Schiit Mjolnir 3 Impressions

I've had to go to Schiit technical support in the past and I say cut your losses and try to get your money back if you can.

 

They answered me: Please contact the distributor for service and support since this was purchased through them.

Very helpful indeed. Both parties are now washing their hands from responsibility, whether it is just lack of interest or just pure incompetence - beats me.

Getting my money back from Paypal seems to be the way this time.

 

Incredibly frustrating. Crossing my fingers you get your money back. Sounds like the distributor is being a pain to work with, not Schiit

 

I'm sorry you're dissappointed with the time lost and back and forth.

What your distributor has done till now is correct—they are independent companies, and therefore liable for service and support of products they sell. However, they haven't been able to reproduce the problem, so the next step would be sending it back to us for diagnosis.

Did they not offer to send it back to us for diagnosis? If not, let me know, because distributors should be providing support.

If they did not offer to send it to us, I'm sure we can take a look at it directly if we need to, though unfortunately it will still have to come back to the USA.

 

Thanks for the input!

Yes, they did indeed offer to send the amplifier to you for an additional check at my own expense. And as I understood, it wouldn't even matter was the amp really faulty or not, I would be paying for the shipping fees in both ways plus possible labor costs in either case.

I sent them a follow-up question to clarify if this is really what they meant. Sometimes there seems to be a bit of a language barrier in play.

 

@Collusion, I'll hook up my Mjolnir to them tonight, I have in the past and never had any issues - I don't see how the headphone could have any sort of interaction with the amplifier that would cause any issues. A/B the equipment with different gear and find the culprit.

UPDATE: Notta - tried passive and active pre-amp, different modes on MJ3 and plenty of volume without hitting electrical or mechanical issues.

 

@JK47 there have been reports of bad caps on first-run mjolnir 3 on head-fi starting about here (and, you'll see further posts on the following several pages). it's hard to tell how widespread the issue, but apparently, schiit changed the caps in a few positions (at least based on color) after the first run. at least a couple people reported bulging caps while others stated they didn't see any bulging or other issues.

I have a first-run mjolnir 3 myself & mine doesn't appear to have any issues; though, I haven't really used mine a whole lot. It had to sit in a closet for a few months for various reasons.

 

I have first run MJ3 as well, and no bulging caps in mine as of yet. I did see the HF thread a while back, but haven't looked lately, too much fluff in that thread to be bothered.

EDIT: middle to end of first run

 

I got mine early September. I use it regularly when I'm at home. Caps look normal.

 

As another data point, my first run MJ3 was sent in for an issue with the high gain switch late last year. They didn’t replace any of the blue 47uF caps in my unit. I’ve had no issues with the amp since I got it back from Schiit. Just took a look, and no bulging caps to speak of.

 

Sonority Audio ended up refunding my Mjolnir 3 minus a small restocking fee. As they were unable to reproduce the issue I was experiencing at home, I felt this was the best course of action. So in the end, all is well.

I did really enjoy my time with the MJ3 and in some areas it felt like an update to the SPL Phonitor e I've had for a some time now. Especially with Sennheiser HD800S' I felt MJ3's smoother tone and lushness worked wonders especially in the treble.

 

Ahh - I'm sorry! I never replied to this. I've been playing around with another set of amplifiers and trying to find the RF culprit in the house. BlueTooth or Wifi most likely - I dunno

I did use AA 'The Composer' to tremendous effect. Possibly more 'inner-warmth' thicker than my 6SL7 -> 6L6 SET amp, but maybe 'too' macro dynamic like some other Schiit, but done much better in the MJ3.

 

As usual, thanks to everyone who made this loaner possible, especially @schiit.


Gear Used

Chain: Roon -> HQ Player -> Yggdrasil+ OG/A2 -> Mjolnir 3 | ECP DSHA-3F
Headphones: Utopia, Atrium, Verite Closed, RAD-0, JAR6XXB, Auteur Classic


Sound

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Mjolnir 3. I think it's a fantastic amp at a great price. I agree with @rhythmdevils that it has strong macrodynamics and a large dynamic range. I like this effect, although it was difficult to find a good listening volume with some classical pieces that have a large dynamic range in the recording. The bass from the Mjolnir 3 is my favorite that I've ever heard from an amp. It is deep, rumbling, authoritative, and textured. The tonal balance was overall warm, with a slight emphasis on the bass and lower mids. The treble was certainly present, but it was smooth, polite, and unobtrusive. I think the upper treble was slightly rolled off, but there isn't much musical information up there so it didn't bother me much. The attack of notes was rounded and smooth and there was an excellent sense of note sustain and decay. Many amps have more emphasis on the initial attack of notes, but the Mjolnir seemed to exert its muscle more evenly throughout the attack, decay, sustain, and release process. I found this highly enjoyable.

Compared to my ECP DSHA-3F the Mjolnir 3 sounded a little less nimble and a bit less airy. The 3F digs out more microdetail, which is made more obvious because it has more emphasis on the initial attack of notes than the Mjolnir 3. I think the Mjolnir 3's biggest weakness is in microdetail retrieval. I agree with @rhythmdevils here, too. I think the MJ3 doesn't quite dig out all of the subtle details, and this is my only real complaint with it, especially when comparing it to the 3F. That being said, the MJ3 does some things better than the 3F. It has a better bass response, most notably in the sub-bass region, and it has a more even decay and sustain, while the 3F releases notes a little bit earlier. The MJ3 has a bit more macrodynamic slam, as well, which isn't necessarily better, just different. Overall, they are both TOTL amps and I thoroughly enjoy both of them.

