Schiit Jotunheim 2

I've been listening to the Jotunheim 2 for the last several days. It's been all balanced I/O (with the exception of the RS2 because that's currently single ended only, getting that rectified currently), with the balanced signal from the Bifrost 2, being fed SPDIF via Pi2AES. I've been comparing it against the SW51+ and the Liquid Platinum (not modded) with Genalex Gold Lion tubes.

On its own, the Jotunheim 2 has a rich, pleasing sound from the balanced out. Bass articulation and slam are both excellent, and percussion is similarly strong. The mids have some heft that comes from those fine lows and the tone is almost the opposite of the first Jotunheim, warm and inviting. The sound can be addicting, with the SS positive traits accentuated but the flaws generally minimized. If this were my only amp, and I weren't comparing it to anything else, I'd probably be fine just listening to this and not worrying about what else is out there. On low gain it sounds terrific with the FDX1 and high gain works well for the higher ohm 580. I do wonder if the tone of this amp makes it less synergistic with the 650 than the Jot 1 was, but it's been a while since I've listened to a 650.

My favorable impressions slip when I compare it to the other two amps. Now, we're talking three different topologies, SS vs hybrid vs all tube. Additionally, the Jot 2 is $400 new, whereas the Liquid Platinum is $800 new (if you're dumb enough to not wait for a sale or buy a used unit), and while the SW51+ is less than the Jot, it's also a custom build coming out of Russia and is now infamous for how far above its price point it performs. So it's worth keeping that in mind when considering these comparisons. It's also worth considering that the Jot 2 is the most all purpose of all three amps. The Liquid Platinum has high gain with no gain switch, making it unsuitable for sensitive headphones and almost all IEMs, combined with a subpar volume pot. The SW51+, being a high ohm tube amp, is also best for high ohm dynamic drivers. So if it's a jack of all trades you need, there is no choice, get a Jot 2 (or Lyr 3) and love it.

Of the three amps, the Jot 2 excels at the low end. Bass reproduction is so taut and well articulated. This amp will dig deep and give you whatever is hiding out in the bottom end, no questions asked. It will have tactility and slam but without sacrificing articulation and texture. It really is exceptional at low end reproduction. Mids and up sound good, but there's far less air in the Jot than the SW or the LP, and the tight staging of the Jot combined with less air and the 2D layering makes it feel the most claustrophobic of the three. Additionally, the flatter layering and closer stage make it harder for me to delineate specific instruments in space and to focus on fine details in the mids and highs. If you want better layering, air, and separation from a Schiit amp, the Lyr 3 or Valhalla 2 will be better matches.

In terms of total musical engagement, for me it's SW->LP-->Jot 2. The SW is just so sharp yet musical, it sucks me in and doesn't let go. The Liquid Platinum is more tube-y sounding, despite being a hybrid, but I feel it offers a mostly honest reproduction of the sound, with just a hint of sweetness in the mids to add euphony. Both the SW and the LP are good enough amps that if I listen to them while doing something else, I often find myself stopping whatever else I'm doing to just listen. The Jot tends to fall away when I don't focus on it, more easily becomes background noise. That's a sign to me that it's not as engaging.

I do like the Jotunheim a lot. I love the way it reproduces bass, I love that it offers plenty of resolution and macrodynamics to die for. I love that I can plug any of my headphones into it and it's dead silent and sounds damn good. I just love the SW and LP more. I think the things they do better are more of what I care about, and the overall impact of what they do better results in more focused and enjoyable listening from me. IEMs on desktop amps aren't a big concern for me. If I'm tethered to my desk I'd rather have full size headphones anyway, so while the FDX1 sounds really stellar on the Jot 2, it's not enough of a use case to pull the Jot ahead for me in a comparison.

I think the Jot 2 is great if you have a very neutral or bright leaning chain and you want a component that will add some warmth without sacrificing technicalities. Also if your chain sounds thin it can add some needed fullness, weight, and oomph to it. If, like me, your chain runs a bit warm to start, I feel like the Jotunheim 2 nudges the overall sound too far in that direction.

Edit: Oh I will add that the volume pot on the Jot 2 is delicious, smooth but with just enough tension to feel rock solid.

 

Yea, synergy does have me wondering.. For example I have a HD 600 paired with an Asgard 3 and it sounds excellent, as the Asgard 3 is warm tilting. I tried a 650 and it was too veiled together. My friend has a Jot 1 and a HD 650 and the pairing is also excellent. In both cases they balance eachother out.

