Schiit Jotunheim 2

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by PacoTaco, Dec 22, 2020.

  1. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Last edited: Apr 25, 2021
  2. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    The orange inner glow was such a nice touch. I mean, it does get toasty, so it fits.

    It's been what, around a month since I demoed the Jot 2 and I'm sitting here with my LP and SW51+, still sort of missing that Jot 2. It was really hard to get rid of. I really don't need it, but it's one of those amps that almost fits-in on any amp rack. If somebody ever asks me "What's the best amp for $500" I can actually answer them. I hate questions like that in this game, because as we all know, things tend not to be that simple. But with Jot 2, it really is just that simple.

    It's just alotta amp for that money. Or really, period. SE performance and all. I feel like even on a budget, it's not a bad "pay once now" option that'll drive pretty much any headphone well and sound damned good. You can still run the SE headphones and if it really bothers you, you can get those headphones running balanced as time goes by. By the end of it you've got something really nice. This is a really good amp to buy if you want to own a couple of different mid-end to luxury headphones but don't want to play around much with sources. And that's not even to say it can't be THE amp for the right setup either. For many I'm betting it already is. Good contender for "first and last amp" if we are to concede to that possibility at all.
     
  3. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    This was a killer stack since sold the modius. As far as missing it ? It will not be missed because it's not going anywhere. It made the LP redundant IMO. My ZDT Jr compliments it nicely though. I will stay in mid fi amp purgatory thank you. PXL_20210126_232831536.PORTRAIT.jpg
     
  4. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    The single ended out has made my A3 superfluous. They don't sound the same exactly, but they are similar. The Jot se is better to my ears in every way though, and I don't see the A3 getting much use going forward.
     
  5. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    No disagreements there! Sometimes it's nice to have the option for a more laid back sound. That's always been the rule with SE vs bal outs, hasn't it? It's never that either are guaranteed to be better, but rather implementation by implementation. Jot SE definitely makes some concessions with the sound, but in this case they're desirable ones for certain headphones.

    A con for some who would rather the amp always perform the same under all conditions, but personally I think there's some added versatility in that flavoring... just another 'mode' you have to run it in, like high and low gain operation.

    I guess you could say this is an enthusiast's amp in that it can do a lot for someone who is really invested in their headphones, that most users won't pick up on. Not to mention, it has a unique topology. It's just a cool amp, and an extremely practical one for the more discerning user.
     
  6. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I'm going to dissent and say the longer term I had it, the more I found the edginess of it difficult to deal with. In retrospect, I actually prefer the Lyr 3 and wish I hadn't sold it. I think Jot 2 has better overall technicalities, it's quite a mature amp in that regard, but every time I'd put it on I'd hear this edginess which at first sounded exciting but over time, both in each listening session and over multiple sessions, it became quite fatiguing.
     
  7. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    I also feel the edginess, but can't quite pinpoint what it is exactly. This edginess doesn't materialize with my Senns strangely.

    Which headphone did you feel this edginess in particular?
     
  8. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    You know? I can recall picking up on something like that, but in my time it wasn't enough to consider, it wasn't jumping out at me. Some days, I just didn't hear it. I didn't have time for dealbreakers like that to manifest, I think. But I don't find what you're saying too hard to believe. This amp is sort of an interesting mix of forward and laid back.

    I can also speak to @Jerry 's observation with senns. HD6xx + SE is pretty smooth and clean. I was actually a bit miffed by how easily it could probably replace my SW51+. It's really not the same thing, but the synergy it had was close in its depth.
     
  9. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I'll call your dissent with one of my own. I so far have heard nothing I would call edginess, even with Etymotics er4xrs, Sundara, Elex, which are what I have that might be considered prone to that characteristic. On either gain setting, SE or bal. A couple of caveats though. My main amp for the last 3.5 years was a Jot 1 (which I liked, but not as much as the Vali2 with the Elex). I also have 60 year old ears and significant hf hearing loss/damage. Yay, aging.
     
