Schiitr-Less Meet - CC Texas - Impressions

I think SBAF needs an Arthur Fonzerelli award for each meet, the coolest costume!!

 

I was about to go off, but in the past we rarely posted any pictures of any protos/breadboxed Schiit (or others) on here or anywhere else. But I guess with the pics above on here, it's already "public". In the past people kept it quiet so dumbasses wouldn't get the wrong idea about "upcoming" things, and also to let @schiit actually market it without worrying about timing. Hence the whole <REDACTED> stuff that was done when discussed.

I don't want to be the a-hole who is "gatekeeping" anything, but I was surprised that alot of info wasn't posted publicly from the previous meets got leaked to forums/SMS. Privately, I'm sure but not on forums/SMS.

That said, looks like a fun time down there, and at some point I'd love to visit. That said, hopefully another meet in LA will come up sooner than later to build on the one a couple of months or so ago.

 

FWIW, Jason did briefly talk about mjolnir 3 on the livestream with cheap audio man. Granted, there wasn’t any footage of the board.

 

We actually as the Schiit guys about this and they confirmed that most of the proprietary stuff is under the heat sink on the MJ3. All the features on a prototype are subject to change anyway. We also did obey by the rules and did not take any pictures of anything at the Schiit factory.

I think Jason in the past was way more tight lipped about things than now. In the video with cheapaudioman, he actually talks about a few other things upcoming besides just Modi 2 MB and Urd.

I think the biggest thing to ask is, "would this information cannibalize current sales?" And thus why we never heard a thing about Magni + until it was released. I think Jason realizes with some new stuff it is kind of fun to get a peak as a product nears the end of completion, kind of like Folkvanger.

One big realization in going there is that most everything they do is deliberate. There are many directions to go, but Jason is very smart and goes where the market needs him and there is WAY more moving pieces in these products than we can imagine. We think it is some small company with just Jason, Mike, Dave, Alex, and a few others, but so many others and so much other stuff involved.

 

No worries all, forget I said anything.

I had asked on headfi if MJ3 possibly had speaker outputs that could do 1-2 watts.

I see that it doesn't, and while I think that would be super cool, I can imagine thats out of the question, if you need to unplug headphones before switching the front panel settings.

I couldnt justify Folkvanger, but I think i'm going to start squirreling away funds for MJ3. Sounds really interesting..

 

I got the feeling that unplugging headphones before using any switches would not be that way in its final form. Unplugging/plugging is certainly not ideal in the least. Although I built a guitar amp with feedback switch connected/not-connected, and almost every time there was a “pop”. Same with the pre-amp tube capacitor bypass. But this is part of the problem with bring working prototypes to shows. It’s best just just to put it in the back of your mind and hopefully things will be worked out. All features are subject to change.

 

Is it a beefed up Asgard 3 or Jot2? (my wish would be the former).

Man MJ3 looks more interesting the more I hear about it! I really hope they make it to production.

 

Shouldn't it really be a beefed up Mjolnir 2? Asgard/Jot are different amps, different topology, different price point.

 

But wouldn't it need to be a tube amp then? Sounds more like a beefed up/improved Mjolnir 1

 

I suppose engagement factor means different things to different folks.

I've got Yggdrasil/Rag 2/HE6se's on as I type this and man, does it sound great. Unfortunately I've yet to hear a Rag 1 to compare it too.. I have a couple of friends that are contemplating selling their Rag 1. Hopefully I can get one in for a listen.

Question, are external chokes a thing? Can a person find/buy a choke to place between the outlet and the amplifier or dac?

 

I did use the same topology for my business card.



(It is much simpler and less powerful than Mjolnir 3--also cap coupled--also balanced out only, so power supply can be super derpy due to common mode cancellation--so waaaaaaayyyy easier. Mjolnir 3 is nuts.)

And I think there's a good chance you'll see Mjolnir 3 next year, at least in limited run form. But not artifically-limited-to-increase-the-price kinda limited, just limited in I-don't-think-everyone-is-crazy-enough-to-want-this-huge-hot-thing-on-their-desk-so-sales-will-be-naturally-limited.

 

No, a choke goes after the rectification and filtering. It basically is an inductor. I would not get hung up on the little details anyway.

 

Was up til 4am the past two mornings listening to my Ether 2 and Rag 1 combo...never heard anything outside of EC amps that pulled this off, especially ss. Tonally engaging-my two word summation of the Rag 1 so far.

 

So I'm gonna ask a dumb, very unanswerable, open-ended question, but those are the only ones I know how to ask, so here goes: what was your favorite setup? If you had to pick just one? And which headphones were your favorite with the power plant setup, the Holo May into Stellaris?

Or which pieces of gear would you definitely pick up at a fair used price? Would you consider buying a MJ3 based on what you heard? Apologies, I should be able to answer these on my own—I had planned to go to the meet and @Erroneous even invited me out to the factory with y'all, but I got really sick and couldn't travel :/ so it's just FOMO driving these silly questions.

 

Or which pieces of gear would you definitely pick up at a fair used price? Would you consider buying a MJ3 based on what you heard? Apologies, I should be able to answer these on my own—I had planned to go to the meet and @Erroneous even invited me out to the factory with y'all, but I got really sick and couldn't travel :/ so it's just FOMO driving these silly questions.[/QUOTE]

Damn, those are hard questions...
Of course Marv's Custom 45 was top dog of the show, no doubt. I saw so many people get super suprised looks in their faces when playing that rig. I would have loved to hear Stellaris through another known source. Holo May was just too confusing to me. I also liked the LCD-R, but would have liked to hear it on a different setup, but you can really tell those headphones have serious potential and it is no wonder so much R&D money is being thrown at ribbon technology.

Sorry..that is not answering your questions.

Favorite Setup - Yggdrasil -> EC Custom 45 -> Atrium

HP's with May->Stellaris: HD650 or the BP650 (black paper). (PS- I should have spent more time with this at the meet)

Gear I would pick up - MHDT DAC to mod

MJ3 Purchase - very seriously considering it. It would fit nice in my new setup. my only hesitation is the funds for such a purchase. #notarichman

 

First post in 3 months and 26 days, been lurking. Seems like forum conditions have improved.

I like what I'm hearing about MJ3. I remain happy with MJ2 but unhappy with the tubes situation. Good tubes are expensive and my trust of tube sellers isn't high.

Here's my "wish list" for MJ3, having not heard it.

• ~$1k
• Retains slam like MJ2
• More mid forward than MJ2, but not lacking in air
• Detailed but not metallic highs like MJ2
  
• No dead solid state sound
• Clarity is better than MJ2 with cheap tubes.