The Mjolnir 2 thread

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

  1. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Exit stage left....
    ah yup took me a re-read of the post above yours in tandem when talking about the difference between two products.
    mea culpa, we carry on....
     
  2. Darren G

    Darren G Friend

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    It is a very good amp with the HE-500 and X V2, though the former begs for high-gain mode while the later I feel is better in low-gain. The X is very efficient, and while it doesn't play as loud as the HE-500, at any reasonable level power is not a concern. It's a good option to be able to select high vs low gain on the front panel vs rear.

    I need to go back and listen to the HE-500 again though the balanced outputs, and I'll listen again when the balanced cable arrives for the X V2. I did read a few posts in this thread, before buying, that mentioned the balanced out sounds different, and can be annoying as compared with the single ended out. I do hear what they mean, there is a touch of fuzz on the HE-500's with balanced, but the HE-500 has it's own sound signature too.

    Like the Lyr2, essentially noise free at any reasonable listening level. I am using 6922s at the moment, and requested they send me tubes with medium-low gain. They are quiet tubes, and I hear no hiss or hum from the MJ2.

    It's always interesting how amps, which should be neutral, have their own flavor/character. So far I would say the MJ2 is musical, and mostly gets out of the way. There is a touch of gray, though that may be the Bifrost Multibit. The MJ2 certainly never struggles to deliver power, and that sense of effortless does come through. The mids and treble are well separated from the bass. That might also be that bass doesn't strain the amp. Several hours of listening, so too early to be sure, but so far it has been lively sounding, clear, musical, so 99% sure I'll end up keeping the MJ2.
     
  3. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    I also found the treble a bit fatiguing with Gungnir Multibit bal -> Mjo2 high gain and HD650M balanced. I did this and it helped reduce the splashiness:

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ove-appreciation-thread.44/page-47#post-73655

    Or a less extreme version here:

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ove-appreciation-thread.44/page-59#post-93669
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2017
  4. Alonso

    Alonso New

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    Hello! My name is Alonso from Chile. I'm beginning in this hobby so I do not have much technical knowledge about many things yet. This is my first post and I wanted to know if there's any advantage in adding a preamplifier (ex. Saga/Freya) to a system with Gugnir Multybit and Mjolnir 2 that will be use with Eikon and Atticus.
     
  5. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    Hey @Alonso , welcome to SBAF!

    Take a few minutes and head over to the must-read-for-new-members thread:

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/must-read-for-new-members.3/

    Then go to introduction thread and introduce yourself:
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/

    Again welcome to SBAF, hope you'll like it here.
     
  6. Garns

    Garns Friend

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    Not really, no. Some people have been using the Saga/Freya with solid state headphone amps to impart some tube colouration to the sound. The Mjolnir 2 already has tubes in the path, so it seems unlikely you will improve anything.

    The other use case for a Saga/Freya in front of a Mjolnir 2 would be if you had lots of different pieces of source equipment you wanted to listen to through the Mjolnir 2. If you only have Gungnir Multibit the Mjolnir 2 will do fine. You even have an extra RCA input if you want to plug one other piece of equipment in as well (eg a turntable).
     
  7. Darren G

    Darren G Friend

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    My impression, so far, the SE output does have a 'buttery smooth' trait. The balanced out provides more detail and attack speed, and yes I hear a degree of 'splashiness' over balanced. Of course I could have been swayed by what I read here, but I hear it too. I have no idea which of the two is more accurate, but I may end up using SE most of the time if it is the more listenable.
     
  8. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    FWIW, I had my audio engineer friend give a listen and he did not find any combination of modes (SE/Bal; Lo/Hi Gain) fatiguing. I suspect he has some upper end hearing loss due to concerts and music tours, and his preference for the HD600, and while I don't consider myself golden eared, and likely have some damage myself, I think I am more susceptible to hot splashy treble and high frequency sounds than most people (the keep-away high pitched squeal outside of IKEAs comes to mind; it hurts).

    That said, another non-audiophile friend, using a HD598Cs from the SE output of the Mjo 2, developed a piercing headache sensation at the same time I did while using the HD650M out of the balanced out. I'm not totally sure what's happening, and whether it is more related to the tubes being used, the amp itself, or Schiit Multibit DACs, but I will keep an ear out for any insights. For now I like the balanced out more for live instrumentation and the SE out for anything artificially compressed or digitally produced.
     
  9. The Alchemist

    The Alchemist MOT: Schiit - Here to help!

