[MokhaMark]

Curious what cable you used with Jot R... And what cable @Aleksandar R. would recommend for use with the Immanis/Magna Jot R combo.

I used the old version 6' Star 8 with the Immanis off all amplifiers. And the new Star 8 specific for Magna for that. It is possible that the Star 8 is not the best for the Jotunheim, but all I can say is it sounded incredible. I know @Aleksandar R. has some guidelines for specific impedance matching for the new headphones, I made do with what I had on hand since the new Immanis specific Star 8 was not available yet. If it improves it at all later, I suspect my brain will explode.

 

[MokhaMark]

Not entirely...
The Stratus specs say:
• All XLR and 1/4" TRS outputs provide the same power: 1.8W into 50 ohms, 900mW into 100 ohms

So, it's a clear mismatch with 32 Ohms of the Interface, probably delivering ~1.2W at higher distortion than at 50 ohms.

Yes, the 16ohm was much better, more gain and body, but still completely maxed out on all devices to get there. It's a great amplifier for the HD800s however!

 

[Aleksandar R.]

Much of the conversation now about these surrounds really expensive tube amplifiers. The system cost of these $6000-$12,000+ amplifiers will limit the audience.

With the Jot R no longer made, it will be important to share info together about what affordable amplifier options work well with the new headphones. Obviously it is subjective, but I wrote that the Magna and Immanis are easier to drive and were less amplifier picky than the SR1a. I am looking forward to learning which amplifiers that are under $1000 (think Schiit Lyr+ for example) work with the new transformer stand for the Magna in particular. It is already an expensive headphone (worth every penny), I think affordable amplifier will open the market for it.

In the meantime, hold onto your Jotunheim R!

Schiit Gjallarhorn could be great as a monoblock at 32 Ohms interface,
the same goes for Rekkr as monoblock at 8 Ohms Interface.

I will try the new AUNE S17 Pro in Singapore...
https://www.aune-store.com/en/aune-s17-pro_110409_1235/
Knowing the sound of their X7S, I hope they ironed out the roughness but kept the full bodied rich sound...so I'm optimistic about that one.

I can't think of other sub-$1k ones right now that I know they will work.

 

[Litlgi74]

I used the old version 6' Star 8 with the Immanis off all amplifiers. And the new Star 8 specific for Magna for that. It is possible that the Star 8 is not the best for the Jotunheim, but all I can say is it sounded incredible. I know @Aleksandar R. has some guidelines for specific impedance matching for the new headphones, I made do with what I had on hand since the new Immanis specific Star 8 was not available yet. If it improves it at all later, I suspect my brain will explode.

This was the info I was given from @Aleksandar R. about cable use with the SR1a/Jot R combo.

RAAL-requisite used to make a cable for JotR called Deluxe. It had the right resistance (0.4 Ohms) as anything below that made the amp distort early and become "nervous" up at the top.
I wouldn't recommend our new cables, SC2 or STAR-8 as they are 0.25 Ohms.

Danny doesn't keep stock of Deluxe cable for JotR, but he can make them and send for a trial...

Wondering if this applies to the Immanis and Magna as well.

 

[MokhaMark]

Schiit Gjallarhorn could be great as a monoblock at 32 Ohms interface,
the same goes for Rekkr as monoblock at 8 Ohms Interface.

I will try the new AUNE S17 Pro in Singapore...
https://www.aune-store.com/en/aune-s17-pro_110409_1235/
Knowing the sound of their X7S, I hope they ironed out the roughness but kept the full bodied rich sound...so I'm optimistic about that one.

I can't think of other sub-$1k ones right now that I know they will work.

I have a Gjallarhorn on my desk, will try it tonight when I get home before packaging everything up.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

I used the old version 6' Star 8 with the Immanis off all amplifiers. And the new Star 8 specific for Magna for that. It is possible that the Star 8 is not the best for the Jotunheim, but all I can say is it sounded incredible. I know @Aleksandar R. has some guidelines for specific impedance matching for the new headphones, I made do with what I had on hand since the new Immanis specific Star 8 was not available yet. If it improves it at all later, I suspect my brain will explode.

The new STAR-8 MkII is improvement on reliability, not with sound.
I don't know how to make a STAR-8 better, just know how to improve reliability.

 

[Aleksandar R.]

This was the info I was given from @Aleksandar R. about cable use with the SR1a/Jot R combo.



