[cinemakinoeye]

The soloist is great, but I'm wondering if I should have saved and got the Jot. I definitely am downgrading from the SMSL SU-10 to the modius.

Hard to go wrong with the Modius, it’s a great balanced DAC that measures well and provides no coloration to the sound. Right now I’m listening to music playing through Modius + Jotunheim, a great value combination, a DAC with four inputs (I’m using the USB input to connect to iPad tablet, the coax input to connect to an audio interface connected to my Mac editing system, and the optical input for audio from an AirPort Express (the building blocks of my whole house audio setup)); I considered the Bifrost but ended up putting the savings from getting the Modius towards a future speaker upgrade.

 

[morpheus69]

I'm thinking about downgrading from the Soloist to the Jot. I originally compared the 2 before purchasing the Soloist, but now not sure it's worth it for the price. Any opinions are really welcome.

Jot 2 and BiFrost 2/64 are an excellent pair.

 

[acguitar84]

What’s wrong with the Soloist?

I have been listening to music with my Jotunheim 2 for just over a year now and I love it. Great sound with my Sennheiser HD 650s

That was a rig I listened to a few years back. It was Jot 1 and HD 650. I thought they had great synergy together.

 

[emorrison33]

I'm thinking about downgrading from the Soloist to the Jot. I originally compared the 2 before purchasing the Soloist, but now not sure it's worth it for the price. Any opinions are really welcome.

I have both the Jot 2 and the Soloist 3xp. Both are really fine amps, and you can't go wrong either way. I purchased the Soloist after I had the Jot 2. I do not have buyers remorse or anything like that, but having both, I could be happy with just the Jot 2. I think the Jot 2 plays well with single ended more than the Soloist. I mostly use the Soloist with the Emypreans (balanced cable) because the synergy is just spot on for me, but I will occasionally throw on one of my other headphones to listen on the Soloist.

 

[gr4474]

Well I returned both the SU-10 dac and the Soloist. I hooked back up to the 1984 Technics SU-Z600 and my Asus Xonar STX sound card...and was blown away. It sounds great, and maybe has more bass than the Soloist. I know it's the loudness button that really gives it that full sound. I should have A/B them, but if I'm happy and can't tell an improvement between $1800 dollars for soloist/SMSL dac, and my $110 Technics and $220 sound card (op amps upgraded) without A/B then I'm ok with that.
I had a hum with the Technics setup that made me want to upgrade to begin with...but so far I don't have it. I ordered an identical mint Technics that I was eying for $90.

(A month ago I shorted out a headphone channel messing with an HE6v2 with speaker taps...I get static off and on, but was fine after hooking it back up. Prob will come back , so ordered replacement Technics. That is another reason I upgraded)

 

[MaiLam]

Looking for a bit of advice - received a 2nd hand Jot 2 this week (with Multibit DAC card) and it doesn’t seem to play nice with my Grados, tried several different pairs and all have a constant buzz/hum. I’ve tried a bunch of different sockets/power configurations and it’s consistent. Looking at specs, the Jot 2 outputs about the same amount of power as the Magni Heresy (both being used in SE mode), but I don’t have any problems with that. The noise is also present but much, much fainter on my HiFiMan XS, which are also on paper a sensitive pair of headphones.

So what I wanted to ask was 2 things:

1 - in general, is there anything destructive/deteriorating in terms of audio quality if using an impedance plug as part of the chain? I‘ve tried the 75ohm version of this one and it clears up the buzzing issue, but I’m not really confident in my A/B testing to decide if there‘s any detrimental effect on sound quality.

2 - is this issue with the Jot 2 and Grados/sensitive headphones common? Thinking about reselling the amp as I don’t really need it, and would like to be transparent in the listing if I do.

Thanks!

 

[Luckyleo]

Looking for a bit of advice - received a 2nd hand Jot 2 this week (with Multibit DAC card) and it doesn’t seem to play nice with my Grados, tried several different pairs and all have a constant buzz/hum. I’ve tried a bunch of different sockets/power configurations and it’s consistent. Looking at specs, the Jot 2 outputs about the same amount of power as the Magni Heresy (both being used in SE mode), but I don’t have any problems with that. The noise is also present but much, much fainter on my HiFiMan XS, which are also on paper a sensitive pair of headphones.

