you DO end up buying, for that satisfaction can only come from within YOU.

good luck!

 

Can't be socially awkward if you're just all-around awkward! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

Hi Quinton,

Thanks for sharing.

You cannot earn all that which you come to own. What action exactly, prior to birth, "earned" your life and existence on Earth? The question of whether it is possible to actually earn all that which you come to own is up for debate. But this is irrelevant.

Purrin's condition for you accepting the Jot 2 is that, "after you get sick of it and sell it, it would be nice for you to donate the proceeds to a good cause or back here". In other words, Quinton, you "earn" the Jot 2 by what you do afterwards. Even if you don't sell it, maybe you still donate disposable income to a good cause or back to SBAF. Even if you don't donate disposable income, maybe you dedicate time to SBAF or some good cause because time is also money.

So no, it's not free.

You say that "music is close to the only thing I have left in this life. It is the only moment of solace I get anymore."

Take it. Be happy. And earn it back many times over.

 

I'd take the Jot if I were you. Something truly freely offered is never something that demands recompense. I'm gonna vouch for Marv as not being the sort to make an offer like this in jest (I'm staring pointedly at my Schiit stack, just off to the side of my desk).

I skimmed your latest message and can only say that I think you're less dissimilar to many on here than this thread might have led you to believe. Music is something that helps very many people through dark and troubled times, or augments beautifully perfect days; you can attempt to approximate the value of art, but no amount of money will really be able to match what intrinsic value that has. I have lost count of the number of times I've been curled up in bed bawling my eyes out while listening to crappily made Japanese anime music or video game soundtracks or symphonic/death/speed metal or tender acoustic recordings in assorted attempts to regulate my mood and re-center myself over the last few years.

At the end of the day it IS all about music, but having gear that brings you closer to the music that matters to you, be it shitty pop music or Pristine Audiophile Recordings, is something that can definitely augment your quality of life (SO LONG AS YOU'RE NOT IMPINGING ON CRITICAL FUNDS FOR YOUR WELLBEING-- DO NOT GO INTO CREDIT CARD DEBT OVER THIS, IT IS NEVER WORTH IT). Trying to strike a meaningful balance between what's genuinely good (in your own opinion, per your own preferences) and what's readily affordable given your socioeconomic realities is what SBAF's all about.

Much as I'd like to offer some degree of solace, I'd be lying if I said that I felt you were likely to get this right the first time around-- that's really just part of all this. I'm familiar with that crippling paralysis borne of perfectionist tendencies, enough so that I've puked from stress over the same, and that's why I feel you ought take advantage of opportunities and offers presented here; it will allow you room to explore without diminishing from your funds.

Take care, dude.