Schiit Jotunheim impressions

I got my Jotun in yesterday, just as a plain ol' amp, and have been letting it run for about 24hrs straight now with some listening here and there against my highly modded Super 7 and tweaked Black Diamond with different input/output wiring and potentiometer. Here are my initial thoughts:

- Powerful sound. Leans slightly to the thicker, meatier side of things and can hit pretty darn hard. Not as snappy-hard as the Mjolnir 2, but, c'mon, did you really expect that? The Mjolnir 2 can hit like a light-speed freight train at times. I've not heard any amp do it like the Mjolnir 2 yet. Anyway, believe it or not, the Jotun hits about as hard as the modded Super 7 and a little more so than my tweaked Black Diamond. This is NOT lean and kind of wimpy like the Valhalla 2.

- Is tighter, more controlled and articulate, and less bloomy in the low end compared to Black Widow v1. Can't speak for BW2. Among Jotun, tweaked Black Diamond, and modded Super 7, the BD is probably the most tight, Jotun and S7 comparable between themselves, and otherwise all 3 are similarly articulate in the lower registers.

- Very even tonal balance and timbre. Based on memory, I want to say it is noticeably smoother and more liquid than the Valhalla 2. The Black Diamond has slightly edgier and sharper transients and has a slightly more dry texture to it compared to Jotun. The BD is also a tad brighter in the upper regions. The modded Super 7 is slightly smoother and slightly more liquid than the Jotun. The S7 is also a hair darker than the Jotun. The S7 also allows one to be the most relaxed and yet just as engaged as the other amps. None of this is particularly surprising given it's the tube amp of the lot.

- I've confirmed my modded S7 + tube choices provides a more forward sound. It and the Jotun sound similar in this regard. The Jotun does well with stage width, item separation, and layering, but it suffers with depth. It is not as wide as the Mjolnir 2. The S7 takes a similar, forward approach as the Jotun and adds the missing depth and air you'd hope for. I would say if you enjoy the Black Widow 1 or a modded Crack + SB, you'll take well to the Jotun. The BW1 and Crack are more claustrophobic and in-your-face still, for relative comparison. The BD is a little more like the Valhalla 2 in its staging. It's a little more laid back than the S7 and Jotun without sounding distant and dull, and it has an almost tube-like 3D, airy stage.

- Like the Black Widow v1, the Jotun is a bit dynamically compressed. While the peak dynamics are up there with other big boy amps, all the subtle dynamic nuances are pushed up as well. I think the Jotun isn't quite as guilty of this as the BW1...more subtle to pick up on than BW1, really. But it is there regardless. This is part of the forward nature of the amp too. The S7 is forward and dynamic but doesn't suffer with the subtle nuances either. The Black Diamond is pretty snappy, nuanced, and dynamic in its own way, but its sense of max dynamics is just a slight bit under the Jotun and S7.

TL;DR Jotun Impressions:

Pros - Powerful, slightly meaty sound. Balanced tone and timbre. Clean and smooth (i.e. little in the way of nasties). Fairly articulate from top to bottom. Really not a whole lot wrong with the amp, which, yes, is a pro.

Depends on tastes - Forward and almost in-your-face sounding. Not dull.

Cons - Despite decent width and layering, depth and air are missing. Smaller nuances and dynamics are brought up a bit, making things sound a bit compressed. This is the negative aspect of the forward sound. These aspects are really the only way the amp suffers, and for a $400 solid state amp running notoriously SS-shy HD650s, that actually says a lot. These traits and other nuances are what you'll mainly get moving to, say, a TOTL tube amp, which I think speaks highly of the Jotun.

 

Why stop at just a few hundred? The real magic comes in at exactly 17,932 hours. It's a cosmic constant that applies to all electronics.

 

@Hands a stellar job as always, especially considering BW1 and Mjolnir2 are from recall.
nominating you to build the spider web SBAF charts for amp comparisons from here on out.

regarding depth of Jotun- in my first 3 hours of Jotun vs Vali2 (fed via Gungnir Multibit XLR and SE respectively) felt Jotun did have some depth, tad more than Vali2.
and likely more than Mjolnir2 but my recall there is suspect and don't have notes to refer back upon.

 

I will settle for no less than 57 comparison points on the spiderweb charts if so.

It's a new constant that I'm pioneering in the field or something something. Why you gotta burst my bubble?

 

Sending all amps to @Hands now. @Hands and I are working on tube amp guide $2k and under. I really didn't have much to add, but we'll publish this soon.

 

so this means @Hands begging for my loaner Vali2 awhile back was for a worthy cause and not obsessive amp collecting?
@Hands hit me a PM, can ship Vali2 sometime this week if still wanted.

 

Does he need a NBM?

 

Already had it on the loaner and liked it quite a bit. Thoughts on that should be included in the upcoming write up.

 

I'd wager the Cayin sounds like shit. I've had it with Chi-Fi gear, although a there are a few standouts.