Schiit Jotunheim impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Bill-P, Aug 30, 2016.

  1. Orkney

    Orkney Acquaintance

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    After a few false starts -- dealer sent wrong DAC-less version of Jot -- have finally unboxed and installed this and am using it to drive a McIntosh MC275LE/Harbeth system and a bunch of HPs. Early reports promising in both roles but will let it settle over the weekend.

    The DAC board compares favourably to the Mojo already, IMO.
     
  2. svperstar

    svperstar Acquaintance

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    Came here for this. I was considering buying the Jot with DAC but I already have the Asgard 2 and your post made me consider it might not be much of an upgrade.
     
  3. Pillars

    Pillars Embarrassment to Colorado crew

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    I went from A2 to Jot, also switched to Modi Multibit. The Jot/Modi Multibit was a sizable upgrade.
     
  4. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    For the second time I've gotten this weird loud 'pop' noise after using the Jot (w/built in dac) and turning it off. If I turn it on and try to use it again there will be no sound, foobar for instance won't even play any track, while elsewhere everything is just muted. Restarting the computer fixes this but I'm not sure why the popping is happening in the first place.
     
  5. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    Static electricity?
     
  6. Yeskey

    Yeskey Friend

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    Might be a driver issue with the dac, try reinstalling your schiit drivers and see if that fixes your issue.
     
  7. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    Not sure how that would be, it doesn't happen when I touch the unit, just randomly while I'm sitting there. Why it would affect things after the unit was turned off, and why does only restarting the whole computer fix this and not restarting the Jot? Also I haven't had this happen to any other device.
    I had trouble getting the win10 (1.01) drivers to work from the schiit site, so I let windows install what it recommended (cmedia...forget which version). After the first time the pop happened, I read up and installed the alternate win7 1.03 drivers from the schiit page since someone said this fixed the issue. The Jot works fine when it works, but the pop did happen again.
     
  8. SSL

    SSL Friend

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    Probably not the issue you're having, but I've had static discharge go from my ears, into my headphone, and turn my rear USB ports into a hot mess, requiring full system reboot.
     
  9. Airquotes

    Airquotes New

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    Question for yall'

    I've had the Jot + DAC for a few days now. I've been enjoying it but last night I plugged in my O2+ODAC to do some A/Bing and noticed something that kind of distressed me. First of all I was really surprised by how different they actually sounded. I figured they would be pretty similar but it's obvious which is which when playing back the same song. What concerns me more is what happens when I turn them both up.

    When they are both playing very loud the O2 sounds much much cleaner to me. The Jot has a ton of distortion and generally seems to totally fall apart. I've tried this with the HE-500s, DT770s, and DT880s at both gain settings. It just seems to get really crunchy. I'm really surprised by this since the Jot has so much more power then the O2. Could it maybe be a defective unit? It starts to get a bit distorted when it's loud but not crazy loud.

    Tonight I'm going to try running the ODAC into the Jot, and the Jot DAC section into the 02 to see if I can isolate anything. Does this sound like normal behavior for the Jotenheim? I really want to keep it since I like all the I/O options it has for running in a turntable and using monitors. Thanks guys.
     
  10. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    I believe the Jot mutes the headphone output for 20 seconds after it's turned on. Unless you still aren't getting sound after waiting 20 seconds?

    See the FAQ in the manual: http://schiit.com/public/upload/PDF/jotunheim_manual_1_0.pdf
     
  11. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    It is after a much longer time. I am aware of the standard wait time.
     
  12. Airquotes

    Airquotes New

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    Think I figured it out. Was getting a lot of buzz and hum when I turned the amp up to max on high and low gain. Tried plugging the amp directly into the wall on it's own outlet and no buzz now. Total silence. Sounds a lot better turned up as well. Glad I don't have a defective amp.
     
  13. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Newly arrived (well, about noon-ish PST) Jotunheim ...

    Roon -> Sonore SonicOrbiter SE -> USB-to-S/PDIF Bridge -> Modi MB -> Jotunheim -> HD-650 (Bal) ...

    SERIOUSLY impressive.

    I've never heard bass/sub-bass from the HD-650 like this ... veil is gone ... resolution is, frankly, surprising ...
     
  14. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    Just to update on my situation. I got the issue again after not having even turned it on all day. The only thing that seems to be consistent is the time it happens, about 7-8 hrs after the computer has been on. Starting to wonder if it's a usb related thing.
     
  15. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    Maybe try a powered USB hub?

    Did you say you have an ODAC? How's that into the Jot?
     
  16. bxh

    bxh Friend

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    I think I may have to order a Mobi to tide me over until a used Gungnir Multibit deal pops up! All this talk is so tempting!
     
  17. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    I'll have to try it out for a bit, I never got this problem when I was using that unit. My suspicion is the Jot's DAC is too sensitive to whatever's going on with the USB port.
     
  18. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    I am still surprised that you hadn't heard the Jot until now, in your guise as fearless Tryer Of Things!

    Still, now you can hear what all the fuss was, with the Modi Multibit->Jot->650 combo. Shockingly good.
     
  19. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    I have standardized on Singxer SU-1 -> MoMB -> Jotunheim -> HD650 for all audio dialogue editing in both corporate and personal acoustic labs.
     
  20. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    The only thing that really held me back was my general aversion to ordering things that are on back-order. It's a little foible of mine - even though it'd be faster to just put an order in and have it ship as soon as it's available, I wind up waiting until the thing actually shows as in-stock (this is with almost everything, not just Schiit's stuff).

    But, now I have it, I'm pretty impressed - and it really does have excellent synergy with the HD-650.

    And it's going to make the comparison I was doing with another amp a lot more interesting (for me, at least) ... which, thanks to @schiit, I will get to do in a much less hurried fashion and without having to do it twice! That'll start in earnest tonight, but for today I just brought it into the office (where it'll ultimately live) to enjoy:

    Joti and Co.jpg
     

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