The Mjolnir 2 thread

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by maxedfx, Oct 11, 2015.

  1. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,337
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    E. Lansing, MI
    Headphones, in sort-of order:

    HD650 (which I think is a better compliment to the HD800),
    HD800,
    closed ortho of choice, strong rec for something from ZMF or LFF,
    closed dynamic of choice, probably THx00 a good idea, but I haven't heard.

    A note about trouble with treble: the heat up top on the HD800, while fatiguing for some, is no where near as offensive as headphones like HD700 or DT880 or K812 or... you get the idea. For me this is because, in large part, the HD800 gets the rest so f'ing right, but I also think it has to do with where the peaks are (at least for my brain).

    EDIT: I see @PoochZag threw HE-6 into the mix. Based on your preferences, esp with weight concerns, I would stay away. I wasn't going to recommend any open orthos because of weight. (the closed orthos listed above are not nearly as heavy as anything from hifiman or audeze). Additionally, the only ones that comes close to open dynamic performance are: LCD-2 pre-fazor, which is hard to find and still could be shitty; HE-6, which has specific amping concerns; and HE-1000 / HE-X, which are stupidly expensive.
     
  2. GreggoEggo

    GreggoEggo New

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2016
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Thanks guys!

    If I go this route I am planning on getting the Ether first and counting on good overall performance across most types of music and recordings, then saving up for the HD800S and that would give me two top tier headphones to switch between. I could also hang onto my HD600 and just get a nice balanced cable for it and probably be in good shape there. Less certain would be the benefits of hanging onto the EL-8, but I would definitely try it with a balanced cable and see if the mjo2 was too much for it or not, but I think it would also benefit from the same warm tubes I would seek out for the Ether and HD800, so it is all good there... I could hang onto the EL-8 until Audeze comes up with a next gen version of the LCD-X or something similar as an upgrade I could make from the EL-8 so long as it is as comfortable or more so as the EL-8. The EL-8 would be my pop music with bass option, Ether for balance and midrange, HD800 for imaging and resolution... All known for being quite comfortable as well.

    ZMF and HE6 are interesting but probably too heavy for me, Nighthawk still a wild card, Oppo ? (might grab PM-3 for portable use anyways...), and dare I even ask on this board, but T1 gen2 ???

    Any other headphone recommendations that would pair well with the Gungnir Multibit/Mjo2 stack? I am hoping this is related enough to the sound fo the Mjo2 to be OK, if I am dragging the thread off topic please just slap me.
     
  3. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,272
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Boston
    PM3 isolates well and it quite neutral across the board, maybe a little laid back up top. Heavy for a portable but not that heavy as a "home headphone", earpads are a little small, certainly smaller than most headphones previously discussed. It's is a good pairing for the Mjo2 if you also want it to be a portable solely because it is a single-entry portable that can actually be wired for balanced if you buy/make the right cable. The only other one I can think of that allows this is the MDR-1A. I rarely use mine with Mjo2 but sounds good, really comes alive, even out of single ended.

    Edit: Also I'm worried Ether and 800(s) may be a little too similar to have at the same time
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2016
  4. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

    Staff Member Pyrate MZR
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    12,285
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Colorado
    Home Page:
    Skip Ether and get HD600 or HD650 depending on tastes. They are overall better headphones in pretty much every way except for slightly higher bass distortion (and they still do just fine there anyway), and the Mjolnir 2 is good enough to pair with them.
     
  5. GreggoEggo

    GreggoEggo New

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2016
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    I have the MDR-1a now and still deciding if I will keep it and just add PM-3 to the stable or sell it to help fund the PM-3. Either way, just SE for these headphones as I don't think balanced cables are worth the effort.

    I really value comfort and balance... and since I have read so much about this stack being just about perfect for Ether, it is a slam dunk for me... but I do own the HD600 now and yes they do scale nicely and benefit from the grip of a strong amp, so I will keep them around and see if I think the Ether is a better all around headphone or not, between those two there can be only "one" for me as I need to keep the collection as small as possible. The HD800S would be last on the shopping list, it either brings a new world of detail and imaging or would get returned and I would just stay with Ether and El-8 as my higher end options, and PM-3 and Nighthawk as my home/office/travel options and grab a decent DAP to go along with them.

    OK, now I am definitely dragging this thread off topic so my apologies, I will refrain from any further comments on my personal headphone dilemma but I think any new suggestions about good to great pairings with the Mjo2 are fair game.

    Anyone try any Beyerdynamic cans with this amp yet? Oppo PM-2 just for kicks?
     
  6. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,337
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    E. Lansing, MI
    The only beyerdynamic I have tried with the Mjolnir2 is the DT150, which I love unabashedly and regardless of amp.
     
  7. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,171
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The Netherlands
    DT150's are awesome! Really good deal here in the eu if you don't mind looks that only a mother could love.

    I modified mine with a direct wire dual entry mod and i could swear it sounds better. Also responds well to balanced imo.
     
  8. aufmerksam

    aufmerksam Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,337
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    E. Lansing, MI
    Yup, I recently (finally) made a balanced cable into the six pin connector. Definitely better. There is a good chance I make loaner tour for it since most people would never audition it otherwise.
     
  9. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,171
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The Netherlands
  10. TheBarnard

    TheBarnard Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    64
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    South Florida
    Can anybody comment on the changes from the Lyr2 to the Mjolnir 2?
     
  11. KurtSvensson

    KurtSvensson Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    188
    Trophy Points:
    43
    First of all, I refuse not to call "mjolnir" Mjölner, the original name used in Swedish.

