[Edwood]

The new Jotunheim is a powerful little package. It's much smaller than I thought it would be. It truly is self contained, no extra external power brick, and fully balanced too!

Enough power to max out most ortho magneplanars too. While not quite as much finesse and bass as more powerful and much larger balanced amps, it's still quite adequate. Overall, I think the Jotunheim would make for an incredible transportable office rig. It barely gets warm too.

 

[Edwood]

For scale reference, and it didn't melt my chapstick either.

 

[HK_sends]

For scale reference, and it didn't melt my chapstick either.

Wow, that does look small!
Cheers!

-HK sends
 
PS - Is Schiit showing other new equipment besides the Jotunheim?

 

[swspiers]

For scale reference, and it didn't melt my chapstick either.

Wow, that does look small!
Cheers!
-HK sends

PS - Is Schiit showing other new equipment besides the Jotunheim?

I hope so. I have no need or desire at all for the Jotunheim at this time. I'm not complaining, but...

 

[Edwood]

Wow, that does look small!
Cheers!
-HK sends

PS - Is Schiit showing other new equipment besides the Jotunheim?

Only Jotunheim AFAIK

 

[Edwood]

Lots of Schiit crammed into the rear.

 

[Fidelity King]

Schiit Show 2 Impressions ​

My name is Oscar and these are my impressions of the Schiit Show 2 held at the MDR Hotel, Santa Monica on August 27, 2016.
Schiit Audio is one of those companies, that despite having grown quite a lot since their foundation back in 2010, still care about their audience and go out of their way to satisfy the needs of their customers. Schiit has proven this the most with the pricing of their products and their lack of bullschiit, they have been able to garner the attention of the true audiophile rather than those who spend their money blindly. Out of all this Schiit has come up with a product that will not only fundamentally change them but also the field of desktop audio for the next several years. For the past year or so there has already been a trend towards more affordable dac/amp combos, but most of those were at around the $100 range and while very good for the price, most weren't able to compete with true high-end amps or dacs. For a while there was always the Woo audio WA7 which was considered by most the be a high-end dac/amp. It was however in the category of high-end and as a result was out of the price range for many. This changes now that Schiit have come out with the Jotunheim, one of the first performance dac/amps. By performance I mean that it is at a price that many more people will be able to afford. But the pricing also means that any unnecessary bells and whistles have been removed in favor of pure performance. And that is why the price is where it is; it’s not too much and actually allows the potential buyer to consider a good headphone when buying this. Now instead of buying a $1000+ amp to use with a sub$300 headphone or buying a $1000 headphone to use with a sub $1000 amp, buyers have more flexibility with their purchase decision. Like Schiit said before this will revolutionise desktop audio the same way their magni and modi combo did when they were first released. Let’s get into the design, sound and features of this amp/dad shall we.

