[disastermouse]

Hi all,

I've recently decided to jump into the world of higher end hi-fi headphones with a wallet draining go big or go home type mentality.  A big thank you to everyone for the pile of fascinating reading over the past few months.  Prior to this I've owned the Denon D2000, Sennheiser HD600, Sony CD900ST (still love them), Sony D66 Eggos (why don't the hell don't they make these anymore?!?!), along with Fiio's e7 and e9 DAC/AMP.  Oh, and I also tried out the Lyr and Bifrost for the trial period, but sent them back because I didn't really appreciate the tube sound.  

Anyways...my point...   I decided to purchase the Gungnir and Mjolnir to go with my recently acquired LCD2's.  Due to stocking issues I had to wait a few weeks in between for each one to arrive.  Received the LCD2's first and loved their sound with my e7/e9 combo.  Next I got the Gungnir and found it made a night and day difference compared to the e7 DAC (no major surprises here).  A few weeks later I was thrilled when I finally received the Mjolnir (this was after they sent me a Gungnir in a Mjolnir box by mistake...Alex at Schiit was awesome and fixed the issue quickly).  To balance the LCD2's I purchased a Black Widow cable from Toxic Cables (amazing company/guy too).

Now...I was extremely excited to get the Mjolnir going and was somewhat impressed at first, but soon noticed a few glaring issues.  It's very powerful and has one hell of a kick but this seems to come at the expense of soundstage and midrange congestion.  It seems more closed when compared to the Gungnir running through the e9.  The e9 setup sounds more like I'm in the recording studio with the band whereas the Mjolnir sounds somewhat analytical and unengaging.  I've put over 20 hours on it and am hoping that things improve; however, going back over some of the reviews I think I now fully understand what some of the negative comments are referring to.

So, my question to the collective is, will it improve with another couple dozen hours on it or should I look elsewhere?  Again, I love the Gungnir and will keep it for sure.  I'm thinking the V181 might be a good choice?  Anyone else find a good amp match for the Gungnir/LCD2 combo that helps staging?  I know there are numerous threads on this topic, and I've read through many of them, but I would appreciate any opinions that relate to my specific situation.

Thanks in advance!

The E9 is considered a slightly warm amp, and mine certainly seems to be. I can't speak to the soundstage, as my E9 and Magni don't seem to have many differences - if anything, I'd give the edge to the Magni. Anyway, maybe you're missing the warmth of the E9?

 

[Maxvla]

There's always your Canadian friends at Bryston to try. I have the BHA-1 and it bested the Mjolnir in my direct comparison.

 

[NA Blur]

Quote:

There's always your Canadian friends at Bryston to try. I have the BHA-1 and it bested the Mjolnir in my direct comparison.

In what ways was the Mjolnir bested?  What headphones did you test both with?
 
I am curious.

 

[claybum]

Quote:

In what ways was the Mjolnir bested?  What headphones did you test both with?
 
I am curious.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/631313/schiit-mjolnir-vs-bryston-bha-1-and-schiit-gungnir-vs-bifrost
 
It's a great read!

 

[superotaku]

Well...after putting another 25+ hours of burn-in time, I sat down and did some analytical listening.  It does seem to be improving as the bass and treble are tighter than before and I don't notice as much congestion.  One thing I do notice though is the lack of overall depth.  The stage is wide but there's something missing in the middle and it's driving me crazy.  If I could just move the centre a few inches forward it would be perfect.  I still find that although insanely detailed and revealing, the Mjolnir is somewhat cold and emotionally disconnected from what I'm used to.  I listen to mainly classic rock, alternative, and prog rock.
 
I thought I was off tubes after testing out the Lyr, but after a lot more reading I'm very interested in the Woo WA6-SE.  Seems like it will add the warmth and depth missing in the Mjolnir and as an added bonus I can get it locally.  I'm thinking of picking one up and selling the "loser".      

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

I thought I was off tubes after testing out the Lyr, but after a lot more reading I'm very interested in the Woo WA6-SE.  Seems like it will add the warmth and depth missing in the Mjolnir and as an added bonus I can get it locally.  I'm thinking of picking one up and selling the "loser".      

 
 
the WA6-SE would definitely add warmth and depth, and width 

. its a great amp with LCD-2 with plenty of control and power to spare. 
 
most people with the WA6-SE/LCD-2 combo really enjoy it including myself. you can play around with the tubes to really change the sound too. you can go from aggressive to neutral to bassy to lush depending on the tubes. 
 
if you decide to get the LCD-2, for tube combinations, the following work great with LCD-2.
 
