Schiit Mjolnir 3 Impressions

I want so badly to purchase this amp, but seeing repetitive references to need for "less thick" source ala my LiM, holding off until / unless I can afford to get a MiB dac to pair with it. Until then, current chain is gonna hafta do I guess. Could be the mini amp works so well with LiM due to a slightly drier output? Anyway very sad that I did not buy a Yggdrasil og or MiB to start with. Oh well. It is what it is. Don't want to commit funds to an amp that is not going to have great synergy with what I have at this time, even if the M3 is just tits... which by all accounts it is all that. Extremely informative thread! Much appreciate all the info. Can't get this kind of in-depth feedback anywhere else. Thanks guys!

 

The BF2 is pretty thick and it worked fine when I had the loaner MJ3, so it depends on preference (headphones were HD600/HD6XX). I would not do any guesswork on source until you actually have the amp and can hear for yourself, and then adjust source if necessary.

 

I still have this nagging feeling that the Meze Elites with a silver cable and M3 might impart enough energy into the treble region to make it doable? don't know.

 

Silver cables do not impart treble energy just because silver is shinier than copper ...

 

I think LiM would be just fine. BF2 OG and Yggdrasil 2 are thicker, and each sounded really nice on MJ3 (using 650k and Atrium O). Playing with the gain helps. I find high gain "thickens" things up a tad, while low thins it out a tick. PP to me feels slightly more dense than SE. I haven't played with the feedback settings, so this is all no feedback. Imo there's a lot of room to find your sweet spot with this unit with wide variety of sources. I usually run Yggdrasil GS, and been sitting in High/PP for the most part, but that just seems to sync best with my headphones and listening preferences.

 

I may not be very picky, but Yggdrasil A2 + MJ3 + stock BSHD600 and BF2OG + MJ3 + JARHD650 v2 were leaving me with no nits to pick. Slight edge to A2 for incisiveness and attack, but neither combos were at all overly warm. MJ3 SE, no NFB, low gain in both cases was my preference.

 

In its current location, I feel my MJ3 is getting a bit too toasty. I'd like a good, quiet, self powered "mini fan" to put behind it. Not one of those shelf-sized ones (no room!).

Suggestions?

Here's a picture of the stand I have it in. The turntables and albums are on their way out, so nothing too pricey. The Mjolnir is in that top shelf, under the turntable.

 

If you can get an inch of clearance in there, something like this might work:

https://acinfinity.com/component-co...s/multifan-s2-quiet-usb-cooling-blower-120mm/

Can run off a cell phone charger, so if you need self-powered, a USB power bank will do the trick.

 

You can put MJ3 on top of the stand and put your turntable sideways on the floor next to it

 

I haven't heard any pure silver cables but the silver+copper cables I've had (which includes the Sennheiser CH 800 S) did seem less rolled in highs than the pure copper. "SBAF doesn't argue about cables" but I do acknowledge cable differences, is my point, small ones.

 

I have used two monitor risers and place my MJ3 on the second level with plenty of seperation on the top, no heat issues. I would post a picture but when I attempt to use a URL from Amazon it will not post on the forum.

 

Did the Mjolner 3 feel like it was vibrating to anyone else with a low frequency hum coming from the amp itself (not through the headphones)? the vibration seems to be coming from the front right corner of the amp, not sure if there's a transformer there thats' vibrating or what.

 

Yes it’s a well known phenomenon with the MJ3. There’s even a little section of the owner’s manual about it:

“This thing, like, vibrates a bit.
You'd vibrate a bit if you had two big transformers and two big chokes inside you.
Seriously, that's the chokes, doing their job.
Totally normal (if a bit strange).”

 

Something messed up in your post. I extracted the image url.

 

I still think you should get the MJ3, try it with LIM, and return it within the 15 day return period if you don’t like the pairing. You’ve made a number of posts hemming about it and it seems like it’s just gonna nag at you till you rip the band aid off. Like I said, Marv is great at describing sound, but he can’t account for everyone’s chains and preferences, you’ll ultimately just have to listen yourself. You can ignore what I’m saying here if you truly can get yourself to be satisfied with what you have now, which is ideal anyway.

 

Thanks for posting the picture for me. I am enjoying the sound of the MJ3 but I still listen to the Folkvangr as well. I think Schiit has a customer for life.
I am using Denon AH-D9200 closed back for the majority of my listening along with the Sennheiser HD650. Next step is deciding on a balanced headphone cable for my 9200’s when I use the MJ3. So many opinions on the different cables and different vendors. Now the big one should I change out the Bifrost 2/64 for a Yggdrasil+ OG or MiB, I know the MiB is preferred by some on here and pairs well with the MJ3. Since I will be keeping the Folkvangr I have to consider the DAC to be able to pair well with both amps. Decisions, decisions.

 

I apologize for the delay. My hearing isn’t what it used to be, however I do not hear any distortion (high gain, single ended, balanced in and out of the MJ3), I haven’t tried push pull yet. It is also very loud and even on old better recorded albums (pre loudness wars) I typically can’t listen above 3/4 volume.

Quick question when changing modes on the MJ3 do you folks change on the fly while plugged in and listening?

 

I do

 

I do as well. I haven’t noticed any issues.