I received my Magni 3 yesterday and did some early comparisons before letting it run overnight and doing some more listening this morning. I did some A/Bs with the Jotunheim, using the Yggy as the DAC for both. Headphones used were Beyer T1s (original), Beyer DT880s (600 Ohm), Focal Elear, and Audeze LCD 2.2.
At this point, the Jotunheim still sounds better overall. It sounds slightly cleaner, with slightly clearer treble. I’ve seen the Magni 3 described as warmer, but it can also be characterized as slightly darker. I want to emphasize the differences are minor, and it is easy enough to just listen with the Magni 3 and not really miss anything.
To some of the listening I performed, noting that I listen extensively to classical music:
- Lana Del Rey, Lust for Life: the Magni presents the singers’ voices extremely well, and is just as satisfying as the Jotunheim. Bass is basically the same, and fine details are present.
- Air, Moon Safari: the warmer presentation of the Magni works fantastically well here, making it even more of an electronic dream, with Beth Hirsch’s voice as seductive as ever.
- Róisín Murphy, Overpowered: Murphy’s voice sounds splendid, and the Magni generates headphone equivalents of thumping bass quite well. Again, some fine detail seems slightly less clear here than through the Jotunheim, and the Magni sounds slightly less spacious with some of the spatial and phase effects used in the recording.
- Led Zeppelin III (newest remastering): I’ve listened to this in various forms (LP, cassette, CDs) hundreds of times for decades, and everything sounds just fine. Everything sounds just right, everything in the mix is there, and the vocals and instruments sound as natural as the new remastering allows.
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonatas Opp 90, 101, 106 played by Steven Osborne on Hyperion: I selected this and the next recording to hear how well the Magni resolves fine details that are not musical in nature. Specifically, in this recording, the damper mechanism is audible throughout, as a soft ‘swish’ sound, and the Magni presents it just fine, if not quite as cleanly as the Jotunheim. This doesn’t lead directly to musical satisfaction, but it does render the upper registers of the piano a bit less crystalline, and slightly warmer sounding. I can envision some people preferring this type of sound. Dynamic range is superb and on par with the Jotunheim.
- Gustave Samazeuilh, Piano Music played by Olivier Chauzu on Grand Piano: pretty much the same as above, but here, Chauzu’s pedal stomps might actually be slightly more prominent through the Magni.
- Johannes Brahms, Piano Music played by Arcadi Volodos on Sony: this recording, one of the greatest recordings ever of any of Brahms’ piano music, sounds rich and dark and full, and the Magni slightly magnifies the richer and darker sound. The sound of Volodos’ fingernails hitting the keys is audible, demonstrating the fine detail is there. The Magni works exceedingly well here.
- Richard Strauss, Don Quixote conducted by Lorin Maazel with Steven Isserlis playing cello on RCA. The slight diminution of clarity with the Magni is obvious here in the slightly less clear orchestral sections and slightly less distinctive wind trills. The sound is less spacious than the Jotunheim, as well. Again, the differences are minor, but they are there.
Here I ran into a volume limitation using the DT 880s. The recording is low level, requiring near unity gain through a conventional stereo, and I actually maxxed out the volume control. It was loud, to be sure, with big dynamic swings and forte tuttis slightly louder than comfortable (which is what I was shooting for), but I have some recordings even lower in level than this, and they might not be able to be played at a satisfying volume with the 600 Ohm DT 880s. There is no such limitation with the other headphones mentioned
The Magni works well with all the headphones listed. I’m a big fan of the Beyer sound, which I know not everyone is, and I must say that when paired with the DT 880, the result is especially good. The T1s and LCD 2.2s benefit from the greater refinement of the Jotunheim, while the Elears sound best, to my taste, when paired with the original Asgard. (I did not do any A/Bs with my other headphone amps yet.) Overall, for a hundred bucks, the Magni 3 is the Schiit.