[TomKorn]

Firmware update for Mjolnir V. 1.4.0.4 available now. No mention about changes but I guess bug fixes (none discovered so far) and optimizations.

 

[TomKorn]

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Bro, that's way too much sexy in one picture!

 

[TomKorn]

Bro, that's way too much sexy in one picture!

Thanks Gotta take testing seriously.

 

[gentzen]

You keep asking the same thing. What I mainly listened to were all Astell & Kern models, HIBY, Sony, etc. In addition, I also reviewed the entire Chord model. If you're curious, just check out the list on my YouTube channel. search ‘portable wave’ on YouTube, there will be a channel.

There's a very good reason I keep asking. People in here (as well as in other threads, related to other brands) make comments like "it's the best amongst portable players", which influence other people's buying decisions. So, it is only natural and right to ask about the terms and conditions of comparison and which portables are involved. There's nothing wrong with this type of "suspicion", if you like, for it is not me that makes such claims.

As for your channel, I'd love to hear your reviews (for I was considering the Mjolnir seriously till a while ago), but unfortunately I don't speak your language, as many others in here. So, it would be helpful if you could summarize your review in here at some point, since it is in here too that you are making such claims, for the benefits of the audience who cannot view your reviews in your channel.

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Thanks Gotta take testing seriously.

Looking forward to your report back on this too.

 

[MidFiMoney]

Here's a nice unboxing video from SuperChonk:

 

[youkeum]

There's a very good reason I keep asking. People in here (as well as in other threads, related to other brands) make comments like "it's the best amongst portable players", which influence other people's buying decisions. So, it is only natural and right to ask about the terms and conditions of comparison and which portables are involved. There's nothing wrong with this type of "suspicion", if you like, for it is not me that makes such claims.

As for your channel, I'd love to hear your reviews (for I was considering the Mjolnir seriously till a while ago), but unfortunately I don't speak your language, as many others in here. So, it would be helpful if you could summarize your review in here at some point, since it is in here too that you are making such claims, for the benefits of the audience who cannot view your reviews in your channel.

I also didn't tell you to the channel to watch my review. You wanted a specific list of players, and you can check the list of players I recently reviewed even without watching the video.

I'm a very greedy person when it comes to gadgets, and I don't mind investing more than usual for good sound. As mentioned in the first article, Mjolnir is currently lacking a lot in terms of software. If I was satisfied with that part, I would go out of my way to purchase it.

I also regret that I lack the ability to write more specific information on this board. My English writing skills are not good enough to write expressions for sounds in English. To write a bit, the DAP I've heard the best about recently is the SP3000. Although the sound direction of Mjolnir and SP3000 is completely different, it was difficult to rate one more highly in terms of satisfaction. At least when listening with earphones. The SP3000 makes music sound more musical and luxurious on its own. The background is thicker and darker, the sound line is clear but heavy, and I think it is a unique sound in a DAP category.

On the other hand, Mjolnir does not try to change the sound directly. These types of products are usually welcome in the pro audio industry, but they often sound a bit boring or too honest for audiophiles. But from what I heard, Mjolnir is neutral and musical at the same time. The color of the sound is created by the headphones you use together. I think I heard the best sound that those headphones can produce, both in FOCAL Utopia and HEDD HEDDPHONE.

At least in a head-fi environment, I didn't feel the need to add a separate amplifier. It's not enough, but I hope it answers some of your questions.

 

[nocturne19]

But from what I heard, Mjolnir is neutral and musical at the same time. The color of the sound is created by the headphones you use together.

Defintely agree on this part. The Mjolnir is 'natural-sounding', sitting somewhere between LPGT & LPGT Ti. Technicalities are apparently better than LPGT Ti, especially in power control and headroom.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

So far, I‘ve briefly compared the Mjölnir sound to the LoTOO PAW Gold original (Mjölnir had the edge), to the Chord Hugo2/2Go (Hugo2 had slight edge, with sharper snare drum snaps and slightly more immersive sound stage, yet my wife preferred the Mjölnir to the Hugo2 on another song, with Hugo2 using music stored internally to the 2Go, not over WiFi), and to my Chord Mscaler/HugoTT2 stack (comparable).

These were all overall impressions of 20 sec music segments, A/B, not blind. I also compared the Mjölnir on two copies of the same headphone (Grado SR125e) and found that the difference between two copies of the “same” headphone were larger than the difference between the Mjölnir and the Hugo2.

