[zeissiez]

Great to hear that the Jotty is a great match for HE1000. My quibble about the Ragnarok is that it is a bit short in transparency. The HE1000 with the right setup is capable of amazing transparency.

 

[iamxLn]

  So...Jot 
 
or Lyr2 with great tubes?

waiting for this review also.

 

[iamxLn]

I never did like the Rag it is a lotta hype and not able to convey anything impressive except bass punch to me..

Now I just come back from listening to the yggy / Jotunheim combo with the HEK, Ether Flow, HD800 & HD650.

The Jotunheim hits a home run.(!)

Headphone Improvements are:
HD650 = increased dynamics

HD800 = increased bass and presence

Ether Flow = increase fluid detailing

HEK = EXPLOSIVE EFFORTLESS SOUND.

The greatest change in headphone was the HEK.

The HEK + Jotunheim is a match made in heaven..

I assume it is because the HEK have the lowest impedance of the bunch, so the Jotunheim just gives it all the power it could possibly require..

The sound of this Jotunheim is pretty amazing as all detail and good soundstage came across effortlessly and to my biased memory this unit should CRUSH the Ragnorok and anything up to $1k unless it's tube gear, and that is saying alot.

I am a tube head, and for me to like ANY sold state amp is almost an impossibility for me.
This amp breaks that barrier and will be my next purchase.

I read the last few pages and I see a lot of posts seem to shy away from stating just how good this amp is .
So I won't name the competition,
But *redacted* this Jotunheim will be a game changer..

In time with more reviews,
this post will not sound as fantastic as it does right now..
But I stand by my impressions.
Jotunheim will be a standard for amps to compare to..

did you test balanced out on all of these headphones? or just SE?

 

[Letmebefrank]

So after a couple days with the Jody I would like to give some more impressions.
 
Windows 10 > Foobar2k > USB > Modi Multibit > SYS > Jotunheim > Custom Balanced Senn Cable > HD650
 
HOLY SMOKES this amp just keeps getting better the more I listen to it. YYZ is one of my favorite songs to check gear with, as the frequency and dynamic range is pretty amazing. Geddy Lees bass guitar, from start to end, might as well have been its own channel in a surround sound system, it was that distinct from the rest of the track. I've never heard songs with such clarity and separation before. That's really why I love this amp so much. I'm assuming that most of this is the work of the Modi Multibit, and the Jody allowing it to shine through with amazing detail.
 
The soundstage seems massive, and the way each instrument is presented so clearly from everything else just adds to that feeling of air.
 
Aside: The last few days I have been having an issue where my audio would sometimes have a small blip every few minutes. I didn't have this problem until I installed Equalizer APO, and even after uninstalling it the issue still persisted so I'm honestly not sure what the problem is/was. Messing with the buffer in foobar didnt help. Wasapi and ASIO made it a bit better but during the day I like to switch between videos and music regularly so those weren't working for me. Anyway last night I installed the anniversary update to windows 10 and BAM! no more problems.

 

[earnmyturns]

  The soundstage seems massive, and the way each instrument is presented so clearly from everything else just adds to that feeling of air.

If you guys keep going like this I'll have to order a Jodie even though I've had a Liquid Carbon v2 on order since April. Let them fight it out for control of my Bimby and Ether C Flow 

 

 

[bobbyg1983]

Great news, loving all of the impressions with Senn HD650. Was on the fence of Joti vs Valhalla 2 to use exclusively with HD650, previously leaning towards V2 as the HD650s tend to respond well to tubes, but now I'm leaning back towards getting the Joti to use with my Modi 2 Uber (next: upgrade to Multibit).

Alternatively, considering getting Chord Mojo. Obviously different flavor and suits different usage scenarios, but a bit torn ... I can probably live with Dragonfly Black for mobile (maybe pick up Oppo PM3 for on the go) and go with Mimby->Joti->HD650 for home use.

 

[Allanmarcus]

I propose JoMimby (Yo-Mimby) as the official designation of that combination

 

[slex]

Hmm Jodie crush Ragie?Anyone have other to compare like Burson Conductor, Audiogd discrete amps etc.....?

 

[MWSVette]

The Jotunheim, Bimby and Lyr,
 

 

[ColtMrFire]

I forgot to add that the 650 were moded.

For those that have tight budget there is good news..

With the Jotunheim, I felt the HD650 benefited the most because the 650 sounded much more controlled on the lower spectrum and had a deep tight bass..

I would say the 650 and the HEK benefitted most in low end punch and discernable in instrument separation,
Followed by the Flow and HD800 .

The Flow was really supple in breath and bass presentation.
The fullness of bass that the Flow has on other amps,
was replaced with a really nice supple controlled bass breath you could sense, which also the HEK had.

