Schiit Jotunheim 2

It seems pretty rugged. I wouldn't throw it across the room or anything.

 

I tried both of these with the OG Jot and the Modi via Digital+ was noticeably better over the MB card in the Jot fed from an iMac (which in theory would have better USB than a Pi)

 

I can't and probably will never be able to write up an actually useful review, but I'd like to share a few thoughts that have occurred in the last couple days of ownership. The best setup I personally owned was an ECP L2 fed from a Gungnir MB A1. I haven't had that setup in over half a year, so forgive any haziness. I am currently using a Bifrost 2, which to the best of my recollection sounds quite close to the Gungnir MB A1. Given that, the Jot 2 gives me more slam and percussive hit than I have ever had. Great tonality, with bass just where I want it. I am getting detail and plankton roughly on par as a lot of the little nuances that I look for in my test tracks are all there. In many ways I enjoy the Jot 2 more than the L2 with the HD650 as it gets rid of some of the sleepiness. However, the ECP L2 was still a step up in depth and holography for lack of a better word. The Jot 2 presents not quite a wall of sound, but definitely a shallower experience. The ECP L2 was a steal when I got it and that the Jot 2 at half the price is this close in quality is incredible. I can't wait until I run it through its paces with my HD800 and eventually Verite Closed.

As an aside, I think the Jot 2 is easily worth the extra money over the Asgard 3 if you are able to run balanced from an up to snuff source. The Bachelor amp, which I actually quite enjoyed, is no longer being listened to. My iFi Micro iDSD BL is now only used with my speakers for Zoom/Meets calls.

PS Can confirm that the silkscreen and the LED is brighter than on the Bifrost 2 that I have. Mildly annoying, but my setup is to the side so I don't have to see it all the time.

 

I've had the Jotunheim 2 (amp only) for a couple weeks now. I use Bifrost 2 as my source and Aeolus headphones, balanced in and out, on high gain. I normally have the volume around 8:00-8:30.

I had an Asgard 3 for a long time. It's a terrific amp - warm, mellow, and laid back - but ultimately it was a little too soft and slow. I scooped up a Liquid Platinum when it was on sale for $293 last fall. It was, in many ways, immediately better than the Asgard 3 - more dynamic and punchy. However, I also found it too forward and shouty. Also, occasionally, the bass impact was just underwhelming. Not all the time, just certain passages in certain songs where I would anticipate a nice wallop of bass and instead I got some feeble limp-dick bass. Both are good amps but just not quite what I was looking for.

The Jotunheim seems to split the difference nicely. It's clean and dynamic like the LP, but also with a touch of the warmth and laid back presentation of the Asgard. Bass is detailed and textured like the LP but hits harder. Background is cleaner than I remember from either the Asgard or LP. It's not perfect - sometimes I find the sound a bit on the thick side - but I'm more satisfied with the Jot compared to either the Asgard and LP. Build quality is typical Schiit, as are the indecipherable labels on the front switches. The volume pot is excellent with perfect channel matching except at the very bottom of the pot.

It does run a bit warm, especially sitting atop the Bifrost 2. Not LP warm, but warmer than the Asgard as far as I remember.

And yes, the LED is "set phasers to kill" brightness compared to the more muted Bifrost 2 LED. If you are OCD about your stuff matching, this is one of those things that could drive you nuts (it doesn't bother me at all).

 

Thanks for your feedback @jnak00

I think we have the same tastes because I also have the Aeolus/BF2/LP and I'm from Canada

 

Concerning the repeated mention of minor mismatch in color/finish - this may actually be another reason to get a Jot 2 if you know you're neurotic about such things.

Because not only will you get a versatile amp that sounds amazing for the price, you'll also receive the therapeutic benefit of learning to give less schiits about lesser stuff. And if all else fails, you can always close your eyes, which always helps me get more immersed in the music.

 

how much of a benefit would I see upgrading from an Asgard 3+Bifrost 2 to a Jot 2+BF2 to take my HD-6xx from SE to balanced?

i'm reasonably pleased with the Asgard 3, especially for the price, but slightly preferred the sound of my old Valhalla 1. is it likely that schiit would make a balanced tube amp in the valhalla/asgard/jot form factor in the near future?

 

I actually have a similar question to @twice . am debating between the Asgard 3 vs the Jot 2, less about which one is "better" perse though, more interested in if and what the sonic differences would be between the two. I'm likely to purchase both at some point or another, the Jot for my desktop setup and the Asgard 3 for the bedside setup, but i'm curious if some already has experience with both to help us prioritize.

