[BarDash]

I know Schitt says the Jot can be left on all the time but mine gets very warm and I don't know how comfortable I'd be going to work or sleep and leaving it on.

   
Very true, but right now I'm struggling on whether to get Jot and use with my T90 and sell Valhalla 2, or get an HD800 (which I would have to sell my T90 to do), and use it with Val2.  
 
I do like that you can leave Jot on all the time, so never have to worry about warm up (which you can'd do with tube amps, b/c of tube life), and not having to spend money every year on tube rolling.
 
I suppose I can get Jot and just keep Val2 for a tube option for schiits and giggles, or use it as a preamp for Jot (tube preamp for solid state is supposed to be a great combo).  

FYI: I know Schitt says the Jot can be left on all the time but mine gets very warm and almost hot, I don't know how comfortable I'd be going to work or sleep and leaving it on.

 

[sheldaze]

HD800 and Valhalla 2 did not work for me - not due to having too much treble, but due to some small amount of grit I heard, which enunciated certain sounds. I was listening to a laid-back Pink Floyd song, and it sounded more grungy and aggressive through the Valhalla 2. By comparison, I heard no grit through a DNA Sonett, which is what I moved to next. I would also say by comparison, I do not hear grit on the Jodie. There is a mild treble push, but not grit.

 

[ColtMrFire]

  HD800 and Valhalla 2 did not work for me - not due to having too much treble, but due to some small amount of grit I heard, which enunciated certain sounds. I was listening to a laid-back Pink Floyd song, and it sounded more grungy and aggressive through the Valhalla 2. By comparison, I heard no grit through a DNA Sonett, which is what I moved to next. I would also say by comparison, I do not hear grit on the Jodie. There is a mild treble push, but not grit.

 
Yeah but Sonnet is significantly more expensive than Val2, which is supposed to be THE budget amp for the HD800, punching well above its weight class (like most Schiit gear).  You're probably not going to find a better OTL tube amp under $800.
 
My only complaint with Val2 is it has a slight hazy quality to it, and it doesn't do slam/dynamics super well.  But everything else is stellar, and its hard to complain for $350.

 

[sheldaze]

 
Yeah but Sonnet is significantly more expensive than Val2, which is supposed to be THE budget amp for the HD800, punching well above its weight class (like most Schiit gear).  You're probably not going to find a better OTL tube amp under $800.
 
My only complaint with Val2 is it has a slight hazy quality to it, and it doesn't do slam/dynamics super well.  But everything else is stellar, and its hard to complain for $350.

I hear you on the price, but the Sonett was definitely worth the $600, to my ears, relative to the Valhalla 2. And I suspect that what you hear as haze may be similar to what I heard as grit. Perhaps I'm simply focused on a different frequency spectrum (in describing how I dislike the sound), so at a lower frequency = grit, while higher frequency = haze. Whatever it was, I do not hear this on the Jodie.
 
I think the primary question with the Jodie is frequency response curve, which it will not address - meaning it won't fix something that is broken in the headphone. If there are no issues (i.e. modifications are made to the headphone, or equalization, or headphone is flat to start with), I think Jodie will do fine.

 

[Vigrith]

Wasn't Donald's Sonett discontinued though? I'd have been wanting to try it for a while but last time I looked I think it was no longer in production (according to his site at least).

 

[franzdom]

I would like to explore more the idea of pairing the Jotenheim with a Lyr 2 or Mjolnir 2 for tubed preamps. I mean, is the Lyr 2 pre-out a lot cleaner than the amped out? 
 
This is a very intriguing idea, I am tempted to just buy a Jotte and see. It would very likely end in happiness, just like every other Schiit purchase I have made has done.

 

[ColtMrFire]

  I hear you on the price, but the Sonett was definitely worth the $600, to my ears, relative to the Valhalla 2. And I suspect that what you hear as haze may be similar to what I heard as grit. Perhaps I'm simply focused on a different frequency spectrum (in describing how I dislike the sound), so at a lower frequency = grit, while higher frequency = haze. Whatever it was, I do not hear this on the Jodie.
 
I think the primary question with the Jodie is frequency response curve, which it will not address - meaning it won't fix something that is broken in the headphone. If there are no issues (i.e. modifications are made to the headphone, or equalization, or headphone is flat to start with), I think Jodie will do fine.

 
$600???  I didn't realize the Sonnet was that cheap.  I take back what I said.
 
Also, did you say you had the HD800/Jot combo?  How does it sound to you?

 

[JLoud]

  I know Schitt says the Jot can be left on all the time but mine gets very warm and I don't know how comfortable I'd be going to work or sleep and leaving it on.

   
Very true, but right now I'm struggling on whether to get Jot and use with my T90 and sell Valhalla 2, or get an HD800 (which I would have to sell my T90 to do), and use it with Val2.  
 
I do like that you can leave Jot on all the time, so never have to worry about warm up (which you can'd do with tube amps, b/c of tube life), and not having to spend money every year on tube rolling.
 