I'm just wondering if I'd be better off getting another neutral headphone like the Auteur instead of the Aoelus, if I'm planning to pair it with a Bifrost 2 and Jot2 or my Asgard 3.

 

I came to the exact same conclusion after comparing the Jot 2 with the Liquid Platinum. (BF2->LP/Jot2->Verite Closed/Aeolus/Hemp)

The Jot 2 is a good amp, but to my ears and for my tastes, it cannot compete with the Liquid Platinum. Like you said, it's probably not fair to compare both amps because of the price difference. The bass is probably slightly better with the Jot 2, but for everything else including the musical engagement, there's no comparison to my ears.

 

Maybe I've had LP to long ? 27 months almost ? I find it a good amp but boring compared to JoT 2.
I mainly listen to Aeolus and HD650 though. Something with Jot 2 mids and lows that really meshes well with my ears. I think it's quicker than the LP maybe that's it ? I don't find LP to be a league above whatsoever IMO. Not knocking it but I think some folks would think it's a lot closer and preferences could swing either way.

Both amps can be used with a ton of headphone I will say. Gain issues aside on LP. ( I just turn down the volume on my source)

 

Hey guys, looking for a little advice on this amp. I currently have a Lyr 2 (gold lions) and Asgard 2 and Mackie Studio monitors on my PC. I recently wanted to try balanced so I ordered a Modius. The original plan was to also get a magnius and replace the Asgard 2. Well that kind of went down the drain when I read about the performance of the single ended side of the Magnius. So I was going to keep the asgard in the loop as well for SE solid state. But then I saw the new Jotunheim and thought maybe I can replace the Asgard 2 with this for balanced and SE. So I am curious how the SE side of the Jotunheim 2 compares to the Magnius and Asgard 2
My headphones are as follows.
Audeze LCD 2( SE & Balanced)
Audeze EL 8 (Single Ended)
Beyerdynamic DT 880 pro (Single Ended)
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 pro (Single Ended)
Focal Elear (SE & Balanced)
Speakers
Mackie MR6 (Balanced)

So for this setup will the Jotunheim be better than the Magnius and Asgard whilst also allowing me to use balanced headphones? Or does it suffer single ended?

 

Jot 2 SE is good but the balanced output is better. Feels like it suffers less than the delta of bal v. SE outs on MJ2. I think though I'd approach this differently. Rather than asking for even performance between the XLR and 1/4 outs, instead I'd be looking at what headphones you're actually building the system around.

On your list, there's really only two SE "only" headphones. The EL-8 has cable options and an adapter to get you a 4-pin XLR. The Beyers are more problematic; both require invasive mods. So, basically, to me, the question is how much are you going to build a system around the Beyers? Unless the Beyers are your primaries that see a ton of use, I don't think I'd be worrying too much, as you'll get the best performance out of Modius > Jot 2 > LCD2/Elear/EL8/Mackies and the Beyers will still sound good out of Jot 2 SE.

 

I'm liking what I'm hearing about Jot 2 having nice reach and slam in the bass. I listen to lots of rock, metal and hip-hop. Though I'm kind of disappointent to hear SE doesn't sound as good as balanced. How bad is it? This would likely mean getting bal cables to all my main hp's sans Clear (which all have different terminations). This is not out of the question, though. I live in the EU, but Jot 2 from US wouldn't be too costly right now because of conversion rates.

I'm basically looking for a "slammy" and not compressed amp to replace my THX 887 at max 1k price point. My main headphones being Clear, LCD-2 and HD800 I'm probably looking at SS or hybrid amps. Don't want to talk about endgame, because it doesn't work - just something good to get me over the "upgrade-itis". My DAC is an ADI-2 DAC and I use its EQ all the time.

Soundstage is not that high on my priorities, good sub bass definitely is. As a nitpick, the 887 can sound kinda dry with the Clear especially. The treble doesn't have any nastiness to my ears. Oh, and the amp having a small footprint is a bonus.

Right now I'm looking into:

• Jot 2
• Liquid Platinum
• RebelAmp
• SPL Phonitors (lots of models, many with features I don't need)

What do you think? Any suggestions and help is very much appreciated - thanks in advance, folks!

 

In my experience the Jot has better slam than Liquid Platinum. I haven't heard the other amps you mention.

