[comzee]

There may be better amps for different headphones, but as an all around amp it is exceptional.

Guess I'll chime in after 20 pages of hype.
 
There are better amps for your headphones (the Elear).
I've been listening to Jotun for over a week now (got it last Tuesday), my impressions are still the same.
 
There are $1k-2k amps that would outperform it, and $2-$4k amps that would outperform those in turn.
 
I don't own any < $1k amps, so I can't say how the Jotun stacks up against its peers.
I can say at $400 it's an exceptional amp, but there are many options that are better for more $$.
 
I saw someone comparing the Jotun to the Ragnarok, saying the Jotun was better....
Just because you own it, doesn't mean you have to comparemtalize for yourself why it's better than anything on the market.
I don't know the Ragnarok, but if the performance is like any of my other similarly priced amps, it would crap on the Jotun.
 
Just looking at this objectively, I own the Jotun to. I love it, @ $400. Just posting this so any head high-end head-fi'ers can get a different take. 

 

[ColtMrFire]

  Guess I'll chime in after 20 pages of hype.
 
There are better amps for your headphones (the Elear).
I've been listening to Jotun for over a week now (got it last Tuesday), my impressions are still the same.
 
There are $1k-2k amps that would outperform it, and $2-$4k amps that would outperform those in turn.
 
I don't own any < $1k amps, so I can't say how the Jotun stacks up against its peers.
I can say at $400 it's an exceptional amp, but there are many options that are better for more $$.
 
I saw someone comparing the Jotun to the Ragnarok, saying the Jotun was better....
Just because you own it, doesn't mean you have to comparemtalize for yourself why it's better than anything on the market.
I don't know the Ragnarok, but if the performance is like any of my other similarly priced amps, it would crap on the Jotun.
 
Just looking at this objectively, I own the Jotun to. I love it, @ $400. Just posting this so any head high-end head-fi'ers can get a different take. 

 
There are people who've owned/heard Ragnarok and own Jotun who say Jotun is a better amp.  And those people are on a forum that detests hype.  So I believe them.  It's a fairly objective place.
 
Also, you say more expensive amps outperform Jotun yet you don't own any $1k+ amps...?  How can you make this assertion then?  Have you A/B compared $1k+ amps with the Jotun?  Jotun apparently outperforms many $1k+ amps, including Ragnarok, and this is, again, from people who are trustworthy when it comes to reviews.  I'm not allowed to reveal the name of this forum, so PM me if you want it.
 
Jotun looks to be a gamechanger of an amp.  A $400 statement/TOTL amp for a company that already has exceptional amps.

 

[Mudshark]

@comzee ^
 
I am sure there is better, but at the moment I cannot imagine spending big $$ in pursuit of the elusive better.  With a quality source feeding the Joti, the Joti can make relatively inexpensive cans (e.g., the Denon D2000) sound spectacular.  YMMV, of course, but in my system, this $400 headphone amp driving a pair of $300 stock single-ended headphones is as enjoyable musically as my preamp>power amp>loudspeakers/subwoofer (Levinson/Bryston/Magnepan/JL Audio).

 

[pctazhp]

   
There are people who've owned/heard Ragnarok and own Jotun who say Jotun is a better amp.  And those people are on a forum that detests hype.  So I believe them.  It's a fairly objective place.
 
Also, you say more expensive amps outperform Jotun yet you don't own any $1k+ amps...?  How can you make this assertion then?  Have you A/B compared $1k+ amps with the Jotun?  Jotun apparently outperforms many $1k+ amps, including Ragnarok, and this is, again, from people who are trustworthy when it comes to reviews.  I'm not allowed to reveal the name of this forum, so PM me if you want it.
 
Jotun looks to be a gamechanger of an amp.  A $400 statement/TOTL amp for a company that already has exceptional amps.

I think he meant he didn't own any amps under $1000. 
 
But in general I'll say that I am often surprised at people who seem to automatically assume that price is a good indicator of SQ. I've seen it said that it requires much more talent and ability to design audio gear with budget as a concern than to design gear where cost is no constraint.

 

[comzee]

   
There are people who've owned/heard Ragnarok and own Jotun who say Jotun is a better amp.  And those people are on a forum that detests hype.  So I believe them.  It's a fairly objective place.
 
Also, you say more expensive amps outperform Jotun yet you don't own any $1k+ amps...?  How can you make this assertion then?  Have you A/B compared $1k+ amps with the Jotun?  Jotun apparently outperforms many $1k+ amps, including Ragnarok, and this is, again, from people who are trustworthy when it comes to reviews.  I'm not allowed to reveal the name of this forum, so PM me if you want it.
 
Jotun looks to be a gamechanger of an amp.  A $400 statement/TOTL amp for a company that already has exceptional amps.

I know that forum, I browse it, and have posted it. I personally know many of the people (including the master hyper Marv).
Imo, sb@f is even more group think than head-fi... (if that is the place you're talking about)
 
You can believe whatever you want to, if you think the Jotun is the best there is, then get it, and be happy! Not sure why you or anybody else would need my validation.
I posted the above for people that were already in the high-end stuff, not for somebody looking for a $400 end game. Jotun is $400 (or $500 with dac) end game for many people.
 

   
But in general I'll say that I am often surprised at people who seem to automatically assume that price is a good indicator of SQ.

I completely agree with this.
 
