[captkirk]

...do you have any problem locating individual instruments or feel the background instruments are somewhat smeared into the forward instruments?

I wouldn't say so... at least not now.

When I first started listening to the Jot, I was a bit taken aback by it's staging. Coming from a Magni2U, I discovered that I had an appreciation for a little more laid-back sound. Between the two, the Magni is a little more relaxed, while the Jot is ready to put everything right in your face. Initially, I felt put-off by its presentation, but the more I listened to it, the more accustomed to its behavior.

The imaging of the pair is near 3D for me now. While the stage may not be very wide, I certainly can delineate instruments and separate vocalists.

ps.

One other thing that I'd recommend is leaving the JOT and Mimby on 24/7. Both mellow out being supplied power ALL THE TIME.

 

[sup27606]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will listen to both headphones a bit longer before coming to any conclusion. May be, its my subjective preference for a more treble rich sound of the EL-8. I do keep the Mimby and the Jot on all the time.

 

[DoubleIPA]

Joining the Jotunheim users and awaiting my unit. I've read both good and bad on this unit, but it's my first usb headphone dac and not sure what to expect. I chose Jotunheim over other solutions because I also plan to run some Concentric 8 speakers whenever I decide to buy an amp.

Cheers!

Peter

 

[sup27606]

I wouldn't say so... at least not now.

When I first started listening to the Jot, I was a bit taken aback by it's staging. Coming from a Magni2U, I discovered that I had an appreciation for a little more laid-back sound. Between the two, the Magni is a little more relaxed, while the Jot is ready to put everything right in your face. Initially, I felt put-off by its presentation, but the more I listened to it, the more accustomed to its behavior.

The imaging of the pair is near 3D for me now. While the stage may not be very wide, I certainly can delineate instruments and separate vocalists.

ps.

One other thing that I'd recommend is leaving the JOT and Mimby on 24/7. Both mellow out being supplied power ALL THE TIME.

I want to follow up on the issues I mentioned with the Senn HD6XX. Previously I had been using a Raspberry Pi music server and feeding the digital signal to the Mimby through the USB. Doing that, the 6XX sounded muddy where the bass was interfering with the lower mids and imaging was somewhat blurry. Today I upgraded the RPI with a Hifiberry DIGI+ Board which bypasses the USB and delivers digital audio signal through a coaxial port. Using this, I see a dramatic improvement in the sound of the 6XX. the soundstage has improved, the bass is more controlled, and there is more resolution overall. It really sounds like a hifi headphone now. Interestingly, the improvements with the Audeze EL-8 were minimal compared to the 6XX. The EL-8 already sounded great through the USB, may be there's some improvement in the soundstage and less harshness of the treble. I am surprised, the 6XX is this sensitive to the source, and happy that I don't have to sell it off anymore.

 

[Metron]

Correct.

I too have the UDA-1, which unfortunately has a very mediocre rated DAC (not sure why you think the UDA-1 DAC is highly rated, unless you are reading Sony press releases). The UDA-1 is very rolled off and warm, so I'm thinking the Jot's ability to punch out the detail might be a good combo. I'm just afraid the UDA is not only rolled off, but not very detailed, so the ability of the Jot to punch out some detail when the DAC is not providing it is not possible. What hi-fi recommends not using the USB on the UDA-1 and that the other inputs are better on this amp, so maybe I'll try those.

So then I think why not just use the UDA-1 for my speakers and get a JoMimby combo, and that leads me down the potentially strident path. I have an HA-1 now, and that can be a little on the dry side. Maybe I need audio-Gd equipment.

Too many choices! Good thing RMAF is right around the corner.

I beg to differ. I have found Sony's UDA-1 DAC (i.e., excluding the amp) combined with the Beyerdynamic A20 outputs a truly superior signal in terms of detail, stage and depth. I have compared it to the super powerful combo Yggdrasil + WA22 (SE) and found it to be worst (of course) but holding up far better than other offerings. It has been noted though by What HiFi that USB input is UDA-1's weakness so avoid using it; optical or coaxial is the way to go.

 

[captkirk]

I want to follow up on the issues I mentioned with the Senn HD6XX. Previously I had been using a Raspberry Pi music server and feeding the digital signal to the Mimby through the USB. Doing that, the 6XX sounded muddy where the bass was interfering with the lower mids and imaging was somewhat blurry. Today I upgraded the RPI with a Hifiberry DIGI+ Board which bypasses the USB and delivers digital audio signal through a coaxial port. Using this, I see a dramatic improvement in the sound of the 6XX. the soundstage has improved, the bass is more controlled, and there is more resolution overall. It really sounds like a hifi headphone now. Interestingly, the improvements with the Audeze EL-8 were minimal compared to the 6XX. The EL-8 already sounded great through the USB, may be there's some improvement in the soundstage and less harshness of the treble. I am surprised, the 6XX is this sensitive to the source, and happy that I don't have to sell it off anymore.

