Schiit Jotunheim impressions

You could do what I do with annoying power indicator LEDs and stick on a layer or two of this: https://www.amazon.com/LightDims-Black-Out-Electronics-Appliances/dp/B009WSN8PK/

 

If you are hearing hum it's definitely a ground loop issue. Try plugging it in to its own outlet. I was getting bad hum when I touched the pot, higher volume levels etc. On it's own socket it's dead quiet at high gain with 32 ohm cans.

 

Any impressions of the Saga / Jot combo? I'm interested in its synergy with brighter headphones.

 

@atomicbob talks about Jot/Saga in the system synergy thread. I know from Vali 2/Val 2 that they both will lessen or eliminate the treble etch of Jot. Saga most likely takes it to another level. Plus roll a darker tube to suit your preferences

 

The issue is all caused by DAC letting in USB crud. No such thing on the single channel line input. Using a "special" USB cable fixed the DAC too.

Speaking of, I was right to assume the DAC was holding Jotunheim back. And boy was that an understatement. Even on a single XLR channel from Hilo (darn you slow cable delivery!) it's no comparison. Better everything, especially microdetailing, plankton and bass control.

SD-2 improved in noise too. I can also squeeze out bit better noise floor out of it on low gain by enabling Hilo's 6 dBV line-out pad - and 50% knob setting on Jotunheim. Still not dead silent, but closer.

The value of this combination is immense. Especially if you need Hilo's input, AD and routing capabilities. It used to be notably less expensive than Yggdrasil but appreciated in price to be bit above that. Though I'd bet Yggdrasil is better with no contest.
(Speaking of obsolete, Hilo has a touchscreen but still uses plain old relays and resistor network attenuators, though FPGA controlled. Some sort of complex analog filter. Class A buffers. But no R2R DACs/ADCs - multibit deltasigma. Single chip per channel. ASRC is good but not the perfection found in Yggdrasil.)

 

I run a Bifrost Multibit>Saga>Jot chain, and for me adding the Saga (including rolling any tubes through) has made almost no change in sound. When I rolled some 6sn7's through from TS, Sylvania, and Northern Electric I tried so hard to determine how each changed the sound, and it was so hard to tell. Enough so that any perceived changes could have easily been - or probably were - placebo. It was pretty much the same trying to swap the saga in and out of the chain to pick out differences. YMMV

I think that's a good thing. Pre's shouldn't alter the sound imo, tube driven or not.

 

Surely it must do something though, otherwise why bother? Would be nice to tune the sound with a preamp.

 

The only thing it does for me is give me two outs for running two amps at the same time, and a better volume knob.

I'll test again tonight. The NE tubes are very bright in my Elise, and the Sylvania are buttery warm. Very noticeable change on the Elise. If I swap the two through the Saga then such polar opposites should show some kind of difference, ya?

 

So Sagaheim doesn't sound different for you? Does Jotunheim's treble bother you much? It doesn't bother me at all and I am debating getting one now since I'm planning on getting one with Vidar anyway. The condensed headstage is my only complaint about Jotunheim, do you feel adding Saga improves that? Also paging @zerodeefex and @Merrick for your expert opinions...

 

Actually, as I run somewhat dark headphones the supposed north of neutral treble is nice. It does make my 10+ year old HD650s a little dry, but those things have been through hell and back, so I'm not even sure they sound like a normal 650 anymore.

The narrow staging is my only complaint. I know my Eikons can stage better (thanks Elise), but the resulting sound is fantastic so I don't care. I don't know if the Saga helps or hurts, but I'll find out tonight when I tube roll.

 

Yay, I found two spare XLR long microphone cables, so I have stereo.... Lynx Hilo -> Jot. I wrote about it earlier. 9 out of 10.

Soundstaging improved too, especially depth rendition.

 

Regarding the LED's, it's been said before but it probably bears repeating:

http://www.lightdims.com/

These really do wonders for Schiit products and if they're carefully placed they look like they belong there.

You can buy them on Amazon too.

PS. Wow their website looks like trash.

 

Why would f'ing with the signal make it higher fidelity? You'll just be taking the edge off. Why not buy a different headphone amp then if you're just gonna use a colored tube pre like the Freya to take the edge off and are buying the Freya just to take the edge off a samurai sword sharp headphone amp? You won't be fixing the flat staging of the Jot which can't do depth at all; you'll just be adding something that will provide artificial depth through tubular bloom that the Jot will act like a hammer and anvil to anyway. If you want depth, the solution is simply: do not use Elear or Jot.

 

Delta-sigma DACs do many things better than R2Rs and if someone loves the Gungnir DS tone, the Gungnir Multibit won't be an upgrade. The Gungnir AK4399 has a totally different tonality than the Gungnir Multi-bit: Classic rock eq preset hard hitting V shaped DAC versus slightly "bloomy" (it's not really bloom but I'm gonna use this) but neutralish volume low end and neutral upper mids and highs. People who think Gungnir DS is "the shit" might not like the Gungnir Multibit, which would be a big downgrade for v-shaped classic rock eq preset style DAC lovers.

 

Against my better judgement, I picked up a pair of Elears at a discount as backup behind my LCD-2s and as a lighter set of cans for wearing all day at work. But, as promised here, they sounded disappointing out of several low end amps (Dragonfly Red, Magni 1/Modi 2U). Oddly, this worked out as a benefit because I could listen to music while working without being too distracted by the (lifeless) music coming out of them.

Today I took delivery of a Jotunheim direct from the factory and, as @Marvey predicted earlier in this thread, the Elear sounds better than I've ever heard them. There's still that midrange suckout, but double tracked vocals (Elliott Smith) are more in your face as I expect to hear them on the LCD-2. Higher frequencies are more defined and the bass is slightly less bloomy.

I can't think of a better endorsement than to say that I have to take them off if I want to really focus on work (which was not the case before the Jotunheim).

 

Has the Hegel become your reference power amp? Sweet