Schiit Mjolnir 3 Impressions

Jot 2 falls apart when there are any complex passages. Or should say falls flat as a wall of sound shouting in your ear. It’s worse than compression because when things get complex, you don’t just lose dynamics, things get hazy really fast. I’ve seen similar comments on Asgard 3 and Both MJ3 and Aegir.

MJ3 have plenty of swing and dynamics, MJ3 is just a bit more polite about is and slightly softer without cutting sharpness.

 

As a counter-example, I don’t personally hear any roll-off up top or down low with my Elite. If anything, I’m getting more extension with the MJ3 than any of my previous amps. I’m also using push-pull and high gain with balanced connections though out.

It may just be an example of really good synergy with my Yggdrasil A2 though. Also in case it matters, my MJ3 has been used well over 100 hours at this point.

 

The more I read the impressions here it seems that Mjolnir 3 sounds very similar to AMB Labs Beta22. Tonality is neutral/warm, soundstage is more focused on width rather than depth and the amp seems to add extra smoothness to the sound, like it is smoothening effect to the edge of sound notes. I loved that amp very much but for some reason it didn't bring the best out of HE-6 or Susvara. Kevin Gilmore based CFA-3 seemed to do a better job, the improvement in bass response and separation were the first thing I noticed when I compared the two amps.

 

Maybe worth a separate thread, but can you talk a bit more about the CFA3?

 

Agree. Are we talking about the newly announced Gilmore CFA3 that's still on pre-order? Reading this is expected to clock in around $4000 when it becomes available, so if MJ3 compares near that, well that's pretty good.

 

CFA3 has been available as DIY for a long time now. Usually around 2.5~3k, depending on builder and box configuration.

Headamps version is due to release soon, for 4k. I really do not like the style with the heat sink on top

 

After a few more days with the amp powered on the entire time, I think the sound is opening up a bit? Maybe component burn in, maybe brain burn in. It can be so hard to tell. It’s still not the strongest in the lower registers, even with easier to drive planars, but there’s a lot to like here. This is definitely my favorite of the Schiit amps I’ve heard.

 

After considerable time using the Mjolnir 3 I have added it to my personal lab favorites along with EC Studio B and EC ZDSE for HD800 family listening.

 

Anyone own both a Mjolnir 3 and Tyrs, and willing to share their impressions/comparisons with hard-to-drive planars? I'm currently driving HE6se with Tyrs, and with some minor EQ, its technicalities really shine (great layering, detail & air, well-controlled bass...).

I'm even hoping the MJ3 might be a side-grade in this use case, so that I don't have to swap out amp cables every time I switch between headphones and speakers.

 

Thanks for this.

I’m a bit surprised since the HE-500 is actually one of the “easier” to drive classic HFM (vs HE-6).

I’ll have to plumb the old threads on amps for HFM, or as zerodeefex suggested a Tyr type setup.

 

HE-500 to me was harder to drive than you would think. Lyr 3 and my Gilmore Dynalo clone struggled to keep up.

And I think this spec is somewhat revealing when comparing power output with the older Mjolnir:

Power:
MJ1/MJ2 - 8.0 W at 32 ohms
MJ3 - 2.0 W at 32 ohms
​

Now when you get out to 300 ohms, things even out at 850 mW for the older MJ’s vs 1 W for the MJ3. High gain on both is 8. However, even with 650’s, the MJ2 was still much louder and more dynamic output than MJ3 at the same volume position on the dial, even with MJ3 in PP mode.

And I think stuff like HE-500, Susvara, HE-6 (obviously), and maybe some others (HE-5 perhaps), need just some extra juice to sound their best. Yea, they may be able to hit 90dB at lower power, but there are other things involved that relates to what actually sounds best. Like maybe there are other things at play like damping or other things that we can’t measure that relate to SQ.

​

 

I will try my best... as usual English is not my first language so please comment if there is something unclear. Also otherwise noted sound impression is strictly with the Susvara and using Rockna Wavelight as DAC. My CFA-3 is DIY, with the same Toshiba JFET input as the Beta22 and configure in Zero Feedback mode (I find this mode superior to the Super Symmetry, which sound a bit too laidback for me).



CFA-3 is neutral-neutral and like the GS-X MK2 (which I also love very much) is also very smooth at the same time, probably even smoother than the older HeadAmp flagship. CFA-3 seems very specialized to drive "difficult" planars like Susvara, DCA Expanse, Abyss TC and RAAL. I feel that this class of planars if paired with unsuitable amps the sound can can come as thin lacking in body, imaging becomes small and suffer in bass response. GS-X MK2 suffers a bit in this aspect, but not with CFA-3.



Other than the neutral tonality, the CFA-3 also hits really hard in macro/microdynamics and stages quite big (not as wide as the Beta22 but feels more 3D). Overall presentation is a bit laidback also, not as forward as GS-X MK2 and definitely less than Jotunheim 2. As traditional with Gilmore designs, he seems to prioritize midrange clarity and purity and this shows very clearly also with the CFA-3. If you like midrange to sound pristine then this amp is for you. Transient is also very, very fast perhaps resulting in a decay that fades a bit too fast (Eddie Current BA is currently my benchmark in transient presentation). Overall in terms of wet/dry I think this amp is leaning towards dry but wetter than say Ferrum OOR.



