[JoeKickass]

I received my Jot a couple of days ago to replace my old Fiio 09. I've been pairing it with my (also new) Sennheiser HD650s. Unfortunately, I'm really not liking the sound at all. The resolution, detail and soundstage are all much better than my Fiio, but I can't stand the highs. They literally hurt my ears, even at volumes that I wouldn't consider loud at all. I can't turn it up above 10pm before the highs just kill me, but the mids and lows sound great at around 12pm. I'm probably going to return it as 550 euro is just too much money to spend on something I don't absolutely love. Don't know if I can go back to my Fiio though..

If you're not using the Jot's internal DAC you could throw a Loki EQ in between the Jot and the DAC, that will let you adjust for the perfect sound and still keep the Jot's detail and resolution. A decent software EQ might be a solution too.

I use the Jot with the HD 600 and think it's just about perfect, so I can see how it might be a bit bright with the 650.

 

[jimmers]

... Unfortunately, I'm really not liking the sound at all. The resolution, detail and soundstage are all much better than my Fiio, but I can't stand the highs. They literally hurt my ears, even at volumes that I wouldn't consider loud at all. I can't turn it up above 10pm before the highs just kill me, but the mids and lows sound great at around 12pm...

Hi, what source and types of music are you listening to?
I am very treble sensitive (my AKG Q701 are locked away where they can't hurt me any more), and I have no problems with highs from my Jot and HD650, both well run in.
I know we all have different hearing so maybe this combo just doesn't suit you.

P.S. My source is Bifrost MB and I listen to most types of music.

Edit: Just listened to Taylor Swift to see if I could handle "shrill" .

 

[Freddy1765]

Hi, what source and types of music are you listening to?
I am very treble sensitive (my AKG Q701 are locked away where they can't hurt me any more), and I have no problems with highs from my Jot and HD650, both well run in.
I know we all have different hearing so maybe this combo just doesn't suit you.

P.S. My source is Bifrost MB and I listen to most types of music.

Source is mostly Tidal HiFi where I listen to many different things - Pink Floyd, Metallica, Daft Punk, classical, jazz. I tried running the Jot through my Asus Xonar external sound card, but I can't actually tell the difference between that and the Jot's built-in DAC. Spending another 2-300 euro on a Bimby or Mimby doesn't really make financial sense to me at the moment.
I'm a bit disappointed given the great things I'd read about the Jot, but perhaps it is as you say, the pairing of it and the HD650s just isn't for me.

 

[jimmers]

Source is mostly Tidal HiFi where I listen to many different things - Pink Floyd, Metallica, Daft Punk, classical, jazz. I tried running the Jot through my Asus Xonar external sound card, but I can't actually tell the difference between that and the Jot's built-in DAC. Spending another 2-300 euro on a Bimby or Mimby doesn't really make financial sense to me at the moment.
I'm a bit disappointed given the great things I'd read about the Jot, but perhaps it is as you say, the pairing of it and the HD650s just isn't for me.

There's some stuff about Tidal etc.
from
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wha...n-robert-hunter.784471/page-376#post-13866508

onwards

 

[DavidA]

Source is mostly Tidal HiFi where I listen to many different things - Pink Floyd, Metallica, Daft Punk, classical, jazz. I tried running the Jot through my Asus Xonar external sound card, but I can't actually tell the difference between that and the Jot's built-in DAC. Spending another 2-300 euro on a Bimby or Mimby doesn't really make financial sense to me at the moment.
I'm a bit disappointed given the great things I'd read about the Jot, but perhaps it is as you say, the pairing of it and the HD650s just isn't for me.

It amazing how differently we all hear, to me the HD650 was one of the few headphones that I liked with the Jot (no internal DAC, used UD-301 and Bimby) and it was a bit too bright for most of my other headphones that I was thinking of using with it.

 

[Tuneslover]

I'm sure it's reached thermal equilibrium in a couple of hours but 24 hours is a safe bet. I too have mine in my bedroom facing me and grabbed a package of silver light dims from Amazon. Problem solved!

I use them too but I found that you might need to double them up. The other thing that I have tried is leaning something solid (like a drink coaster) in front of the LED's but you might need to unplug your headphones when it comes to the Jot.

 

[cskippy]

Yup that's true. I used an empty chapstick before the light dims and that worked very well.