So what I wanted to ask was 2 things:

1 - in general, is there anything destructive/deteriorating in terms of audio quality if using an impedance plug as part of the chain? I‘ve tried the 75ohm version of this one and it clears up the buzzing issue, but I’m not really confident in my A/B testing to decide if there‘s any detrimental effect on sound quality.

2 - is this issue with the Jot 2 and Grados/sensitive headphones common? Thinking about reselling the amp as I don’t really need it, and would like to be transparent in the listing if I do.

Thanks!

I've listened to all my Grado's with the Jot 2. The 80's through the 3000x. Never a hum. I did read somewhere that if you experience humming Jason recommends a cheap ground loop adapter.....

Leo

 

[eswng679]

Looking for a bit of advice - received a 2nd hand Jot 2 this week (with Multibit DAC card) and it doesn’t seem to play nice with my Grados, tried several different pairs and all have a constant buzz/hum. I’ve tried a bunch of different sockets/power configurations and it’s consistent. Looking at specs, the Jot 2 outputs about the same amount of power as the Magni Heresy (both being used in SE mode), but I don’t have any problems with that. The noise is also present but much, much fainter on my HiFiMan XS, which are also on paper a sensitive pair of headphones.

So what I wanted to ask was 2 things:

1 - in general, is there anything destructive/deteriorating in terms of audio quality if using an impedance plug as part of the chain? I‘ve tried the 75ohm version of this one and it clears up the buzzing issue, but I’m not really confident in my A/B testing to decide if there‘s any detrimental effect on sound quality.

2 - is this issue with the Jot 2 and Grados/sensitive headphones common? Thinking about reselling the amp as I don’t really need it, and would like to be transparent in the listing if I do.

Thanks!

1. Theoretically it shouldn't but to my ears, when I used IEMatch with IEMs on Jot 2 and it sounded like the stage was compressed.

2. For lower impedance cans or IEMs, the Jot 2 can be noisy via single ended outputs. I had the same issues when trying to run IEMs via SE. Noise issues go away when you use Balanced out; although it might be overkill to run Grados balanced...not to mention additional cost of cables etc.

 

[Festive56]

Looking for a bit of advice - received a 2nd hand Jot 2 this week (with Multibit DAC card) and it doesn’t seem to play nice with my Grados, tried several different pairs and all have a constant buzz/hum. I’ve tried a bunch of different sockets/power configurations and it’s consistent. Looking at specs, the Jot 2 outputs about the same amount of power as the Magni Heresy (both being used in SE mode), but I don’t have any problems with that. The noise is also present but much, much fainter on my HiFiMan XS, which are also on paper a sensitive pair of headphones.

So what I wanted to ask was 2 things:

1 - in general, is there anything destructive/deteriorating in terms of audio quality if using an impedance plug as part of the chain? I‘ve tried the 75ohm version of this one and it clears up the buzzing issue, but I’m not really confident in my A/B testing to decide if there‘s any detrimental effect on sound quality.

2 - is this issue with the Jot 2 and Grados/sensitive headphones common? Thinking about reselling the amp as I don’t really need it, and would like to be transparent in the listing if I do.

Thanks!

I can only offer this: I use Sundaras with my Jot 2 without cards, which are 94db efficient and 37 ohms compared to Grados which are around 99.8 db and 38 ohms, never a hint of a hum or buzz, even all the way up with no source playing.

 

[cinemakinoeye]

Looking for a bit of advice - received a 2nd hand Jot 2 this week (with Multibit DAC card) and it doesn’t seem to play nice with my Grados, tried several different pairs and all have a constant buzz/hum. I’ve tried a bunch of different sockets/power configurations and it’s consistent. Looking at specs, the Jot 2 outputs about the same amount of power as the Magni Heresy (both being used in SE mode), but I don’t have any problems with that. The noise is also present but much, much fainter on my HiFiMan XS, which are also on paper a sensitive pair of headphones.

