Schiit Jotunheim impressions

Exactly same here!

Mine is not 650 now (6xx will come around xmas THO), but my flow could finally connect to jot via its balanced outs yesterday.

It is a great pleasure that without losing anything I loved from jot SE, I can now enjoy every tiny improvement from almost every criteria. After matched output volume bw se and bal, changes were subtle in most area, but it was quite immediately noticeable that instruments were more separated, and that dynamics became better.

 

what gain are u using and volume around what point for the ether flow having trouble finding a sweet spot

 

I use low gain for jot's balanced out (previously used high gain for se out), because it enables me more delicate volume control.

My listening level is around 74 db spl(b-weighted), not a big fan of loud listening.

Currently volume knob is placed around 11 o'clock. But the music playing sw I use (foobar2000) applied replay-gain (this generally applies -10db for typical modern vocals). So this should be considered, too.

 

Just curious, is there any technical explanation for why some people hear a difference between single ended and balanced output? Just, I understand no shared common, but technically shouldn't the only be difference be more power?

 

I learned a lot from this thread: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...nd-better-discussion-for-noobs-and-boobs.733/

 

Finally got a Jotunheim! With DAC, but--and this is stupid--I don't have a USB cable, so at the moment I'm using my soundcard (Xonar).
HD 650 with dynamat sounds great.
JH13 (old version) sounds great.
You guys are all great.

 

So... uh... the Jotunheim dac isn't as bad as anticipated. Compared to my NAD M51 with the UpTone usb Regen, there is a noticeable collapse in soundstage and the overall presentation is not as coherent. Bass is less distinct, less controlled and more flabby. Had to tweak settings in Audirvana+ to take the edge off the upper registers and make the presentation less coarse and fatiguing.

Despite all that, the more I listen to the internal dac, the more acceptable these pitfalls become. Sure, plankton is smothered, and spacial cues are less precise, but the Jotunheim's zest and energetic presentation maintains the engagement factor. I can live with this until Schiit crams the Gungnir Multibit into the Bifrost form factor. Who do I surrender my Audio-nervosa Membership card to?

 

@jexby Integer mode 2 mainly. This mode is a fuller-bodied presentation compared to mode 1. It is slightly more "veiled" but is less clinical imo.

I did try the regen with the internal dac and wasn't impressed. I thought it actually degraded the sq. I'll give it another run now that I'm more familiar with the Jot dac.

 

I think that Jotunheim balanced is like having two SE outputs back to back per channel. So technically, you're getting up to twice as good of everything (less noise, less distortion, more dynamic range, more power) versus SE.

For my ortho (HE-5) and dynamic (HD580/600/650, yeah, I have all 3), Jotunheim SE is always inferior to balanced in cleanliness, impact, microdetails, macrodetails, super contrast, and refinement.

But having said that, it's specific to Jotunheim.

I'm sure an SE amp that has much better common/ground filtering to reduce noise/distortion and increase dynamic range will probably sound as good or even better, on top of doing its own things that Jotunheim doesn't.

The nice thing about Jotunheim, though, is that its price point really discourages me from thinking about a DIY design at the same price point. I mean... I can probably get pretty darn close in BOM costs, but then I'd still have to do some extra work to complete the build, whereas Jotunheim is already made, and it's pretty close to how I'd tune a solid state amp anyway, minus the small bit of brightness up top.

 

Finding the internal DAC makes some tracks a bit sharp. Is there a particular frequency that anyone EQs down for this?

 

So running the Jotunheim using balanced headphones, is it in any way disadvantaged from running a non-balanced DAC (Modi Multibit)?

 

Hey, these guys are less than 25 miles away. I might end up giving them a call if I need any custom work done. Thanks!

@gamerstudent Schiit Bifrost Multibit > Jonada > 4pin XLR Hd650 and I'd say any sound differences between SE and 4pin too subtle for me to notice. I'm far from having a trained ear for these sorts of things though (louder maybe). If anything, I'll have all the cables ready to go if/when I decide on a Gungnir Multibit or something similar.