Design ​

People familiar with Schiit’s design language will find nothing new here. We get the same great all metal construction that adds a sturdier more premium feel to to the amp/dac. It’s not uncommon to have a metal construction of a device like this, but the finishing on the Jotunheim, makes it feel better than on most other amps at a similar price. With the outer design we get the same sleekness that makes all schiit amps and dacs look more like devices that were made for listening to music rather than machines used to test your hearing. It’s nothing new, but the design that schiit uses is really clean and doesn’t get old. You’ll often find that having one of their amps or dacs can add a more pleasant aesthetic feel to your desk set up or your room in general. Thier clean and simple design doesn’t end up making the Jotunheim however. Because of the finishing and the brushed metal finish, the Jotunheim actually stands out from other amps with either tend to be plain black or just simply unattractive in design. In my personal opinion I think the  Jotunheim looks great overall and I feel most people will find it’s designed to be one that is both easy to look at and easy to live with.
Enough about the aesthetics, let's get into the outer features that this amp/dac has. Starting with the top of the machine, you’ll find some ventilation holes that help in reducing heat build up within the amp. Because this amp is capable of providing power to some seriously demanding headphones, ventilation is required to keep this amp running well. It’s important to keep in mind that for that reason you should not block any of the hold or keep this amp in a location where air circulation might be poor. Moving to the front of the amp is where we can see some more of the functionality of the Jotunheim. There is a ¼ female port for full-sized headphones, a high and low gain switch, a device switch, and something really astonishing, especially for the price. A 4 pin balanced XLR connection. I don’t think anybody here would have expected to find a balanced XLR connection in a amp/dac, much less one that is sub-$1000. Aside from that there is also a large volume knob that gets hot to the touch after a while. Nothing that degrades the performance of the device, but just something to keep in mind when using it. Onto the back of the amp is where we can see the available connections. There’s a usb connection for the dac; it’s worth noting that the dac is usb only. There’s also a balanced in connection, a pre-out connection, and both in and out rca connections. Lastly theres the usual AC power out connection for hooking up the device to a power outlet. That sums it up for the connections you have at your disposal. I know some may be frustrated that the dac on this amp is usb only, but remember that this machine is performance oriented and is designed to quick and easy to use. The dac itself is good, but I’ll get more into that in the sound portion of this impression.

Sound ​

• General Impressions: If I could sum up the sound of this amp into a few words they would have to be, clean and fast. This amp/dac will turn your headphones into a HD800. Ok that last line was a little too extreme, but seriously I was taken down on how clean this amp was. No sloppy bass here that's for sure. But the cleanliness of the sound isn’t just reserved for the bass. No, the entire sound on this amp/dac is overall very clean and fast, almost like lasers. It’s a slightly polarizing sound, but I feel like most people in the audiophile community will really enjoy this amp/dac combo.
• Bass/Lows: This is the part of the sound that to me was the most interesting. There's something peculiar going on here and if you're listening on a pair of headphones like the HD 800 or the Beyer T1 you’ll most likely not notice it. If you listen on a pair of planar headphones however, you will almost immediately notice what I’m talking about. Just as a point of reference I’m going to refer to the Audeze LCD3 when I’m talking about planar headphones. Most people here will acknowledge that the LCD3 has a rather hefty lower end and at times can often makes the music sound somewhat slow. While listening to the electronic version of Canon in D minor by Josh Vietti I noticed that the track didn't sound overly gloomy and was surprised to feel a harder impact from the mid-bass here. This song sounded lightning fast, the way it was meant to be. At least for this portion of the bass I was left with my jaw on the floor, but it was when I got to the lower bass that I did encounter a problem. The track I used for this test was Don’t Hate the Playa by Tyga. now, I highly doubt that anyone else here listens to music like this, but me. Well anyway, this track is full of intense sub-bass that rattles headphones. When a headphone lacks bass or if the bass on that headphone isn’t up to par, I’m able to tell that apart when listening to this song. The same applies to this amp/dac; to my ears there was a lack of rumble. The bass was still there and I could clearly hear it, but the song didn’t shake my eardrums the way it’s supposed to. I tried some other rap tracks that were heavy on the bass and found that the bassier the tracks the more this problem was evident. Keep in mind that the tracks in which this problem was noticeable were tracks that feature insane, almost absurd amounts of sub-bass. I don’t expect many people on head-fi to listen to music like that, so to almost anyone considering getting a Jotunheim I don’t think you're going to find any problems here. In fact the speed and cleanliness of the bass is something that I expect more people here to enjoy. In my opinion putting numbers into sound evaluation is stupid as one’s own preferences are very subjective. I do however listen to almost every genre in existence, with the exception of metal and hard rock and with that in mind I would say that the bass was great for almost every genre I tested the amp with. If I were to put a number on this I would say the bass here was a solid 7.5 out of 10.
• Mids: Moving up to the mids I became much more pleases and less confused what what I was hearing. The mids here are dead flat, period. And by flat I most certainly don’t mean dead and devoid of emotion. I just mean that the mids here are uncolored and will let you hear voices as they were recorded without any noticeable alterations. So voices definitely sound great here, or at least very realistic and natural, but how to other mid oriented frequencies sound here? On the moonlight sonata I got a good idea on how this amp faired with mid frequencies that weren’t voices. This is a piano track that sounds more  effervescent than your average piano track. Headphones and amps that tend to be thin sounding will afte taken all life out of this track, but that doesn’t happen here with the Jotunheim. The liquid-like sound of the keys are kept intact here. The simplest and best way to summarize the mids here is realistic. You’ll get exactly what was intended to be in the recording, nothing less and nothing more. There's no annoying peaks here that would distract from the experience here. A truly amazing transition here from the bass to the mids and the transition from the mids to the treble only gets better.
• Treble/Highs: We’re on the part of the sound that impressed me the most. The treble here is what often breaks it or makes it for me and if makes it for me on this one. It's the treble that gives the rest of the sound it’s clean signature. Some of you may be thinking now that the treble here is boosted and therefore it sounds cold and harsh. That’s not the case however. The treble here sounds smooth and is polished. Like the mids, the treble is very pure sounding and doesn’t alter anything in ways that would sound annoying. On a well mastered track like Within from Daft Punk, I was really able to analyze how well the highs were on this amp. Because there’s no annoying peaks or dips here, it sounds as if the treble just extends up and up without stopping. It never gets to the point however where you feel like the highs are fatiguing. The high’s won’t make the annoying treble spikes go away on your headphones, but they also don’t add any unneeded harshness to the sound. I’m someone who is sensitive to treble and I can say that the highs here are not boosted, they’re just really well executed. It’s obvious that the highs here are not boosted as the sound overall would sound artificial and that's not the case here. Like I mentioned in the bass portion of this impression, putting numbers on these types of things is stupid, at least in my opinion. If I had to though I would easily give the treble here a perfect 10. It not only sounds nice on it’s own, but it’s what gives the rest of the sound a clean signature.

