Schiit Mjolnir 3 Impressions

Bit off topic but yeah modern ones are a fair lot leaner. Not actually my preference, there's some weirdness in the mid-treble now which hurts on top of the reduced lower mid warmth, but yeah I'm only going off two samples from a few years apart (listened to them with the same pads and grilles so...eh).

Was chatting with someone else on a mics Discord server recently about how, while the relative differences between the HD600 and HD650 seem fairly constant when comparing within the same "generation", there seems to have been some overall variability across time, enough so that some HD650s might sound like some HD600s and vise-versa.

This is all anecdotal and I'm doubtful that this was all done with the same pads necessarily, which WILL impact sound a bunch, but eh.

 

The Romanian HD6XX's sound different than Irish 6XX's which largely sound like the OG Irish spackle gray 650's. Not sure exactly where things diverge but agree that there some loss of warmth and also some of the magic. For my 2c the Irish 6XX was the ideal compromise.

 

This past spring I finally bought the Sony OLED I'd been wanting for a long time. After a couple months I sold it. Not because I needed the money, or because it wasn't as good as expected, but because no matter where I put it, it felt too prominent in my (small) space, and its prominence was out of proportion to it's priority in my life. Its spatial prominence felt like a misrepresentation of its prominence in my affections.

I feel like the pursuit of the "end-game" system is similar. What constitutes a balanced and appropriate end-game for one person may be a gross over-reach for another. Not based merely on how easily the person can afford it, but also in terms of how accurately it represents the prominence of music in their life and their heart. I think a person who finds immense joy in music (and associated gears) could find themselves at peace with a massive investment of time and money on behalf of assembling their ideal system (whatever that means to them). Another person who also loves music, but finds it lower on their list of affections, might find a similar purchase to be an over-reach, and consequently to produce some degree of existential angst, even if it doesn't stretch their budget to the same degree.

Whether the pursuit of the perfect system requires too much of our budget or too much of our heart and mind, I feel like "end-game" is achieved when the quality and synergy of the gear has reached the point where it accurately reflects the prominence of the audiophile endeavor in our lives.

 

I'll have more thoughts about this amp as I enjoy the loaner over the week.

Another of the biggest takeaways so far is that I find this amp surprisingly easy to "switch" with... meaning, I can be reading/typing something, involved in another activity and am not "annoyed" or feel like I am being "pulled" into the music and away from the task at hand.... it just lets me do what I'm doing without being intrusive. On the other hand, when I just listen to music it is still totally emotionally involving. I have never owned an amp that is able to pull this off. Usually very resolving/engaging amps force me to pay attention to them and makes it hard to do anything else. MJ3 does this weird magic trick when it can be simultaneously laidback/non intrusive and extremely engaging/emotionally involving, allowing you to seamlessly switch back and forth at will between these two states.

And there is definitely some magic synergy going on with HD600/MJ3/BF2.

 

No matter how attractive the gear there's some guy who is sick of its shit.

Most of us stop dating different audio gear and marry when the effort required to trade up exceeds our laziness.

Sometimes we just want different.

You can't put a price tag on having your end-game, but if you could, I'd wait for it to go on sale.

 

Another MJ3-ism is it does a very good job of isolating each part of the soundstage in terms of rhythm/pace/dynamics... each element on the stage feeling distinct and separate with a life of its own. A singer in the center of the stage could be a little more "aggressive" than the guitarist in the back right corner who's a slightly more relaxed and vice versa. Multiply this for classical with its myriad of different musicians on the stage. Other amps sometimes have a tendency to "blur" the propulsion levels of these elements into one mushy sameness. Alot if it is microdynamics I suppose. You can really feel the energy levels of each separate element as more distinct from one another on the MJ3.

 

I agree that the engagement factor with MJ3 is super high - while I don’t get totally intoxicated, I do get completely absorbed in the music while also being able to listen more casually. I did order a Caldera and that may possibly take over for me on this amp, but I will always go back to 6xx on MJ3 for a superbly balanced and cohesive dynamic headphone presentation.

