[RollsDownWindowsManually]

Has anyone experienced crackling in their audio after connecting the Jot+DAC to a computer via USB? I have to reboot the computer to get rid of it, which is a slight annoyance on laptop that can't always stay connected. I have tried various usb ports, cables, connecting via usb with both power on and off the jotunheim. I get rhythmic and loud distortion unless I connect the jotuhheim to the laptop while it's off or I reboot the laptop after connecting it. My older headroom micro amp+DAC stack doesn't do that.

 

[cskippy]

Unfortunately, I had to travel only after a week of receiving the Jot. This is why I was able to do the pink noise exercise only for one night. And what's worse is when I get back, I will be past the 15 days where Schiit will accept my return.

So, I may end up having to sell the Jot+DAC at a loss. I'm a little disheartened. In any case, I too was thinking of purchasing the Bifrost Multibit to replace the onboard DAC. Although, I am torn because then it defeats the purpose of the all-in-one chassis which was one of the selling points of the Jot. I wonder if despite being past their return policy if they will still let me return at least the onboard DAC and replace it with a purchase of a Bifrost Multibit.

Thanks to your thoughtful post, I think there is a Bifrost Multibit in my future.

You could try emailing Schiit and explain the situation that you will be traveling but wish to REPLACE it with a Jot without DAC and maybe? a Multibit DAC. They are pretty reasonable folks.

 

[Peter Ong]

Like both you and Bacon Bits stated, it's not the amp. There's black background when I pause any track. Damn, what's the odds of having 3 very sensitive HP's? I thought at least the 650's wouldn't hiss but they do. Now I got to figure out what to listen too that doesn't suck with how they laid the tracks down. It's everything.....damn. So much for nirvana.
I always run the Jot on low gain as it's got plenty of power and most times I'm between 12 O'clock at 2.
Thanx for the replies guys.

You might be amplifying silence. You mentioned Tidal and Spotify. And you mentioned you're between 12 and 2 o'clock on your Jot. Put the Tidal and Spotify volume to the max. Then, your Jot should be well before 12 o'clock.

 

[Peter Ong]

Has anyone experienced crackling in their audio after connecting the Jot+DAC to a computer via USB? I have to reboot the computer to get rid of it, which is a slight annoyance on laptop that can't always stay connected. I have tried various usb ports, cables, connecting via usb with both power on and off the jotunheim. I get rhythmic and loud distortion unless I connect the jotuhheim to the laptop while it's off or I reboot the laptop after connecting it. My older headroom micro amp+DAC stack doesn't do that.

Is your Jot near a cellphone, a WiFi antenna or router? Is near something that sends radio signals? If so, maybe try to move it away from it and see if the clicking correspondingly lessens?

 

[mks100]

Has anyone experienced crackling in their audio after connecting the Jot+DAC to a computer via USB? I have to reboot the computer to get rid of it, which is a slight annoyance on laptop that can't always stay connected. I have tried various usb ports, cables, connecting via usb with both power on and off the jotunheim. I get rhythmic and loud distortion unless I connect the jotuhheim to the laptop while it's off or I reboot the laptop after connecting it. My older headroom micro amp+DAC stack doesn't do that.

Yes. I was disconnecting and reconnecting my USB Cable at my Laptop and experimenting with an Anker USB Hub when I first purchased the Jot. Disconnecting the Cable from the back of the Jot and reconnecting fixed the issue for me. Have not had any crackling in 4+ Weeks. AudioQuest Forest 1.5M USB Cable.

 

[dr cornelius]

Thanks for your reply. I recently acquired a Jot+DAC and the JDS Labs Element. When I first heard the Element, I had it a whole week longer than the Jot, I immediately fell in love with how it sounded. My 48ohm Shure SRH-840 sounded full-throated and confident. I don't know how else to articulate that sound quality. It was not louder, it was fuller. And the soundstage was great.

Why don’t you just stick with the Element? The 840’s don’t need all of that power that the Jot affords, and unless you’re running balanced, higher end cans, there’s no reason to go with a Jot...

 

[RollsDownWindowsManually]

Yeah, reconnecting at the back of the jot USB doesn't work for me to stop the crackling, I will try it again though.

 

[makne]

For people having usb-problems, maybe Wyrd could be a solution? Schiit also announced USB gen. 5 recently, don't remember if the upgrade will be available for the Jot dac though.

 

[koover]

You might be amplifying silence. You mentioned Tidal and Spotify. And you mentioned you're between 12 and 2 o'clock on your Jot. Put the Tidal and Spotify volume to the max. Then, your Jot should be well before 12 o'clock.

