erik701
100+ Head-Fier
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- Jul 9, 2015
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I would be curious how will end comparison of OPPO HA-1 vs Schiit Jotunheim in terms of sound quality.
Yeah price is pretty much the only new stuff, but it seems many people downplay/forget the preamp feature. I imagine there are many people at home and studios with decend dac and speakers itching to get this in between. Show me another xlr in, xlr out active preamp under $400 (even without balanced headamp as a bonus)? There's some crap like SPL Volume 2 and that's about it. If I wouldn't have my NFB-1AMP already (which is pretty stellar for $520 I have to say), pretty sure I would consider the smaller footprint Jotty hard.
Emotiva's XDA-2 did all of this
I've used the Magni 2 Uber and Vali 2 with my T1 2nd gen and they aren't bright..detailed but not harsh unless the recording is poorly recorded. That being said, i listen to mostly Spotify premium so i'm hardly listening to audiophile material and they do sound nice through the Schiit amps.
Thank you for that, I really only stream Tidal hifi so that information's still relevant to me. Glad to hear the T1 don't sound bright/harsh through the magni!
Any further information / specs. on the DAC module, Will it suppoert 24 bit / Hi-Res formats? I know Schiit isn't keen on DSD but I have a decent sized collection, interested in knowing if it supports them as well which may clinch the deal for me.
I also would like to know that.
Btw I think Head-Fi needs a separate forum for Amp+DAC devices.
I really appreciate you taking the time to share such in-depth impressions!
I'm slightly wary of the Jotunheim's bright signature however, both Schiit amps I currently own are tube based and whilst I don't find them to be particularly warm (as clearly stated on their website's FAQ, they aren't meant to be tubey sounding) I don't think they sound fatiguing at all and enjoy them very much (even with stock tubes).
Would you say the Jotunheim may feel fatiguing with headphones like the standard HD800 or the Beyer T1/T90?
In case I missed it, did you have the the two maps side by side to make this "comparison" ?
I think this is another competitor in this price point
http://matrix-digi-usa.com/m-stage-series/m-stage-hpa-3b
The HPA-3b seems very competitive with the the Jot.
Let's face it, the board mounted DAC or phono pre amp are gimmicks, and Jason would have said the same thing a month ago (in fact, he has said many non-positive things about integrated equipment). The jot will likely be a big seller for Schiit. Might even get them into Best Buy it might make a good second rig for the bedroom or office for the more serious audiophile crowd. It's a great entry level for summit fi headphone buyers, or a good step up from basic entry level.
It will be interesting once reviewed and compared to the matrix, LC, and NFB1 (and others)
If you don't find Schiit's other tube amps to sound fatiguing with the HD800, I don't think you're going to find the Jotunheim to sound fatiguing with that headphone. I didn't think the Jotunheim sounded any brighter than the Vallhalla 2, Lyr 2, or Mjolnir 2 all on stock tubes.
I can't remember if I read about it anywhere, but was it mentioned if the user can swap the modules themselves? Or can it be done only back at Schiit?
Reconsidering the Jotunheim, though I don't care about vinyl it seems to me that;
1. Single-end in and balanced out feature is an entry-level price-point to the balanced world.... Then I would need to spend on balanced requiring and a worthy headphone.
Best of all, I can still feed it my Bimby's output.
I think this is another competitor in this price point
http://matrix-digi-usa.com/m-stage-series/m-stage-hpa-3b
The HPA-3b seems very competitive with the the Jot.
Let's face it, the board mounted DAC or phono pre amp are gimmicks, and Jason would have said the same thing a month ago (in fact, he has said many non-positive things about integrated equipment). The jot will likely be a big seller for Schiit. Might even get them into Best Buy it might make a good second rig for the bedroom or office for the more serious audiophile crowd. It's a great entry level for summit fi headphone buyers, or a good step up from basic entry level.
It will be interesting once reviewed and compared to the matrix, LC, and NFB1 (and others)
I think calling them gimmicks are going abit too far. After all, the $99 board mounted DAC is a balanced AKM 4490 (to me, it's the best sounding DS DAC), and like Jason said, the phono add-in will be good for those considering a turntable in the future (I will like to get one after I have my own place like 3-4 years go the road) and vinyl is getting popular again.
Also, the DAC and phono add-in might not be the only inserts and Jason hinted as much in his blog (a wifi card in the latest post, and an interest in streaming in earlier post). I might be eyeing the Jotunheim right now solely as a well-priced balanced amp, but I'll be extremely interested in Schiit's future inserts.