After some reflection, rather than being disappointed (“$7,000.00 and no eargasm?!”), I concluded that either all of these systems are so close to Summit-Fi perfection that there is no room for improvement but only slight differences, or my ability to both detect and judge differences is less than the differences in these systems. In other words, “constant eargasm!”

Though I plan to do more detailed listening tests as both I and the Mjölnir burn each other in, I have been listening exclusively to the Mjölnir since getting it 7 days ago, and I am amazed that *everything* I have heard on it sounds perfect, and in more cases than not, I hear something new in familiar songs with the Mjölnir.

There seem to be two types of listening by which people compare systems…A/B immediate vs. long term (one system for a week, then the other). The Mjölnir has all signs of being a long term winner, despite no glaring advantage in short term A/B tests.

I am most curious which system, in a month or two, I will be going to every day, the Mjölnir or the Hugo2/2Go. The Hugo2/2Go is lighter, and it allows streaming from Roon, and through Roon, from Tidal and Qobuz. Hugo song selection is controlled not by a touch screen rigidly attached to a six-pound box that must be lifted or positioned, but by a smart phone. Yet the Mjölnir has a wonderful long-term sound, has almost every possible output jack (only missing the double balanced jacks of the Sony PHA-3 and Pono), has satifying physical switches for some important things (play/pause, skip/repeat, and a user definable one or two that can used for play order, EQ on/off, etc.). The Mjölnir offers balanced as well as single ended output (and input); the Hugo2 is single ended.

My Mjölnir does not have streaming capability. It plays internally-stored music, or it can be run as a USB DAC and hence play from streaming sources running Roon such as an iPhone. I have not been able to enable any over-the-air Bluetooth input to allow wireless playing of streaming sources (the Hugo2 does support this, though not at HD bit rates). The Mjölnir does support playing to Bluetooth headphones, quite nicely.

There are clues and bird signs that maybe the Mjölnir will eventually do more. For example, early specs in Chinese reported on this thread indicate support for Roon and Airplay, though those statements have not appeared in the current ads or manuals. Similarly, the current specs mention wireless audio via LTTP (LoTOO Tele-Transport Protocol), but I cannot find menu entries or user manual statements to support this. Menus in the Mjölnir mention MQA! WiFi works, but an attempt to check for software updates returns “error-37.” Repeated questions to service@lotoo.cn have not been answered. MusicTeck, from whom I purchased the Mjölnir, state that the Mjölnir has been sent to Roon to become Roon certified. Inquiries to Roon (When?!) elicit the statement that they neither confirm nor deny which systems are under evaluation (makes sense).

 

[gentzen]

I also didn't tell you to the channel to watch my review. You wanted a specific list of players, and you can check the list of players I recently reviewed even without watching the video.

I'm a very greedy person when it comes to gadgets, and I don't mind investing more than usual for good sound. As mentioned in the first article, Mjolnir is currently lacking a lot in terms of software. If I was satisfied with that part, I would go out of my way to purchase it.

I also regret that I lack the ability to write more specific information on this board. My English writing skills are not good enough to write expressions for sounds in English. To write a bit, the DAP I've heard the best about recently is the SP3000. Although the sound direction of Mjolnir and SP3000 is completely different, it was difficult to rate one more highly in terms of satisfaction. At least when listening with earphones. The SP3000 makes music sound more musical and luxurious on its own. The background is thicker and darker, the sound line is clear but heavy, and I think it is a unique sound in a DAP category.

On the other hand, Mjolnir does not try to change the sound directly. These types of products are usually welcome in the pro audio industry, but they often sound a bit boring or too honest for audiophiles. But from what I heard, Mjolnir is neutral and musical at the same time. The color of the sound is created by the headphones you use together. I think I heard the best sound that those headphones can produce, both in FOCAL Utopia and HEDD HEDDPHONE.

At least in a head-fi environment, I didn't feel the need to add a separate amplifier. It's not enough, but I hope it answers some of your questions.

I wouldn't mind watching your review (in fact, I'd enjoy doing so), if it weren't for the language barrier, and I didn't think you were trying to "sell" me your channel, not in the least. Yes, reviews are part subjective, part incomplete and there's no definitive review, for also each person's auditory system (from earlobes to brain) is different. But what you write here now (or ruthieandjohn's "journey"), is kind of what I think represents better what users expect to hear about how a new DAP sounds and performs, especially to back up claims about its comparative audio performance.

