[McClelland]

   
I would highly recommend springing for the Mjolnir 2. For three main reasons
 
2. Gumby excels with its balanced outputs. MJ2 is fully balanced for a balanced path from DAC through amp. Use balanced headphones for ultimate quality, or the single ended - allowing more options when it comes to headphones and mods.
 
 

@Ttenu Thanks for this recommendation and your thoughts on PM. Same for @RCBinTN who had the same thoughts about the balanced option. I set the Gumby/Mjolnir combo up with the SE connectors first and the 1/4" HP out to my LCD-Xs and later changed to the the balanced path when I got the cables.  I thought the difference was quite striking.  I did some A-B testing and think it is for real, at least for my subjective tastes.  Everything is wonderfully silent beneath the music and both vocals and acoustic instruments in particular, are more pleasing.

 

[grrorr76]

  @Ttenu Thanks for this recommendation and your thoughts on PM. Same for @RCBinTN who had the same thoughts about the balanced option. I set the Gumby/Mjolnir combo up with the SE connectors first and the 1/4" HP out to my LCD-Xs and later changed to the the balanced path when I got the cables.  I thought the difference was quite striking.  I did some A-B testing and think it is for real, at least for my subjective tastes.  Everything is wonderfully silent beneath the music and both vocals and acoustic instruments in particular, are more pleasing.

its so striking for me in balanced I will never use SE again its that good.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

As i recall, @reddog is on record saying that he prefers MJ2 + Yggy to Rag + Gumby (please correct me if I'm mistaken!), and it's definitely the combination I'm looking to get sometime this summer.

 

[reddog]

As i recall, @reddog
 is on record saying that he prefers MJ2 + Yggy to Rag + Gumby (please correct me if I'm mistaken!), and it's definitely the combination I'm looking to get sometime this summer.

Yes the Yggdrasil with any good amp is magical, if you want a session of critical, detailed listening. However using the Gungnir Multibit with any amp, is great for kicking back. I use the Gungnir Multibit, with the MJ2 and the Liquid Crimson, for watching tv and non critical listening.
For critical listening I use the Yggy with the Ragnarock or the Liquid Glass. The MJ2 and Yggy is a sweet sounding combo, I a m s sure you will be quite happy with it.

 

[McClelland]

Yes the Yggdrasil with any good amp is magical, if you want a session of critical, detailed listening. However using the Gungnir Multibit with any amp, is great for kicking back. I use the Gungnir Multibit, with the MJ2 and the Liquid Crimson, for watching tv and non critical listening.
For critical listening I use the Yggy with the Ragnarock or the Liquid Glass. The MJ2 and Yggy is a sweet sounding combo, I a m s sure you will be quite happy with it.

One of the things I noticed after receiving the G/MJ2 combo last week, was that great feeling of stretching out the unpacking and setting up when I realized I didn't want to rush through the anticipation of what I would be experiencing.  I enjoyed every little step and then spent several hours going over their highly detailed manual in depth (not!). It reminded me that if I do want to upgrade from Gumby, I would have the same anticipation and it could last even longer if I let the Yggy warm up for several days.  

 

[rdaneel]

This may be a dumb question, but I don't want to make a foolish assumption.  Do MJ2s preamp outputs work while the amp is off?  I'm thinking about using it with powered monitors, and would hate to have to run the tubes just to use the preouts...

 

[zive]

Negative. Power must be on.
 
Edit: If you want a passive pre-amp the SYS will do the trick (assuming you are okay with using SE in/outs).

 

[Ttenu]

  This may be a dumb question, but I don't want to make a foolish assumption.  Do MJ2s preamp outputs work while the amp is off?  I'm thinking about using it with powered monitors, and would hate to have to run the tubes just to use the preouts...

 
If your DAC has an additional output, you could use a passive preamp, something as simple as the Schiit Sys, between the DAC and the powered speakers. This can be used as a bypass when you don't want to run it through the MJ2 hardware and tubes. That said, I love using speakers with the MJ2 because tubes sound damn good!

 

[rdaneel]

Negative. Power must be on.

Darn, that's unfortunate. Maybe I can run the Gumby's SE outputs instead. I want to use this with my PC, and don't want to have to switch on the amp, put hours on the tubes, and heat my room, just to have routine PC audio working.

 

[zive]

Understandable. Using LISSTs would solve the tube longevity and heating issues, but if you're okay with controlling your volume directly from your monitors you're probably best off going directly from the GUMBY's SE outs.
 
Cheers

 

[Ttenu]

Darn, that's unfortunate. Maybe I can run the Gumby's SE outputs instead. I want to use this with my PC, and don't want to have to switch on the amp, put hours on the tubes, and heat my room, just to have routine PC audio working.

Tubes last years and can be inexpensive if you buy good quality new stock. Rare tubes are not cheap but for every day PC audio with the magic of tubes, even one year of life from a set of tubes is a good deal. I've played with going direct from DAC to amp/speakers and cutting out the MJ2, but this Schiit makes audio sound better, so personally, I have no problem with turning on the amp when I get on the computer, and turning it off when I'm done (usually an 8-12 hr period).

 

[rdaneel]

You gents make a good point.  I'm more concerned with burning power unnecessarily and heating up a small office, so running the MJ isn't ideal.  I think a passive preamp or other means of volume control ought to do the trick.  Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[McClelland]

Posted a version of this in the Schiit Happened thread, but they've been into the hard stuff over there for that past day or two so I'm dropping the question here for another try:
 
I thought I might be looking at a return to speakers sometime in the distant future, having just transitioned to HPs.  I was thinking the GM/MJ2 would be there to feed active speakers. 
 
I've just learned some things about high-sensitivity speakers from @Ttenu, the Orcas by Blumenstein and the Super 3s by Omega as two examples, and how near field setups might be driven adequately by the MJ2, particularly single-driver speakers powered straight out of the headphone outputs with balanced or single ended adapters that convert to speaker terminal connectors. I'm intrigued and here I am thinking about speakers now. 
 
I am not concerned about filling a room, but having sweet sound with as much sound stage as I can get at reasonable volumes within a meter's distance, give or take. Does anyone else have any experience with high sensitivity speakers run out of the GM/MJ2 , or powered speakers, for that matter?  Shucks,might as well go all the way as I know I'll be wondering about sub-woofers soon, too.

 

[Ttenu]

You gents make a good point.  I'm more concerned with burning power unnecessarily and heating up a small office, so running the MJ isn't ideal.  I think a passive preamp or other means of volume control ought to do the trick.  Thanks again for all the advice!

Worth noting the MJ2 consumes 7 less watts using LISST and doesn't get as hot. If you give the MJ2 a "lift" so more air moves underneath, it will be even cooler. Finally, if you have a ceiling fan or any kind of air circulation, it stays cool to the touch.

If you want a simple passive preamp for RCA, look for the Creek OBH-10 on ebay as it is well built and even has a remote control with volume control and mute!

 

[daha21]

Has anyone had a chance to compare Mjolnir 2 with the Burson Audio Soloist? How do they compare?