 

Jot sounds like a nice counter-point to the THX. But since you have Focal(s), I'd seriously see it as a middle stop on the way to getting a ECP Audio DSHA-3F. Dream combo. Still hoping ECP will make a slightly more affordable DSHA amp as he was hinting at. I'll save up for that in the meantime, lol.

 

That ECP looks real cool, but is way over what I'm willing to spend, new at least.

Damn, forgot about Flux amps, FA12 seems like an interesting model. Any feedback on those?

EDIT: Sorry, if this in the wrong place - the whole convo can be moved if people wish.

 

I haven’t heard the Rebel amp or Phonitors, but the Liquid Platinum isn’t a particularly slamming amp, certainly far less than the Jot 2.

 

I think you'd be happy with Jot 2. MJ2 has a load of slam but Jot 2 is very good, and the highs are more neutral, which I think is better for rock and fatiguing music, especially on HD800 which really hears that. I don't think there's anything super exceptional going on in the bass for Jot 2 on high ohm Senns, but if MJ2 is 10/10 for macrodynamics I'd say Jot 2 is 8/10

 

Ok even though this is solid state, how does it compare to the WA6SE? Assuming it’s the jot 2 balanced out vs wa6SE, and using hd650k/ 580mod dynamics ; aeon flow closed & he5xx for orthos

from the previous comparisons to the SW51+ it seems like the jot 2 is on par and even similar in tone to the SET tube amps? Looking at what was posted in the wa6SE thread I wonder where the jot sits in this

View attachment 23002

Also I’m assuming the tone is different enough that potentially I could just get both jot 2 and wa6SE eventually and be done for a long while? Or does it make more sense to only have one of the two?

I know it’s kinda apples to oranges, and the wa6SE is more expensive even with great used deals, but I’m curious to see if it makes more sense to pick up the jot2 instead of the wa6SE for my needs.

 

Some 80/20 impressions between Jot 2 and Valhalla 2 (stock tubes) fed at the same time by Bifrost 2 (Pangea XLR for Jot 2 and Pangea single-ended cables for Val 2) via USB. Also brief notes on headphone pairings and comparison to Stellaris. Mostly used HD6xx KISS mod and Auteur, briefly with Utopia and Grado HF-2. Volume matching by ear. All gear 100+ hours. Have been listening to Jot 2 for 2-3 weeks and Val 2 for 4-5 weeks.

Pictures or it didn't happen


Versus Valhalla 2
Overall they're more similar than dissimilar. All noted differences are smaller than the words imply.

What Jot 2 does better
- Wider, more 3D soundstage. Better layering and separation that manages complexity better. Val 2 is more 2D wall of sound. At the same time, Jot 2's soundstage feels a touch artificial sometimes. Very front row staging.
- Tighter and deeper bass. More extension up top
- Better microdetails, which creates intimacy by bringing me closer to the artist / instruments.
- Better attack and decay, particularly noticeable with natural percussion.
- Better clarity and blacker background.
- Much more fun with electronic music and large orchestral works.

What Val 2 does better
- Val 2 is more rolled up top and has a touch of tube sweetness that's very pleasing for a lot of my non-audiophile asian pop material.
- Timbre is more natural with voices and acoustic instruments. The Jot 2's midrange sometimes sounds like HDR overdone. I'm not explaining this well but a weird analogy is that the Jot 2 sometimes feels like the perfect deep-fake while the Val 2 is less perfect but more real. Apparent on solo/chamber violin music.
- Tubeness (and slower bass decay) sometimes creates illusion of more soundstage depth
- More intimate if you want to turn lack of soundstage width into a virtue...

Summary: Again, differences are smaller than not. Jot 2 is the technically more refined amp, has balanced in/out, but Val 2's slight tube sweetness is a plus in my book. Jot's biggest advantage is in soundstage, extension both ways, and clarity. But it also sounds a touch more artificial. Both perform well with high and low impedance headphones. Jot 2 pulled ahead the most with electronic, complex, fast, and orchestral music. If I had to choose, I'd probably keep the Jot 2.

Headphone pairings
HD6xx (high gain on both amps). These are my main headphones for this home setup.
- Despite weaker technicalities, Val 2 has good synergy with HD6xx building on the Sennheiser's strong midrange
- Tie

Auteur (high gain on both amps)
- Stronger technicalities of Jot 2 apparent.
- I don't love the Auteur as much as I love the HD650/Verite/Utopia. Maybe something in the lower treble. The Val 2 tames that a bit, but I wouldn't call it synergistic because of that.
- Slight preference for Jot 2.

