Schiit Jotunheim impressions

I think they will be fine. I might skip the quarter mod. The Dynamat will be done for sure. Really just a matter of fine tuning, but as a whole HD650M or not, good synergy is good synergy.

Worth a shot. I think it would work. I mean HD800 modded from my vinyl source (which is not laid back sounding) would be absolutely NO problem. I can also imagine other sources such as the Metrum DACs as having better synergies too with Jotun / HD800.

 

short notes from last night:

Yggdrasil Balanced out into Jotun. HE1K balanced silver coated copper cable.
and uh- damn Jot is real rocking and revealing!
yes, still forward but with majority of sound being Left and Right, without as much out front and a tad less "back" imaging,
as Hands commented similarly IIRC.
but damn, some great rock n sock to Jotun for sure, and on low gain at 10-11oclock.

the balance across the spectrum is nice, cranking it up loud doesn't yield wacky results.

really no harshness in the treble, mids too forward or bass issues that could become fatiguing. (pairing dependent)
my worry was the forwardness would eventually lead to fatigue, but has not with HE1K or HE500 so far,
Jotun not so in your face that it feels shouty, cramped or stifling.
will it sound like tube amps, or laid back like Vali 2? nope.

some internal 4490 DAC vs Gungnir Multibit Balanced feeding Jotun notes:
well, the internal DAC does not bother in any large way, maybe I'm not hearing/caring about the bass bloom.
presentation is a bit smaller overall, but after a few minutes of listening the "oh my god it's not a Gungnir Multibit" feeling goes away,
unless full attention is returned to precise elements such as cymbals or bass-strings, etc.

during distracted listening or for secondary rigs, the internal 4490 DAC is not a "why not toss it in there" feature,
it's certainly a solid DAC for an all-in-one solution.
(duh, how's that for Captain Obvious? if it wasn't I'm sure schiit wouldn't have released the DAC as such.)

in all ways, including iPhone/iPad compatibility in a pinch,
Jotunheim obviously over delivers sonically compared to my first all-in-one-unit (long gone) HiFi-M8 many years ago. (minus the battery, portability aspects)

 

Wait, has no one reviewed the phono stage until Marv's post? It's pretty solid. I'm using it with my "budget" AT-LP1240 ($288 on sale at fry's doesn't feel that budget to me) with the internal preamp bypassed. It's a good little pre and perfect for a modest setup like mine. I like it better than the Mani but will have to fix the LPS for my TC sounds to compare the two of them.

I disagree with this. As much as I like the Magni 2, the GSX MKII is in a different league with regard to technicalities. Tonality, I'll let you argue if the Magni 2 is more pleasing to you but even the GS-1/upgraded single ended dynalo builds are a step up from the Magni 2.

 

The Magni 2U is a little be more resolving and lively compared to the straight Magni 2. From what I understand, the topology differences aren't even that different, but that's how things roll. Now what would be really interesting is if we took two Magni 2U boards, and put them into balanced configuration with a 4-gang pot in a nice aluminum billet chassis branded with Puissance Touche laser etched in cursive on an anodized gold front panel. I threatened Jason I would do this, but alas, the Jotunheim makes this endeavor unnecessary.

On GSX. Interesting that you mentioned GSX1. I heard GSX1 so long ago that I couldn't be sure, but yes, I could swear the strident etch of the GSX2 was not present on the GSX1. None of the DIY dyna-mids I've heard have that GSX2 etch either. One thing I noticed with the GSX2 was that it sounded different at different gain settings. The treble etch was at its greatest at high gain. The problem with the lowest gain setting is that the entire soundfield collapsed and the sound became flat and boring (but with still some etch present).

 

I didn't compare directly because my cats ate the big exposed caps on top of my TC sounds board, but from memory, I'd say the built in phonostage is comparable to a TC-750 with external LPS and good quality caps. Which means ditch the TC-750 and that huge honking Sola external PS. I surmise the Jotun built-in phonostage sounds better than Mani because it is built strictly for MM and may require one or two less stages and maybe a cap or two. The tricky thing about phonostages is that its difficult to build a one size fits all. The best phonostages will always be completely custom, knowing exactly what's feeding it, how much gain, and what it's feeding.

In any event, the Jotenheim loaner will be posted soon. This unit will have the built-in phonostage. I will include an HD650 terminated with a balanced 4-pin XLR with the Jotunheim because of their good synergy together.

It won't matter unless you see two XLRs from your TT.

 

L/L since I fed it from SUT <- MC cart.

 

ZOMG, my previous other cat (bless her heart) wrecked the exposed LPS for the TC sounds so I needed to rebuild, haha.

I know I have my personal issues with the GSX MKII, but in terms of resolution and this plankton BS, the MK2 is a better amp. I get that you dogmatically believe what you want to believe, but the MK2 with the dynalo+ modules is a better amp. I don't give a shit what you believe about the church of KG, it's got it's problems with etched treble but the amp is definitively better than the M2U when it comes to exposing information. You haven't spent much time with the MK2 if you believe otherwise.

 

Shush . You can hold beliefs about something you experienced.