 

Slightly different gain values, according to @ButtUglyJeff

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...jotunheim-impressions.2700/page-44#post-86779

 

Comparing O2+ODAC with Jot is fun. Really various combinations are available

ODAC-Jot(amp)
ODAC-O2
Jot(dac)-Jot(amp)
Jot(dac)-O2

So far I clearly prefer jot(amp) to O2 in any criteria. To my ear, they are in different leagues.

But, dac part is not such an one-sided game. Odac sounded more crispy and detailed-ish (not necessarily more resolving), and jot(dac) had more warmth, delicate texture, and musicality. Either is helped by wyrd a lot.

 

I bought a Jotunheim to use with IEM's because my main headamp (Cavalli Liquid Glass) does not play well with them. Alex Cavalli gave me a design for a voltage divider network that might work with them, but he recommended a better suited amp. So I set out to get a small SS amp more suited to this use. I had a Magni 2 Uber on order when I saw this thread. I had not heard of the Jot and didn't notice it on the Schiit web site because it was listed under "DAC/Amp" and I only wanted an amp. So, I sent the M2U back to them and bought the Jot w/o DAC

Here it is integrated into my listening station. I added a shelf above the Yggdrasil and connected it with some very short XLR's. After all this, I can't yet test the IEM's because I lack a cable adapter. So my auditioning has been limited to my modded HD650's with balanced cable. It is easy to confirm my agreement that the Jot / HD650 combination is a winning hand. I am feeding it from an Auralic Mini with LPS sourcing tunes from either FLAC files on my NAS or Tidal HiFi. Very satisfying. However, it isn't going to boot the LG off the island. While the Jot is more accurate and detailed, it isn't as rewarding to listen to as the Liquid Glass with the HD650's. I know it should come as no surprise that it can't beat a $3,000 amp. The LG puts more meat on the bones. I ran through Eric Clapton Unplugged and Adele 21 on both amps one track at a time. I don't get into the quick A-B tests. I'd rather listen to a song on each and decide which is a more rewarding musical experience. Every time, the LG wins. The LG gives the feel of being in a small club with the performers. The Jot sounds like a damn good stereo, but doesn't transport me there.





Who would have thought it would be a great day when someone sent you a box of Schiit in the mail?



Edited to add: The Yggdrasil is feeding SE to the Cavalli and BAL to the Jot simultaneously. I had previously looked at trick ways to utilize the Yggdrasil's balanced outputs into the SE Cavalli and decided just to hook up some BlueJean interconnects and call it a day. I don't know what if any SQ I am leaving on the table, but it can't be much - sounds great. With the Jot, the alternative emerges to use the Jot as a pre-amp and feed the LG from it, but why? I haven't even tried, though one day I will probably be bored enough to do so...

 

@beemerphile , nice review.

You might consider the IEMatch from iFi to use your IEM with the more powerful amps. Some friends I trust tried it recently at a meet in LA and they were very impressed. http://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch/

 

Thanks. I only learned of that item yesterday reading here, but at the price, I will probably still pick one up.

ETA: I have no understanding of the role of amp output impedance. My earlier readings suggested 10x or less than the HP nominal impedance. That led me to believe that less was better (and none was probably just right). Later readings tell of amps with higher OI doing better with sensitive IEM's. I don't know whether "sensitive" means more dB/mW or lower impedance, but I don't want to derail this thread with a seminar for me. I still have a lot of studying to do to paper over my ignorance on this subject.

 

I'm presently running a turtle beach USB-> spdif to Modi Multibit to a Jotunheim balanced to LCD4s. I don't hear any harshness, but I do hear tons of detail. Been comparing it to the magni 2u (used it to run lcd3s and such ) and ran the ldc4 on the magni until I could decide on a balanced amp (jot). The Jotunheim is subjectively better in every aspect except soundstage. To my ears the Jot is extremely detailed but slightly darker than the magni 2u. I would actually have some shrill-ish sound coming from both lcd3 and lcd4 around the 10k area that I don't experience with the Jotunheim even though I'm expecting it. It makes me wonder if there is reduced high frequency output in comparison, and this is why we all experience a smaller soundstage. The soundstage was bigger and better with a less 'dark" amp.