Schiit Jotunheim impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Bill-P, Aug 30, 2016.

  1. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    That's exactly what I'm waiting on before I upgrade my Bifrost to a Bifrost Multibit. Want to see what kind of balanced multibit options Schiit may or may not come up with in that sized chassis.
     
  2. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I am probably the only person not worried about stackability. For one getting a $500+ DAC to only power one headphone amp seems like a waste and overkill to me. If/when I get a Gungnir MB it will firmly be part of my speaker rack. I'll take full advantage of the major reason to use balanced connections in the first place which is for very long cable runs. That way the amp is by my side on the couch where I have access to the volume control. I guess I could use it as a preamp and run cable all the way back to the speakers, but it's more likely that the Gungnir will be connected to a preamp and I'll just use a loop out for the headphone amp.
     
  3. Neal

    Neal Facebook Friend

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    @Dr. Higgs The hard part would be adding XLR outs to existing bifrosts. At minimum that would take re-drilling and re-soldering which sounds like an expensive upgrade to me. From scratch I'm sure they can pull it off, but I fear us existing bifrost owners will never be able to upgrade to balanced.

    Maybe they can come up with some sort of proprietary adapter or something...
     
  4. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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    And then train an ML model to predict which new posts have easter eggs.
     
  5. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    *sets reminder to check schiit.com on Sunday*
     
  6. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    @schiit : Releasing this amp at $400 was a hugely dick move. You've fucked around with the whole high end with this thing.

    Jotunheim is Schiit's TOTL amp.

    Unsure about absolute resolution since I no longer have Rag and I've only listening with the Paradox Slant so far, but holy balls, clarity, speed, and bass layering are incredibly good here. I've literally never heard the Slants sound this good out of any amp. I'm wondering if this is just an epic pairing or what? I'll fire up the data III and the HD800 tonight if I can be convinced to step away from speakers for a night.
     
  7. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    I'm sure this is what you meant:
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...ultibit-for-the-masses.2494/page-2#post-65939
     
  8. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Took me a while to find it, but it was this: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...rom-Gungnir Multibit-options.1894/#post-47876

    Someone was looking for options for downgrading from Gungnir Multibit. Marvey said to get a Bifrost 4490 and wait a year. A few of us decided that it meant a revision to Bifrost Multibit might come that would get us something closer to Gungnir Multibit in a Bifrost package (and SE most likely - fine by me).
     
  9. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Yeah, I also remember that one. Jason also hinted at it in the other thread. We will see, just a matter of time...
     
  10. turkeyfrank

    turkeyfrank New

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    Has anyone tried the jotunheim with the th900? I have a $500 budget for a dac/amp and it would be awesome if someone could give me some suggestions.
     
  11. Huxleigh

    Huxleigh Almost "Made"

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    First post? Not good. Introduce yourself, first. And though your concern about the Jotun's synergy with the TH-900 fits here, you may want to pose your question in general advice. You'll receive a broader selection of answers.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2016
  12. Aklegal

    Aklegal Friend

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    Right now I have my sights set on the Jotunheim to pair with Schiit's new preamp. I hope the new pre has some added goodies like maybe a fixed level output and a unity gain input. That would just put me over the moon.
     
  13. Andre Y

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    Some more prosaic observations about the Jotunheim:

    - it's a dense little beast, probably due to the transformers
    - it doesn't get as hot as even the Modi Multibit: I'd say skin temperature or so, maybe comparable to Vali 2
    - I wish there was an indicator for the DAC, like whether it even got a lock or not
    - it would be nice to be able to mute the preamp outputs so I don't have to turn off the speaker amp when I listen to headphones

    These are just all minor things though.
     
  14. landroni

    landroni Friend

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    It's not like Jason didn't warn us:

    "And after this one, desktop audio may never be the same. We’re introducing a new product that is a real rule-breaker…and potentially a big game-changer."

    Making a statement amp and pricing it at the affordable end of the spectrum looks like 'rule-breaker' and 'game-changer' to me... :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2016
  15. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I was being ridiculous with my post. If anything, I have nothing but praise for the move. I'm a fan of anything that's good for the consumer.
     
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    What I really like about Schiit is that they price their products based on what it cost to make, not what people are willing to pay for it.

    I really hope the rest of the audio industry follows suit and realizes this is what they have to do to remain competitive.
     
  17. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Are you gonna change your tune like with the Liquid Carbon?
     
  18. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

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    Is that true, when using either SE or BAL headphone connections? (Maybe the SE can cut off the pre-outs?) This might be tricky with powered monitors, having to switch each speaker off.
     
  19. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I changed my tune on the carbon? I was hyped for it but only heard it under meet conditions then canceled my preorder before it shipped. I don't remember saying it was ridiculously amazing but if I did, I apologize. I wanted it to be something it ended up not being. I'm looking through my history here, on Chang and HF but I can't find where I heard carbon and was so impressed.

    Do you mean Rag? I still love that thing. I need to get one in house to compare. I felt that thing was amazing but eventually came to the conclusion I need more power for my speakers and I wanted to keep them.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2016
  20. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Nah, I recall you said something similar about the Carbon on the first day of Can Jam ("GET THIS THING") and then never heard you talk about it again :p
    I believe the Carbon flew under the radar after the Red Top / BW was all the talk.

    It's all good. The Carbon is a fun amp for sure ;).
     

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