Wondering if this applies to the Immanis and Magna as well.

The cable optimization was about not putting the JotR under stress and provoke it when requiring as much power as SR needed.

With the new ones requiring much less power for the same SPL, it could happen that it won't get stressed and ride along smoothly.
I'll try with magna and Immanis, Satis and STAR-8 (MkII) cables and report.

 

[jlbrach]

First off, thanks for the very thorough review. I'm glad to see I'm not crazy and you also think the Magna has more bass impact. I thought maybe my ears were playing tricks on me at noisy CanJam.

Also I want to second what you said about the Jot R. What a shame this amp is no longer made because I was also very impressed with it at CanJam, dare I say it even made a better impression upon me than the VM1. But that may be because the Jot R is what the Magna was plugged into on my first listen so it really had that wow factor being the first time hearing the Magna/Immanis. Either way, the new headphones sounded VERY good on Jot R.

Thankfully I own an LCD-R which is what the Jot R was made for (and therefore also own a Jot R) and I'll be testing it at home when my Magna and Immanis arrive, probably in 2-3 months unfortunately.


I can't say for sure until I have both in hand but I suspect not really. Volume (which is what EQ adjusts) is different than impact. I suspect the Magna has better impact because the smaller cup is easier to pressurize, I imagine you'd need to turn the Immanis up quite a bit to achieve the same pressure.

Think of it like how a subwoofer and a headphone could both play an 80dB 40Hz tone but on the subwoofer you'd feel it and on the headphone you'd only hear it. That's impact and it's a separate quality from the dB of bass which is what EQ adjusts.

I have the jotr and I have the VM...the jotr is not even remotely in the same class...it is however very powerful and can play tricks on you that way especially at a noisy show

 

[Litlgi74]

VM...the jotr is not even remotely in the same class

IMO... It depends on the mode of the VM-1a when comparing the Jot R... Ultra linear is close... But not as close as the VM-1a and the Tl-1a/b in the same mode.

 

[jlbrach]

we hear things differently I guess, to me there is literally zero comparison...the jotr does the job but it is harsh and aggressive...the VM is head and shoulders better but great for you you can save a ton of money

 

[MokhaMark]

we hear things differently I guess, to me there is literally zero comparison...the jotr does the job but it is harsh and aggressive...the VM is head and shoulders better but great for you you can save a ton of money

Speaking for my own comments, my praise of the JotR was in the context of the two new headphones which I believe it is more successful with vs. the "stridency" of the SR1a. The Jot R is especially harsh with the convolution filters IMO, and when I use it instead of heating up my office with the VM1a, I use the built in baffle compensation which is more mellow than the filters. But with the Magna and Immanis, the JotR sounds really very good IMO.

 

[BassicScience]

Just anecdotally, and under CanJam conditions: I didn't think the Magna/Immanis sounded dramatically different driven off the VM-1a vs. the iFi iCan Pro. Even if the differences would have been more significant under ideal listening conditions, what I was hearing off the iCan was already sufficient for me to easily rank Magna/Immanis as the best of show (with the possible exception of the Sennheiser HE-1, which was auditioned in a private room, and is unobtanium for most anyway). FWIW.

 

[chrisnyc75]

FWIW, I would really love if a demo Magna/Immanis was sent to Audio46, Stereo Exchange, House of Sound, or any similar hifi/headphone specialty shop in NYC for demo in a quiet environment off an appropriate chain. There are 20 million(ish) people here, many with a lot of money and a taste for hifi, and hundreds of thousands of tourists flow through daily. Might be a good chance to make them available for demo to a large audience. Just food for thought.

 

[moha97]

The new STAR-8 MkII is improvement on reliability, not with sound.
I don't know how to make a STAR-8 better, just know how to improve reliability.

What is special about the Star 8 cable? I am asking as amateur who knows nothing about how cables might effect sound so forgive me if this is basic information.

 

[SageM]

FWIW, I would really love if a demo Magna/Immanis was sent to Audio46, Stereo Exchange, House of Sound, or any similar hifi/headphone specialty shop in NYC for demo in a quiet environment off an appropriate chain. There are 20 million(ish) people here, many with a lot of money and a taste for hifi, and hundreds of thousands of tourists flow through daily. Might be a good chance to make them available for demo to a large audience. Just food for thought.

I'm happy to send to your home for audition. Best, Danny