6xx + A2 + MJ3 also sounds about right to me with any kind of music, even rock music, which I find challenging to get the right synergy sometimes. It does not require the most detail but necessary to have top-notch clarity, separation, and the right tonality and timbre. MJ3 + 6xx + A2 has a for-the-price exceptional ability to separate each component of rock music while sounding just right. (I don’t listen to metal, though.)

 

Same, which I mentioned above.

I also find myself listening to alot more live performances with this amp (currently listening to The Smiths "Rank" live in London in '86), because it gives this spooky sense of reality.... well, maybe 95% spook factor, as I've heard other (tube) amps that have a bit more of the spooky-real quality because good tubes do that, but MJ3 gets close enough. With the MJ3 it's more about the unique balance of every element (laid back but explosive when necessary, large roomy stage with rock solid imaging/sense of 3d space, the microdynamic thing, gobs of resolution to round it all out) leading to this satisfying sense of being there and just chillin'. Alot of amps make live performances exhausting to endure.

 

I only want to listen to live performances (fav, Mutter The Club Album) as studio music sounds really fake.

 

I could walk away with the MJ3, Spring3 and HD800-JAR and call it good.
Not going to give up Studio B though.

 

Something special about this one for sure.

But it really comes down to this... I really like highlighting good work when I see it, because of constantly swimming in a sea of incompetence and mediocrity at every turn (and people actually being rewarded for it) has really soured me on alot of this world. And good stuff desperately needs to be promoted to rise above all the crap. You have to shout to compensate.

 

Switching back to the SW51 for a bit after being exclusively MJ3 listening since I got the amp, some very noticeable things pop out....

First off 51 is way less accurate in terms of imagining and stage solidity... MJ3 gives you this rock solid firm foundational sense of the stage, where everything is located in relation to everything else... it gets you so much closer to the feeling of hearing the real event and being there at the performance. 51 sounds alot more "blurry" in direct comparison. But the 51 makes up for this deficiency with a more emotional presentation, where performers and instruments take on another dimension, probably more of a tube vs SS thing, though MJ3 is one of the least SS sounding amps I've heard in terms of the negatives. The 51 is less technical with its method of "getting you there".... preferring to focus on the emotional content of the notes to do this rather than spatial reality. It's a weird contrast. It's like the 51 gets you there, but does it with bad prescription glasses. I am tempted to say it captures "emotion" better but that's just tube distortion... MJ3 is much better at capturing overall timbre, with the 51 being a little more indistinct here. Again, nothing is "missing" with the MJ3, only lacking tube presence, though it can't be penalized for being a fundamentally different amp (SS). Stage on 51 has decent depth, but is alot more in your face and borderline claustrophobic at times in direct comparison.

 

I've realized something subjectively awesome. Not everybody understands what has been lost with the "new school" remasters that have plagued us since the 2000s - loudness, loss of dynamic range, you name it.

Well guess what. Mjolnir 3 may be the best tool to experience the difference (requires volume matching and patience). But the super clean presentation across the board really helps appreciate the extra headroom of how CDs used to be mixed back when MTV played music videos.

Suggested A/B if you have access: the late 90s Atlantic CDs for Phil Collins' catalog vs the 2016 remasters. Which one is best? You decide. But it's super obvious to discern the tradeoffs now, with a humble pair of HD600...

 

Not sure how much difference you will notice, but I would definitely recommend trying the XLR inputs of the MJ3. Balanced in and out is the best option with this amp. I also use the Meze Elite with my MJ3 and, like you, find the combo really special. I have personally found myself preferring Push-Pull over SE Class A with the Elite. I’d give that a try too to see what you think.

 

I got an audition since @ColtMrFire (thanks buddy) is local - prior posters have done a thorough job describing what it sounds like so I don't really have room to add much. So, since this place is ostensibly about music, I'll go with "if Schiit was turning albums from my late teens/early twenties into amplifiers" - that would go a little something like this (in order of me hearing them):

Mjolnir 2 -> The Chemical Brothers, Dig Your Own Hole
Jotunheim -> Slipknot, Slipknot
Jotunheim 2 -> Tool, Lateralus
Lyr+ -> Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Piety -> Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Left of Cool
Mjolnir 3 -> Alice in Chains, Unplugged

As I said in a For Sale post, it motivated me to finally start getting rid of things to make room for one. It's a winner.