For context the headphones im using are the modded HD580 / HD6xx, as well as HE5XX and Aeon Flow Closed v1 that are incoming, my primary concern actually being the Aeon Flow Closed v1 and how they'll pair.

I'm assuming with the Asgard 3 it'll have a slightly thicker, warmer and sweeter mids / midbass that would pair well with the AFC?

My experience with the Jot 1 (really early versions) was that the Jot 1 can get pretty shouty / glare-like, which probably doesnt work well with the AFC? From the sound of the impressions on the Jot 2 is that it's much more refined / tamed and its like a SET amp? I used to have an EC super 7 so if its anything like that i imagine it would pair superbly with the AFC with a clear and neutral yet not razer sharp sound?

So A3 = Warmer/sweeter/thicker more forward mids; J2 = Punch / clarity / more neutral tone, but slightly rounded edges instead of razer sharp details. Does that sound like fair assumption to make?

 

OK, BF2 to AS3 vs. Jot 2. Yes, AS3 is comparatively thicker, but it's a little more nuanced than that. That only covers tonality. And especially in the bass region. Where Jot2 seems to excel is in the clarity and detail in the midrange and treble, which, when balanced against an amp with a more pronounced lower end response like AS3 might sound like it's too much of a good thing. Really, Jot 2 gives better resolution in both bass and treble range than AS2 so differences in tonality are trumped by expressiveness/not fake detail.

I don't want to over state this, but Jot 2 does something like "plankton specificity" (i.e. hearing the mic'ing of different cuts in a track, or differences in multi-tracking vocals) in the treble that big boi amps do well. Where it misses the mark compared to big boi stuff is in the midrange "connection" to the fundamental tone and attack of an instrument. It seems to play all attack the same, in the midrange. Which tends to render things a little plasticky. It does, however, do an excellent job at presenting the upper frequency texture in the bass, which could be seen as a bit "dry" but I don't think that's it - it's really more that there's less overhang and IMD (maybe) than what we're used to hearing. I dunno.

Either way, of all the amps I've owned, Jot2 seems to present HPs the most honestly to what they are as I've heard. IOW, it seems to accentuate the inherent characteristics of each HP I plug into it, for better or worse.

 

My opinion -- the Jot 2 is in all ways a better amp. The A3 is simply quite a bit warmer and more diffuse, which probably has good synergy with certain headphones, but I don't think the AFC would be one. When I personally think of Mr Speakers I think of their mid-suckout (at least earlier iterations) and I think Jot 2 would be a better pairing with that, as J2 is more mid-forward (and I actually find those mids sweeter than A3's) and I think AFC's low end and nice treble would be bolstered by J2's low end punch and dynamics. I'd only really recommend A3 over J2 for budget reasons or for something with high end you'd actually want tamed a bit, like Grados maybe... and even then I think the Lyr 3 would be a much stronger recc for that.

 

Anyone tried the J2 with K1000? Could be a nice match.

 

I have received the Jotunheim 2 yesterday, so it's probably too early to comments on the sound, but I can say that I'm impressed by what I hear so far with the Verite Closed and the Aeolus.

 

Whoever burdened you with such a terrible amp/headphone pairing should be shot. Truly.

 

JOTUNHEIM 2 LOANER IMPRESSIONS

I was first on the Jotunheim 2 loaner tour and wanted to share my impressions while they're fresh. Thanks again to all those who arrange these tours!

I haven't been listening to headphones much over the last year or so. I upgraded my Ragnarok integrated to Coda separates and use my Magnepan speakers almost exclusively, but still keep my HD600 and Utopia headphones around. To permit occasional headphone listening, I picked up a closeout Schiit Asgard 2 last year. (If anyone's interested, they are even cheaper now at $119!) Equipment list in my profile. Jotunheim 2 was fed via Yggdrasil RCA out --> Mogami 2497 with Canare F10 connectors; stock power cable. All listening on Jotunheim 2 done out of XLR out.

My rationale for trying the Asgard 2 was that it was all Class A and often described as having a laid-back sound for a Schiit amp. I found the Ragnarok much too aggressive for headphones on anything but low (0 dB) gain, and have really enjoyed the sound signature of the Coda gear, which is heavily biased into Class A as well and much more powerful than the Ragnarok, with my Maggies.

I wanted to try the Jotunheim 2 for two reasons: (1) to see if I could be happy with it as a long-term headphone amp in the living room rig and (2) to see whether I'd want to use it on my desk in my pandemic work-from-home setup with headphones and powered monitors.

