[lenroot77]

Did you try to do a AB test on the Mimby and internal dac ? I did try several dac which I think I can hear the difference when play one by one. However, when I try a blind test. The result was not as obvious as I thought.

Discussed this recently on the mimby thread. It's strong points are found within the natural timbre and clarity of instruments, me personally it's especially apparent with drums and cymbals. I don't find the difference to be as significant vs the X7 internal Dac with games and music genres such as EDM.

 

[watchnerd]

  So excited about the Jotunheim that I already ordered all the parts for a balanced cable for my HE-400i headphones. Parts should be here next week so I have time to prepare the cable before the Jotunheim arrives.
 

 
2,5 mm plugs for scale. From left to right: 2,4 mm, 2,2 mm, 1,8 mm.

 
Where did you get the parts?

 

[Vigrith]

  $300 for a cable could have been used on a better amp, better quality audio, or a better/another headphone

 
Agreed there haha, I mean, I'm all for eye candy cables (Norne's Draug, Vanquish, etc. for example are worth every penny just for their looks and wonderful craftsmanship) but ideally you'd do that after you're confident you can't/don't want to improve upon your transducers/DAC, etc. Who am I to judge though, some people believe in cable magic and I definitely do agree balanced makes a difference but there are plenty of good cables out there that cost less than $300, even most of Norne's are less than that. Impact, FAW and other less known DYI-ish people are very good at what they do for reasonable prices.

 

[Letmebefrank]

Impact audio cables is great, I ordered a cable for HD650s before I had the Jotunheim so it was single ended. Once I got the Jot and converted the stock hd650 cable to 4 pin and liked it, I converted the Impact cable to 4 pin as well. Fantastic cables. Also customer service is top notch.

 

[sovereign]

   
Where did you get the parts?

 
 

  So excited about the Jotunheim that I already ordered all the parts for a balanced cable for my HE-400i headphones. Parts should be here next week so I have time to prepare the cable before the Jotunheim arrives.
 

 
2,5 mm plugs for scale. From left to right: 2,4 mm, 2,2 mm, 1,8 mm.

Where did you get the 2.5mm plugs? 

 

[Mikko Peltonen]

   
Where did you get the parts?

 
 

   
 

Where did you get the 2.5mm plugs? 

 
All from Ebay. The plugs I have in the picture didn't quite fit, had to order smaller ones. The outer diameter is smaller than the indentation in the headphones but for some odd reason the jacks aren't parallel to the bottom of the hole...
 
I ordered Neutrik XLR plugs and a 6,3 mm plug so that I can make the cable and an adapter to use in single ended mode. For the cable itself I picked 22 AWG (24 was out of stock...) silicone cable that has 60 inner strands for the extra flexibility. The new plugs I ordered are mono. It's a funny thing about Ebay that you find different results when you search on different devices. If I had seen these ones earlier I would've picked them earlier. I'm also going to sleeve the cables with 3 mm paracord.
 
Here's a list
 

1. 22 AWG silicone cable
2. 2,5 mm mono plugs
3. Male XLR
4. Female XLR
5. 6,3 mm TRS plug
6. 3 mm paracord

 
I already had all the connectors in the shopping cart at Thomann but was able to get the same parts shipped to Finland for roughly 10 euros cheaper so... Also the wire was about half the price than similar wire in a local store.
 
Here's a link to the plugs I originally ordered. By the way, the wires in the picture are just some random pieces I found laying around. I just used them to visualize how the cable would turn out.

 

[Alchemist007]

Did you try to do a AB test on the Mimby and internal dac ? I did try several dac which I think I can hear the difference when play one by one. However, when I try a blind test. The result was not as obvious as I thought.

Yep, there's some sort of veil the internal DAC has that the mimby doesn't, mimby is just clearer with more detail.

 

[econsumer666]

Can anyone suggest, if this schiit jotunheim thing pairs well with Ether C Flow balanced as headamp/dac all in one? Is this gonna be an upgrade from Audio GD Fun?

 

[olor1n]

 

  If you're willing to wait a little, I'd recommend this guy for cables https://www.etsy.com/shop/impactaudiocables
 
Your conclusions about USB vs SPDIF are the same as mine, the best thing it does is free up a USB port for other stuff.

Those custom cables do look nice... I kinda wish I had tried one of those.
 
BUT.  Well, I already got the ... $300.00 6ft audiophile cable from c3audio.com for the HD 650 for XLR on the Jot in the mail today.
 
... Hm.  Honestly I didn't know what to expect lol.  And I'm uncertain what changes the cable made and what changes balanced (unbalanced input from Modi Multi) made.
Makes me really wish I could demo a bunch of cables and headphones, and A/B them with the Jot.  
 
What's the verdict though?  Moving from stock Sennheiser SE to c3audio XLR?
Well unfortunately, I'm more of a casual audiophile, or at least I don't have the same experience that most people here do.
What I CAN say, which you can take with a grain of salt:
 
It's kind of like I was wearing slightly tinted sunglasses with the Foobar2k ASIO lossless FLAC -> Optical -> Modi Multi -> PYST -> Jotunheim SE.
Some things sounded absolutely magnificent, but others... well it felt like it was missing something.
 