 

[Nostoi]

So far, I‘ve briefly compared the Mjölnir sound to the LoTOO PAW Gold original (Mjölnir had the edge), to the Chord Hugo2/2Go (Hugo2 had slight edge, with sharper snare drum snaps and slightly more immersive sound stage, yet my wife preferred the Mjölnir to the Hugo2 on another song, with Hugo2 using music stored internally to the 2Go, not over WiFi), and to my Chord Mscaler/HugoTT2 stack (comparable).

These were all overall impressions of 20 sec music segments, A/B, not blind. I also compared the Mjölnir on two copies of the same headphone (Grado SR125e) and found that the difference between two copies of the “same” headphone were larger than the difference between the Mjölnir and the Hugo2.

After some reflection, rather than being disappointed (“$7,000.00 and no eargasm?!”), I concluded that either all of these systems are so close to Summit-Fi perfection that there is no room for improvement but only slight differences, or my ability to both detect and judge differences is less than the differences in these systems. In other words, “constant eargasm!”

Though I plan to do more detailed listening tests as both I and the Mjölnir burn each other in, I have been listening exclusively to the Mjölnir since getting it 7 days ago, and I am amazed that *everything* I have heard on it sounds perfect, and in more cases than not, I hear something new in familiar songs with the Mjölnir.

There seem to be two types of listening by which people compare systems…A/B immediate vs. long term (one system for a week, then the other). The Mjölnir has all signs of being a long term winner, despite no glaring advantage in short term A/B tests.

I am most curious which system, in a month or two, I will be going to every day, the Mjölnir or the Hugo2/2Go. The Hugo2/2Go is lighter, and it allows streaming from Roon, and through Roon, from Tidal and Qobuz. Hugo song selection is controlled not by a touch screen rigidly attached to a six-pound box that must be lifted or positioned, but by a smart phone. Yet the Mjölnir has a wonderful long-term sound, has almost every possible output jack (only missing the double balanced jacks of the Sony PHA-3 and Pono), has satifying physical switches for some important things (play/pause, skip/repeat, and a user definable one or two that can used for play order, EQ on/off, etc.). The Mjölnir offers balanced as well as single ended output (and input); the Hugo2 is single ended.

My Mjölnir does not have streaming capability. It plays internally-stored music, or it can be run as a USB DAC and hence play from streaming sources running Roon such as an iPhone. I have not been able to enable any over-the-air Bluetooth input to allow wireless playing of streaming sources (the Hugo2 does support this, though not at HD bit rates). The Mjölnir does support playing to Bluetooth headphones, quite nicely.

There are clues and bird signs that maybe the Mjölnir will eventually do more. For example, early specs in Chinese reported on this thread indicate support for Roon and Airplay, though those statements have not appeared in the current ads or manuals. Similarly, the current specs mention wireless audio via LTTP (LoTOO Tele-Transport Protocol), but I cannot find menu entries or user manual statements to support this. Menus in the Mjölnir mention MQA! WiFi works, but an attempt to check for software updates returns “error-37.” Repeated questions to service@lotoo.cn have not been answered. MusicTeck, from whom I purchased the Mjölnir, state that the Mjölnir has been sent to Roon to become Roon certified. Inquiries to Roon (When?!) elicit the statement that they neither confirm nor deny which systems are under evaluation (makes sense).

Thanks for the ongoing impressions. Say what you will about the Hugo2Go UI experience - and I've owned it 3 times myself with varying levels of annoyance and pleasure - but one has to give credit for how well Hugo 2 endures as a TOTL source, especially against the backdrop of DAPs, which come and go like passing trends. No doubt the Mjolnir will also endure in the same way.

 

[Nostoi]

Extended impressions of Mjolnir from @TomKorn - https://audioessence.ch/en/blogs/news/force-of-nature-lotoo-mjolnir

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Firmware update for Mjolnir V. 1.4.0.4 available now. No mention about changes but I guess bug fixes (none discovered so far) and optimizations.

How do you find this firmware? When I use the Mjölnir firmware update button, I just get “download error-37,” and when I look at the LoTOO support site for Mjölnir firmware downloads, none are listed. Thanks!

Edit: MusicTeck sent me a link to download the new firmware. Thanks, MusicTeck!

 

[crazyhank]

Gorgeous pic!! What are the first 2? and then Odyssey, Multiverse Mentor, Raven ? Thanks!