Both Spotify and Tidal have always been maxed out in volume. I guess I like loud music because on low gain, I'm "usually" around 12 o'clock and as the listening session moves on, well.... 1 and 2 o'clock. I already have tinnitus and was tested and diagnosed with decreased hearing so another reason I may like higher volumes. Who am I kidding...not correct. I like it loud.
Right now I'm set at 12 noon, low gain with my Nightowls and it's just not that loud. It really isn't that loud to me and anyone that's listened to my set-up at this volume who's into music, asks me to crank it even more. Nevertheless, please understand if concerned like most, (for additional hearing damage reasons) it isn't like I listen for hours on end at these volumes. I'm usually at 12 noon.

Anything to do with the Jot and my cans I'm using together?

I've just succumbed to the fact that my levels are louder, thus more background noise and the way certain tracks are laid down. I'm very disappointed as I've only been into this hobby since March and never expected anything other then a black noise floor. I already have upgradeitis and need better then what I have. My ears and wallet are on different pages though. Wife too.
I really appreciate the feedback especially since I posted a while ago. Thank you!

 

[Tuneslover]

I must say that I much prefer having my Jot placed on top of the Bimby. Having the Jot elevated off of the table top certainly makes life easier when plugging headphones into it, especially into the SE output. Visually it looks much nicer sitting on top of the Bimby too.

 

[Peter Ong]

Why don’t you just stick with the Element? The 840’s don’t need all of that power that the Jot affords, and unless you’re running balanced, higher end cans, there’s no reason to go with a Jot...

Hello Dr Cornelius,

You have a point. I could simply stay with the Element. In the end, I may end up doing just that. However, as I had mentioned, I want to like the Jot+DAC. At the moment, the Jot+DAC is situated in my home office. And the Element has become a part of my real office listening setup

With respect to the SRH-840, although its label mentions 48ohms, it seems to require more power still to overcome this impedance. In fact, I have had a love/hate relationship with my Shure SRH-840. It is uncomfortable and heavy. The way it clamps to my head is like very short chopsticks trying to pick up a large ice cube. So the pressure is not clamping the cans into my ears, it's more squeezing the corners of my skull and it just so happens that the cans touch my head. So when I put them on, the top part of the circumference of the cans have greater pressure than the part at the bottom of my ears. In short, the cans are uneven and therefore uncomfortable. But if you put it on right, it becomes okay.

The sound of it too was horrible at first. It was at this point that I got a clue about its power requirements. Plugged in directly to my Macbook Pro, it sounded exasperated. Imagine you're out of breath and you are trying to belt out a high note on stage. You have to be loud enough to be heard in the back of the auditorium, but you have to keep the song composed. This was how the SRH-840 sounded at first. It had almost no bass too. But I had paid $199 for it. And I had read the reviews for it; I wanted to reconcile the rave reviews with my experiences. That many people can't be wrong about same headphones I have which appear to have no physical defects. And then I realized, I have the Bose Companion 5. I had completely forgotten about it until that moment, that it had a built-in DAC/Amp. I plugged in the SRH-840 and suddenly, it was a completely different set of headphones. It was exactly the rave reviews I had been reading. It sounded exactly like what seemed it was meant to sound like. Full and confident -- with still plenty of air in the diaphragm. The bass began to show up. The bass was perfect, not boomy like the Sony MDR-7506. It was a very surgical bass; it was there when it was needed, nothing more and nothing less. It was satisfyingly just right.

Then I wondered if this was unique to the Bose. I looked around and after some research, I gifted myself the JDS Labs Element. The Bose DAC/Amp and the Element brought out the hidden gem within my SRH-840. So, I have modest choices when it comes to DAC/Amps. And then I read about the Schiit Jotunheim and then continue on to my original assessment of the Jot. At the moment, the DAC appears to be crap more than Schiit, but the amp is fantastic.

While I could stay with the Element and the Bose Companion 5, I have become a kind of a collector without meaning to. Now, I want to make this work. Also, I have the AKG K7xx and Sennheiser HD6xx arriving soon from Massdrop. They are both greater than 48ohms impedances. While I am sure the Bose and the Element will sufficiently drive them, I don't want to say goodbye to the Jot+DAC just yet. Maybe there is a hidden gem there too much like my discovery with the SRH-840. Maybe it just needs more exercise before it can sound like some of the fantastic reviews I have read here.

Peter

 

[Tuneslover]

Hello Dr Cornelius,

You have a point. I could simply stay with the Element. In the end, I may end up doing just that. However, as I had mentioned, I want to like the Jot+DAC. At the moment, the Jot+DAC is situated in my home office. And the Element has become a part of my real office listening setup

With respect to the SRH-840, although its label mentions 48ohms, it seems to require more power still to overcome this impedance. In fact, I have had a love/hate relationship with my Shure SRH-840. It is uncomfortable and heavy. The way it clamps to my head is like very short chopsticks trying to pick up a large ice cube. So the pressure is not clamping the cans into my ears, it's more squeezing the corners of my skull and it just so happens that the cans touch my head. So when I put them on, the top part of the circumference of the cans have greater pressure than the part at the bottom of my ears. In short, the cans are uneven and therefore uncomfortable. But if you put it on right, it becomes okay.