 

Closing Thoughts​

Despite some minor flaws here like only having a usb dac and the lower bass not being as well represented as it should, this is amp/dac is the complete package. “It may be the only amp you’ll ever need”, as Schiit said with their magni/modi slogan, this product is one that people will buy and be satisfied with. It’s for one for those who want heavy customization. People will buy this and be mostly happy with that they get. No bullschiit here, just good sound. To me this is one of those products that disrupts the market. The same way the ODAC combo did and the Hifiman HE560 did. They fill a void where previously there was very little to consider and open up new possibilities. It’s certainly one of those products where one way or another I’d be willing to save my pennies up for and it’s likely that many other people would too.

 

[babyryoga]

Being a rather new and inexperienced member of the community, most of these gatherings are a bit overwhelming for me. This was not the case with the 2nd coming of the Schiit Show, possibly to become an annual event to look forward to every year. The snacks were plentiful and tasty, the atmosphere was classy, and the company inviting. A smaller, straight-forward meet up is always welcoming. 
 
Of course, the reason for all of us gathering together was the newly unveiled JOTUNHEIM, a versatile beast in a smaller package. Among two different show rooms were many different pairings:
 

 Jotunheim w/ Mr Speakers Ether C headphones
 
Made to accommodate both higher end and lower end headphones, my first impression is that the Jotunheim does indeed pair well with almost anything you plug in to it, as boasted by the Schiit heads. With high demand and a bit of a wait to try it with some of the higher end phones on hand, I stuck to auditioning some of the more quintessential pairings - Ethers, HD800s, and LCD-3s among a couple others. 
 

Jotunheim w/ Mr Speakers Alpha Dogs, barking
 
Some of the pairings offered quite a nice boost to the lows on the higher gain setting, with more oomph that was otherwise missing kicking in and hitting hard. Such was the case with these Alpha Dogs (I think they were Alpha Dogs, can't quite remember), while listening with a pair of Sennheiser HD800s actually seemed to be a little more equal all-around on both gain settings. Both sounded clear and energetic, though the HD 800s clearly took slightly more juice. I also took some time to examine the chassis of the Jotunheim, and noticed that it didn't run especially hot, much cooler than your typical Schiit flagship.
 

