Schiit Jotunheim impressions

i joined the site to add my voice to the chorus wrt this amp and hd650s, which, since purchasing the jotunheim, i've realised have been underamped (or at least not near their potential)
other amps i've tried with hd 650s; in order from worst to best
little dot mk iii
magni
vali 1
gustard h10
mojo

the jotunheim also sounds best with my he 500s, and philips x2
It was kind of a day/night difference for me with the HD650s

now i'm wondering how much cash i'd need to spend to equal or better the performance with a tube based amp (which i tend to prefer on the whole) -?Zana Deux?

 

Hi there! Welcome to SBAF! It's a bit difficult to give proper advice based only on what amps you've tried before and without knowing more about you and your system.
Head over to the introduction thread and tell us a bit more:

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/

Edit: here's another thread worth mentioning in terms of system synergy: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/system-synergy-special-sound.54/

 

picked up a used W4S RUR on headfi, got a pretty good deal on it, i will post impressions on it when it comes in, with the Jotunheim's Internal dac.

 

I picked up a Jotunheim after a lot of research and at the suggestion of several people here, along with a Schiit Modi Multibit. Good news is that it sounds awesome with my ZMF Ori Blackwoods. Bad news is (in my opinion) the treble is a bit too much on my EMU Teaks.

I actually like some extra treble energy, so I was surprised.

Is this experience unusual?

 

I think minus the slight treble glare or edginess of Jot, you're hearing the cans for what they are.

 

At work I run my Vibro through the Jot via XLR, and it's quite good. Again, at work with my Teak, I don't have a problem with the treble. I think I'm fairly sensitive to some treble too.

I rarely used anything other than the iFi iCan SE with the Teak, and didn't have a problem there either. Are you running the Teak with teak cups, or did you swap them with something else?

 

I know a number of people here are having success with running another tube amp as a pre-amp into the Jot (for tube sound + treble management), and then getting the best out of both worlds.

 

I pretty much use Jot/ModiB exclusively with TH-X00 these days. I am surprised that you find the treble a bit much however I am sort of immune or deaf to Jot treble issues. It is a great value and a fun amp, but there are other fish in the sea.

EDIT: as below and many places elsewhere: leave both Jot & ModiB on all the time for best results

 

Make sure you leave it on if you're not already. Jot sounds infinitely better when left on, at least for me.

 

Thanks for the information, everyone.

It's still early - I spent about 2 hours today with the Teaks and Ori pads.

I'll continue listening before I decide to make a change.

I really love the Teaks for many reasons, and like the Jot.

 

I think it's easier to tweak your system to iron out issues, as long as you REALLY like the headphones themselves. If there's only one, maybe two minor things bugging you about them, then you can do something about it in the rest of your chain. Like changing the tube on my Vali 2 simultaneously smoothed out the treble on my Elears, and brought forward the mids a bit. Small things like that.

 

Ordered mine about a month ago. Still waiting

 

I recently moved the Jot (with DAC card) on after several months. I liked it with the 650s (not so much the 800) and found it at least good with the other phones I've had in rotation. I did find it a bit dry and sometimes edgy in the upper registers, both with built-in DAC and with the Gungnir Multibit and an older MF Tri-Vista CDP, and found myself shortening listening sessions with the Jot in the system. Still think it's a terrific combo -- just prefer a slightly less toppy sound. I'll miss it with the 650s though.

 

I used a Neco Soundlab V5 recently which like the Jotenheim is a current feadback amplifier. It's very impressive, though quite veiled. I was surprised to find that specifically with an efficient headphone only it had markedly better separation across the stage and a more engaging sound than the Mjolnir 2, though the Mj2 seemed to alter the DACs sound less. I did listen days apart though, but used a GO450 with both. Afterward I plugged the optical fed Modi Multibit back into the Mj2 which improved things greatly there. (TH900 and EQ were used).

So this was a bit confusing given the price and size difference. I thought it might be a bit of magic from the current feedback design, and became curious about how the Jot compares in these respects?

 

I had to report that at the low volume levels, my Jotunheim has channel imbalance when I use sensitive IEMs. Either high or low gain...

 

I currently have a Modi Multibit & Vali 2 stack for my desktop and have truly enjoyed it for the past two months with all of my current headphones. The past few days, I have been considering buying the Jotunheim after finding out that we will be getting a bonus this month at work. I mostly just want to try running my HD650s on a balanced cable and have an amp that I know will be more than powerful enough for whatever headphones eventually come my way. I'd probably just use the Modi Multibit instead of buying the add-on DAC module. Aside from being much more powerful in general compared to the Vali 2, any idea what differences I could expect in terms of sound quality and signature?

 

Hey RiflemanFirst, you should probably start by stopping by the new members intro thread and put up an introduction post there. After that, there's a nice SBAF google search that @Armaegis put together that you can use, or you can just peruse these threads:

• Schiit amp compendium
• This thread from the beginning
• The Vali 2 thread
• The HD650/M compendium

Really your best bet is to use the SBAF specific google linked above and input something like HD650 jot vali 2 into the search box to look for specific mentions. That being said, here's Marvey's short summary of the Schiit amps from the first post of the Schiit amp compendium thread. I think you'll find that a lot of people agree with the glarey treble point on the Jot and laid back note on the Vali 2.

 

I've owned the Jotunheim, Valhalla 2, and Vali 2. My preference from these three is the Vali 2 (I have mine connected to Gungnir Multibit and HD650's). I found the Jotunheim to have treble that was far too harsh for my tastes, this is excerbated by using the balanced headphone out. Valhalla 2 was a big improvement, but still too dry for me. Vali 2 is just right, I'm currently experimenting with tubes to tweak the sound. If you enjoy the Vali 2, I'm not sure you will like the Jotunheim.

 

Thanks for the replies!

The last thing I want is noticeably harsh treble or sibilance. This is one thing that seems to hold me back from just going ahead and buying a Jotunheim, you aren't the first person I've seen talking about this. Just out of curiosity, what tubes have you tried with the Vali 2? So far, I've only used the Schiit provided NOS 6BZ7 tube and a Genalex Gold Lion E88CC. I've honestly had no desire to change from the Gold Lion. Plenty of bass presence and no harsh treble/sibilance with great overall clarity.

 

Maybe it is my oldster upper-range-impaired hearing, or my Ether C Flow headphones (or both), but I listen to my microRendu>Bifrost Multibit>Jot stack many hours on end when I'm working at home without noticing treble glare or feeling fatigued at all. Mainly modern jazz, modern classical, baroque. Just now listening to a super-fun new baroque hires issue, Bach Trios with Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, and Edgar Meyer. Chris Thile's mandolin is well up in the treble and sounds fabulous, each string plucked with decision, sweetness, and lovely decay.