I think I can compare with Ferrum OOR and Holo Bliss, both amps that I feel that the “minimum” requirement to bring Susvara to sound their best. Ferrum OOR is easily outclassed I feel, I think in comparison with the CFA-3 biggest issues are the OOR it smoothen treble response and as the result removing some information from that area and also soundstage is 2D-ish and small. Holo Bliss is a more interesting comparison, Bliss is a bit more forward presentation and Holo seems to add tube-like qualities to the midrange so vocal is a bit more seductive. Bliss also seems to have lower noise and as the result background is a bit blacker. CFA-3 is a bit more raw/direct in the sound and has an edge in micro/macro dynamics like the edges of attack is more clearly presented and separated in the Gilmore amp. I think they’re in the same performance level so depends on your personal preference.



Hope this helps. It seems that some in SBAF don’t like Gilmore designs which I find a bit perplexing because his SS design is really good. The man himself is also eager to talk about his designs if we email him.

 

Thanks @JeremiahS

I enjoy the gsx-mini so in the context of this thread I’m wondering if the mj3 would be a side-grade. I kind of agree that KG designs don’t get much traction here, but there’s always headcase for that. The mj3 is about as close to KG or Pass or the old school class A stuff. I’m still on the fence on whether the mj3 would be worth getting or a (again) side-grade/same-but-different. I could also save my pennies for a Bliss, CFA3, Ferrum, etc but I’m not inclined toward that value proposition.

 

I honestly feel that CFA-3 is a bit wasteful if you don't have Susvara, RAAL, HE-6 or similar planars. The power is too overkill for more normal headphones.

 

Looks like Run 2 ship date slipped to Nov 20.

 

I decided to try out SE / Feedback and SE / Non-feedback with my HD660S2. I can see how some would prefer one over the other. With feedback - it did seem to have sharper transients that I think "mimics" dynamics, but I think it is not dynamics, but just a sharper sound with more defined space.

I still prefer down - I'm a very relaxed listening guy, so the more incisive feedback setting is just a little too stark and 'digital' for my taste.

I tried the LCD 2.1 non-fazzzzed with all switches down and still thought there was plenty of everything on-tap.

I'm wondering who are the all-switches up people?

 

Initial impression: So I received this today for the upcoming socal meet. Plugged it and the other gear in just to make sure everything works after shipping. I was expecting about 15 minutes of warmup to be "enough" but Mjo3 was still pretty congested at that point. Then I saw atomicbob's post about how it needs more time to warm up.

2 hours later and so far I can only say it's one of the top SS amps I've heard before. For $1k I think it's an absolute winner. It also doesn't have as much of the more forward, slamming, a lot of energy sound that characterizes a lot of other Schiit amps IMO - which I typically prefer this over the extra energy. None of the adjustments or settings feel superfluous at all either - between my 2 DACs and 4 headphones and even between tracks, I have different preferences on each of them in just a short amount of time, but any random group of settings with any chain combo still sounds good. I do agree with JeremiahS above saying that the edges of most notes sound slightly rounded off.

edit: after 3 hours, I prefer my Yggdrasil A2 over my Spring 2 with this amp. Yggdrasil plays to the strengths of this amp whereas I feel like this amp doesn't fully exhibit the strengths of the Spring 2. Same story with the OG Utopia, I can make it good as mentioned above, but the Utopia doesn't hit it's high performance ceiling on this amp - not b/c the amp is bad, more of a synergy issue. [[After skimming the last few pages, it looks like others agree that this is not the ideal amp for a Utopia]]. I can make it good with the 6xx if I play with the settings. But I like it more with the Auteur and the JAR600. Using this with either gain setting (different but equally good to me), SE class A, and no feedback for both. Also, I think I hear a small difference using SE in instead of balanced in and think I may prefer the SE in (even though Yggdrasil bal out is better and I have never liked Yggdrasil SE out better before) - not 100% sure though. Will post better and more organized thoughts after several more days or after the meet when I get to hear it with more stuff.

edit2: I said no more, but briefly - for the first time ever, I felt like the JAR600 and HD6xx couldn't "go faster". This hasn't happened ever for me, not even on my Stellaris, which easily shows the flaws in just about any dynamic for me including any Senn 600 series. I don't know a better way to describe it so I'm going to use the parallel - it's like having a =< 4.0 L Mustang, Camaro, BMW M, MBZ AMG, Nissan Z, etc - it's not a slow car per se, but when you're next to "just" a Shelby Mustang much less a ZL1, Viper, etc. out of a corner into a straight - you will still feel slow despite the fact that you're already on line and flooring it and the Viper is still at 80%-ish because the driver made a mistake and is still trying to better manage traction out of the same corner.
So, I'm not saying this is a bad amp for the Senn 600 series and variants, just that this amp did something new for me. I wonder what else may happen.

The only downside for me so far is how much heat this thing generates but then again, I know "not-small" class A typically means heat, so this complaint is still a bit like to going to Vegas in the summer and then complaining that it's hot outside.

I can't wait to try this with various planars and the Atrium at the upcoming socal meet.