I happen to own tho a Lehmann BCL, and Taurus MkII. I prefer both over the Jotun, they coincidentally are both more expensive.
So I'm not just pulling sheit out my @ss here, I did the A/B myself, not just parroting other people impressions

 

[lenroot77]

 

[ColtMrFire]

  if you think the Jotun is the best there is, then get it, and be happy! 

 
That wasn't really what I was getting at.  No, Jotun is probably not the best amp, because "best" is subjective once you get past the $300 mark in this hobby, diminishing returns and all that.  But technicalities can be objectively quantified, and apparently Jotun performs better than Rag, from what I've read... it seems to "fix" issues people complained about with Rag.  And Schiit doesn't gimp new products to preserve old (more expensive) ones.

 

[Tuneslover]

I think he meant he didn't own any amps under $1000. 

But in general I'll say that I am often surprised at people who seem to automatically assume that price is a good indicator of SQ. I've seen it said that it requires much more talent and ability to design audio gear with budget as a concern than to design gear where cost is no constraint.

Good point! Also people should remember when doing a price/performance comparison be sure to recognize that buying direct from Schiit is inherently cheaper than buying competitors brands from retail stores. In other words, the Jot could cost $800, instead of $400 if you had to buy it at an audio retail store.

 

[ColtMrFire]

I imagine you could've priced Jot at $2K+ and gotten away with it... considering the reviews.

 

[acguitar84]

I've read some interesting posts about Jotunheim myself. One poster on another site compared it favorably to his EC ZDS. I've also read posts saying they prefer it, in some ways anyway, to their Ragnarok  (or some other more expensive amps too). However, I don't think anyone is going to unequivocally state the Jotunheim is the best amp in the world now bar none. I think it's safe to assume it's a real contender though, and great "bang for the buck."
 
I like how it has punch, and is fully balanced. For my purposes, for now, I think it will work more as a preamp for me, rather than a headphone amp. I can't afford to outfit all of my "stations" right now, so I'll probably keep the mimby and the WA7 for the headphone rig, and use Jotunheim(s) for my desktop rigs. I like the extra punch they provide, better sound for my speakers.
 
All in all, I think it's a very nice rig, and well worth it's price, regardless of how it competes (or can't compete) with amps out of it's weight class ($) so to speak.

 

[sikki-six]

Does anyone have ideas how this compares to Lyr 2 (with LISSTs even)? Both seem to have lots of power at least. I'm using LCD-2.1's and a ModiBit DAC most of the time.

 

[GearMe]

@comzee
 ^

I am sure there is better, but at the moment I cannot imagine spending big $$ in pursuit of the elusive better.  With a quality source feeding the Joti, the Joti can make relatively inexpensive cans (e.g., the Denon D2000) sound spectacular.  YMMV, of course, but in my system, this $400 headphone amp driving a pair of $300 stock single-ended headphones is as enjoyable musically as my preamp>power amp>loudspeakers/subwoofer (Levinson/Bryston/Magnepan/JL Audio).

Wow! I had this level of 2 channel equipment a few years ago and am surprised by this comment. Your D2000's sound as good as well-driven Maggies and a Sub? When we downsized from our house to our townhome I sold this gear and still miss it...hence the switch to headphones.

TBH, I've never been able to recreate the sound/feeling/experience of any my 2 channel systems via headphones (take your pick Maggies, Quads, Stacked Dahlquists, etc.). The imaging and the raw power (when I chose to play it loud) of a good 2 channel system is still something I miss compared to headphones.

That said, the value of cans and headphone amps is far superior. This benefit has allowed me to buy several different flavors of 'speaker systems' (many more than I had in our house) which I enjoy when I switch from one music genre to another.

 

[Mudshark]

Wow! I had this level of 2 channel equipment a few years ago and am surprised by this comment. Your D2000's sound as good as well-driven Maggies and a Sub? When we downsized from our house to our townhome I sold this gear and still miss it...hence the switch to headphones.

TBH, I've never been able to recreate the sound/feeling/experience of any my 2 channel systems via headphones (take your pick Maggies, Quads, Stacked Dahlquists, etc.). The imaging and the raw power (when I chose to play it loud) of a good 2 channel system is still something I miss compared to headphones.

That said, the value of cans and headphone amps is far superior. This benefit has allowed me to buy several different flavors of 'speaker systems' (many more than I had in our house) which I enjoy when I switch from one music genre to another.

 
Well, I wrote above that the Joti/D2000 combo is "as enjoyable musically" as my speaker rig.  I did not mean to suggest the D2000's driven by the Joti "sound as good" objectively as my Maggies and JLA sub driven by a Levinson preamp and Bryston power amp.  The headphone and loudspeaker experiences are so different that I would not attempt to compare them directly.  My point was simply that I am getting comparable listening pleasure out a headphone amp and headphones with a combined MSRP of @ $700 USD as I am from from a preamp/amp/speakers/sub setup with a combined MSRP that is more than 25x higher.
 
Do the D2000's scale and slam like the Maggies/JLA?  No, not even close.  But power up the Joti/Denons, play "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" from Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets ... and prepare for takeoff! 

 

 

[cskippy]

  Does anyone have ideas how this compares to Lyr 2 (with LISSTs even)? Both seem to have lots of power at least. I'm using LCD-2.1's and a ModiBit DAC most of the time.

Not from personal experience but I've read that Jodie is more versatile, especially if you want to you sensitive IEMs.  Also, it offers balanced inputs and preouts which is a nice plus.  Specs show improvements across the board too.  You might miss tubez goodness though?

 

[subwoof3r]

May someone please compare it (with DAC module) to iFi Micro iDSD ?