Schiit Mjolnir 1

MJ1 and PMx2 have really great synergy! I highly recommend the MJ1 over the Jot 2. The Ragnarock 1 and PMx2 are a bit of a better match, but really you are in for a treat!

You will have plenty of volume control, the extra power from the MJ1 gives great control and really wakes up the PMx2 driver. It has a tendency to be overly smooth when not given enough juice. The MJ1 has great dynamics and driver control.

 

I have heard all these things you speak of. I mostly agree with with @Ksorota. The PMx2 is slightly picky with amps. Not as bad as some planars or something like Utopia, but the PMx2 just needs some juice. The MJ1 is really grippy and a good match. Rag 1 just makes them slightly more open and airy. Jot 2 just sounds kind of smeary or just glosses over the complicated passages, whereas the MJ1 just rolls right over them and keeps going like those baja trucks out in the dessert.

Yes the Jot 2 has more convenient in and outs and whatnot, but as a sheer amp performer, I would take MJ1 almost any SS amp given the used prices these days.

 

New member of the Used Mjolnir Owners Club here. Managed to snag one in great condition from the bay.

People above me have written better and more detailed reviews than I ever could (with much better chains), so I will try to stick to a (brief-ish) summary of what I've noticed after several dozen hours and some of the New Toy Syndrome wearing off; comparing against amps still on my desk.

Chain: Roon + Qobuz -> Cambridge CXNv2 (balanced) -> Freya S (passive/balanced/volume control) -> Mjolnir (balanced/full volume) -> HD650.

For a hot minute I seriously thought I broke something rearranging the desk. Bass guitars and drums were so much more detailed (fast?) for music I've listened to a lot. I know where those beats are and all of a sudden there's "air" between them where there wasn't before, so the delineation threw my internal timing off. Startling at first, but after the brain burn-in I feel like it's the better presentation versus the slightly softer Jot 2 and the more boxy Asgard 3 (SE-only chain, of course).

Next thing I noticed -- outros. The last three to five seconds of a song some of my other combos crush out of existence are present and accounted for with Mjolnir. Other amps go quieter faster and get lost in the background. It was different enough I checked my playlist to make sure Qobuz hadn't swapped a different remaster of the track.

What surprised me the most though was the high treble, like cymbal crashes and climb-the-walls octave jumps. With something like Jot 2 I would instinctively "brace" for the piercing sound to land (or reach swiftly for the volume). With Asgard 3 I would often pick up sibilance in this range. It's not that these were painful or dangerously loud; just pointed; more tweak than wince. I don't want to say Mjolnir rolled off the very-high treble. Perhaps better to say the amp contained it. The very top is still there, but it doesn't get completely off the leash.

Others have said "forward" and "assertive", and I can definitely hear that, but I would go for "engaging" and "energizing". Sure, it's a good idea to get up and take a break, but I still found myself losing track of time just jamming along (which is what we're trying to accomplish here, no?). I've caught myself singing along with some tracks; which is something I usually keep contained to the two-channel system that can drown out my pathetic vocal imitations.

I don't want to appear like I'm trashing Jot 2 or Asgard 3. Jot 2 is still the Swiss army knife (Norse army knife?) of desktop amps, and does what it does well -- it's not leaving the desk anytime soon. I also continue to be a fan of Asgard 3, especially as a one-box value play with the DAC (makes for a great "travel amp").

Make no mistake though: If there's a blip in the master tape; or an instrument that was buried in the mix; or there's a meek background singer; or the recording mic picked up some static; or someone jumped a harmony by an sixteenth of a beat, Mjolnir is going to find it and put it out front and center, for good or ill. I understand its niche market, but even with its limitations (or maybe because of them) I'm finding it to be amazing even at a slightly inflation-adjusted used price point. I'm getting as many new balanced headphone cables as I can work into the stack.

Special hat-tip to Merrick for giving me a couple of setup pointers in PMs so I didn't muddy this thread with more nonsense than I already have here. Thank you again.

 

I purchased my MJ1 from @Vtory (who purchased it from @Ksorota and is therefore modified) some time ago on the advice of @Azimuth and @Merrick. Both were spot on.

I just have a few additional thoughts to add that may not have been previously mentioned. But first my chain is as follows (I'm a disc spinner):
Source: VSE Level 7 w/Uber clock Sony CD/SACD player, Amp: MJ1, HP: ETA GenG with standard tuning.

I also have a pair of LSA HP-2 Ultra HPs that were not a good match w/the MJ1 and will not be talked about further here. However, it's a great match with the GenG's and wakes them up.

There is a noticeable difference in presentation between running balanced and SE in. I much preferred balanced in as it was more incisive in its attacks with a BJC. After all, this was a big reason why I got the amp. Using SE in, the attacks were more subdued. Each input seemed fairly equally detail however. When running with the SE inputs, I tried 4 different cables b/t the CD/SACD player and amp. There was an easily discernable difference in tonal balance between the IC's, some with more or less low end, smoother highs, etc.

I also tried a couple of different balanced HP cables b/t amp and GenG's. I had a FAW Claire Mk2 and a BJC model. The FAW sounded a little "thick." I didn't want to spend megabucks on a cable so I gave the at that time the new BJC balanced HP cable a try. It was kind of thin at first but became fleshed out after around 100 hours of use. So much so that I sold the FAW cable.

Long story short, I like the MJ1 LOTS with the GenG's. Just needed a little TLC.

Edit: Music listened to with this pairing was classic and prog rock from the late '60s to about 1980.

 

I don't know if this is the correct place for this post or not. Mods, please move to the appropriate place if needed.