NON-AUDIO IMPRESSIONS

• I like the finish on the product. It looks more refined than the old silver finish.
• Loved the more subdued LEDs inside the case, and that they were different colors. My wife also thought it looked pretty.
• The volume pot on the Jotunheim 2 is much nicer than the one on the Asgard 2. Very pleasant to use.

AUDIO IMPRESSIONS

Day 1 - Focal Utopia

I swapped out the Jotunheim 2 for my Asgard 2 and listened with the Utopia to the same album I had listened to on the Asgard 2 the night before (Weezer - Maladroit). All Utopia listening done on low gain on Jotunheim 2.

Initial impressions right after turn-on:

• Did not seem to have as much bass as I remembered from Asgard 2.
• Seemed more polite across the board. Treble not as present.
• Was easier to crank than Asgard 2. I noticed the same thing with the Ragnarok 2 loaner when I compared with my Ragnarok 1.5 (link). May be a Nexus thing.
• The Jotunheim 2 seemed to have a more 3D sound. Images were a bit more palpable.
• Jotunheim 2 images were bigger than those on Asgard 2. I think this is because it puts the listener even closer to the stage than Asgard 2.
• Reverb tails were better resolved, more pronounced and longer. Seems generally more resolving.
• Treble was a bit dry and scratchy. I attributed this to lack of warm-up.

Day 3 - Focal Utopia; comparison to Ragnarok 1.5

I left the Jotunheim 2 on constantly during my time with it, especially to see if the dry treble issue above resolved itself. I think this helped. I also hooked up the Ragnarok 1.5 to compare to the Jotunheim 2. Ragnarok fed via Mogami 2534 XLR from the Yggdrasil; Shunyata Alpha HC power cable. All listening on Ragnarok done out of XLR out and low gain. Level matched the two amps as well as I could using white noise.

Pulled up Weezer - Blue Album first:

• Ragnarok had a bit more pronounced midbass with kick drum beater strikes. Blue Album has a lot of that. That same strike on the Jotunheim 2 didn't stand out as much, I think because there's more energy presented above and below. The Ragnarok is a bit leaner/cooler in sound signature; Jotunheim 2 is more meaty and midrange-y.
• Cymbals on the Ragnarok initially sounded a little more granular / salt-shaker-y than I remembered. I think this was due to insufficient warmup time, as I didn't notice anything like this after an hour or so. Cymbals were more subdued and less present on Jotunheim 2.
• The Jotunheim 2 was more 3D sounding and put the listener closer to the stage.
• Ragnarok is more of an honest amplifier; Jotunheim 2 puts its own spin on the music.
• There were occasional soundbites on Jotunheim 2 where the closeness to the stage coupled with the larger, more 3D images made me want to replay certain snippets of sound again, like drum hit reverb or guitar plucking. ("Ooooo, that sounded cool!" --> replay) Some of that same guitar plucking did not sound as fleshed out or dimensional on the Ragnarok, making it sound a bit more brittle.
• While listening with the Jotunheim 2, I noticed some irritation in my right ear. This will sometimes happen when I listen too loud with headphones or on certain pieces of gear. It doesn't happen with the Coda gear. It happens using headphones on Ragnarok on anything but low gain. Think it has something to do with more aggressive presentation of certain frequencies, but not sure.
• Image placement was better on the Ragnarok, though this could just be a function of the Ragnarok not putting the listener as close to the stage so the listener doesn't feel smothered. I also thought the Jotunheim 2's bass was more diffuse, whereas on the Ragnarok it was more defined and focused.

After a couple albums of switching back and forth on songs, I didn't really want to listen to the Jotunheim 2 anymore. Finished the session with listening to a full album on the Ragnarok and then calling it a night.

Day 4 - Sennheiser HD600; comparison to Ragnarok 1.5

I let the Ragnarok warm up sufficiently before this last session, and brought out the Sennheiser HD600. I hadn't listened to them probably in over a year, including on the Asgard 2.

Initially tried using the HD600 on high gain on the Jotunheim 2 and medium gain on the Ragnarok. Poorly recorded electric guitar (think MxPx and the like) made me wince on Ragnarok, so backed down to low gain there. With high gain on the Jotunheim 2, I could barely even reach 9 o'clock on the volume pot so ended up using low gain here too with the HD600. I did notice that the Jotunheim 2 seemed to have more treble presence on high gain in the short time I compared. I'm not sure how people use high gain with any Schiit amp except Valhalla 2 (on high impedance phones). My listening on Ragnarok on low gain typically puts me around 12 to 1 o'clock on the volume pot, which seems ideal (whether Utopia or HD600). I wish more headphone amps came with a 0 dB gain mode.

