Schiit Jotunheim impressions

I know I'll get venom spewed on me for such sacrilege. But I just received the Jot loaner yesterday evening, and it makes my MDR-Z7 sound amazeballs!!!

My plan was to just listen with the HD650, but those were closer. The Jot makes the bass tighter and more coherent. Mid bass isn't bleeding into the subbass at all. The mids are slightly more forward, and this can be most noticed on female backup vocals. And the treble has a touch of sparkle, which I always found lacking.

The only downfall of this pairing is the fact that I can hear the need for mods. The resonance off the inner ear cups, which is the biggest Z7 flaw, is far more noticed in this pairing. So a modded Z7 is a must if this would the pairing of choice.

I'm only two albums in, and this Jot impresses. But I'm coming to the conclusion that my "ideal" is more on an energized "laid back" headphone. I know this amp and an HD800 would not be my cup of tea. That would head towards GSX-Mk2 territory...

 

Suit yourself. The best I will probably ever choose to do is say "There isn't anything I have tried so far that has not paired with improvement to the Jot." or some other general statement related to my enjoyment of comparing headphones and amps. Any more just become opinion.

Sure as shit I would not say "It would be a very poor decision to buy a Jot to drive HD800S" because that is nonsense. It's a great pairing that gives the speed and transparency of the Jot a real venue. If you are a detail junkie (as I am) than this is a point of arrival.

 

Well, the Jot did make my HD800x sound better yes...
It's just that it wasn't as much a boost as the other cans I tried..

The HD800 gains alot of sharp, and I mean sharp impact and speed .
Drum stick hits on metal can hit so sharp it can really truly hurt your ear at louder volumes.

Bass power is gained but so controlled and fast that you still want to turn music up, which makes those drum sticks hurt your ear again!
True ear bleed, in an impact way! lol.

Anyways , the HD800x seem hyper and sharp,
but the HD650 gains such balance and bass depth, while it loses its thickness with controll, clarity & impact instead.
Not extreme impact like the hd800 where it can actually hurt you like a thinner bass sounding HE6.


So My preference with the Jot is hands down the HE1000.
Perfect synergy with Jot.
Very similar signature benefits as gained with HD650.
Livens up whole signature with speed, control, solidity, clarity, bass depth and impact.

On other amps, the HE1000 sounds more delicate and softer in bass, & more laid back with most other amps..

 

Just curios, Which AKG did you pair with the Jot? I tried it with my K7xx and it sounded pretty good. Not necessarily any better than my Liquid Carbon with the K7xx but on par,whereas I thought the Jot was much better with my HD600 than the LC was.

 

I never heard or known a headphone that can scale up so much than the HD650.
From mud to sunshine.. lol
Maybe it's just an anomaly in the headphone world...

 

(Having hastily googled so I could remind myself which model it was.. I'm surprisingly bad at telling AKGs apart- I believe it was the K7xx, the Massdrop thingies in black, with red detailing..)

"Pair with the Jot" might be a little generous as a way to describe the few minutes spent with a borrowed pair- so obviously provide your own pinch of salt for my wonky impressions.

They seemed to do the usual AKG thing of "false detail" with a heightened treble that makes it sound like they have a lot going on, until you actually pay proper attention, whereupon they give themselves away as less resolving than the HD6xx. The fast, clear nature of the Jot is pretty unflattering in throwing a light on this. In addition, I thought cymbals and things were a bit tizzy for my taste. All in all, there's someone not quite cohesive about the FR too- I lack the vocabulary to explain properly.

They were SE, of course, given the hassle of running them balanced, which also might have put them at a disadvantage, too.

On the upside, there's a lot less temptation to waste money on sidegrades, as so far, nothing has sounded quite as good as what I already have. There's something nice about the way that the Jot takes the HD650 by the scruff of the neck- they're usually a bit of a stubborn and ornery to drive. I guess this is the infamous scaling of the HD6xx at work.

 

Lol no, you do quite well actually.

 

The Modi Multibit+Jot combo balanced to 400i has been something special to my ears.. I've got a 650/Cable coming as well to try something new, so I'll report on that too even though it's been extensively covered before.

 

Yeah, they're fast headphones on a fast amp, and not nearly as trebly as you'd expect- I'm totally with you on how oddly enjoyable that combo is. The only downside is it makes me want Playnarz that are a bit more detailed and flat, for even more of the same..

 

I think that one of my favorite qualities of the Jodie is the vaguely ozonic scent that it emits while under load. But then I have a penchant for weird odors...

 

HE-560?

 

May have to invest in a pair if I can find a good deal

 

Yeah, seriously considering that. I'm slightly bridling at the price, as I don't think they're actually worth twice the price of HE-400i, but since all the used ones that have come up have either had the old connector* or the seller refused to ship outside the US, I might have to look at new, le grumble.




* Which is annoying and tough on cables, and also wouldn't work with my nice FAW 2x2.5mm to XLR balanced cable.. Plus, it's quite possible that they made some tiny improvements with the second main revision, like they did with the HE400i.

 

I"m back! And I've been using Momby + Jot + HD650 mod for... 2 weeks?

My opinion is very, very similar to many others had said before, so it's gonna add more noise if I post the complete "review". A note though: I agree that Jot treble timbre is quite steely/metallic compared to tube amps. It's noticeable with rock songs, but personally it's not disturbing.

My advice: Have $1,000 budget? Momby+Jot+HD650+Dynamat and spend the rest for good CDs/vinyls/hi-res. Enjoy your life. The combo kept me away from SBAF for awhile (but hey, here I am!).

 

If I don't end up loving the 650 I will most likely sell 400i & 650 for the HE-560.

 

560 is quite different from 650. (Source: I haf a 560)
Is that what you want?

 

I've nearly hit the buy button a few times...I guess the only worry is I like my vocals lush and engaging I'm worried that the Jot is too lean and aggressive for me.

I'm looking for that perfect amp under 1k for the stock 650..arghhh decisions.

 

For the stock 650? I think you'll be OK with the Jot.. it certainly doesn't make Tori Amos screechy for me. I don't think you'll find it too harsh or thin, at all. Oh, and it's probably worth going balanced out, too- so get ready to re-terminate a cable or something.

(In the unlikely event that you don't enjoy it, resale wouldn't be hard at all, either..)

If you enjoy your stock HD650, I'd say "go for it". It's a surprisingly good pairing. People who want it a little leaner might want to mod the 650, but that doesn't sound like it applies to you.

 

My HD650s are stock (balanced cable). And I gotta say that while more accurate sounding, with more bass slam, its still an HD650 through and through.

I do bet the Nighthawks, which I thought were too "loose and lazy" even for my tastes, would also sound good on the Jot (speculation of course)

 

Jot with HD650 is not lush, but is engaging, aggressive (in a good way) and lean (dimensionally).
What you look for probably can't be had for 1000$ built and delivered. With the exception that you can tolerate loose sloppy bass the Laconic little thing is pretty special for vocals if you can snag one.