 Kicking my legs up w/ LCD-3s and some Vinyl.
 
I found it very easy to kick back comfortably and get lost in some tunes, even with the harder to drive planar magnetic staple LCD-3s. Had to remind myself to only listen to a couple of tracks here, as there were others in chairs lined around the edge of the room waiting to get in on some action as well.
 
I believe Schiit has another winner on their hands, here. Everything sounded adequate, and the customization options are great. Many newbies might opt to start their journey into higher-end headphones by picking one of these bad boys up on a budget, leaving more funds to dip into a real premium set of cans. I believe they will be sufficiently satisfied in doing so, from the pairings I heard.
 
There were some generous door prizes and fun contests as well, and it seemed like everyone had a great time. I'll definitely look forward to a 3rd Schiit Show brewing in the future. 

 

[HK_sends]

Do you think I should need to use a Wyrd between a laptop music USB source and the Jotunheim?
Or does it have on board noise isolator circuitry.
Cheers and Thanks!

-HK sends

 

[darinf]

Thanks to Schiit Audio for the Schiit Show 2. The endless buffet of food and drink all day was really great!
 
OK, I guess the Jotunheim and all the headphones were pretty good too!
 
Here's some photos:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The best moment for me was plugging in my AKG K1000's to see if the Jotunheim had enough power to drive them. Surprisingly, with the volume knob at 3 o'clock, it was plenty loud. (Loud enough that everyone in the room could hear them.) This amp has some serious power!

 

[HK_sends]

Great pictures!  Thanks!

-HK sends

 

[chowmein83]

So... the Schiit Show today. What can I say, it was great fun!
 
First off, I gotta mention the people. Thanks to all the nice staff at Schiit who were extremely nice and helpful throughout the event. And also, I saw a bunch of other Head-Fi'ers whom I've seen around the other So-Cal headphones here. Like Stillhart, moedawg140, Warren Chi, and others whom I didn't mention. Definitely lots of animated chatter among them, the Schiit staff, and the other enthusiasts around here.
 
Speaking of chatter, while people were definitely talking this event was a lot more subtle and low-key than I thought it was going to be. This wasn't some kind of huge fiesta or anything like that, but rather a chill gathering of headphone and audio enthusiasts. I liked that.
 
This attitude also carried over into how the event was set up for listening. There were two dedicated listening rooms, and both were relatively quiet in that the rooms were relatively sound-proofed from the outside and most of the people inside weren't really chatting. People could actually get in some quality listening time here, which I greatly appreciated.
 
And I would hate to not mention the extreme generosity in food from Schiit. I mean seriously, there was both a full-featured breakfast and lunch for attendees, and all of the food was pretty good too. Come on, who else would be so generous to give all of this free food of this quality just for trying out their products? I think Schiit might've just convinced some people to come to their side just from this food.

 
Ok, now onto the actual impressions of the products there. Well, it was only one product - the Jotunheim. While I was initially disappointed Schiit's other products weren't here, that disappointment quickly faded once I realized that I could spend some decent quality time with this product with a variety of headphones. It's always fun to see how different headphones act to the same gear when evaluating said gear.
 
Anyways, here are my actual impressions of the Jotunheim, after listening for a good hour or two in relatively quiet conditions in the dedicated listening rooms:
 
One thing I first have to mention is that I unfortunately did not bring my own source. I would've brought something along if I had known before they specifically encouraged people to plug in their own sources, but oh well. So I'm not really qualified to make a judgment on the DAC.
 