Whether it's Jot's XLR (unbalanced input though), or the magic of the $300 cable or the combination; I've taken off my tinted glasses with the new cable and it's what I wanted.
There seems to be greater clarity, and a seemingly more realistic, more believable sound.  Not sure if it made it any brighter, or the bass any less... but it just sounds full and great.
I'm quick to doubt myself, and I have poor audio memory, but before I would always have this sense that some content left something to be desired.  This just sounds better.
A bump in the direction I was hoping for!  An expensive bump... but in any case it sounds beautiful.  
 
I would love to hear someone else's opinion on the cable, someone who has experience and has stuff to compare it to.  The 14 day full money back return policy (under 600$) is what sold me.
...I hate that I spent so much, but it *is* wonderful.
 
And mostly from others: how much difference the SE vs the XLR input on the Jotunheim makes when using an unbalanced source like the Modi Multibit?

 
There's no magic in that $300 cable. You're simply hearing the inherent difference between the Jotunheim's SE and balanced output, exaggerated because you can't quickly switch between the outputs with the same transducers connected and volume matched. Re-terminating the stock HD650 to balanced yields the same result - at 1/10th the cost of your "audiophile" cable.
 
This is the cable I use. It's made of braided, Norne Audio 22awg ultra pure OCC copper. Love the look and feel of it. I paid $100. It sounds wonderful too - just like the re-terminated stock HD650 cable I used previously.
 

 

[olor1n]

  $300 for a cable could have been used on a better amp, better quality audio, or a better/another headphone

 
Agree with the sentiment, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better amp than the Jotunheim for a mere $300 more.

 

[DavidA]

   
Agree with the sentiment, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better amp than the Jotunheim for a mere $300 more.

This would depend on the headphones that one has, a HD-800 would not be a good pairing with the Jot while a BH Crack would be quite a bit better for about $650 (added cost of decent tubes) or a Elise at $700.
 
Surprised that there is so much difference between the SE and Balanced output of the Jot, most of the amps that I heard with both SE and Balanced displayed very little to no difference, granted they were much higher up in price so it may well be that the design on either SE or Balanced has very little differences.

 

[olor1n]

 

   
Agree with the sentiment, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better amp than the Jotunheim for a mere $300 more.

This would depend on the headphones that one has, a HD-800 would not be a good pairing with the Jot while a BH Crack would be quite a bit better for about $650 (added cost of decent tubes) or a Elise at $700.
 
Surprised that there is so much difference between the SE and Balanced output of the Jot, most of the amps that I heard with both SE and Balanced displayed very little to no difference, granted they were much higher up in price so it may well be that the design on either SE or Balanced has very little differences.

The Jot's SE output is excellent, but the balanced output is better, IMO. When volume matched (with a dB level meter), there is more body and control in the lower registers and percussion instruments have more impact. And against expectation, balanced also sounds smoother to me. It's not night and day, though it may appear so when switching between the two without careful volume matching.
 
I'm not asserting that the Jot has this wide gulf between SE and balanced. Your implication that the Jot is gimped by price suggests you've not spent any time with this component to appreciate what it brings to the table.

 

[DavidA]

 
The Jot's SE output is excellent, but the balanced output is better, IMO. When volume matched (with a dB level meter), there is more body and control in the lower registers and percussion instruments have more impact. And against expectation, balanced also sounds smoother to me. It's not night and day, though it may appear so when switching between the two without careful volume matching.
 
I'm not asserting that the Jot has this wide gulf between SE and balanced. Your implication that the Jot is gimped by price suggests you've not spent any time with this component to appreciate what it brings to the table.

I've only listened to a Jot once and didn't do A/B comparisons between SE/balanced, my statement was based on the comments by almost all that have gotten a Jot seem to say that there is a big/noticeable/night & day difference between the SE and balance so I take it as stated by others.  Also didn't want to spend anymore time with the Jot it since it wasn't a sound that I liked with my HD-700/800/T1/RS2e, much too bright and harsh sounding with these headphones, with the HD-650 its not bad but I prefer it paired with a BH Crack or MicroZOTL2.
 
I don't think its gimped by price, there are very few amps that have both SE and balanced output under $1500 that I can think of so I consider the Jot a very good deal.  The only amps that I have spent time with that have both SE and balanced were all pricy, Liquid Gold, Liquid Glass, Master 11, GSX-mk2, DarkStar, WA22 and EC Balancing Act, so that is what I've based my comment about price.

 

[earnmyturns]

  Can anyone suggest, if this schiit jotunheim thing pairs well with Ether C Flow balanced as headamp/dac all in one? Is this gonna be an upgrade from Audio GD Fun?

My favored headphone setup is Bifrost Multibit>RCA>Jotunheim>XLR>Ether C Flow. Sometimes I replace the Jotunheim by a Liquid Carbon 2.0. The LC has a lusher tone that works really well with voice and some classical, but I prefer the leaner, sharper transient impact of the Jotunheim for the modern jazz that is my main music fare. I don't have the internal DAC, I don't know how that sounds. But then I'm really partial to Schiit's multibit DACs (I have a Yggy on my 2-channel system). Update: Listening to a jazz-Indian blend, "Tirtha" (Vijay Iyer, Prasanna, Nitin Mitta, ACT Music 2011). The tabla beats are so crisp, harmonics and bent notes so real, so present, they demonstrate what this setup is best at.

 

[floppiness]

  Yep, there's some sort of veil the internal DAC has that the mimby doesn't, mimby is just clearer with more detail.

Completely agree, I've had the mimby for a few days or so. I'm disappointed that I bought the internal dac, for my hearing the mimby is clearly worth the upgrade. If I would have known I would have skipped the internal DAC. The mimby just opens everything up.