  10. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    Additional points to add context:
    - There is no edginess through SE out or XLR-out (low gain). It is baby-butt bubbly and smooth.
    - The edginess gets better after days of warming up
    - It could be my DAC that is causing this.
     
  11. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I find there's some upper mids lower treble energy at times. I find it helps with 650 and aeulous since they can be a little sleepy.
     
  12. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I’m going to vapidly agree that this amp is a strange mixed bag of goodness and something not quite right and at the same time not contribute anything meaningful because I’ve only had it for a day during which time I have been distracted by other audio wonders. :p
     
  13. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I think you'll like it was good with planers. Real good I thought. I've had mine since Christmas 2020 and I'm not fatigued by it ever or tired of it's sound at all. It's got more time than my other amps all year.
     
  14. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    No, I experienced this two. Day two was way different than day one.

    Day one was glare, day two and on was grain. Dynamics suffered as well on day one.

    As far as gain, low gain unbalaned is super superb. The least amount of congestion and most about of dynamics. As you go up in gain and also balanced, more grain and congestion.
     
  15. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    Now we're getting somewhere. High gain is definitely tighter and more aggressive. I believe I mostly ran low gain with my LCD2C's for that very reason, though I definitely did prefer the balanced, it really 'woke up' those sleepy planars. Which does remind me...

    I wanted to try the Jot 2 because I wanted a good balanced amp for planars. The LCD's aren't the only pairs of planars I have an eye on. When I tried it, it was kind of a "Really? REEEAAAALLLY?" moment for me... because it kinda nailed it, even though it was the first amp I tried. I was disappointed, thinking maybe I wouldn't have to go trying more amps, as that's good fun in itself. It just couldn't be that on top of those headphones. But it really made the LCD2C's open up. The only reason I took a Liquid Platinum is because I got it for less than a Jot 2. Otherwise, I really would recommend the Jot 2 as the better amp for planars.


    EDIT: Just FYI and FWIW, I left the Jot 2 on the entire week that I had it, and used it extensively right up until the day it went out. Just to give some context when I'm talking about grain and such.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2021
  16. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    On all of them. It was most notable on the RS2e for obvious reasons but even with my HD580 or the FDX1. It was more noticeable if I had switched to listening to the Jot after listening to the SW51+ for a couple of days.

    I had the Jot 2 continuously on since January and while I do believe the burn in on this amp is real, that edginess never went away even after months of it being on. It’s inherent in the sound. I heard it on low gain and high gain. I did always have it connected via XLR, maybe going single ended in would have smoothed it out. Maybe it was just not quite the right fit for me.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2021
  17. sheldaze

    sheldaze Friend

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    The strain or grain was more apparent to me during dynamic or busy passages. As the music calms, the low level details from the amplifier were abundantly clear. Lovely! But as the music became more aggressive, I heard... well, something.

    Agree that the "something" is a little hard to describe, and it is only obvious relative to the better amplifiers - SW51+ is the only inexpensive amplifier referenced. I used HD580 through BW2 or Starlett. For planar headphones, I used MHA150, thinking this could dethrone that beast. But the beast stayed composed.

    So yeah, it's there and takes a little away from the enjoyment during dynamic, complex musical phrases - but in my opinion it is minor, and only there with respect to the best of the relatively expensive gear. I think Jot2 stands up to the marketing slogan of a $2400 amplifier for only $400.
     
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  18. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    I had the same issue with the original Jot. The edginess with the HD650s eventually got to me over time.
     
  19. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    What’s funny is that I was more okay with the edginess on the first Jot. It was less subtle and more easily identifiable I guess. On the 2 it was like having and itch I couldn’t scratch.
     
  20. lithium

    lithium Almost "Made"

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    I didn't find the light very annoying, but i also don't always listen in the dark.
    Have others noticed that the silver/metal shade of the current production Bifrost 2 is different from the Jot 2?
    It bothered me when i bought it, doesn't anymore. The bifrost 2 is slightly more champagne if that makes sense.
     

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