NITSCH Sound Pietus Maximus Optimus Prime Review - The Touch

Personally I'd love to see Cee Tee offer this option. Even more, I think it would be cool to see two accessories added to the catalog for the Maximus:

1) CMLI-15 "magic couplers":
For those who are looking to pair the Maximus with an external Modius E for maximum performance at home (a "maximum Maximus" accessory, if you will).

2) A reasonably-priced miniature pelican-type case for the Maximus:
For those who choose the Maximus w integrated dac because they want a simple travel-friendly dac/amp option with next-level performance compared to the Magni Unity (a "traveling Maximus" accessory).

 

HI Marv,
Will be using the Pietus with a Gungnir MB A2 how do you think they will work together
best,
Josh

 

Hi Josh, I have an A2 and an OG bifrost 2. I'll be starting with BF2 when pietus arrives but will definitely try the gungnir A2 as well. Do you have one of those cinemag transformer thingies ? I'd like to get one myself for A2.

 

Yes I had one built its made with the cinemag transformers that Purrin recommends, improves sound quality, well worth getting one built

 

well, my Pietus Maximus came in. It's heavy boi.

Unfortunately, I'm going to be letting it just sit nicely on my desk until I get my refund from Hifiman. Luckly, they got to Hifiman's warehouse today, so they should be checked in Monday and I'll get my refund right before or right after Christmas.

 

Any chance of a Loanerus Maximus?

 

Pietus is here. Huh, this amp just gives a sense of flow. Sorry I’ve been out of the loop for quite sometime I’m having a hard time to put it into words. Listening to it with the Zen Dac V1 + HD800, really enjoyable. Vocals are more palpable on this than my previous woo amp.

Unluckily, Im gonna need a new cable for the HD800. Those rubber insulation part on the connectors just disintegrate at the worst timing. Will be trying this with the LCD-X tomorrow.

Made me almost forgot to make dinner earlier this evening.

Thanks @CEE TEE . This will be a fun pair on winter nights.

 

I would have loved to hear the DAC comparison on Piety and I assume the (many) Piety owners here would be intrigued as well!

 

Hmm, this is in direct competition with the Jotunheim 2. Heck it's using the same case

How does it compare in terms of soundstage? Is plankton that big of difference? What about tone? Is it warmer or colder? I assume it's more neutral.

 

Is the Maximus different enough to own it side by side with the MJ3? Will pairing it with the internal DS dac offer a significantly different sound than the darker MJ3 with a dac like the OG, GS, or MiB?

 

@CEE TEE Are you aware of mains hum coming through when the Pietus is on high gain and the volume pot knob is touched? I saw somebody else mention this too so it's not just my unit. Touching the shield of other devices nearby (MacBook case, Piety case) makes it substantially louder. I also get pops when adjusting the knob and playing music in high gain that I'm assuming are DC transients. Is this a known thing?

 

Well that sucks! I have no idea how common that is, or if it presents as a known issue. What I can say is that mine definitely doesn't do any of that, or any other weirdness.

Sounds like a defective unit. (?) IDK Good luck with it, I'm sure Christian will rectify it.

 

My Pietus just arrived and first impressions are as mature sounding as Pietus can be, the MJ3 is still in a higher tier than Pietus, especially in the timbre and resolving capabilities, personally I don't think the Pietus would get much listening time if it were in the same desktop setup as the Mjolnir 3. (tried Pietus with built-in ESS dac and Hugo2 and Gungnir Multibit MB and although the characteristics change, the technicalities of the amp remains)

By it's own Pietus is really good though, I owned Asgard 1 and Jotunheim 1 and Pietus is for sure sounding more comparable to BHA-1, MJ3 in terms of composure and confidence. I bought the Pietus for use in office so that I don't miss Mjolnir 3 too much at work, I think Pietus can full fill that role very well.

 

No idea if it's possible with the the tight fit and shielding but I would love to see a DAC card with an rPI hat. Or even internal USB headers and a way to mount an rPI 4 would do. That would be a true one cord solution.

I agree MMB2 NOS is noticably more dense and rich tonally and also makes the highs pretty agreeable. This pairing with Piety and already dark headphones (ZMF Vibro as I'm typing this) is kinda great Sunday afternoon listening. That said, I did order the ESS card with the PM, and hoping to somehow shoehorn some flavor of rPI in there when it comes.

 

I don't have much to say as far as it comes to descriptors. After listening for 3 or so hours today I pretty much agree with @purr1n's impressions and feel they are spot on.

When he says it's 85% to 90% of the way to MJ3 I thought he had to be on something. MJ3 is incredible and one of my favorite amps, regardless of topology. I would still pick MJ3 over this if it was my only amp, but it isn't. For the price Pietus Maximus is highway robbery. It really reminds me of the excellent price to performance ratio of the OG Bifrost 2, but in an amp. I definitely need to hear these two together in the future.

As shocking as it is, if you enjoy MJ3 this gets stupidly close in a much smaller package. I've only listened with the built in ESS 9028 card and don't really feel motivated to try any other dacs at the moment. It sounds very, very good with HD6XX KISS. (Thank you for suggesting the built in card @purr1n). It doesn't have the last bit of precision or layering that MJ3 digs up, but goodness me is this musical and involving. Pulls you right in and engages you. Non-fatiguing and it gets better and better as you increase volume to your personal sweet spot. None of the treble etch that bothered me with Piety.

The fact it is so small and I can move it around the house (just brought it upstairs since my kids were playing Xbox loudly downstairs), is a huge bonus. Power cable and a USB C cable to my phone and I'm off to the races.

It really is a great year for solid state amps, and a great year of Schiit and Nitsch!

Edit: I tried this with Yiggy A2 and surprisingly I really prefer the internal ESS card synergy-wise. There is definitely a pleasant increase in bass impact and amount with the ESS card. Yiggy is more reserved down low. Top end also seems a hair too bright with Yiggy. It's a leaner presentation. At least with HD650 I prefer the built in card.

From memory Yiggy A2 is insanely good with MJ3 however. MJ3 def is a bit warmer than Pietus Maximus.

Seems to check out as I prefer warmer tubes with more body in Stratus with Yiggy A2.


I really want to bring this to a few of my friend's places, plop HD650 on their head and say, "listen to this!" Lol.

 

Yeah, I've sent a request for return authorization. I haven't really been able to form good impressions of the Pietus since I tend to adjust volume frequently while doing so and the hum and pops are driving me to distraction. It happens on lower gains too (just with less gain), and on very sensitive headphones I can play the Pietus like a 60Hz theremin. Hopefully this gets resolved quickly!

 

For the Pietus Maximus users with ES9028 cards; how forward, in-your-face sounding does the ESS card sound to you? Any listening fatigue after a shorter period of time?

I have Pietus with MB card and totally hear the decreased plankton, but I prioritize wide-open sound and lack of fatigue which this combo has.

 

I have a head cold and listened for about 3 hours straight in bed to very loud rock music. Zero fatigue. Yiggy A2 was actually more fatiguing than the ESS card. Not that I would call either fatiguing. The only amp I've owned that I felt caused fatigue was the SW51. No idea why.

I'm also getting zero hum or noise on my unit on high gain while fiddling with the knob.

 

Depends on headphones and/or IEMs. Could be a problem for some who have a too much forwarded setup with bright recordings. On my end with just with using Moondrop Kato IEMs running on Hi-Gain the forwardness was enough except for very few recordings when I thought it was too much.

ESS chip is very clean sounding, which depending on the music it might tired you out a lot faster than the MB card.