I suppose I can get Jot and just keep Val2 for a tube option for schiits and giggles, or use it as a preamp for Jot (tube preamp for solid state is supposed to be a great combo).  

FYI: I know Schitt says the Jot can be left on all the time but mine gets very warm and almost hot, I don't know how comfortable I'd be going to work or sleep and leaving it on.

I've had mine for two weeks.  Left it on the whole time.  It is warm, but never exceedingly.  I would be more worried about all the heat cycles with turning it on and off.  Worst thing you can do for electronics is heat and let them cool down over and over.  I repair robots for a major company and we leave power on control and transformer boards year round.  Most failures occur after power downs.

 

[tretneo]

Just received my Jot (w/ DAC) this afternoon. So far, so good and it sounds great to me. I haven't gotten around to comparing w/ my Chord Mojo which I've been using to drive Ether Flows for the past couple of months, that said I'm not hearing much difference (if any) right out of the gate.
 
I noticed the DAC chips in the USB DAC are the same used by Astell&Kern's AK3xx line. Those players are widely praised for their sound quality/signature so I can't see any reason why this DAC wouldn't perform similarly if Schiit did a good job w/ implementation which I have to assume they did.
 
Good stuff.

 

[tekkster]

I had very similar issues a while back with my MacBook Pro / Thunderbolt Display setup. The Wyrd fixed it for me.

Thanks for the education.  Looked it up after reading your comment.  For $99, it's worth it to give it a try.  Will have to pick one up, maybe end of the month.  Though....as I write this, it does seem rather absurdly irrational for me to think:  I'm gonna spend $99 on a device that will clean up a bad digital USB signal....  Maybe normal for audiophiles....definitely a strange realm for me.  C'est la vie.  Thanks again.

 

[dglow]

 

I had very similar issues a while back with my MacBook Pro / Thunderbolt Display setup. The Wyrd fixed it for me.

Thanks for the education.  Looked it up after reading your comment.  For $99, it's worth it to give it a try.  Will have to pick one up, maybe end of the month.  Though....as I write this, it does seem rather absurdly irrational for me to think:  I'm gonna spend $99 on a device that will clean up a bad digital USB signal....  Maybe normal for audiophiles....definitely a strange realm for me.  C'est la vie.  Thanks again.

If you're hoping for a less expensive alternative, try a powered USB2 hub first.

 

[tekkster]

 
If you're hoping for a less expensive alternative, try a powered USB2 hub first.

Thanks.  Will do.
 
Even with aging, bad hearing, I really do enjoy the Jotunheim at low volume more than the Mojo at low volume.  So, crossing fingers this USB effort will fix the issue.  Too bad the Jotunheim doesn't have optical audio input like the Mojo does.  I use the Mojo with USB on the iMac or optical audio with the MBP (not enough USB ports).  Mojo works fine with USB....Irritated that the Jotunheim doesn't.

 

[franzdom]

Have you tried driving the Jot with the Mojo?

 

[tekkster]

  Have you tried driving the Jot with the Mojo?

Starting to feel a little guilty taking up so much of this thread when it's an audiophile forum.

But in answer to your question, 

yes, I did try that:  imac usb -> mojo usb -> mojo se out -> Jot RCA in -> SE out to Beyer T1.
It's so weird, but the bits of static or pop or whatever it's called shows up, every 3-4 seconds, just like when Mojo is not there.

Not that this matters, but I've tried with Audirvana, JRiver, and Swinsian.  No difference.

When I do imac usb -> mojo -> SE out to T1....no pops.

USB cable and Jot DAC module are also both fine, because I ran a test from the iPhone to USB adaptor, to the very same USB cable to Jot DAC...etc. etc.  and no pops.  

Frustrating because I have no clue what I'm doing, but get consistently repeatable results.

Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions, esteemed experts.  I'll try those tips out later this month.

 

[Allanmarcus]

 

  Have you tried driving the Jot with the Mojo?

Starting to feel a little guilty taking up so much of this thread when it's an audiophile forum.

But in answer to your question, 

yes, I did try that:  imac usb -> mojo usb -> mojo se out -> Jot RCA in -> SE out to Beyer T1.
It's so weird, but the bits of static or pop or whatever it's called shows up, every 3-4 seconds, just like when Mojo is not there.

Not that this matters, but I've tried with Audirvana, JRiver, and Swinsian.  No difference.

When I do imac usb -> mojo -> SE out to T1....no pops.

USB cable and Jot DAC module are also both fine, because I ran a test from the iPhone to USB adaptor, to the very same USB cable to Jot DAC...etc. etc.  and no pops.  

Frustrating because I have no clue what I'm doing, but get consistently repeatable results.

Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions, esteemed experts.  I'll try those tips out later this month.

If you have a TRS 3.5mm to RCA left/right cable, try the Jodie off the iPhone direct
 
iPhone -> Jodie (RCA)
 
It might just be be you have a Jodie issue.