Smoothstereo
500+ Head-Fier
Anyone able to compare the MJ3 to Headamp GSX Mini ?
Schiit Mjolnir 3 - Impressions Thread
- Thread starter XERO1
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TazedMarquis
New Head-Fier
You're looking at the wrong statistic; low-sensitivity planars want more current over raw wattage. MJ3 has a power supply more akin to that from a speaker amp than one for headphones; current is not a problem. Few planars are harder to drive than the HE-6 and MJ3 drives those quite well so long as you're in high gain and aren't listening over 100dB, even in SE Class A. Susvara and Abyss are comparably difficult to drive and should also work. There have only been a couple of occasions that the HE-6 has distorted over the past several days as I've been listening, and switching over to Push-Pull cleared that right up at only a slight cost in overall fidelity.
I agree that the feedback is best left switched off; it sucks the life out of the sound, taking away most of what makes the MJ3 so special.
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DavidSerig
100+ Head-Fier
Damn, I never even got a shipping notice! Just in production. Ordered Sunday, arrived Friday. Pretty neat!
Agree, you can max out hard to drive 13 to 23 ohm DCA planars in lo gain, I would rather save my ears ... in high gain you're set to go deaf.
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@Jason Stoddard will you gives us a warning when the Mjolnir 3 near the end of limited release capacity?
Thanks.
Thanks.
ZoNtO
1000+ Head-Fier
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The power supply is an important component, but let’s not forget the output stage here. 16 output transistors per channel is completely crazy for a headphone amp. Most speaker amps have nowhere near that many. This amp has more in common with my Coda speaker amp than most headphone amps.
Edit: I’ve found a correlation over the years between a speaker amp’s (1) weight and heat and (2) its sound quality. The best sounding amps at home and at dealer demos have always been 100+ pounds, with massive heatsinks, and run hot, typically because they run in pure Class A or are Class A/B amps highly biased into Class A Think Plinius and Coda. I’m hoping this correlation holds true with headphone amps, though I will say I didn’t like Asgard 2 and it ran rather warm.
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Rhodey
Previously known as RhodeyIII
So after a few days, I have some initial impressions. I think it’s settled in and I don’t feel much is changing, but if it does I’ll report back.
Overall I think it’s a solid amp, especially for the money. The build is Schiit’s typical build so you know you’re not paying for that, but sound wise, I think it’s pretty good so far. I like the options of push-pull class A or single ended class A and the feedback option. Feedback is a nice option to change the output impedance. Sometimes the output impedance option makes sense and other times it doesn’t, meaning it’s more about using your ears and choose your preference. For example, I like having it on to lower the impedance for the D8KP LE and I prefer it off when using the Diana V2. (Some mention these options and what they like best but don’t mention headphones used, really should mention what you’re using to assist the community IMO)
On high gain I don’t go past 9:00 on the vol. This has plenty of juice for most headphones. That’s using the D8KP, Diana V2, HD800S. Obviously the Utopia doesn’t even get close, actually use it only on low gain. Utopia isn’t terrible off the Mjolnir but I think there’s better options here to use. I’ll go back to the bliss a little more but I think from memory the Utopia is better off the Mjolnir. Oh and I wish the pot was better… having the vol right is so important and with the power available and with the headphones I use it would be a solid improvement.
Majority of my listening has been with the D8KP LE and HD800S. Then the V2 (more today though), and very little with Utopia.
The MJ3 has this raw signature to it. Hard to put into words, but seems more analog than the bliss. The bliss is nice and I think it’s probably more refined than the MJ3, but sometimes I think it’s a little too refined? Meaning things can be a bit smoothed over? If that makes sense… This is also nitpicking because I don’t mind the bliss’ signature. Bliss definitely has more of a mid bass bump to my ears, off my chain. I think this is to help the Sus out (it was basically designed with it in mind from what I hear?). Maybe the mid bass bump on the bliss causes the smoothness in the mids at times? IDK but this is what I’m hearing? Its not terrible though, just trying to describe some differences on the two. And the bliss may have better clarity (this is very small to my ears and maybe you’re hoping it does for the price difference lol) and layering but it’s not killing the MJ3 at all IMO.
Back to the MJ3, guitar strings sound nice and crisp. Lower guitar notes have a nice weight and body to it. Snares smack hard. Kick drums sound accurate to me. I feel this has a really nice impact to it. I don’t find the low end too bloated, especially into the mids. I think the low end is done nicely. Nice punch and solid weight to it. Reverbs and transients are pretty great to my ears. The way it travels into the distance is really enjoyable. You can get a sense of the room/area they’re playing in. I don’t have any complaints about the stage, I think it’s pretty good. Bliss may be a touch better at depth but this could be on the recording too. Still it’s not bad at all on the MJ3. As far as the size of the image presentation, I don’t think it’s too small. I’ll have to listen to the bliss and compare, but from memory and compared to the Eddie Current SB 300B, I don’t think it’s bad at all. Definitely doesn’t come off as small. Clarity is pretty good too. I find this picks up some really subtle mirco details as well (shuffling, people moving on stage/in room before the music starts, crowds, etc). I was surprised by this. I wasn’t expecting the clarity and mirco details to be that good (I understand these are two separate things but I feel it’s easier for me to put them in or around the same category)
And it has a very surprising black background. I don’t hear anything on my chain. No hum, noise, etc. just quiet. With music off, I can crank it all the way up and nothing but silence. Very nice noise floor.
