Schiit Mjolnir 3 Impressions

Mjolnir thermal warmup data found here

 

What's this, a solid-state amp that requires planning ahead for listening sessions? I'm shocked

 

I haven’t heard any Schiit amps myself, but I have a pair of Monarchy SM-70 Pro amps that have a lot of kinship with the MJ3. The founder, CC Poon, recently retired, but they can be found used from time to time.

 

Given your comment about voltage and heat generation there, would it be prudent to invest in some sort of voltage regulation to (a) improve longevity and (b) possibly the sound?

 

The PSU regulates the operating voltage. The temp goes through stages to stabilize because various materials go through different thermal curves before settling at the given voltage. The materials in your oven do the same.

 

I feel it is always a good idea to use true-sine output UPS for audio components, to avoid damage from disturbances on the AC mains. Also a good idea to elevate heat producing components to allow air flow beneath. I use these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092PN2C3M

 

Thanks, do you have any recommendations on a true-sine ups? Do you feel they are better than pure sine?

 

I just want to reiterate that the mids to treble cohesiveness is something that really stood out to me with MJ3. And would you agree that some of the nits to pick for MJ3 are more a difference in "leaning in to the music" vs. "leaning back with the music"? I definitely find MJ3 to be more of a "lean back" experience, but not to the point where it's distracting especially for a SS amp, or even what I'd call "colored". And neither lean-in or lean-back are bad types of presentations, imho; its great for the kind of worrying about a "neutral" that can be beneficial when pairing with sympathetic gear.

 

What I recommend is avoiding the less expensive UPS with stepped sine approximations for outputs.



This is a diagram from Cyberpower that shows the difference.

I use a combination of
American Power Conversion SmartUPS (several)
Cyberpower (several)
throughout my lab in strategic locations.

 

Not sure if I know which terms are under discussion, but if leaning in or back means focus and control, MJ3 has more focus and control than Jot 2, which is a bit more than MJ2. Not not entirely sure I know if that's the same thing. If you mean the listener position, MJ3 sits farther back than say Jot 2 or MJ2, 3rd/4th row vs 1st row.

 

I took it as

• "Lean in"... you want to focus on the details and really pay attention.
• "Lean back"... kick back, relax and just let the music flow over you

but no idea of the original intent

 

Do the highs sound different with feedback? vs the SE XLR No feedback.

 

Wow - that is profoundly accurate. P.S. Barry is absolutely amazing. AMAZING. I still want more of Rony/Lily - PLEASE maybe a 2-part spin-off.

 

Jason said the second run will be final (over on h-f).

 

I wonder how many units that would be compared to the first?

 

Silver and 230V are also available on Schiit's site for 2nd run, Nov 1 ship

 

Why tho? Is it the parts availability or lack of interest? I highly doubt the latter.

I get why the folkbanger was limited, it was niche, expensive and used shit tons of tubes. But the Mjolnir?!

 

I understand why: it's big, heavy, hot and the "specs" look pretty bad to someone who isn't at least a little experienced. It's a niche product: you go to the site and see the Magnius, Jotunheim and Lyr and there's little reason to pay a lot more for something whose specs are so "inferior". It's not like most people know what class A is, or even ever heard one.

Regarding the MJ3, unsurprisingly Schiit doesn't recommend plugging an LCD-R into it.