 

[GrussGott]

Just got my Jot for a full in-home test and did a few hours with it:

Macbook Pro > Tidal HiFi > TOSLINK s/pdif > Mojo @1.9v > super cheap RCA cable > Jot (high gain, SE) > TH-x00 mahogany

(1.) I love the Mojo DAC's "relaxed" sound as part of a setup driving the Jot. While I probably wouldn't use the Mojo/Jot for critical listening, I really don't do that so for my use the Mojo is great (haven't done a full in-home of a Mimby or higher)

(2.) The Jot DEFINITELY improves on the Mojo's sound overall. A great example is Psychemagick's Valley of Paradise: the driving bass line sounds a bit muddy via the Mojo alone, but through the Jot sounds super clean. Enter the Lovely by Bluetech sounds supreme through the Jot, and hi-res Diana Krall is sublime.

(3.) The Jot really opens things up, cleans them up, and clears them up; this is almost always a good thing, but on badly recorded / mixed songs / sourced songs it's not good. An example is I Melt with You by Modern English - there was no version that sounded good, and there were a few other songs that had similar problems. Another example is She Sells Sanctuary (long version) by The Cult - it sounded good, but maybe sounded better on the Mojo alone, I'll have to play more

I was prepared for not much discernible difference across all music types I listen to, but that's not the case: the Jot really makes a difference, at least so far driven by the Mojo.

I will be doing some more A/Bing, getting an HD600 in the game, using USB, etc but for now I'll call the Jot a big win.

 

[Myk28]

Hey guys I'm looking for a Jotunheim to pair with a Mimby. Just let me know if you are interested in selling yours, thanks

 

[leafy7382]

I think Jot deserves better power cable then the stock. The stock cable is a 18awg power cord, I was happy with it until I swapped it out with a 14 awg cable. The low notes hit a lot harder with more sense of presence. It's a $10 no-brainer swap.

 

[GrussGott]

I think Jot deserves better power cable then the stock. The stock cable is a 18awg power cord, I was happy with it until I swapped it out with a 14 awg cable. The low notes hit a lot harder with more sense of presence. It's a $10 no-brainer swap.

Skeptical guy is skeptical

 

[JoeKickass]

I upgraded my Jot with a shielded power cable to reduce noise, they are dirt cheap so if you want a 14 awg there's no penalty other than thickness and stiffness, personally I went with 16 awg:

18 awg - https://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=17600-10-B1
16 awg - https://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=17602-10-B1
14 awg - https://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=17604-10-B1

The shielding is great too: I tested it and couldn't hear any 60hz buzz when I placed a skinny unshielded 3.5mm cable parallel to the power cable and plugged the 3.5mm cable to the input of a 100w amp on max volume!

When I place the 3.5mm cable parallel to a normal power cable I can't turn the volume past 2 o'clock or so the buzz is so loud!

 

[GrussGott]

I just went to my Jot and plugged in my headphones, unplugged the RCA inputs, flipped to high gain, and slowly turned up the volume to max.

At max all I hear is a very low volume buzz only when I'm touching the volume pot - when I take my fingers off it goes to dead silent ... and there's a bunch of other power cords by it (it's by the TV and other stuff) and I live downtown in a city where there's a zillion wifi, bluetooth, and cell networks, e.g., I just checked and I'm picking up 22 wifi networks.

That said, I'm plugged into an old Monster cable AV700 surge protector which you can get for about $15 on ebay

 

[JoeKickass]

I just went to my Jot and plugged in my headphones, unplugged the RCA inputs, flipped to high gain, and slowly turned up the volume to max.

At max all I hear is a very low volume buzz only when I'm touching the volume pot - when I take my fingers off it goes to dead silent ... and there's a bunch of other power cords by it (it's by the TV and other stuff) and I live downtown in a city where there's a zillion wifi, bluetooth, and cell networks, e.g., I just checked and I'm picking up 22 wifi networks.

That said, I'm plugged into an old Monster cable AV700 surge protector which you can get for about $15 on ebay

That's pretty cool, I think your body is acting as an antenna for the 60hz buzz!

You can try the same experiment but put a rca cable in the input and you should notice the buzz volume get louder the closer you the move the rca cable near your power cables. (tape or cover the other end of the rca so you don't get any loud surprises)

One of those cheap skinny RCA's should be less shielded and pick up more noise and act as a more sensitive antenna, you'll be able to find RF noise all around your home: anything with an inverter, your cell phone, wifi routers, etc.

 

[sup27606]

I have had great success using ferrite cores onto power cables for reducing interference noise. If one doesn't do the job, use two.