So what I wanted to ask was 2 things:

1 - in general, is there anything destructive/deteriorating in terms of audio quality if using an impedance plug as part of the chain? I‘ve tried the 75ohm version of this one and it clears up the buzzing issue, but I’m not really confident in my A/B testing to decide if there‘s any detrimental effect on sound quality.

2 - is this issue with the Jot 2 and Grados/sensitive headphones common? Thinking about reselling the amp as I don’t really need it, and would like to be transparent in the listing if I do.

Thanks!

You need to rule out a group loop issue; which is likely. Test with only the SE or Balanced input. No hum? Then likely with USB input. I used to have a hum issue with my powered monitors which was cured by powering them through an Ebtech Hum x that safely filters out ground loop hum.

 

[MaiLam]

You need to rule out a group loop issue; which is likely. Test with only the SE or Balanced input. No hum? Then likely with USB input. I used to have a hum issue with my powered monitors which was cured by powering them through an Ebtech Hum x that safely filters out ground loop hum.

Thanks, I’ve tried switching through the various inputs, used different sources and plugged in without anything connected, so think I can rule out USB as the cause. I have to be honest, I don’t understand how to use ground loop isolators - like where in the chain do they go/get plugged into etc.

 

[cinemakinoeye]

Thanks, I’ve tried switching through the various inputs, used different sources and plugged in without anything connected, so think I can rule out USB as the cause. I have to be honest, I don’t understand how to use ground loop isolators - like where in the chain do they go/get plugged into etc.

A ground loop isolator like the Hum-X is connected between the power cord and AC source. PC USB connections are famous for causing hum issues. You can also do a test with a ground lifter (3 prong to 2 prong adapter) but should not be used as a permanent solution with gear designed to be grounded.

 

[cinemakinoeye]

Thanks, I’ve tried switching through the various inputs, used different sources and plugged in without anything connected, so think I can rule out USB as the cause. I have to be honest, I don’t understand how to use ground loop isolators - like where in the chain do they go/get plugged into etc.

Another thing to test: if using a laptop, disconnect the power brick; if you only get hum when the charger is connected, then something like the Hum-x will likely resolve the issue.

 

[cdacosta]

Looking for a bit of advice - received a 2nd hand Jot 2 this week (with Multibit DAC card) and it doesn’t seem to play nice with my Grados, tried several different pairs and all have a constant buzz/hum. I’ve tried a bunch of different sockets/power configurations and it’s consistent. Looking at specs, the Jot 2 outputs about the same amount of power as the Magni Heresy (both being used in SE mode), but I don’t have any problems with that. The noise is also present but much, much fainter on my HiFiMan XS, which are also on paper a sensitive pair of headphones.

So what I wanted to ask was 2 things:

1 - in general, is there anything destructive/deteriorating in terms of audio quality if using an impedance plug as part of the chain? I‘ve tried the 75ohm version of this one and it clears up the buzzing issue, but I’m not really confident in my A/B testing to decide if there‘s any detrimental effect on sound quality.

2 - is this issue with the Jot 2 and Grados/sensitive headphones common? Thinking about reselling the amp as I don’t really need it, and would like to be transparent in the listing if I do.

Thanks!

I use a Jot 2 with Audeze LCD-XC, low impedance and high sensitivity headphones with no hum at listening levels. I have glanced through the other responses and cannot remember if this was addressed. The first thing I would want to know is what is the source of the noise/hum? If you unplug any source to the amp, is the noise when you turn up the volume still present? When is the noise present? May not be the amp that is causing the noise, may just be amplifying the noise it is being fed.

 

[MaiLam]

I use a Jot 2 with Audeze LCD-XC, low impedance and high sensitivity headphones with no hum at listening levels. I have glanced through the other responses and cannot remember if this was addressed. The first thing I would want to know is what is the source of the noise/hum? If you unplug any source to the amp, is the noise when you turn up the volume still present? When is the noise present? May not be the amp that is causing the noise, may just be amplifying the noise it is being fed.

Yeah the buzzing is there with no source connected, is uniform between low and high gain, and no impact even when I do connect a source, be it using the built in DAC or an external one, so seems like it’s the amp rather than being caused by source. Think it’ll have to go back to the seller, otherwise I’ll just avoid using it because of the noise.

Appreciate everyone’s input!