The 650 also conveyed nice controlled bass extension which was really SO impressive it made my HD800 anemic .

Usually I do not like the 650 because it always came across in the past as a dark, thick , or a bit dull headphone to me.
But thru the Jotunheim, it came across as very natural, almost neutral(!)
My Second fave of the bunch!

As for the HD800
The increased treble presence and lighter, quicker bass made it less neutral, and less powerful sounding than the others,
And made the HD800 the last choice here...

Not because it was stock, as my HD800 has ALL the mods and more than any other I know or ever read, but I still not completely happy with it.
The 800 is an never ending work in progress that in the end needs amp matching.
So it was still the last pick here..

The point is that the Jotunheim has great authority over all these headphones and makes all of them climb higher than you would imagine.
I'm not saying it is the best amp,
But it has the clarity, power, and control of a high end amp.

Thanks for your insightful review. I am specifically wondering how the Jot handles cans with treble spikes since its solid state. You mentioned your HD800 is modded. I have the Beyer T90, one of the most treble intense cans on the market (but still an amazing HP), and in considering buying the Jot, I need to be sure it doesn't exaggerate the negative treble qualities in these kinds of cans. I recently bought a Valhalla2/Mimby and its incredible but if I can have a better amp for $50 more, I am seriously going to consider it.

Or if anyone else who's tried the Jot with treble happy cans could chime in, I'd appreciate it.

 

[slex]

How about a wryd2 module with galvanic isolation built into jodie? Possible? Save space and i believe the power supply of jodie is very quiet too for it.

I willing to buy that if it superseded Regen,itona etc..... It time for wyrd 2!!!

 

[bigro]

The pops And thump problems I had only affected speakers. I had no issues while using only headphones.
This is one thing I love about the Musical Fidelity M1HPAp, I can turn it on with volume up and the power amp already on and I have absolutely no pop or thump. I know this is something one should never do, but sometimes I forgot to turn the speaker amp off and just turned the headphone amp/pre on.
With the Vali 2 I had to be extra careful, but I had two or three times of fear during start up. The Valhalla presented pops while already on for some time with no music reproduction, and this was sad as I really liked it's performance as a preamplifier.

 
I use a Valhalla 2 and use it as a PreAmp. First With Monitors but now with a Power Amp and passive Speakers. No popping once It is on. My power amp is on with in a minute of turning on the Valhalla 2 and Its silent by then. Have you tried swapping the tubes out? Our contacted Schiit, That's not normal.   I Usually Power on all sources and pre amp before the power amp, So I never hear any of the initial popping. (Force Of habit of at least 25+ years of using 2 channel gear I guess) 
 
 
 

 

[MattTCG]

How about a wryd2 module with galvanic isolation built into jodie? Possible? Save space and i believe the power supply of jodie is very quiet too for it.

I willing to buy that if it superseded Regen,itona etc..... It time for wyrd 2!!!

 
Wyrd 2? Did I miss a memo?

Thanks for your insightful review. I am specifically wondering how the Jot handles cans with treble spikes since its solid state. You mentioned your HD800 is modded. I have the Beyer T90, one of the most treble intense cans on the market (but still an amazing HP), and in considering buying the Jot, I need to be sure it doesn't exaggerate the negative treble qualities in these kinds of cans. I recently bought a Valhalla2/Mimby and its incredible but if I can have a better amp for $50 more, I am seriously going to consider it.

Or if anyone else who's tried the Jot with treble happy cans could chime in, I'd appreciate it.

 
Jodie shares qualities of much more expensive solid state amps. It has the ability to present music with refinement without digital glare and harshness. I've been testing it with hd800 which I would consider "treble happy." Jodie passes the test exceptionally well. 

 

[ColtMrFire]

Wyrd 2? Did I miss a memo?

Jodie shares qualities of much more expensive solid state amps. It has the ability to present music with refinement without digital glare and harshness. I've been testing it with hd800 which I would consider "treble happy." Jodie passes the test exceptionally well. 

Wonderful to hear, thanks!

Now all I need are some Jot/Valhalla2 comparisons.

 

[Tuneslover]

I bought a used LH labs 1G USB cable and it sounded much better than the stock one I was using (until I ditched USB entirely for SPDIF). But YMMV, it depends on which cable...experiment and come to your own conclusions.

I purchased an expensive Audioquest Carbon USB cable a few years ago because I thought a good quality cable was necessary. I had it connected from an iMac into an original Modi for 3 years or so and it did indeed sound good with absolutely no noise or interference issues necessitating something like a Wyrd. I recently purchased a Modi Multibit and thought "Ah, now I can try a Toslink cable". So I used a decent quality Audioquest one I had laying around and found both cables sound identical. I'll keep listening with the Toslink as the primary input but also do some occasional comparisons.