596 + 6GL7 (favorite, near perfect with great PRaT and smoothness)
Sophia Princess + 6FD7 (very good well balanced sound)
Sophia Princess + 6DR7 (very good as well, almost like 596 + 6GL7)
GZ34 + 6GL7 (dark and bassy)
GZ34 + 6FD7 (for brighter sound)
Sophia Princess + 6EW7 (less bass but more transparent and laid back)
 
hope that helps if you decide to get the WA6-SE!

 

[superotaku]

Thanks for the info Dubstep Girl! 
 
In the end I decided to give the Mjolnir a little more time and am finding that it's now starting to fill out nicely.  As paradoxper mentioned, burning it in using pink noise has done wonders to its overall sound characteristics.  The harshness is settling down and the bass is less boomy.  Imagining has improved and my brain is getting used to the forceful nature of this amp.
 
I'm also moving to Japan this summer and the thought of trying to keep the tubes safe during transit worried me.
 
For a different taste I picked up a used Burson HA-160DS for $500 to play with.  It's not in the same league as the WA6-SE or the Mjolnir, but it's cheap enough to try and will make a nice semi-portable system for around the house.  If I don't like it I'll just resell. 

 

[DenonBeaver]

Quote:

Thanks for the info Dubstep Girl! 
 
In the end I decided to give the Mjolnir a little more time and am finding that it's now starting to fill out nicely.  As paradoxper mentioned, burning it in using pink noise has done wonders to its overall sound characteristics.  The harshness is settling down and the bass is less boomy.  Imagining has improved and my brain is getting used to the forceful nature of this amp.
 
I'm also moving to Japan this summer and the thought of trying to keep the tubes safe during transit worried me.
 
For a different taste I picked up a used Burson HA-160DS for $500 to play with.  It's not in the same league as the WA6-SE or the Mjolnir, but it's cheap enough to try and will make a nice semi-portable system for around the house.  If I don't like it I'll just resell. 

 


I've found that "usually" when you move to new equipment even if it's much higher end it takes awhile for you ears to adapt as weird as that sounds. Sometimes that's not the case for example when I moved from my Denon 5000's to LCD-2 but most of the time your ears need time to burn in as well before you fully appreciate the new gear. Patience.

 

[disastermouse]

Can someone explain amp burn in? With transducers with moving parts, I understand - but how are the mechanics of amp burn-in?

 

[commtrd]

What is the difference between pink noise and white noise? What are the best frequencies to use for amp "burn in"? 

 

[superotaku]

Quote:

 


I've found that "usually" when you move to new equipment even if it's much higher end it takes awhile for you ears to adapt as weird as that sounds. Sometimes that's not the case for example when I moved from my Denon 5000's to LCD-2 but most of the time your ears need time to burn in as well before you fully appreciate the new gear. Patience.

Yeah, it's strange...I equate appreciating higher end electronics like appreciating finer wines/foods etc.  You know they're better but it might take some time to fully understand why.  Now that I've burned the Mjolnir/Gungnir and seemingly my brain in, it's hard for me to go back to anything else.  It's pretty stupid but the way it is.  The key to the Mjolnir is high quality everything in the chain because it doesn't hide a thing. 

 

[superotaku]

Quote:

Can someone explain amp burn in? With transducers with moving parts, I understand - but how are the mechanics of amp burn-in?

 
Sorry, I don't know why but it seems to work.
 
Quote:

What is the difference between pink noise and white noise? What are the best frequencies to use for amp "burn in"? 

 
I ran it through using the JL Labs burn-in tool:
 
http://www.jlabaudio.com/burn.php
 
It might take a couple of seconds for the player to show up at the bottom of the screen.

 

[BRAC]

The only "burn-in" happening is between your ears. "Burn-in" is the single biggest myth in audio, imho.
 
The ones that really make me laugh are the folks who claim, "it really opens up after 500 hours", or something along those lines.
 
Seriously??? Come on.....

 

 

[SunshineReggae]

Quote:

The only "burn-in" happening is between your ears. "Burn-in" is the single biggest myth in audio, imho.
 
The ones that really make me laugh are the folks who claim, "it really opens up after 500 hours", or something along those lines.
 
Seriously??? Come on.....

 

 
I know right. Probably just some coping mechanism to deal with disappointing findings.
 
It's not the single biggest myth by the way, because there's some truth to burn-in concerning tubes and, arguably to a lesser degree, headphones.
Biggest has to be headphone cables or 'the tube sound'.

 

[superotaku]

Quote:

The only "burn-in" happening is between your ears. "Burn-in" is the single biggest myth in audio, imho.
 
The ones that really make me laugh are the folks who claim, "it really opens up after 500 hours", or something along those lines.
 
Seriously??? Come on.....

 

 
Well, whatever it is, the end result is more happiness for me...and that's all that matters