[solid12345]

However, my Grados didn’t like the MJ3. It made the HP have sibilance on high frequencies. The Hemp (not burnt in) became unbearable to listen to. The Grado SR2e did much better. Strangely, they do much better on the Magni Unity, instead.

What’s funny is I absolutely fell in love with it with my GS3000x which are my daily drivers, didn’t find it sibilant at all. But I’m also not as sensitive to that as others and lean towards brighter headphones.

Did some more experimenting tonight, I ran the Dave to the MJ3 as a preamp to my Darkvoice. Honestly wasn’t as much a fan, soundstage was widened some but it just seemed to lose some punch & dynamics compared to listening to the amp directly. Lost some detail as well but that was expected being the DV is an entry tube amp.

Next I hooked it up my McIntosh C2300 preamp with stock tubes, again Dave feeding it. Not as much a fan as feeding the Dave directly to the MJ3 I think, the C2300 is really finicky and bright sounding to begin with and needs a warm source to liven it up, usually another McIntosh amp. It’s still a really nice sound to the MJ3 but it’s a bit too revealing and very bass shy. It does manage to pierce the infamous veil though on my Sennheiser 660s2 and lowers its natural bassiness which is intriguing and really brings out the mids very well, the voices become almost ethereal. I think this chain is highly HP dependent, don’t run Grados on it but the warmer 660s2 is a plus so far, I imagine the original Meze Empyrean would absolutely rock on this setup.

Overall though I’m starting to get the feeling this is an amp whose chain is better kept in the solid state world, it’s VERY revealing of whatever source you feed it. I’m usually a tube guy but I think the strength in this amp is in it’s detail and you gotta be careful introducing some flabbiness or overly bright sources. Get yourself a quality DAC as source & go to town. My hunch is anything R2R would be a marriage in heaven.

Edit: writing this made me go grab my Empyrean out of the closet. I like this combo with a brighter source feeding it

 

[Slackaveli]

What’s funny is I absolutely fell in love with it with my GS3000x which are my daily drivers, didn’t find it sibilant at all. But I’m also not as sensitive to that as others and lean towards brighter headphones.

Did some more experimenting tonight, I ran the Dave to the MJ3 as a preamp to my Darkvoice. Honestly wasn’t as much a fan, soundstage was widened some but it just seemed to lose some punch & dynamics compared to listening to the amp directly. Lost some detail as well but that was expected being the DV is an entry tube amp.

Next I hooked it up my McIntosh C2300 preamp with stock tubes, again Dave feeding it. Not as much a fan as feeding the Dave directly to the MJ3 I think, the C2300 is really finicky and bright sounding to begin with and needs a warm source to liven it up, usually another McIntosh amp. It’s still a really nice sound to the MJ3 but it’s a bit too revealing and very bass shy. It does manage to pierce the infamous veil though on my Sennheiser 660s2 and lowers its natural bassiness which is intriguing and really brings out the mids very well, the voices become almost ethereal. I think this chain is highly HP dependent, don’t run Grados on it but the warmer 660s2 is a plus so far, I imagine the original Meze Empyrean would absolutely rock on this setup.

Overall though I’m starting to get the feeling this is an amp whose chain is better kept in the solid state world, it’s VERY revealing of whatever source you feed it. I’m usually a tube guy but I think the strength in this amp is in it’s detail and you gotta be careful introducing some flabbiness or overly bright sources. Get yourself a quality DAC as source & go to town. My hunch is anything R2R would be a marriage in heaven.

It really sounds like y'all are onto something extra special with the Dave + Mjolnir. Sometimes the synergy is just perfect , and if that happens between two different very-high quality pieces of gear then that's just really rare and special.

 

[XERO1]

It really sounds like y'all are onto something extra special with the Dave + Mjolnir. Sometimes the synergy is just perfect , and if that happens between two different very-high quality pieces of gear then that's just really rare and special.

Theres just one teeny, tiny potential problem with that combo. The DAVE literally costs 10x the price of the Mjolnir 3.

But on the plus side, it really shows how well the Mjolnir 3 can scale when paired with any ultra-high-end DAC!

 

[Slackaveli]

Theres just one teeny, tiny potential problem with that combo. The DAVE literally costs 10x the price of the Mjolnir 3.

But on the plus side, it really shows how well the Mjolnir 3 can scale when paired with an ultra-high-end DAC!

LOL. Yeah it aint for me thats for sure. I cant touch it.
Im just hoping to be able to get a YGGY someday, and likely never a More Is Better or anything that high.
Really hoping that Gungnir 2 is out soon, isnt much more expensive than before, and is close to a Yggy.

 

[GeraltDHowl]

I did end up using SE mode more. The push pull sounded too sharp for the HEK stealth. I could even hear a bit distortion on Pushpull mode on high volumes as well.

