[Atavax]

Ok, so the initial review said it drives the HE6 just fine. Anyone able to confirm this? A little skeptical.

 

[Clemmaster]

A degree in physics should be enough for you to understand than real-life is generally way more complex than the simple models we learn. Digital transmission is no different.
 
Bits are transmitted as continuous electrical wave-forms in a USB cable. The data is in digital form, but the physical interface is analog and at very high frequencies. No way around that.
 
The USB receiver is a very complex piece of electronics, which has many mechanisms to fight against all that could deteriorate the bits transmission (the cable and impedance mismatch being very important factors). The worse the signal quality, the harder the receiver has to work to recover the data (and it will succeed most of the time: losing bits is extremely rare. The bit-perfectness is guaranteed, but it's not all that matters.). The harder it works, the more noise it generates on its ground plane, which in turn goes into other components in your DAC, which affects audio quality.

 

[ToddRaymond]

  can we please go back to jotun amp. 

Go for it!

 

[Allanmarcus]

Hey all you wise-asses thinking you are funny. Please stop. We want to talk about Jodi. Just stop.
 
And as for the USB discussion, take to the Sound Science Forum. 

 

[Clemmaster]

It's an important topic for Jodi, since its DAC is exposed to all those USB (potential) issues.

 

[ToddRaymond]

My own couple of cents that nobody asked for:  If believing there is no God, that there is a God, that cables don't make a difference, or that cables do make a difference helps you to sleep at night, then all the power to you.  It's like so many other things, people are so afraid of being wrong, or saying those three scary words: "I don't know".  All I know for sure is there's a lot of conjecture surrounding this topic.  I do find it somewhat amusing whenever my engineering friends question, say, my use of [pricier]-than-lampcord analogue cables.  The discussion begins along the lines of them asserting that cables "make no difference".  But then I ask, "what about shielding?  And wouldn't having a good quality connector that is more resistant to oxidation be good?" And they afford me that leeway.  So, already there's some acknowledgement that a cable isn't just a cable.  Is anything in this universe black or white?  No.  And quantum mechanics has shown that.
 
Anyhoo, I believe this has been asked already, but I have yet to see anyone chime in yet:  Has anyone tried the Jotunheim yet with the HE-560s?  I'm thinking a splash of tube magic from the Mjolnir 2 would be ideal, but budget-wise, the 'Jot' would be an absolute slam dunk for me right now.  Just hope it wouldn't be too dry/thin/bright with those particular cans.  Any impressions would be super appreciated.

 

[franzdom]

Is there any advantage of Jot over MJ2? 

 

[tekkster]

Sorry for participating and lengthening the usb cable discussion, which, I guess is not really about the Jot.

For me...it was about the Jot, since I am constantly wondering in the back of my mind whether some solution can resolve my iMac-Jot DAC problems.  Already I know El Capitan and Sierra are no good, and though I'm expecting the Wyrd to arrive today, I suspect that won't resolve the issue either since other people said it won't.  So....to me....everything that gives me some information or nuggets or ideas on how I might tackle the issue is both interesting and Jot related.

But, I can see how it's not seen that way.
 
My bad....won't mention the usb stuff on this thread again.

 

[Delayeed]

  Is there any advantage of Jot over MJ2? 

Curious as well since thinking of getting MJ2 but the Jot hype has me rethinking...

 

[Defiant00]

  Curious as well since thinking of getting MJ2 but the Jot hype has me rethinking...

 
Jot SE is probably better than MJ2 SE (since MJ2 SE requires summing because circlotron). I haven't heard both side by side to verify, though.
 
As for balanced, I'd say MJ2 if you want tubes, Jot otherwise.

 

[JLoud]

  My own couple of cents that nobody asked for:  If believing there is no God, that there is a God, that cables don't make a difference, or that cables do make a difference helps you to sleep at night, then all the power to you.  It's like so many other things, people are so afraid of being wrong, or saying those three scary words: "I don't know".  All I know for sure is there's a lot of conjecture surrounding this topic.  I do find it somewhat amusing whenever my engineering friends question, say, my use of [pricier]-than-lampcord analogue cables.  The discussion begins along the lines of them asserting that cables "make no difference".  But then I ask, "what about shielding?  And wouldn't having a good quality connector that is more resistant to oxidation be good?" And they afford me that leeway.  So, already there's some acknowledgement that a cable isn't just a cable.  Is anything in this universe black or white?  No.  And quantum mechanics has shown that.
 
Anyhoo, I believe this has been asked already, but I have yet to see anyone chime in yet:  Has anyone tried the Jotunheim yet with the HE-560s?  I'm thinking a splash of tube magic from the Mjolnir 2 would be ideal, but budget-wise, the 'Jot' would be an absolute slam dunk for me right now.  Just hope it wouldn't be too dry/thin/bright with those particular cans.  Any impressions would be super appreciated.

I have the Jot and 560.  Tried it SE and balanced.  Definitely preferred balanced.  As for being bright and don't feel it was an issue.  Compared to Asgard 2 the Jot is more transparent and definitely has better control and slam.  That is where the balanced out really helped.  I don't have much experience with tubes so can't comment on that part of your question. 

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

  Is there any advantage of Jot over MJ2? 

I think Jason is on the record staying it's the most linear amp they've ever made. Maybe even more than Rag?? 
 
So size, linearity, and upgradability would be my three points.

 

[franzdom]

Resistance is futile, Jotunheim is the inevitable.

 

[ThELiZ]

So, it's either the Jot or the Elise for me and my HD650. Anyone tried both and can comment on their sound signature?

 

[Vigrith]

  Anyhoo, I believe this has been asked already, but I have yet to see anyone chime in yet:  Has anyone tried the Jotunheim yet with the HE-560s?  I'm thinking a splash of tube magic from the Mjolnir 2 would be ideal, but budget-wise, the 'Jot' would be an absolute slam dunk for me right now.  Just hope it wouldn't be too dry/thin/bright with those particular cans.  Any impressions would be super appreciated.

 
Yes. I'm not a huge fan of the 560s personally (they're my wife's) but I've tried them with Jotunheim and they sounded as good as I expected them to - a little dry and slightly brighter tilted, as expected given those are part of the 560s character to my ears (and the reason I'm not keen on them to begin with), but if you like them with any given amplifier you are currently using chances are you'll like them with the Jotunheim. It's characterless, it won't exaggerate "flaws" or exacerbate strengths, what you have is what you get and if you like the headphones you're listening to then you'll like the Jotun, that's my opinion.
 
I also own the MJ2, Jotun's meant for office usage, and yes, I do prefer the 560s with it (with tubes) seeing as that helps tighten them up a bit and tame down the highs to a more reasonable level (I'm very treble sensitive) but as said, if you enjoy them as is on solid state amplification I'd be willing to bet you'll like them on the Jotunheim regardless - for what it's worth, I find it to be super similar to the MJ2 with LISST which is definitely quite the achievement for $400-500 aka half the price; some people may disagree here, not really seen anyone draw this comparison yet at least but I'm far from an analytical listener (warm and musical is usually my go to) so take this as you will. 

 
 
PS: I don't really listen to any headphones single ended so my impressions are from a balanced stand point exclusively.