[dogears]

will let you know once it reaches me - hopefully be end of month

 

[barondla]

Mitchell & Johnson headphone owners don't forget to enter the CONTEST!

Submit a photo of your M&J headphones to their official Facebook page. Picture with most likes wins a set of Mitchell & Johnson GL1 Electrostatz headphones! You have until the end of the month to enter.

You can also go to the M&J Facebook page and vote for your favorite photo.

 

[barondla]

Curious if anyone is using a headphone amp with their M&J Electrostatz? They are easy to drive but still might benefit from an amp. I have access to a Schiit Magni. Gave that a very short listen. Need to try it again.

 

[hullubullu]

I'm a proud owner of the MJ2 since six days now, although I was a bit disappointed about the lack of bass and the somewhat metallic sound in the beginning.  My previous listening habits include a balanced AKG240MKII for listening at home and for on the go I used Trinity Atlas, with the new Master on preorder. All headphones are being driven by my Pono Player.
 
Regarding the MJ2, I added 2cm of PU-foam between the casing and the earpads. Now they are somewhat more comfortable for longer listening sessions. Before that I had to remove them after an hour or so. On the day of arrival I made a custom cable that supports the balanced output of the Pono Player.
 
In a quiet environment I am far away from the maximum output, being roughly at 10%. That leaves more than enough room and I don't consider using an amp.
 
Regarding the sound, I can only describe it as being enormously detailed. The MJ2 creates an incredible detailed, natural and vivid soundstage. The separation of vocals is amazing.
I don't regret buying the headphones, although I was disappointed in the beginning.

 

[barondla]

Hullubullu, welcome to the Mitchell and Johnson headphone appreciation forum. The MJ2 are wonderful transducers. They do require major break in time. The GL2 requires even longer break in. 
 
You have the MJ2 working in balanced mode on Pono. Great news. I tried that once on the MJ2 and it didn't work. Must have done something wrong. Will try again. Thanks for the info.

 

[willsw]

Curious if anyone is using a headphone amp with their M&J Electrostatz? They are easy to drive but still might benefit from an amp. I have access to a Schiit Magni. Gave that a very short listen. Need to try it again.

 
Though I never feel the need to put more power into them just using my phone, I was doing some repetitive listening with a GL2 while trying different cables and decided to switch from just an iBasso DX80, which has a relatively low power output, to the iBasso P5, which is a much more powerful, not to mention great sounding, desktop/portable amp. Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between cables, but my ears are not that good at those kind of subtleties. The difference with the amp, however, was immediate and significant. Better amp = better sounding headphone. 
 
We actually almost always use the GL2 out of a MicroZOTL2, as its sensitivity makes it very good for testing the amps for quietness. The funny thing is that we are therefore almost always listening to only the amp: no input, no music. 

 

[dogears]

my gl2 just arrived
listening to them straight out of the box and i'm impressed.
connected straight from my ip6 for now

 

[dogears]

wow! microZOTL2 driving the GL2

 

[hullubullu]

  Hullubullu, welcome to the Mitchell and Johnson headphone appreciation forum. The MJ2 are wonderful transducers. They do require major break in time. The GL2 requires even longer break in. 
 
You have the MJ2 working in balanced mode on Pono. Great news. I tried that once on the MJ2 and it didn't work. Must have done something wrong. Will try again. Thanks for the info.

Thanks barondla. 
 
I wired them as follows:
 
MJ2:
 
Left:
Sleeve: -
Tip: +
 
Right:
Sleeve: -
Ring: +
 
Sleeve goes to Ring for Ponoplugs and Tip / Ring goes to Tip for Ponoplugs.
But check again before soldering! This is out of memory and with some notes I took while making the cable. With the new cable the Headphoneplugs are only for left or right. Unfortunately they don't work for both earcups anymore. This would have been more work and needed some modifications to the headphone itself.
 
So far the headphones really uncover bad recordings.

 

[barondla]

Thanks hullubullu for the wiring guidance. I had it wired correctly. Unfortunately, my first attempt ended late at night and I was tired. Mistakenly marked the left and right channels incorrectly. So there was no + connection made in either earcup. The cables now work perfectly when plugged into the proper ear cup. All this wasted time with the cables sitting in a drawer, unused. DOH.

I had reached the erroneous conclusion they wouldn't work balanced because of the transformers or some other reason. Loved the GL2SE so much, bought the MJ2 primarily for balanced operation. Was a little disappointed in the beginning. You made my day hullubullu. Thanks.

I used generic wire to see if it would work. They are too thick and inflexible. Now I need to use better stuff. What wire did you use?

Thanks again.

 

[hullubullu]

I used Mogami 2893 cables and Neutrik jacks. Glad I could be of help!

 

[barondla]

I used Mogami 2893 cables and Neutrik jacks. Glad I could be of help!

Thanks hullubullu. Checking out the Mogami site.

Removed the MJ2 ear pad to see about enhancing their thickness slightly. Surprised the dynamic driver is different than the GL2 clear dome. MJ2 has an opaque driver that looks more like dynamic woofer. It apears more fiberous. The models differ by more than just tuning. Interesting.

 

[dogears]

^that's interesting. i wonder if they picked the right woofer for the wooden cup. i'm hearing that same thickness and i already did my first tweak: just release the pads from holding on to the cup. it will sound more relaxed
next up will be a diy connector, the stock connector is really stiff

 

[barondla]

dogears, didn't know you already had the phones! That is great. Before you do a lot of modding make sure to break them in by playing - a lot. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Enjoy.

 

[barondla]

Jimmie Tauriainen won the Mitchell & Johnson headphone contest on their Facebook page. Congratulations Jimmie on an excellent photograph and for winning the Mitchell & Johnson GL1 hybrid Electrostatz headphones.