Schiit Mjolnir headphone amplifier - Page 47

 

You need to start DAC rolling solude, i think youve done enough Headphone Amp rolling for anyone by now :D

I really like the Mjolnir for my HD800 and LCD-2 but circumstances allow for a reconsideration of the alternatives (Bryston, Soloist, V200, WA2, S7 etc).

 

Solude - I'm not going to shill the Mjolnir, but I'm sure your findings (comparisons to similar and higher end amps) would be of great interest to a lot of people. Other than that, the Mjolnir probably won't be of much use based on your post.

Edited by olor1n - 8/17/12 at 5:45pm

Going to guess VDL is Australia?  Otherwise I'd take it off your hands.  Ya I got problems :D

+1

Found a solution to my problem that won't break the bank.  Back in this Schiit :p

Wonderful :)

 

I'm adding another +1 to finding your comparisons of great interest!

Have been enjoying Mjolnir since I got it. Ppl are wondering why this thread is so quiet. I cant say for others, but I just want to enjoy the sound rather than spending time on figuring out why it is so good.

Jazz at pawnshop SACD balance out of my bdp-95 and balance into Mjolnir is truly amazing.

One thing I'm still curious about is how well it handles the HE-6. It handles the HE-5LE better than anything else I've tried but as hard as those are to drive they're still more efficient than the HE-6. Anyone in the Phoenix area have an HE-6 and curious about the Mjolnir?

It will drive the HE-6 to 110dB ish before dropping out of class A.  124dB for the LCD-3.

I'm not a big advocate of "burn in", but it's been my experience that Schiit components have a tendency to sound a touch brittle out of the box. I've had 3 Bifrosts that have all settled noticeably over a number of weeks and the Mjolnir is no different. The Mjolnir is nice out of the box but the HD800 revealed a slight dryness in the vocals and a subtle etch in the upper registers (particularly on less than stellar recordings). It did not render those albums unlistenable, but for the first few days I gravitated to well recorded music (and the more forgiving LCD-2) to get a handle on the Mjolnir's sound.

 

When I listened to the HD800 (and when the recording was up to scratch) I was impressed with the transparent, effortless and dynamic presentation and especially with the taut but weighty and hard hitting bass. For all the talk of the HD800's soundstage and imaging prowess, its highly resolved rendition of bass is its most impressive trait IMO. The Mjolnir does nothing to stifle that quality. The HD800 and Mjolnir pairing place individual elements where they should be in the mix. Nothing is accentuated. When bass is prominent in the mix though, this combo hits hard and that to me is the inherent characteristic of the Mjolnir.

 

The Mjolnir's out of the box sound did make me question Jason's remark in email about the amp's ability to make him not miss tubes (though he did follow with a disclaimer that the HD800's resolving nature would not be inhibited). Poor recordings did make me yearn for the smooth, though considerably less refined Lyr/Amperex Bugle Boy/HD800 combination.

 

About 50 hours in and that is no longer the case, and I now understand Jason's bold statement.

 

 

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Meet impressions from drez.

Edited by olor1n - 8/18/12 at 5:10pm

So now you're not returning it, sheesh. 

My unit is still going back. I may look at the competition, but I wouldn't be surprised if I return to what is now a known quantity.

 

I'm not wondering if it can get volume from it, that's a given. I'm wondering if it can "truly" optimize it. I have all kinds of amps that can get the HE-5LE louder than I want to listen but that doesn't mean the sound doesn't turn into mush when things get complex. For instance, the Peak can't hold the HE-5LE together with complex music. The Mjolnir can hold the HE-5LE together with any music I've thrown at it. It's still an open question whether the same is true for the HE-6. It has a lot of power so I'm sure it will sound good, but whether it actually has enough is something I'm still curious about. I'll probably buy a pair later this year as I love the presentation of the HE-5LE.

 

 

What else do you intend to look at?