[shampoosuicide]

Over the past two months or so, I've been doing something of a casual amp and source comparison. My primary cans are the Hifiman Edison XS and Sennheiser HD 800 S.

Sources

• Denafrips Ares II
• iFi ZEN DAC Signature V2
• Schiit Bifrost 2

Amps

• Feliks Echo 2 [ Genalex Gold Lion ]
• Lake People G111
• Monolith Liquid Platinum [ Genalex Gold Lion ]
• Schiit Jotunheim 2
• Singxer SA-1

Past Schiit gear I've owned

• Schiit Asgard 3
• Schiit Magni 3
• Schiit Magni 3+
• Schiit Modi
• Schiit Valhalla
• Schiit Valhalla 2

TL;DR: This is truly good Schiit. Forget the Magni and the Asgard. If you want to hear what Schiit is capable of, do not pass go, do not collect $100: go straight to the Jotunheim.

I'm still consolidating my impressions but here are a few early thoughts. I'll be frank: with the exception of the Valhalla 2, I've found myself underwhelmed by most of the Schiit gear I've owned. Both the Magni 3 and Magni 3+ sounded strained and boxed-in, with a forward "wall of sound" type presentation. I also found the tonality somewhat off, almost as if it were aiming too strenuously and self-consciously at an analog tone, but not quite succeeding. It could also sound somewhat etched, with blunted transients. Within the category of entry-level amps, I've owned the Cavalli Liquid Spark, JDS Atom Amp+, and iFi ZEN CAN, all of which do some things better than others, but the Magni was by far my least favourite.

The Asgard 3 is a significant step up from the Magni 3+, to be sure. It has a far more spacious soundstage, a greater sense of effortlessness, and a smoothness and warmth that was sorely lacking with the Magni 3+. It's also an amp with a distinct character--thick, lush, dark, slow--and imparts this same character to the cans it's paired with. This makes it somewhat limited in terms of its versatility. It's still a solid amp in its price segment, but in a head-to-head comparison with the now-discontinued Gustard H10, itself based on the Violectric V200, and a similarly smooth and warm-leaning amplifier, the Asgard 3 simply paled in comparison. It sounded oddly tunnelled-in, and lacked the same degree of openness, ease, transparency, and clarity as the H10.

This brings me to the Jotunheim 2. There was no opportunity to audition Jot 2 locally, so I bought it blind, and figured I'd return it if I didn't like it. Here's the happy news: this is easily one of the best--if not the best--amps I've heard. It is certainly no worse than the G111 or Monolith Liquid Platinum or Singxer SA-1. There are a few pieces of gear that immediately strike you, "This is something special." The Jot 2 is one of them. The first thing that struck me was the treble: it's incredibly refined and natural. There's nary a trace of your typical SS nasties: no glare, sheen, or excessively sharpened edges. Bass is voluminous with a great sense of tactility, whilst displaying an excellent sense of grip, control, and power in the low-end. Staging is decent, but separation and transparency deserve special mention. Overall, I'd characterise the Jot 2 as powerful, open, clean, yet natural.

Colour me a happy camper.

 

[drhonk]

Any impressions of Jot 2 vs Magnius or Topping A90 Discrete? Recently upgraded to the A90D and the sound is super smooth which is great for instrumental music, but miss the dynamics and more forward presentation of the Magnius for pop and electronic music. Wondering if I should try the Jot 2 or just go for something higher tier.

Magnius is good with balanced but has a really bad SE connection.

 

[moonfishing]

Magnius is good with balanced but has a really bad SE connection.

Really bad SE headphone output--yes, definitely. I'm not sure I like the Magnius much after pairing it with DACs other than the Modius. The Modius/Magnius stack sounds way better than either of the components with a different pairing IMO.

 

[LowBeat91]

is it worth to upgrade from the Singxer SA1 to the Jotunheim 2?

 

[hottyson]

is it worth to upgrade from the Singxer SA1 to the Jotunheim 2?

While the Jotunheim 2 will perform slightly better on many headphones, the Singxer SA-1 does outperform it once in a while when paired with some headphones. So, it is not worth the upgrade as it is mostly a side-grade.

 

[LowBeat91]

While the Jotunheim 2 will perform slightly better on many headphones, the Singxer SA-1 does outperform it once in a while when paired with some headphones. So, it is not worth the upgrade as it is mostly a side-grade.

Thank you very much what would you see as an upgrade to the SA1?

 

[hottyson]

This used Questyle CMA Twelve would be a worthy upgrade at $700 but you are stuck with the internal DAC as it has no analog inputs.
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/questyle-cma-twelve.48921/
DAC is decent and clean. I own two of these.

 

[LowBeat91]

This used Questyle CMA Twelve would be a worthy upgrade at $700 but you are stuck with the internal DAC as it has no analog inputs.
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/questyle-cma-twelve.48921/
DAC is decent and clean. I own two of these.

Thanks but i need Balanced In and Outputs

 

[LakeOfTheWyles]

Thank you very much what would you see as an upgrade to the SA1?

The Geshelli Archel 3 pro could be a good choice, but I have not heard it.

It’s a hefty price, but the the Burson Soloist 3xp is a solid upgrade. the soloist has more detail, bigger soundstage, and punchy low end. It has more power too. You’re looking at $1000+ though.