    Currently doing a shootout between Mjölner 2 (LISST) and an AMB M3 with the same PSU configuration and opamps as Bob Katz uses (don't judge me, I lack imagination) it just lacks the stepped attenuator and gain switch. Instead it has a bass boost as the builder preferred to have one of those.

    Good lord is this a tough one.

    Mjölner without a doubt has more slam and a lot better definition but it has less quantity. Using the M3 I found myself trying to turn off the already turned off bass boost, this happened multiple time during each song for the first hour or so.

    So does the difference in bass quality matter?
    Yes! The bass quality of the M3 wouldn't be that big of a problem if I only listened to HD650 (still noticable but I wouldn't mind too much)... but with HD800 this issue becomes very clear and I don't like it.

    I've always felt that there is a certain murkiness or lack of clarity in the Mjölner 2 mids which I don't feel is caused by the slight warmth of the amp. (Nope, sorry don't have a better way of describing it) This is in fact the reason I even considered getting another amp. However where Mjölner fails the M3 mids are on point, not much to say here, clear and I'd say about the same warmth as Mjölners, just better quality

    Random remarks:

    M3 is darker as it has more bass and I'd say roughly the same amount of treble but it still feels clearer to me due to the mids
    Mjölner 2 just spews out heat, M3 doesn't maybe because this build uses a VERY oversized enclosure.
    Mjölner 2 wrecks M3 in resolution. Period.
    M3 wins in soundstage by a slim margin.

    This REALLY is a tough one... I actually don't know which to keep yet.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2016
  12. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,455
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I've been pleasantly surprised with the performance of the mjolnir 2 especially with the hd800. I'm stacking with Gungnir Multibit and together they make a nice experience with the hd800. Nothing is really out of place. I like the splash of warmth from the mjo2.

    Previously I was just using the mjo2 as a pre-amp, but now I find myself listening to it more often.
     
  13. AustinValentine

    AustinValentine Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    835
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    West Chicago Burbs
    If you have a chance, you might want to try 3x 4627-1B opamps in your M3. I suspect that they'll be a noticeable improvement even over the ones that Bob Katz uses in his (627s, if I recall correctly). The difference that they made in the Leckerton UHA 6S MKII over the 627s was not subtle.
     
  14. KurtSvensson

    KurtSvensson Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    188
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Oh really?\/ If that would "fix" the bass I would be amazed, but somehow I doubt that. There were some AD843JN in it when it arrived and I listened for a while using those OPamps before changing to 627. The bass seemed unchanged. Overall the changes seemed quite subtle. Might still be worth a shot, I'll consider it!



    The overall resolution and the slam and tightness in the bass is amazing, it's just that midrange that's been bothering me for a long long time. Otherwise this amp is really really good.
     
  15. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,455
    Trophy Points:
    113
    ^^ I think that you may be right about the mids on this amp. It's the one area that could make the amp end game. But I wouldn't even go as far to say it's a deal breaker. It's still as good or better than most amps that I've owned that cost this much or a bit more. But I agree that the mids don't compete with summit-fi amps.

    edit...this amp responds very well to tube rolling so it's possible that a tube swap could alleviate/fix this problem.
     
  16. manic_mailman

    manic_mailman New

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    18
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Curious if anyone has had a chance to listen to both, the original Mjolnir and the Mjolnir 2 w/ LISST? Schiit states that:


    Though I haven't come across any impressions anywhere yet.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2016
  17. Garns

    Garns Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,483
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sydney, AUS
    I have been trying various tubes out in my recently acquired Mjo2. I have really no experience of tube equipment prior to this and am slightly at a loss as to how to interpret what I am finding. The Mjo2 is being fed by a Gungnir Multibit and is feeding a pair of Klein & Hummel O300 monitors. The tubes I've tried are:

    - LISSTs
    - Electro Harmonix 6922 gold pins (new stock)
    - '75 Vokshod Rockets (NOS)

    The LISSTs to me sound great - tonality is exactly where I expect it to be, very detailed and transparent, imaging is amazingly precise. However to my ears both the EH and the Vokshods sound a bit compromised. The Electro Harmonix are very harsh in the treble. The Vokshod Rockets are much more tonally acceptable (just slightly rolled off) but the obvious harmonic distortion is losing a bit of transparency - the imaging is noticeably muddier, reverbs sound a bit closed in, and everything just seems a bit congested.

    Now, these are very new tubes (<10 hours listening). Any views on whether more hours are likely to ameliorate the negative qualities above, or does it simply mean that I don't like tubes (in the Mjo2)?
     
  18. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

    Staff Member Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,145
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Exit stage left....
    it means those tubes are crap.
    get some NOS Philips from the Dutch Herleen plant and listen again.
     
  19. kevnin

    kevnin #facetweeting - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    366
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    San Diego
    New tubes need at least 10-15 hours to break in, probably 20-30 to be safe.

    Having said that, I agree with jexby. The one time I heard EH (though in a different amp) the treble was pretty bad. And while I haven't heard Voskhod rockets, my experience with other cheap Russian tubes is similar - good tonality but bad technicals. I second the recommendation for Philips/Valvo from Herleen. At least E88CC, or E188CC or CCA if budget allows.

    Or if your budget is in the $30-50 range, consider getting the 2C51 adapter and try Tung-Sol 2C51. Similar sound to the Herleen tubes but much cheaper.

    Approved by Schiit in their HF thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/sch...-most-improbable-start-up/10620#post_12568467
     
  20. JewBear

    JewBear Almost "Made"

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    270
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Not in my experience. The MJ2 has a much warmer tonality than the MJ1.
     

Share This Page