Good to hear. The HD6x0 series seems to scale very well. Even source components can make appreciable gains

 

[Josh Englert]

Yeah, I'd just get a Vidar instead of that NuPrime thing. Why double up on a DAC and volume control (and why pay more). The Vidar sounds fantastic. Hopefully Schiit will release a smaller/less powerful 'pivot point' amp (mini Vidar).

I'd buy a mini Vidar... Vidar is more than enough power for the Elac UB5s I plan on pairing with it....when I can afford it sometime next year, maybe tax return season.

 

[Allanmarcus]

I beg to differ. I have found Sony's UDA-1 DAC (i.e., excluding the amp) combined with the Beyerdynamic A20 outputs a truly superior signal in terms of detail, stage and depth. I have compared it to the super powerful combo Yggdrasil + WA22 (SE) and found it to be worst (of course) but holding up far better than other offerings. It has been noted though by What HiFi that USB input is UDA-1's weakness so avoid using it; optical or coaxial is the way to go.

OK, you made be go back and check. I compared the Sony UDA-1 vs a Bimby gen 2. Both USB. Amps is a MJ2, Headphones: utopia. The sony holds up pretty well. Hard for me to tell the difference, although I would say the Sony is a teeny tiny bit warmer. The Bimby might be a little faster; a little more definition per note, but tiny.
A little more listening with classical, and the sony just doesn't quite resolve as well as the Bimby.
I'm not gonna sell my Bimby and just use the Sony, but if I had to, I could live with the Sony.

That said, I'm very much debating a Gumby

 

[Metron]

OK, you made be go back and check. I compared the Sony UDA-1 vs a Bimby gen 2. Both USB. Amps is a MJ2, Headphones: utopia. The sony holds up pretty well. Hard for me to tell the difference, although I would say the Sony is a teeny tiny bit warmer. The Bimby might be a little faster; a little more definition per note, but tiny.
A little more listening with classical, and the sony just doesn't quite resolve as well as the Bimby.
I'm not gonna sell my Bimby and just use the Sony, but if I had to, I could live with the Sony.

That said, I'm very much debating a Gumby

Yes, I think (although haven't auditioned myself) that the UDA-1 is at the level of Bifrost MB. However, I have compared my set up (UDA-1 + Beyerdynamic A20) with a Simaudio Moon Neo 230HAD (DAC only use) + Valhalla 2 (stock) using both a Beyerdynamic T1 Gen2 and a Sony Z1R and found the latter dac-amp set up grossly inferior. Not sure if it's because of the Schiit amp or the (very expensive) Moon (probably the former) but, at any rate, the overall contrast between the two set ups was very strong. The fact that I auditioned Yggdrasil + WA22 (SE) and found the UDA-1 + Beyerdynamic A20 combo to follow at a pretty decent level, it would be a fairly good educated guess to assume that a Gumby will be not far better at all than a UDA-1.

 

[Reiven]

I'm owning AEON with Jotunheim.
Do I benefit anything from better DAC if I'm listening only Spotify Premium?
If I'm correct the Jotunheim does not have ASIO drivers for WIN10.
Although Spotify can't t use Asio/Wasabi. If I'm correct Tidal(premium) uses wasabi.

 

[drwlf]

I'm owning AEON with Jotunheim.
Do I benefit anything from better DAC if I'm listening only Spotify Premium?
If I'm correct the Jotunheim does not have ASIO drivers for WIN10.
Although Spotify can't t use Asio/Wasabi. If I'm correct Tidal(premium) uses wasabi.

You can toggle the options from Tidal, and not from Spotify as it doesn't support ASIO/WASAPI.
A better DAC can be a benefit, even with Spotify's quality.
The wasabi typo is hilarious as well!

 

[Reiven]

You can toggle the options from Tidal, and not from Spotify as it doesn't support ASIO/WASAPI.
A better DAC can be a benefit, even with Spotify's quality.
The wasabi typo is hilarious as well!

God damn. I must learn not to drink beer and write to forums.
Here is photo of my wasabi driver.

 

[xLoud]

Can anyone share a comparison between ifi micro idsd and jotunheim? I am using HE-400i, next upgrade is going to be LCD2 or Beyer T1

 

[joeexp]

Yes, I think (although haven't auditioned myself) that the UDA-1 is at the level of Bifrost MB.....

That's the problem with thinking. You really should audtion gear, before making comments about their sound quality.

 

[394216]

Anyone can compare the Jot and the Soloist SL? I have the burson and I wanna know if it will be an upgrade.