That Is interesting, What dac do you have? I use the Mjolnir on High gain alternating push pull and single end depedndig on the song but with the bifrost 2/64 and cyan 2 i never felt the hek stealth Sharp or distorted pot volume Is between 9 and 11

 

[GeraltDHowl]

To be honest, I don't care for feedback at all. It seems to reduce dynamics and adds a slight haze to the sound.

Maybe someone else who uses feedback can comment?

Couldn't describe It any Better i never use It either, the push pull and single end instead Is where lies the magic in my opinion i really love this option

 

[devilboy]

Reading all of the comments from you guys is really having me jonesing to get back home and listen to my MJ3 which I was only able to listen to for a couple hours. I ran it overnight before I left for the Florida show and have over 24 hours on it.

In the limited time I had with it, right out of the box it was pretty similar to the Rag 2. I think maybe, MAYBE there was a touch more sweetness and richness to the MJ3.
I think the Rag 2 may be more leaner and linear sounding whereas the MJ3 had a bit more flavor. Again, I only had it a couple hours with a cold unit.

 

[Smoothstereo]

Ever since I got my MJ3 during the first batch, I have exclusively used high gain/SE Class A/No Feedback. I briefly tried the Push Pull at the time and didn't gravitate to it. I found it had a more deliberate presentation and felt the SE Class A was more to my liking as it was more relaxed yet resolving, just more natural sounding.

After reading so many people have been preferring the Push Pull, I decided to give it a another try recently. This time around using a variety of songs, I think I am starting to dig the Push Pull (PP). In comparison, I find the PP presentation to provide more textures and contrasts in the details. There is also more emphasized decay on the trailing vocals. Overall I hear a slightly more vivid performance, more pizzaz/energy, I guess that's why I recalled me saying PP sounds more deliberate in the delivery. Definitely nice to have this option to switch it up a bit when the mood changes.

Another reason why the MJ3 is a great amp, it's so versatile and accommodating with different gear and preferences.

 

[GeraltDHowl]

Another reason why the MJ3 is a great amp, it's so versatile and accommodating with different gear and preferences.

This Is exactly why After trying different amps i found The One for me with the Mjolnir 3 !

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

Ever since I got my MJ3 during the first batch, I have exclusively used high gain/SE Class A/No Feedback. I briefly tried the Push Pull at the time and didn't gravitate to it. I found it had a more deliberate presentation and felt the SE Class A was more to my liking as it was more relaxed yet resolving, just more natural sounding.

After reading so many people have been preferring the Push Pull, I decided to give it a another try recently. This time around using a variety of songs, I think I am starting to dig the Push Pull (PP). In comparison, I find the PP presentation to provide more textures and contrasts in the details. There is also more emphasized decay on the trailing vocals. Overall I hear a slightly more vivid performance, more pizzaz/energy, I guess that's why I recalled me saying PP sounds more deliberate in the delivery. Definitely nice to have this option to switch it up a bit when the mood changes.

Another reason why the MJ3 is a great amp, it's so versatile and accommodating with different gear and preferences.

Contrast is a very good word for what PP mode adds to the sound. I also notice leading edges and decay more easily. I think PP mode adds some energy on the top end at the expense of a little bit of low end energy.

--

As for feedback, the manual states that this reduces OI and measured distortion, and that it may be useful with harder to drive headphones--which none of mine are. Maybe this would work well with something like the Susvara? I have a pair of ZMF Blackwood in my office that are fairly hard to drive, maybe I can bring them home next weekend and give feedback mode another shot.

 

[artur9]

Theres just one teeny, tiny potential problem with that combo. The DAVE literally costs 10x the price of the Mjolnir 3.

But on the plus side, it really shows how well the Mjolnir 3 can scale when paired with any ultra-high-end DAC!

My streamer/dac cost 8x the price of MJ3 and sounds abso-f'ing-lutely fantastic with it. As I've said before, MJ3 is a resolution/transparency monster.
You want to hear what your source is doing without any editorialization by another component? MJ3 is the answer

 

[Chuy24]

Watched a livestream where Jason said the MJ3 had some tube qualities to it… it sounds very very similar to my Cayin Ha-3a with NOS tubes. Besides a slightly less wide soundstage, it’s kinda crazy how closely the MJ3 sounds to a tube amp. Say my ears.

 

[caracara08]

Interesting how some say tube like sound and other say transparent and exactly what the source is putting out. Can it be both?

 

[Chuy24]

I do know whatever sound signature it may be, I love it. Much.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

Technically, it has four sound signatures between SE vs PP and feedback on/off.

I'm guessing PP mode with feedback is the most traditional solid state sound signature, whereas SE/NFB is more tube-like... but I don't have a tube amp that can compete with Mjolnir 3.