Utopia (low gain on both amps)
- Didn't love it with either amp to be honest, so I didn't spend much time on this comparison. But I also mostly listen to the Utopia at work on the Stellaris, so ears are biased.
- Balanced on Jot 2 was a bit better than SE, better soundstage and tighter sound.

HF2 (low gain on both amps)
- Could hardly hear any differences between the two amps. Speaks to the limitations of the HF-2. Slight preference for Val 2 given tube sweetness which accentuates the HF2's only strength (midrange).

4-pin XRL vs. SE headphone out on Jot 2
I thought soundstage was improved using the 4-pin XLR out on both the Hd6xx and Utopia. SE cables were stock, XLR cables are Forza Noir Hybrid for both. Didn't spend too much time on this comparison though, could be placebo.


Versus Stellaris (both fed by Wavedream via balanced)
Mainly to highlight the areas where the Jot 2 is falling short of TOTL:
- Similar soundstage width (not the Stellaris strength), but less depth and worse layering & imaging, more wall of sound. Much more front-row staging (much larger difference than vs. Val 2) vs. Stellaris.
- Stellaris excels at the stuff that better gear is supposed to better at: microdynamics and microdetail, e.g. in how you tell the timbre of a drum snare, how clearly you can hear background chatter on recordings, the ebbs and flow in human voice, how well the music flows. Jot2 is more "look at me" vs. Stellaris being more "feel free to look, it's all here, but you can also listen to the music at the same time". With the Stellaris I more effortlessly discover new details for the first time even though you can also find them with the Jot 2 once you know where to look
- The Jot's 3D soundstage feels a bit artificial. I'm exaggerating but coupled with the slightly artificial midrange, it feels a bit like pushing the Dolby Surround button to add an artificial soundstage/chorus/holographic effect. Maybe it's because of the very 3D front-row staging, but it's more than that.
- Slight upper bass emphasis and less bass control on the bottom end. Less low end information.
- Feels faster. Stellaris feels more mellow even though the hit of a drum or cymbal is more immediate.

 

I'd recommend the Black Amp by Austin Audioworks. It's on a loaner tour right now and on it's way to the second person. I was the first. Traded blows with the Zana Deux S. Highly resolving. Current based with ample power. I liked it enough that I am buying one. Lists at $1500, so you may have to save up or let something go. I'll be letting the Jot 2 and some unused, unneeded headphones go and maybe more. I still think the Jot2 is terrific but he Black Amp just sounds clearly better.

 

For someone who plays games as much as listens to music, would Jot2 be also a recommendation? Or would SW51+ be better, or something else entirely? Primarily in terms of realism of soundscape. Let's say with HD650 for now but possibly HD800(s) in the future. I know this is kind of overkill for games but I had been surprised previously how some very good audiophile systems while good for music didn't sound realistic in games.

 

I won't be able to answer definitively about the SW51 since mine has not shipped yet, but I find the Jot 2 to be the best out of a WHAMMY, Vali 2, Asgard 3, and Bachelor with my HD800s. While the Bachelor might have provided a little more depth, there is something a little too sharp somewhere in the upper mids, lower treble that made it fatiguing for games. I only hit headshots which use higher pitched sounds, so it was tough I imagine the SW51 could potentially be a bit better for imaging depth, but from what I can tell, it's bass response might not be as robust as the Jot 2, so could lessen other things like impact of explosions, etc.

I have found sound processing to do more for games than dac/amp once you get a certain level of quantity. Playing with Dolby atmos for headphones or, for me Redscape has had far more impact. Redscape in particular almost overwhelmed me, but it did get me an accusation of cheating since I heard someone sneaking up on me several times that I normally would have missed.

 

This is getting a bit off-topic, but I bet HD800 would be awesome for VR.

 

@saint.panda

When I owned the Valhalla 2 I found it a little bright with all the tubes I used.
Have you noticed it and if yes how does it compare to Jot 2?

 

Stock tubes. Val 2 has a touch of steeliness in the lower/mid treble where Jot 2 is more refined. More of an issue with Auteur, which is hotter in that region than with HD6xx. Wouldn't say it's more or less bright. Val 2 definitely not a laid back, warm tube amp.