The sound of it too was horrible at first. It was at this point that I got a clue about its power requirements. Plugged in directly to my Macbook Pro, it sounded exasperated. Imagine you're out of breath and you are trying to belt out a high note on stage. You have to be loud enough to be heard in the back of the auditorium, but you have to keep the song composed. This was how the SRH-840 sounded at first. It had almost no bass too. But I had paid $199 for it. And I had read the reviews for it; I wanted to reconcile the rave reviews with my experiences. That many people can't be wrong about same headphones I have which appear to have no physical defects. And then I realized, I have the Bose Companion 5. I had completely forgotten about it until that moment, that it had a built-in DAC/Amp. I plugged in the SRH-840 and suddenly, it was a completely different set of headphones. It was exactly the rave reviews I had been reading. It sounded exactly like what seemed it was meant to sound like. Full and confident -- with still plenty of air in the diaphragm. The bass began to show up. The bass was perfect, not boomy like the Sony MDR-7506. It was a very surgical bass; it was there when it was needed, nothing more and nothing less. It was satisfyingly just right.

Then I wondered if this was unique to the Bose. I looked around and after some research, I gifted myself the JDS Labs Element. The Bose DAC/Amp and the Element brought out the hidden gem within my SRH-840. So, I have modest choices when it comes to DAC/Amps. And then I read about the Schiit Jotunheim and then continue on to my original assessment of the Jot. At the moment, the DAC appears to be **** more than Schiit, but the amp is fantastic.

While I could stay with the Element and the Bose Companion 5, I have become a kind of a collector without meaning to. Now, I want to make this work. Also, I have the AKG K7xx and Sennheiser HD6xx arriving soon from Massdrop. They are both greater than 48ohms impedances. While I am sure the Bose and the Element will sufficiently drive them, I don't want to say goodbye to the Jot+DAC just yet. Maybe there is a hidden gem there too much like my discovery with the SRH-840. Maybe it just needs more exercise before it can sound like some of the fantastic reviews I have read here.

Peter

I'd be interested in your assessment of the JOT+DAC with the HD6XX when they arrive. However, be sure to run in your JOT and HD6XX for a bit before you arrive at any conclusion. I have the Jot (no internal DAC...but I have the Bimby) and HD650 and I think this is a very good combination.

 

[rkw]

I'd be interested in your assessment of the JOT+DAC with the HD6XX when they arrive. However, be sure to run in your JOT and HD6XX for a bit before you arrive at any conclusion. I have the Jot (no internal DAC...but I have the Bimby) and HD650 and I think this is a very good combination.

Jot+DAC with HD6XX is exactly the combination I've been using for the past 7 months, and I like it a lot. As you know, Jot matches well with the HD6XX/HD650. I use a balanced cable which provides further enhancement (the Jot's balanced output delivers 2½× the power of its single ended output).

@Peter Ong, I chose the internal DAC as a single box solution, and it works very well for me (although I've always had in mind to upgrade the DAC sometime in the future). I haven't heard the unpleasant shrill sound you describe. Either you have a defective DAC or the USB from your laptop has a lot of electrical noise. The Jot DAC card is like the base Modi 2 and is powered by the USB (not by the Jot internal power supply), and it is susceptible to being affected by electrical noise on the USB. You should try the Jot on a different computer. If the results are the same it might be a defective card.

 

[ckwong]

For people having usb-problems, maybe Wyrd could be a solution? Schiit also announced USB gen. 5 recently, don't remember if the upgrade will be available for the Jot dac though.

I was wondering the same thing when they announced their USB 5 input.

"The USB Gen 5 input is now standard on all upgradable Schiit DACs. Retail prices remain the same as before, with Bifrost and Bifrost Multibit at $399 and $599 respectively, Gungnir and Gungnir Multibit at $849 and $1249 respectively, and Yggdrasil at $2299. Current owners of Schiit DACs with Gen 1, 2, and 3 USB inputs can upgrade for $150 with installation. All Gen 5 products are available for purchase now."

By just going off of their news article copied above, it sounds like it'll only be available on the Bifrost, Gungnir and Yggdrasil.

 

[showme99]

I was wondering the same thing when they announced their USB 5 input.

"The USB Gen 5 input is now standard on all upgradable Schiit DACs. Retail prices remain the same as before, with Bifrost and Bifrost Multibit at $399 and $599 respectively, Gungnir and Gungnir Multibit at $849 and $1249 respectively, and Yggdrasil at $2299. Current owners of Schiit DACs with Gen 1, 2, and 3 USB inputs can upgrade for $150 with installation. All Gen 5 products are available for purchase now."

By just going off of their news article copied above, it sounds like it'll only be available on the Bifrost, Gungnir and Yggdrasil.

Another option for USB Gen 5 would be the new Schiit Eitr:

http://schiit.com/products/eitr

But since it's also a USB-to-SPDIF converter, you'd need to use it with a DAC that has a coaxial input.