Schiit Amp Compendium - Guide to Schiit Amps (headamps)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by purr1n, Oct 22, 2016.

  1. Larry Megugorac

    Larry Megugorac Craps on Filipino accents to ease inner poverty

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    Jexby....Thanks for steering me in the right direction!!! I'm still learning this site. One thing I have learned....it seems to be full of Schiit heads! :p
     
  2. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    I think you're partially right. I also have both the Vali2 and Mjolnir2 with HD650 and HD800 (ModiMB and Yggdrasil)

    HD650 sounds beautiful on both but I really enjoy it with ModiMB and Vali2. It's just a very good sounding combo. The Vali2 is more prone to sound signature change following tube rolls compared to what you get from the same exercise with Mjolnir2.

    Now the HD800 will only work well with Mjolnir2 for me, with w396a tubes rolled in. Not with Vali2.

    If you're a HD650 owner the Vali2 might be the last amp you'd ever need.
     
  3. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I appreciate your thoughts. My opinion is that the Vali2 is the best budget solution until you start tube rolling. I started out with Vali 2 and ended up much more satisfied with Valhalla 2 for HD650KM.
     
  4. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    That's well put. My Vali2 tube round up points in that direction with very expensive tubes sounding great on Vali2 but hardly cost effective and not a "smart" way of spending money on the chain overall. However I do feel that there's great tubes for low cost that will result in a great setup with great synergy (Vali2/ModiMB and HD650.)

    Balanced spending is key :)
     
  5. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Jotun sold and moving back to Mjolnir2. sometimes ears just can't unhear what a good hybrid amp + great tubes can provide.
     
  6. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    "Redemption comes to those who wait, forgiveness is the key."
    Welcome back :)
     
  7. e.schell

    e.schell Friend

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    For those of you who have experienced both the Mjolnir2 and a Freya/Jot combo with hd650 being fed from either Yggdrasil or Gungnir Multibit, what comments and or advice would you give someone trying to decide between the two with price not being a determining factor?
     
  8. strangecargo

    strangecargo Acquaintance

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    I recently acquired a Jotunheim out of curiosity, having never owned any other Schiit gear. According to the chart, it's the "fastest" of the Schiit headphone amps. If I find the Jot a little slow/inarticulate for my tastes and I consider that an important feature of a solid state amp, should I just avoid their other SS amps?
     
  9. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    If your finding the Jot slow/inarticulate, I would first ask what your feeding it and what headphones your using.
     
  10. strangecargo

    strangecargo Acquaintance

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    I mostly notice the inarticulate nature with my Utopia or HD650. For sources, I've used a few DACs, most notably a PS Audio Nuwave DSD and Chord DAVE. I know some of this is overly nice gear to be using with a Jot, but like I said, I acquired the Jot out of curiosity for the Schiit brand.
     
  11. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    What other amps have you compared it with?
     
  12. strangecargo

    strangecargo Acquaintance

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    Well, @tomchr's HP-1 completely outclasses it, but the JDS EL amp separate also sounds more articulate and detailed to my ear, while also having much tighter/controlled low-end extension. I don't think the Jot sounds bad, but it seems to have a powerful, confidently flavored sort of sound that I would never call fast or articulate. I was actually so surprised to see it at the top of the speed category in the chart, I created an account so I could ask this question...:p
     
  13. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    I would avoid their amps, period. As friend of the forum GUTB pointed out, they are not true hi-fi.

    If you ever find a way to listen with the ears of someone else, let me know.
     
  14. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    The jot is a great many things but "slow" isn't one of them. While the HP1 did seem to do a couple things better, to me it's super hyperbolic to say that it "completely outclassed it." Especially considering the jot's value proposition. And I think this last point shouldn't be overlooked...it's possible you're not the target audience schiit had in mind with the jot, but I won't presume to know what's in their mind or what your experience or goals are. I will say that it's true when you hear a smoother or more refined soundIng amp than the jotunheim it's harder to unhear stuff and forget that smoother or more refined stuff exists. I'll also say that the mjolnir2 and raggy keep up with amps costing many many times more and sound many times better than many overpriced hunks of metal out there.