And Schiit should offer it with a black knob
Overall I think it’s a solid amp, especially for the money. The build is Schiit’s typical build so you know you’re not paying for that, but sound wise, I think it’s pretty good so far. I like the options of push-pull class A or single ended class A and the feedback option. Feedback is a nice option to change the output impedance. Sometimes the output impedance option makes sense and other times it doesn’t, meaning it’s more about using your ears and choose your preference. For example, I like having it on to lower the impedance for the D8KP LE and I prefer it off when using the Diana V2. (Some mention these options and what they like best but don’t mention headphones used, really should mention what you’re using to assist the community IMO)
On high gain I don’t go past 9:00 on the vol. This has plenty of juice for most headphones. That’s using the D8KP, Diana V2, HD800S. Obviously the Utopia doesn’t even get close, actually use it only on low gain. Utopia isn’t terrible off the Mjolnir but I think there’s better options here to use. I’ll go back to the bliss a little more but I think from memory the Utopia is better off the Mjolnir. Oh and I wish the pot was better… having the vol right is so important and with the power available and with the headphones I use it would be a solid improvement.
Majority of my listening has been with the D8KP LE and HD800S. Then the V2 (more today though), and very little with Utopia.
The MJ3 has this raw signature to it. Hard to put into words, but seems more analog than the bliss. The bliss is nice and I think it’s probably more refined than the MJ3, but sometimes I think it’s a little too refined? Meaning things can be a bit smoothed over? If that makes sense… This is also nitpicking because I don’t mind the bliss’ signature. Bliss definitely has more of a mid bass bump to my ears, off my chain. I think this is to help the Sus out (it was basically designed with it in mind from what I hear?). Maybe the mid bass bump on the bliss causes the smoothness in the mids at times? IDK but this is what I’m hearing? Its not terrible though, just trying to describe some differences on the two. And the bliss may have better clarity (this is very small to my ears and maybe you’re hoping it does for the price difference lol) and layering but it’s not killing the MJ3 at all IMO.
Back to the MJ3, guitar strings sound nice and crisp. Lower guitar notes have a nice weight and body to it. Snares smack hard. Kick drums sound accurate to me. I feel this has a really nice impact to it. I don’t find the low end too bloated, especially into the mids. I think the low end is done nicely. Nice punch and solid weight to it. Reverbs and transients are pretty great to my ears. The way it travels into the distance is really enjoyable. You can get a sense of the room/area they’re playing in. I don’t have any complaints about the stage, I think it’s pretty good. Bliss may be a touch better at depth but this could be on the recording too. Still it’s not bad at all on the MJ3. As far as the size of the image presentation, I don’t think it’s too small. I’ll have to listen to the bliss and compare, but from memory and compared to the Eddie Current SB 300B, I don’t think it’s bad at all. Definitely doesn’t come off as small. Clarity is pretty good too. I find this picks up some really subtle mirco details as well (shuffling, people moving on stage/in room before the music starts, crowds, etc). I was surprised by this. I wasn’t expecting the clarity and mirco details to be that good (I understand these are two separate things but I feel it’s easier for me to put them in or around the same category)
And it has a very surprising black background. I don’t hear anything on my chain. No hum, noise, etc. just quiet. With music off, I can crank it all the way up and nothing but silence. Very nice noise floor.
And Schiit should offer it with a black knob
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Melting735
100+ Head-Fier
Lol, did you paint your knob?And Schiit should offer it with a black knob
I thought it was confirmed by JS that output impedance is the same no matter what about 0.25 ohm
Rhodey
Previously known as RhodeyIII
No lol, just an easy swap. Had an extra one laying around from eBay.
Rhodey
Previously known as RhodeyIII
According to the manual it says when feedback is on it’s a lower impedance. Couldn’t tell you the difference. I can hear a difference and depending on the headphones it’s better or worse. I like it on with the D8KP LE. Sounds cleaner to me.
I think the only difference is 0.13 on SE and 0.25 XLR maybe the manual is wrong, I was actually hoping it would be switchable to about 25 ohms but it was confirmed in this thread or the other one by JS that feedback doesn't change output impedance.
Rhodey
Previously known as RhodeyIII
sounds different and supposedly it decreases measured distortion (according to manual). I’m not a big measurement guy, could care less, just listen and decide what I like when I hear it, but this sounds better to me with then D8KP. YMMV.
Edit: and I’m using XLR
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Rhodey
Previously known as RhodeyIII
So here’s the difference between SE and XLR. But this doesn’t tell us the difference when the feedback switch is up or down.
But maybe I’m wrong, it’s highly possible lol
Specs:
Balanced Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 2W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 1W RMS per channel
Output Impedance: Less than 0.25 ohms
Single-Ended Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 1W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 500mW RMS per channel
Output Impedance: Less than 0.13 ohms
But maybe I’m wrong, it’s highly possible lol
Specs:
Balanced Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 2W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 1W RMS per channel
Output Impedance: Less than 0.25 ohms
Single-Ended Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 1W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 500mW RMS per channel
Output Impedance: Less than 0.13 ohms
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artur9
Headphoneus Supremus
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I know @Jason Stoddard said there are a lot of options/toggles on this amp. Is there any one place where they are all shown?
For the nerdy amongst you, something like a truth table:
feedback on, feedback off
push-pull, single-ended
balanced, unbalanced
....
For the nerdy amongst you, something like a truth table:
feedback on, feedback off
push-pull, single-ended
balanced, unbalanced
....
Rhodey
Previously known as RhodeyIII
Are you asking for a table for when to use them (best setting for a headphone) or something else?
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