However, I will make some comments on what I think about the amp at this point in time. Specifically, I'm going to be doing some comparisons to the Cavalli Liquid Carbon ($800 in the 2nd run) which I do own and have experienced with a variety of headphones and DACs. This I'm more comfortable with talking about since I think I have a handle on the character of the LC, even though I've never heard the Carbon amp with the DAC specifically in the Jotunheim.
 
The five different headphones that I spent time with listening to the Jotunheim were: Fostex TH-X00, Hifiman HE-560, ZMF Omni, Sennheiser HD800, and the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow. So a variety of both dynamic and planar magnetic headphones.
 
First off, anyone who's not a fan of the sound signature of Schiit's other amps is still not going to like this one. That being said however, while still being on the bright side I felt the Jotunheim was slightly less bright than the other Schiit amps I've heard. But this could just be my tastes changing over time since I've last heard the other amps. And while bright, I never really felt the Jotunheim sounded harsh.
 
As for the bass, it was quite punchy and never got out of control. However, while the bass quality was good I feel that the Liquid Carbon has the slightly better bass - it has a bit more, but it's never out of control and more importantly, it seems a bit more textured and detailed than what I heard on the Jotunheim. Still, I don't think many are going to be dissatisfied with the Jotunheim's bass.
 
As for the mids, well the LC has more lush mids but the Jotunheim's is just as detailed with a brighter tilt. I think it's going to come down to preferences as to which one is better.
 
Soundstage was definitely a highlight of the Jotunheim. Very wide (though not the widest I've heard from the very best amps) and pretty deep. When you combine this with the excellent imaging capabilities (both left-to-right and depth-wise) you have a very 3D soundstage that is the hallmark of a well-done balanced amp. Heck, even the SE out did a very good job in giving a 3D soundstage. I actually don't think it really loses out here to the LC much, if at all.
 
As for pairings with different headphones, I don't think any of the headphones I've mentioned sounded bad with the Jotunheim at all. In fact, the Jotunheim paired well with all of them. The Jotunheim never sounded like it was lacking power for any of those headphones. And though the Jotunheim is on the bright side, it still allowed the characters of each headphone to come through clearly.
 
The Fostex TH-X00 was very enjoyable on the Jotunheim. Very detailed, with nice seperation and soundstage, and allowing that bass to really come through cleanly and with great punch. The HE-560 sounded very clean and fast without getting harsh. Same for the HD800 surprisingly - the Jotunheim gave the HD800 the chance to show off its massive soundstage and accurate imaging without making it sound particularly harsh. The ZMF Omni's rather large soundstage and slightly warm character came through while still being decently detailed. And the Ether Flow sounds very good with the Jotunheim - punchy bass, a very 3D soundstage, and the Flow never sounded confused even during the most complicated passages due to the Jotunheim really allowing the headphone to demonstrate its speed and seperation. 
 
Another thing I wanted to note is this thing runs cool. I'd say it gets only moderately warm, and is much cooler than the rest of Schiit's amps.
 
Overall, I think this is a win for Schiit, especially at the price. I mean seriously, where are you going to get a very good sounding balanced amp for only $400? Or where are you going to get a decent-sounding balanced DAC/amp combo for only $500? The value proposition here is just strong.
 
Anyways, I've got to wrap this up. I'll be definitely coming to the Schiit Show next year - can't wait to see what Schiit's cooked up by then while enjoying what will surely be another lively event!

 

[Macduff]

The Jotunheim, or, for brevity’s sake, the Joty, certainly didn’t disappoint. I listened to a little Jazz, blues, classical, and various forms of rock, but the majority of my listening was done with 80s alternative. I noticed no issues with any of the headphones and the Joty pairing. It seems to be a very versatile amp. I’ve owned a Mani, Magni2, and a Fulla, and I listen to mostly classical music at home.
 
