[mattlach]

No

Yes

No

Up for debate.

Pretty much.

Jotunheim can amplify balanced ins to balanced outs, balanced ins to single ended outs, single ended ins to single ended outs, and single ended ins to balanced outs.

The Bifrost is single ended only, so it would need to connect to the single ended ins on the Jotunheim, but could be listened to using either single ended or balanced headphones.

It is currently being debated in this thread which is more important, Multibit DAC or balanced DAC, because with the Jotunheim you can't currently have both, unless you order a Gungnir DAC or above, and now we are starting to talk real money.

Right now, multi it seems to be winning over balanced, but I have seen nothing that has ended the discussion yet, and no direct comparisons.

 

[franzdom]

I can testify Jotunheim plays quite nicely with Yggdrasil (multibit) balanced and discreet.

 

[mattlach]

I can testify Jotunheim plays quite nicely with Yggdrasil (multibit) balanced and discreet.

Haha, yeah, but not everyone is willing (or able) to spend $2,300 for a DAC, especially not in order to pair it with a $399 amp.

Realistically most Jotunheim buyers are probably going to be using the internal DAC, Modi Multibit or Bifrost Multibit.

 

[frankietown]

Pretty much.

Jotunheim can amplify balanced ins to balanced outs, balanced ins to single ended outs, single ended ins to single ended outs, and single ended ins to balanced outs.

The Bifrost is single ended only, so it would need to connect to the single ended ins on the Jotunheim, but could be listened to using either single ended or balanced headphones.

It is currently being debated in this thread which is more important, Multibit DAC or balanced DAC, because with the Jotunheim you can't currently have both, unless you order a Gungnir DAC or above, and now we are starting to talk real money.

Right now, multi it seems to be winning over balanced, but I have seen nothing that has ended the discussion yet, and no direct comparisons.

 
Thank you very much you both

 

[franzdom]

Haha, yeah, but not everyone is willing (or able) to spend $2,300 for a DAC, especially not in order to pair it with a $399 amp.

Realistically most Jotunheim buyers are probably going to be using the internal DAC, Modi Multibit or Bifrost Multibit.

 
True but it speaks volumes that this amp plays well in the big leagues!

 

[Mr Rick]

   
True but it speaks volumes that this amp plays well in the big leagues!

 
I think you could fairly say that about any Schiit amp.

 

[FljpFl0p]

Is it worth it to get the Jotunheim over the Magni2U/Modi2U stack if I'm just going to use the 6.5mm plug? I'm gonna use it with the HD6xx and buying a $500 DAC/Amp for a $200 headphone sounds...not right

 

[Voxata]

The way Jot works you are able to have SE source input and still enjoy a solid SQ increase across the board using Jots balanced out. 

 

[Starcruncher]

  Is it worth it to get the Jotunheim over the Magni2U/Modi2U stack if I'm just going to use the 6.5mm plug? I'm gonna use it with the HD6xx and buying a $500 DAC/Amp for a $200 headphone sounds...not right

 
First, welcome to Head-Fi. I don't have this amp, and I won't fault you too hard for a noob question, but if you stick around, you will learn that gear pricing and the hierarchy of components are not so basic or linear. Your intuition that an amp should not cost more than the headphones is common, but definitely not dogma. And besides, until Massdrop's HD 6xx, this headphone was much closer to the price of the Jot. And considering the praise this pairing is receiving, you could do much worse and waste a lot more time and money trying to satisfy an arbitrary balance sheet.
 
So basically, go for it!!!

 

[watchnerd]

  Is it worth it to get the Jotunheim over the Magni2U/Modi2U stack if I'm just going to use the 6.5mm plug? I'm gonna use it with the HD6xx and buying a $500 DAC/Amp for a $200 headphone sounds...not right

 
I use $849 amp with $449 cans.  Not that weird.
 
But...if they Magni2U has enough power for your cans, why change anything?

 

[FljpFl0p]

   
First, welcome to Head-Fi. I don't have this amp, and I won't fault you too hard for a noob question, but if you stick around, you will learn that gear pricing and the hierarchy of components are not so basic or linear. Your intuition that an amp should not cost more than the headphones is common, but definitely not dogma. And besides, until Massdrop's HD 6xx, this headphone was much closer to the price of the Jot. And considering the praise this pairing is receiving, you could do much worse and waste a lot more time and money trying to satisfy an arbitrary balance sheet.
 
So basically, go for it!!!

 
 

   
I use $849 amp with $449 cans.  Not that weird.
 
But...if they Magni2U has enough power for your cans, why change anything?

 
I haven't bought anything yet and I can more or less understand how it's reasonable to pay more for an amp than the headphone, but I'm wondering whether the difference in sound quality would justify the premium cost.
Everyone is praising the Jot with it's balanced output, but I'll be using just USB-in with the stock headphone cable. Will I be wasting it's potential if I don't utilize the balanced in or out at all?

 

[jimmers]

 
I haven't bought anything yet and I can more or less understand how it's reasonable to pay more for an amp than the headphone, but I'm wondering whether the difference in sound quality would justify the premium cost.
Everyone is praising the Jot with it's balanced output, but I'll be using just USB-in with the stock headphone cable. Will I be wasting it's potential if I don't utilize the balanced in or out at all?

Depends on the headphone, I like the HD650 so I think it's worth having a Bimby and a Jot for them.
 
Going balanced out for me was the cost of a 4 pin XLR, a little time and the use of a cutter and a soldering iron; the cutter and iron I already had, my time is my own, so that's ~ $10.
 The Jot is (almost) as good single ended as balanced, I used it for a while single ended out so I had something to look forward to, not sure how much improvement, if any, as I was using a different type of cable, but the HD650 has what I think people refer to as "sub bass" now that I wasn't aware of before.

 

[mattlach]

I use $849 amp with $449 cans.  Not that weird.

But...if they Magni2U has enough power for your cans, why change anything?

Yeah, there is a sense in the community that your money is better spent on headphones than an amp, and better spent on an amp than on a DAC, and it's not necessarily wrong.

It's actually a good way to prioritize your audiophile spending.

That being said it's far from an absolute law.

I too have more expensive amps and DAC's than my headphones, but this is partially because of getting good promotions (massdrops etc.) on the headphones, and headphones are next on my upgrade list.

 

[Ancipital]

  Depends on the headphone, I like the HD650 so I think it's worth having a Bimby and a Jot for them.

 
If you're starting now, there's no reason to get a Bimby any more, Mimby edges it in some ways, and costs a lot less. However, you're right, plug that into a Jot, and it steamrollers through the veil nicely, and sounds great. 
 
(That said, if you want even more out of the 650, there are mods that you can do... there be dragons!)

 

[rovopio]

Pretty much.

Jotunheim can amplify balanced ins to balanced outs, balanced ins to single ended outs, single ended ins to single ended outs, and single ended ins to balanced outs.

The Bifrost is single ended only, so it would need to connect to the single ended ins on the Jotunheim, but could be listened to using either single ended or balanced headphones.

It is currently being debated in this thread which is more important, Multibit DAC or balanced DAC, because with the Jotunheim you can't currently have both, unless you order a Gungnir DAC or above, and now we are starting to talk real money.

Right now, multi it seems to be winning over balanced, but I have seen nothing that has ended the discussion yet, and no direct comparisons.

 
Another relevant question would be (well, for me at least), which one to prioritize getting. A balanced cable, or a Multibit DAC?
Because without any soldering capability, a balanced cable will be ~$100 vs. $250 for the multibit, and to people with limited budget, it would be nice to know which one is advisable to be prioritized on getting.