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    Anyone try LISST tubes with there Mjolnir 2, and if so, do you prefer LISST tubes are regular tubes for the MJolnir 2?
     
  10. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    You are asking in respect to the HD800 I believe? I wrote more than anyone one person should care to read about Mjolnir 2 tubes with the hd800 here http://superbestaudiofriends.org/in...er-hd800-2017-edition.3408/page-4#post-104597

    My two cents, LISST have a nice smooth treble with bright headphones, and fast clean bass, but they have this weird midrange thing that's hard to put a finger on but many others have also described. It kinds sounds like a lot of instruments are smeared together on the stage or something

    I prefered a nice, laid back tube for the 800 instead of LISST, but they aren't half bad and worth a try if curious
     
  11. Daveheart

    Daveheart Friend

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    Another point on the convenience side of the equation is that if you don't sit right next to the Mjolnir 2, both the Saga and Freya do have remotes.
     
  12. Changeling

    Changeling Tube Slut

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    [/QUOTE]
    And here's my take on tubes for Mjolnir2 + HD800.

     
  13. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that you may have either a faulty amp, or faulty tubes.
     
  14. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    I'm going to continue investigating the tube possibility, but I have experienced the discomfort with at least two different pairs (can't recall the magnitude with other pairs; I have at least four pairs to try). Currently I'm doubtful it is a faulty amp simply because the Jot has given me similar wincing pains before (the Jot + HE-400i was like an ice pick to the brain) and I'm not the only person in this thread who has felt discomfort with using SE in -> Bal out (though that's not my current use case) and my engineer friend didn't experience discomfort. I'll do a more thorough investigation in the next few weeks by swapping out tubes every few days. I need more time to suss it out reliably. Note that I'm not trashing the amp -- I like the amp a lot. I just want to figure out how to mitigate treble fatigue without using rolled off tubes.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2017
  15. Delayeed

    Delayeed Facebook Friend

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    My experience is similar to his, so that's pretty unlikely. Rolled ~7 pairs of tubes also. I'm just really sensitive to treble (HD600s are slightly V-Shaped IMO and fatiguing enough to make me not want to use them for more than few songs) It's not about volume either since I know especially one friend that listens so loud I can't even wear the headphones for more than a few seconds.

    Anyway to me SE out is very forgiving sounding but severely lacks in technicalities vs balanced, especially in dynamics and seperation. Been listening to balanced out and comparing it to straight out of Chord Mojo which is actually a lot smoother and nicer on the ears in the treble region but again, severely lacking in technicalities.
     
  16. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-mjolnir-2-thread.208/page-13#post-132422
     
  17. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    @a44100Hz and @Delayeed you might want to see an audiologist. You might have Tinnitus or other auditory issues. You also just might just have sensitivities to certain frequencies. It's possible an audiologist can determine which frequencies, explain why, and at worst, you can use EQ to shape the sound so music doesn't hurt you. Even if you do nothing with the data, it might be good to know why you feel that way given certain circumstances.
     
  18. a44100Hz

    a44100Hz Friend

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    Sure, I probably have some hearing loss just by merit of living in a loud urban environment. But someone else my age, listening at the same time as myself, with different headphones (as I wrote above) also experienced this discomfort. It's likely I'm sensitive to certain treble frequencies, but then, so should be most of the population since I generally take an extra step to avoid loud noises (earplugs at concerts and while traveling etc). My point is that this sensitivity, whether real or not, doesn't change the behavior of my amp (or perhaps the chain as a whole). In addition to my anecdotal experience with a few friends as guinea pigs, @Garns also noted harshness with balanced out on hi gain; it's not like I'm imagining things. I may be more sensitive to it, but I can't be more sensitive to something that doesn't physically exist.
     
  19. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Most schiit amps have some edginess or hardness in the treble to me for some reason. I like the mjolnir2 and the issue can be mitigated somewhat with tubes but I hear it with the 650 and utopia (not as much with the CodeX)...
     
  20. landroni

    landroni Friend

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    Are you adjusting the sound volume when switching from DR12-16 tracks to more compressed stuff like DR9?

    I'm using Modi MB (so only SE here) and I find that compressed tracks are usually fatiguing and I need to severely lower the volume to make things bearable, from the nominal 74-75 dB as calibrated using pink noise. The nominal 75 dB is usually perfectly fine with uncompressed stuff. I've noted this effect since I started measuring DR of my albums.

    After all the poorly mastered or ludicrously loud albums I've heard in the past I usually just assume that audio engineers are deaf (unless proven otherwise).
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2017

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