When first handling the Joty, I was taken with the size, smoothness, and solidity of the volume knob. I set the volume mostly at a quarter to a third of the way without the need to go higher, even though there was, from time to time, a lot of exterior noise from conversations nearby. All of the following headphones sounded smooth and balanced through the Joty, but please take these brief impressions with a grain of salt, as on another day, one could hear something totally different. At a show there are a lot of distractions, and I know you’ll neither fully dismiss nor embrace any of these headphones based on my brief opinions of how they worked with a specific amp.
 
ETHER FLOW: Melifluous. The flow is very consistent from song to song with zero surprises. This pairing was smooth, even keeled, dependable from the lows to the highs. A solid performer, and very well balanced. I could use a tad more energy and sizzle and magic however. 
 
ETHER FLOW C: Compared to the regular flow, the closed felt a little muted on the details. The ease and, dare I say flow, that showed up in spades in the Ether Flow was slightly absent in the C. I found the regular Flow to sound more natural to my ear than the C.
 
FOSTEX TH-X00 MAHOGANY: Good base. Lots of sweet, melodious music coming from this combo. One could be very happy with this pairing for a long time. A pretty good cost to benefit ratio. Didn't spend a lot of time with these though.
 
HD800: Detail and Clarity was here in abundance and it was great to hear it.
 
HD800S: Really enjoyed this setup. Smooth transitions from low to high. The Ether Flow and the 800S are equally good at what they do and worked equally well with the amp, but my flavor profile is partial to the 800S. The Flow has a good, sweet melodiousness to it (and perhaps more enjoyable bass) while the Sennheiser provides fantastic resolution. I’d be curious to hear the 800S with a tubed Mjolnir 2.
 
LCD3: A bit like the the Ether Flow but not as open to my ears. Compared to the other headphones, I felt I was having a poorly recollected dream or that I was slightly inebriated and couldn’t make out the details of what I heard.  I don’t remember much width or depth. I enjoyed the Sennheiser 800S and Flow pairing more than the LCD3.
 
FOCAL UTOPIA: with Kimber cable. At first, they sounded just right, the way a headphone should sound. Clear, Liquidy smooth. A nice weight to music that the HD800s perhaps lack.  Piano sounded good. Can’t recall drums exactly, but the bass pounced like Tigger. However, was it distracting? I wonder if the lows are a little overemphasized. Otherwise, it’s a very natural sounding headphone. 
 
FOCAL ELEAR: I wasn’t able to hear these amped but through an iphone they sounded great! Very well balanced from lows to highs.  Again I thought overall Focal figured out how a headphone should sound, except I wasn’t distracted by the very punchy bass that its more expensive brother seemed to dish out. This might have been due to the Elear being unamped. It’s a shame I didn’t hear the Elear through the Joty because at $4-500, the amp might be a very agreeable companion to the $1000 Elears.
 
EVENT AND AMP SUMMARY: There were two turntables (no microphone): one was a brand I didn’t recognize. The other was a u-turn turntable. Without being familiar with the cartridges, I couldn’t comment comfortably on the mm section of the Joty. But I can tell you I’ve been very happy with the Schiit Mani and a denon DL103 so I suspect with a decent table and mm cartridge Joty would be more than up to the task.
 
The show was full of friendly people and there was easy access to gear with little waiting, and others have already mentioned the good food. The hotel has a laid back vibe and there’s plenty to do within walking distance. What a pleasant event. Thank you to all the organizers and contributors. I felt very privileged and fortunate to listen to such wonderful headphones on another exceptionally good value amp from Schiit. 

 

[AviP]

 
The Jotunheim, or, for brevity’s sake, the Joty, certainly didn’t disappoint. I listened to a little Jazz, blues, classical, and various forms of rock, but the majority of my listening was done with 80s alternative. I noticed no issues with any of the headphones and the Joty pairing. It seems to be a very versatile amp. I’ve owned a Mani, Magni2, and a Fulla, and I listen to mostly classical music at home.

How does it compare to the Magni2?

 

[Macduff]

I Didn't listen to the Magni 2 and Jotunheim with the same headphones nor dac so it wouldn't be a fair comparison I'm afraid.