I currently have the jot2, which I got after the sa-1. Like someone said, it’s more of a side grade, but I personally prefer the jot2. The sa-1 has a wider soundstage, while the jot2 is deeper. I got more of that 3d immersiveness with the jot2. Jot2 is punchier, and I like its low end better. With the sa-1, there’s a smoothness/softness/sweetness to the midrange and treble that is missing on the jot2. I never tried the mod on the sa-1, but the jot2 also felt a bit more powerful. I felt like the Soloist married the best of both, but I couldn’t justify the cost. Both the jot2 and sa-1 have lower noise floors and play nicer with iem’s and sensitive sets.

 

[Condocondor]

I'm comparing the Jot2 vs. the Asgard3 directly, back and forth in real time, there isn't 3% worth of difference between them. Both amps are virtually indistiquishable single ended or balanced. In a blind test, you'd never know one way or the other. I feel it's a side grade. Where do I go from here folks? Suggestions?

 

[szore]

I'm comparing the Jot2 vs. the Asgard3 directly, back and forth in real time, there isn't 3% worth of difference between them. Both amps are virtually indistiquishable single ended or balanced. In a blind test, you'd never know one way or the other. I feel it's a side grade. Where do I go from here folks? Suggestions?

Is there something the Jot 2 isn't giving you? What are you looking for specifically?

 

[Condocondor]

Is there something the Jot 2 isn't giving you? What are you looking for specifically?

Good question. I mostly listen to youtube music. I have a D30Pro DAC running balanced into the Jot2 and single ended into the Asgard3. I was expecting better dynamics and clarity. I got that but it's not much. $199 vs. $400? Double the money for that miniscule difference? Are you kidding? I was just expecting a "nice difference" as suggested by Currawong in his YOUTUBE review of Jotenheim2. Could it be my DAC? My source material? I'm at a loss. I am 59 so perhaps it's my ears.

 

[szore]

Good question. I mostly listen to youtube music. I have a D30Pro DAC running balanced into the Jot2 and single ended into the Asgard3. I was expecting better dynamics and clarity. I got that but it's not much. $199 vs. $400? Double the money for that miniscule difference? Are you kidding? I was just expecting a "nice difference" as suggested by Currawong in his YOUTUBE review of Jotenheim2. Could it be my DAC? My source material? I'm at a loss. I am 59 so perhaps it's my ears.

It may be the dac, i run an AresII with the Jot 2 but that is like $850 DAC

 

[cdacosta]

Good question. I mostly listen to youtube music. I have a D30Pro DAC running balanced into the Jot2 and single ended into the Asgard3. I was expecting better dynamics and clarity. I got that but it's not much. $199 vs. $400? Double the money for that miniscule difference? Are you kidding? I was just expecting a "nice difference" as suggested by Currawong in his YOUTUBE review of Jotenheim2. Could it be my DAC? My source material? I'm at a loss. I am 59 so perhaps it's my ears.

I have both Asgard 3 and Jot 2. If the ancillary like power is not pristine and DAC is like the class of Modius, using SE connections throughout, I like the Asgard 3 for this use. Even when just listening to 128KB or 192KB YouTube for the source material. Asgard 3 does sound musical, at the $200 price I paid for it I doubt it can be beat. Will output 2.5x the power of Jot 2 SE, which is advantages if you need or want the headroom.

If running balanced throughout, have a good DAC, higher sampling rate material, properly conditioned power or very clean power, the Jotunheim is more resolving and capable than Asgard 3. Balanced the Jot 2 has more headroom which is really important if one is EQing power hungry headphones. Especially in the bass or lower frequency region. Jot 2 has better control of drivers when pushing the amp. I have two 3.7kg passive ground boxes on a Jot 2 and isolate it from all digital in my system and performs beyond what the Asgard 3 can by a long shot. My Asgard 3 is in the original factory box until I find a use for it.

 

[hottyson]

Good question. I mostly listen to youtube music. I have a D30Pro DAC running balanced into the Jot2 and single ended into the Asgard3. I was expecting better dynamics and clarity. I got that but it's not much. $199 vs. $400? Double the money for that miniscule difference? Are you kidding? I was just expecting a "nice difference" as suggested by Currawong in his YOUTUBE review of Jotenheim2. Could it be my DAC? My source material? I'm at a loss. I am 59 so perhaps it's my ears.

I have somewhere around fifty headphone amplifiers right now and I have listened to the Schiit Asgard 3 the least out of all of them. It has sat unused more than any amplifier of mine since it was purchased new. The Schiit Jotunheim 2 sounds SO MUCH better leaps and bounds over my Asgard 3. My preferred DAC is a Schiit Bifrost 2 OG and my headphones are spinning a beautiful tale. However even with my other DACs the performance of the Jotunheim 2 is clearly evident over my Asgard 3 to me. Perhaps it may be that your Jotunheim 2 is not synergyzing well with the headphones that you own or perhaps the Asgard 3 synergy is so good with your headphones that it is beating higher model amps.
.
Also, have you tried flipping the gain switch? It turns the Jotunheim 2 into a completely different sounding amp. It just might surprise you how good the Jotunheim 2 sounds with the gain switch flipped to another mode with some of your headphones. Make certain to turn the volume down before flipping the gain switch so you don't blow out your ears.