With regards to the various switches, I couldn't tell much of a difference with the global feedback, except maybe a small amount of extra fatigue when global feedback was on. That could have been placebo, though. Push pull and single ended were definitely different, though. I thought single ended was more laid back and smoother, with less emphasis on initial attack of notes. When combined with the overall strong macrodynamics of the amp, I found it to be a pretty unique presentation that was addictive, but it could be too mellow depending on the headphones used, the music, and my mood. Switching to push pull sharpened things up a bit. It's really nice to have the option.

In terms of synergy, I found that the Mjolnir 3 sounded great with all of my headphones. I think my wife's Auteur Classic sounded the best I've ever heard them out the Mjolnir 3, and I liked my RAD-0s more out of the MJ3 than my 3F. Unlike some other members, I really liked the Atrium out of the MJ3, but I have a proclivity for warm and smooth sound, so it might just come down to preference. My Utopia sings like a canary out of my 3F, but I thought it still sounded quite nice out of the MJ3. My VC and JAR6XXB also sounded great. Overall, it's highly versatile, especially considering the option to toggle between push pull and single ended.

Overall, this is a great TOTL amp and I think @schiit has a real winner on their hands. As I mentioned above, my only complaint is that it doesn't quite reach the same level of microdetail retrieval as my 3F, but that is a very high bar and the 3F costs more than double. Otherwise, I found it's warm tone, excellent bass, strong macrodynamics, smooth treble, and excellent decay and sustain to be addictive. As long as it aligns with your preferences, it's a fantastic amp and a great value at the asking price.

 

Nice review, I like reading comparisons to the DSHA-3F because that's one I always thought about getting but just couldn't pull the trigger at that price.

The Atrium out of the MJ3 is the odd one out compared to the Auteur and VC, the only one that kind of bothers me due to detail getting "lost" (stock OFC balanced cable). Enough that I recently acquired a Forza Hybrid Noir cable hoping that the silver brings some of the upper frequencies back without wrecking the overall balance and stage width. Initial impressions are good, but still too early to say for sure.

 

I should've mentioned this in my review, but I found that for the Atrium I needed to use high gain with push pull to make it sound lively enough. Also, just for reference, I'm currently using the Atrium with the stock perforated mesh (as opposed to the solid mesh) with the Auteur lambskin pads.

 

My time is at an end with the MJ3 loaner and I want to thank @SBAF, @schiit, @julie, and everyone else who made this possible.

I wish that I had more time to spend listening to the MJ3 because I am enjoying the changing moods that the three switches on the right side can create. I am very fond of the push-pull mode, but cannot decide if I am a bigger fan of the feedback on or off. Both provide lots of enjoyment and can be used to change the way I listen to the amp. SE and feedback modes help me to relax into the sound sig and let me use music as background enjoyment more than edge of my seat joy.

This is a fantastic amp and is a worthy successor to the venerable Mjolnir 1, which it is sitting on top of.

If I were going to scale back to a single amp I do not know if I would look anywhere but the MJ3. It provides great dynamics and a low end rumble that matches the MJ1, but adds in more thickness/warmth. In high gain, push/pull, and no feedback the MJ3 is very close to the MJ1, but looses some edge and keeps its warmer lean. Bass punch on the MJ3 is more, just more...its a nice presentation and one that is going to be missed.

My DAC is a Gungnir D/S w/Unison and my headphones are the LCD-X pre-2021 with fazors removed. Also tested with the @ETA Genesis G, and KH100's by @khbaur330162. The MJ3 does not dissapoint at all with any of the headphones. Keeping a rich and dynamic, comforting sound pulsing my ears.

Other Thoughts:

Does not run overly warm, least not as hot as I expected.
New switch feel is good, though they are bit harder to throw then previous Schiit

Suggestion for @schiit ...would love to see some matte finished switches to match the matte finished knob.

Final Thought:

I think that High Gain, SE, no feedback would be my preferred listening setup for long term music listening. Throwing to push/pull puts the amp a bit more on edge.

Love the MJ3, my MJ1 may have to watch its back.

 

Holy forking shirt! You guys were not exaggerating. This thing hasn't even been on for 30 minutes and I'm already euphoric. I purposely started with crappy Spotify to test, and I've never heard a sound so gentle on the ears but so bombastically powerful at the same time. Treble has tortured me all my life, but this amp does nothing but caress. I don't even have EQ on. Thank you to the whole community for guiding me to this glorious destination.

Will post comparison with Flux Labs Mentor in a week...

Chain: Windows PC USB -->Denafrips Ares 12th-1 --> MJ3 --> Empyrean 2

 

I got my MiB upgraded dac and the Mjolnir 3 at the same time today. It sounds even better than I thought it might. Beyond thrilled, and not much time on them at all. Ecstatic! I have a fan blowing on the heat sinks, it is dead silent, and the heat sinks are actually cool to the touch. Looks kinda ghetto but it works. Great synergy with the Meze Elites. Pretty good place to call end game for me. I guess Purr1n was right after all. LOL

 

What DAC were you using before the MIB, @oceanrace?

 

Not to cause too much nervousa, but for anyone with a first run MJ3 wondering what bad caps look like, here's some pics. I will say that this is indeed something not to joke around about due to potential fire hazard (no fire hazard per Schiit), so like Wilford Brimley said, check your caps and check them often:





Hat tip to @gaspasser for being mindful while this unit was in his stead.