Low gain impressions of both amps:

• I slightly preferred the Ragnarok here, but still don't think the HD600 is a great match with the amp given the midrange becomes too aggressive (especially electric guitars). HD650 synergizes much better with the Ragnarok.
• I noticed again some more of the room acoustics and reverb on the Jotunheim 2. HD600 seemed to have good synergy with the Jotunheim 2, so I think my personal preference for the Ragnarok here comes down to two factors: (1) cymbals sounded more natural and fleshed out on the Ragnarok, instead of being more subdued on the Jotunheim 2 (I've always liked the HD600's treble presentation more than the HD650's); and (2) the super upfront stage on the Jotunheim 2 was very annoying. A couple times on Jotunheim 2 it felt like the stage started to sound like it was slightly behind me, at least on the outside edges, which I hadn't noticed before and was weird.

I finished the listening session by swapping out the Jotunheim 2 with the Asgard 2 and listening for a bit with the HD600. Even though I had never heard the two paired until that point, it immediately felt like going home. I enjoyed the pairing more than Jotunheim 2 or Ragnarok. The Asgard 2 felt more honest than the Jotunheim, like the Ragnarok, but also less aggressive than the Ragnarok with the HD600, which was needed.

CONCLUSION

I do not plan on buying a Jotunheim 2 for either of my potential use cases noted above. It has great tonality, body, and meat; it is resolving and provides some cool listening moments; it looks great and has a great feature set at an amazing price. It's just not for me. I got more into the music with Ragnarok and Asgard 2.

With Utopia: I think the Jotunheim 2 was a good match tonally, as others have mentioned, but thought it killed some of the Utopia's strengths, especially in treble presence. The Utopia also has a more upfront, closed-in stage, and this did not mate well at all with Jotunheim 2's more upfront staging. I kept wanting to push the stage back. I've never liked sitting on the front-row at concerts either.

With HD600: Jotunheim 2 seemed like a much better match with the HD600. I think the HD600 likes Nexus, as I felt similarly about the Ragnarok 2 during my time with it.

The exercise was also a nice reminder about solid state warmup times. I know many do not believe in it. It may not be measurable. But I certainly noticed it multiple times during the loaner, on multiple amps. I'm leaving my Asgard 2 on all the time now.

 

gain switches usually not about an impedance but an efficiency. I'm using gain as high as possible for keeping volume pot still useful. Lower gain usually means more feedback and more sterile sound.

 

I agree with Zonto from sound perspective when I used Jotunheim 1. I couldn't use High gain without experiencing fatigue. A bit too forward IME, couldn't lay back and appreciate the presentation as I prefer to do.

 

This is probably the only real negative for me at this point. I only get about 1 hour of useful range on the volume pot, 9 to 10. This is using balanced in and out if that matters.

 

Took my BF2/Jot2 rig to work today because I could have sworn that I was hearing better bass from the BF2/Jot2 at home than with the Wavedream/Stellaris at work. Key learnings:

1. Mostly my imagination and probably the difference of listening to music at home during night time versus at work during the day.
2. I think the BF2/Jot2 combo at ~1k USD sounds/looks amazing and sits right at the point of diminishing returns. It's honestly unreasonable to spend more money than that. The four tubes in the Stellaris cost more than the BF2 + Jot2, which is stupid. Yes, the Wavedream/Stellaris sounds a bit better, but if there was one picture to be subtitled "past the point of diminishing returns" this would be it:

BF2 and Jot 2 basically have the same black finish. Doesn't seem to be too prone to scratching.



Have more to say about Val 2 vs. Jot 2 but want to test a few different headphone pairings first. Tldr is that the Val 2 has particularly good synergy with the HD6xx but is more 2D wall of sound with a narrower stage.

 

Some brief impressions comparing an ECP DSHA-3F/Ni to a Jotunheim 2, both using balanced I/O from a single-ended Bifrost 1 Multibit, Unison USB.

The Jot 2 has a stage nearly as wide as the 3F's, however the staging on the 3F is much deeper and it provides more 3D imagery that just pulls you in to the music. Listening position for the Jot 2 is right near the stage (row 2?), and with the 3F it's further back (row 10?).

I found horns and woodwinds to sound a bit thin in timbre (e.g., in La Javanaise by Jill Barber) through the Jot 2 in comparison, and I'm not sure that's entirely due to the nickel transformers (though it would be nice to compare the Jot to the 3F/amorphous). Presentation of the Jot 2 also seemed slightly analytic in comparison. I didn't notice any difference in speed.

Oh, and it powers (via balanced headphone out) the PSB Alpha B1's on my desk as nearfields just fine…12 o'clock is loud!