Got my Mjolnir 2 three weeks ago. It was an impulsive, almost hasty purchase, which I was half-ready to regret (oh boy, I was wrong). One day I was just casually reading up on the subject of hybrid amps, then I stumbled upon a couple reviews and then went straight to Schiit's website then ended up here, in this thread. Couple hours later I was already googling up Schiit's UK dealer.
Despite owning quite demanding headphones (Sennheiser HD650, bought from one of the first batches back in 2004, if I remember correctly), I never really bothered with a proper headphone amp. I used a headphone output of my Apogee Duet (the built in amp is quite decent) and only couple years ago I bought myself Creek OBH-21Mk2, but was never impressed with it. So initially I thought, that headphone amps are all like that, and do not affect the SQ in a meaningful way. Another problem was (and is) that I live on the small island, so it is quite hard for me to go to a good store and hear things out and compare to what I have. I have to carefully select what I order online and I rely heavily on the forums like this one, as they give a multitude of opinions and are invaluable in my case.
But back to Mjolnir 2. I was intrigued by the idea of a hybrid amp and honestly did not know what to expect, was even a bit sceptical. So when I finally got it I plugged it in with stock tubes, left it to warm up for about 10 hours playing couple songs on repeat while I was at work wondering what to listen to first. That evening was a revelation of sorts - finally I was really enjoying listening to the music via headphones! I do have a very decent home system (Dynaudio Contour speakers + Parasound P3 preamp + 2x (dual mono) Parasound A23 power amps), but I rarely use it for listening to the music lately, because my wife disapproves my listening volumes and sometimes the choice of music (ranging from mellow sounds of Buena Vista Social Club to a terrifying wall of sound from Dark Tranquility and such). So last several years I had to resort to listening music in headphones mostly, but I never really enjoyed it and mostly used music as a background. That evening all has changed, my HD650 got a new life brought into them. Suddenly I could hear so much more detail, much better bass and even better soundstage. Moreover, I no longer needed to crank up the volume to get full range of sound - the bass was always there even at 10 o'clock volume knob position. That evening I spent maybe 5 or 6 hours just going through my music collection, getting shivers down my spine every other track out of sheer pleasure of re-discovery. What impressed me the most was the holographic effect of presence, especially once I got to a good recording for headphones (Open Your Ears CD). Even playing games on my PC was a whole new experience audio-wise (almost crap myself during one of those jump scare moments in the new Prey).
Last three weeks were spent rediscovering my music library and reading up on tube rolling with MJ2. For now got myself a pair of Genalex Gold Lions, the difference to stock tubes is very minor, but they feel a bit more accurate and precise. I personally like more neutral sound, so it fits my preferences, but I plan to continue exploring different tubes.
So thanks to that thread for one of the best purchases of audio equipment in the last maybe 10 years for me, back to lurking and enjoying music.