I want to give a most sincere and gracious thanks to the entire SBAF community for the kind responses to my previous MJ1 post. I have been quite intimidated re/posting any impressions here for various reasons.

I had a rather serious motorcycle accident back in 9/2005. I had a Grade III concussion (the worst) and a moderate TBI (traumatic brain injury and yes, I was wearing a helmet. I still have residual from this event, including no recall of the accident, word-finding problems, trouble putting my thought into words in a coherent manner, and increased forgetfulness. The above post took me a LONG time to put together and is/was still quite general. I just don't have the ability to be as eloquent with descriptions/impressions as many other members in the community, Your lack of criticism was very heart-warning to me. A big thank you to everyone.

This gives me more confidence to further express my thought on the LSA HP-2 HPs that is way overdue.

 

Hey there guys! Im actually in the market for one of these! Was going to grab one for $340, but bought some headphones instead that turned out to be a scam (still waiting for my money back) and it sold right before I decided I'd grab it D: So please let me know if any of you decide to let yours go, please! My HE-6SE is begging for more power. Thanks!

 

I've read through this thread a couple of times and it's a little odd in that there seems to be more discussion about what headphones don't synergize well with MJ1 than which ones actually do (Verite/Gen-G/PM-x were called out as good pairings).

Anyway, I jumped on a MJ1 I saw on Craigslist since it does seem to be well regarded and should pair nicely with my Gungnir Multibit A1. But for those who own an MJ1, what headphones do you find synergize well with it? LCD-2/X/4z? HE6SE? ZMF Verite/Atrium?

As for preferences, I have a Starlet->800S system, so I have airy already covered. Instead, I'm looking for something more fun and punchy for rock and electronica.

 

I’m a fan of the Focal Clear OG with MJ1. High energy across the range. When I have things to do and need my ass kicked into gear to do it, that’s my combo. Some folks find this way too harsh for their liking though.

Atrium was a mixed bag for me here. Power is good, bass is solid and controlled, but I had some frequency spikes right about the 8KHz area that I’m particularly sensitive to. I ended up having to switch to Auteur pads to tone down the treble, and that darkened up the whole kit in the process. I’ve since switched to a different amp for Atrium. The Mjolnir just wasn’t a good combo for me here.

HE-6SE I only had for a couple of weeks and sent back because of comfort issues. From what I remember though, the sound was fine. Getting power through those plastic bricks is always the challenge, but the amp won’t break a sweat. The thing can and will drive pretty much anything you can throw at it, with plenty of overhead to spare.

Any of your Sennheiser 300 ohm usual suspects should work well here too, of course.

 

I haven't heard them together, but when I did hear an old LCD-2 recently my first thought was that it would pair so well with the Mjolnir. I would love to hear more Audezes with it.

 

Our preferences and gear might overlap and align quite nicely. I have a Stratus for my Verite, HD 800 SDR, HD 600, and LCD-4 and, until this morning, when I’ll ship it to a Friend who just bought it, I’ve had a Mjolnir 1 for my LCD-2C (perfect for rock and electronica) and HD 600. I sold it only because I moved on to the Rag v 1.5.

The Verite sounds very good from the MJ1, although tube amps may make for better synergies - I should think the Verite would sound glorious from your Starlett. The LCD-4 is an ok but not ideaI pairing, and I really like the HD 600 from the MJ1 as it makes them really lively and fun and open sounding.

My favorite pairing has been the LCD-2C with the MJ1. Here are some abridged impressions I posted about their synergy a while ago: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...best-amps-for-orthos.11546/page-4#post-387354

 

I like the pairing of Mjolnir 1 with LCD-3 (just pre-fazor FWIW). These days I listen to that rig mostly for watching movies. I also liked how Mjolnir 1 paired with dynamated HD600s and HD650s, as Mj1 seemed to open them up and they sounded clearer than with other amps I had heard them with (e.g. a Bryston and Phonitor, without being prickly like I heard from a GSX).

 

Sorry for following up so late on this thread, but I've gotten so much info from SBAF over the years I thought I would try and contribute something productive.

So I did actually acquire a Mjolnir 1 and tried it with several headphones. Here were my brief impressions:

LCD2C: I can see why people have said that Audezes aren't a great pairing with this amp. There was some bit of high frequency energy that just made it sound a little tizzy to me. Perhaps people who aren't as sensitive to that (8kHz range... maybe?) would love it. And it was also super easy to address with EQ (I just used its headphone profile from Sonarworks) and then I thought it turned into a pretty decent pairing.

HD580: I thought this was a perfectly fine pairing, nothing stood out to me as either magical or unacceptable. The extra punch was nice, but it felt just a hair bright sometimes.

JAR650B: I just got these, and I initially plugged them into my DNA Starlett, and I wasn't blown away. They sounded drippingly beatiful in the mids but I still heard that HD650 congestion/veil/whatever. Then I switched to the MJ1 and was completely blown away. The JARs became powerfully dynamic and any trace of the "veil" had vanished. So this has become my favorite setup, surpassing my long-time Starlett->HD800S setup. But in a particularly ironic twist, I'm finding I love this combination so much that I'm considering selling my MJ1 and upgrading to MJ3 or something even better.

HD800S: I remember hearing that someone said they liked it with an HD800. So I plugged in my HD800S and I was a little surprised how much harder they hit. Not up to JAR650B levels except in the sub-bass region, but it was the very first thing I noticed. But in the end I still didn't care for the pairing just because I didn't think it played well in what sounded like the 6-8k range, perhaps. But I think most everyone would expect that, right?

Just one rando's impression, anyway.