    All of that aside, whereas the hd650 is a good match with the jot all for around 6 hundo, I wouldn't want to listen to more than a couple minutes of the utopia with the jot. Not a good match unless you enjoy the kind of brightness that will make @Psalmanazar want to destroy it and then himself with an axe.
     
  15. strangecargo

    strangecargo Acquaintance

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    I didn't mean to start an argument with my question. I legitimately want to know if the Jotunheim is the most articulate of the SS Schiit amps. As for a match for the HD650, I don't think the Jot is ideal. It's a little loose in the lower registers and the HD650 transducers are capable of some decent bass and dynamics if the amp has good bass control. The EL Amp is a better (and cheaper) match, IMO. At least to me, it seems like the value proposition of the Jot is that for a reasonable price, you can have one decent-sounding amplifier that can power all but the most demanding of cans.

    I bought the Jot (and the JDS EL stack too) mostly because while high-end gear is great, I periodically get curious as to what's possible on a budget. In the case of the Jot, I'm also just curious about the Schiit brand in general because so many people talk about it. I agree that the Utopias don't sound great through the Jot, but I only have so many cans with balanced cables and they are also particularly revealing cans.
     
  16. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Well what I would say is that maybe you should try out some OTL tube amps since those are even slower and people still love them. If the fastest amp Schiit has to offer right now is slow to you, you might just be some who loves solid state's "edged" sound. Who knows, maybe you'll get converted to the tube camp , or maybe you'll love the GSX mk-II o_O. Only you know what kind of presentation you love.

    What's not great about it? Because if you think this duo is not articulate enough, I'd be surprised.
     
  17. landroni

    landroni Friend

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  18. strangecargo

    strangecargo Acquaintance

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    I'm not a die-hard SS adherent. My "main" speaker system at home is actually driven by an EL34 tube amp, though I also have another pair of speakers that I'm currently driving with DIY Class D mono blocks. If anything, I enjoy both for their own qualities. I used to have a strong preference for tubes, for the way that they could completely charge music in a way that could give you goosebumps. Eventually, though, I discovered that SS gear can achieve that same sort of engagement through pure transparency, rather than coloration. Like I said before, I don't think the Jot sounds bad; it's just not that fast or transparent, but it also doesn't sound like that's what it's going for. It seems like through this conversation, I'm learning that I won't find what I want out of Schiit's SS gear. I didn't want to start my Schiit exploration with their tube gear because I'm very wary of overly syrupy/sweet "tube sound". For example, I was a little horrified the first time I heard the Woo WA7. I prefer my tubes to sound relatively clean, but possess a little unidentifiable "something". In my experience, it's almost impossible to know which one of those you're going to get without hearing it in person. Maybe you guys can help me out with selecting a Schiit tube amp that I might like?

    Well, with the Utopia through the HP-1, I can hear tiny, tiny, *tiny* variances in a singer's voice and little wavers. I can hear the exact way a drummer hits a cymbal and the sound of the room as it rings, with enough distinction that I can count the echoes. When listening to synthesizer sounds, sometimes I believe I could program a synth to reproduce the waveform. It may sound fatiguing, but it manages to do it in an easy "this was here all along, didn't you notice?" sort of way. The JDS amp has a sound that's sort of in an adjacent, lower-rent neighborhood. They both make the HD650 transducers wake up and sing a little. The Jot sounds relatively smoothed out and has a bit of a "sound" to it in comparison, but like I said, I don't think it's going for the same thing as the other two. Other than that, the Jot + Utopia can sound a little elusive in the lower registers, which can make the combo somewhat lean sounding.
     
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2017
  19. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Is this in high gain? I've been using high gain more and more often lately. It's a pretty good way of "waking up" your headphones, as long as the volume pot doesn't go too close to off.
     
  20. strangecargo

    strangecargo Acquaintance

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    No, I don't really like the way high gain mode hardens transients and increases the noise floor.
     

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