[Thetaburn]

I used to own a 3XP as well and always used it in power amp mode as it sounded superior to me that way. By memory, power amp mode was a lot clearer with better depth, much better dynamics and it was also a little more neutral. In comparison normal mode was a little warmer, smoother, less dynamic, with the impression of having less details coming through. Kind of the opposite of what you are describing which I find a little odd. Perhaps it depends on the DAC as well? I think that time I used the ADI-2.

I also find it strange that you are saying the 3XP is more detailed and clearer than the MJ3. (Unless you are talking about the 3XP GT perhaps?) Some reviews, including Currawong's, say that the MJ3's resolution rivals 2K-3K amps. From memory the 3XP was good, but I would expect the MJ3 to be much more resolving/detailed.
(I still have to wait a few weeks for my MJ3 to arrive, so I haven't heard it yet.)

Yes, it would be useful. Hopefully someone can share the number soon. I also prefer to use my DACs in balanced mode (to fully utilize a balanced amp). Average balanced out voltage is 4V, my next DAC will do 5V. I hope, that will be fine with the MJ3, but the 9V of the Wandla does seem a bit over the top. (Although as far as I know, that is adjustable.)

Although the power amp mode does increase a bit of depth, add warmness and sound fuller, it completely collapses the Hekse's airy soundstage.
Low gain collapses the soundstage with the Hekse as well.
According to my ears, the Hekse synergies best with regular Medium gain.

The synergy between the DAC and Amp pairing is very important and is causing mixed reviews.
Regardless, looking forward to your review of the Mj3 with your Dac.

 

[Josz27]

Thank you for sharing your observation! My impressions were based on limited hours with the amps. I did not and was unable to spend as many hours as you did. So, it is possible I would miss something about the amp. Glad to learn more about other users' findings.

I did not listen to it in power amp mode. It was in low & medium gain in normal mode. I did use it with the supercharger.

Was your impression of the soloist based on the Sparko opamps instead of the Burson v6 opamps?

Nope, it was with the 4 vivid installed, may know the year of your burson? does it have labeled L and R inputs/outputs? is the serial number vertical or horizontal?

 

[Josz27]

I used to own a 3XP as well and always used it in power amp mode as it sounded superior to me that way. By memory, power amp mode was a lot clearer with better depth, much better dynamics and it was also a little more neutral. In comparison normal mode was a little warmer, smoother, less dynamic, with the impression of having less details coming through. Kind of the opposite of what you are describing which I find a little odd. Perhaps it depends on the DAC as well? I think that time I used the ADI-2.

I also find it strange that you are saying the 3XP is more detailed and clearer than the MJ3. (Unless you are talking about the 3XP GT perhaps?) Some reviews, including Currawong's, say that the MJ3's resolution rivals 2K-3K amps. From memory the 3XP was good, but I would expect the MJ3 to be much more resolving/detailed.
(I still have to wait a few weeks for my MJ3 to arrive, so I haven't heard it yet.)

I was not the one that said that 3XP was more detailed, a guy in this thread said the 3xp with supercharger was thinner but more detailed than than the mj3

I can't assure that your DAC was what caused the difference but here the burson pairs much better with my ifi gryphon than for example a HRT microsteamer, and it is not a small difference, Asgard worked with the HRT but not the same luck with my burson, the burson lacked soundstage with the HRT.

My poweramp mode impressions: sound becomes fuller, warmer, more upfront, forward, it has 0 hiss (compared to normal mode midgain which has hiss with 50ohm headphones), and the dark background may be a little better than it's respective gain in normal mode.

With AD2000X/AD2000/AD1000X or any headphone in the Air Line Dynamic that I have tried, sound is more congested in some way, it lacks the air, clarity , detail, resolution of the normal mode with them, those headphone synergies much but much better with the normal mode, not even close lol.

There is a guy I know that I also had a soloist 3xp and he says the same, when you use ad2000x +3xp poweramp it loses the "very good synergy" it had, basically he thinks the same as me.

With the AD2000X and AD2000 it is truly massive difference in favor to the normal mode, normal mode is airier, clearer, more resolutive and detailed.

However, when using poweramp mode with closed headphones of the same brand, specially speaking of the closed headphone ATH A2000Z, I also notice a more upfront/forward sound with more depth, but I don't notice the same negative hit in clarity, and in short words, poweramp mode is better for me, opposite to the AD2000X.

I still think the normal mode is tonally clearer when using the 2000Z, but for some reason mids can sound more ... polluted? with the normal mode it's like if the headphone has a notably more contaminated sound, in fact I would say the poweramp mode could sound in some way "clearer" but not exactly like that haha, because tonally it is still brighter in normal mode, but it somehow sounds worse than poweramp mode... like if the extra treble of the normal mode does not compensate and after all the things the poweramp mode sounds for my ears, notably better with a2000z, totally opposite to the AD2000X which I think it sounds much better in normal mode.

For me, normal mode + a1000z is one of my less preferred matchups with the soloist, I'm not joking, I absolutely prefer the Schiit Asgard 3 when using A1000Z than with the soloist 3xp XD, I was very surprised that I could prefer a -300usd amp to a 1200 amp , in fact, I could not even accept it, I wanted to to believe that an expensive amp would always be better than a cheaper one with ALL my headphones , if my ad2000x sounded better with the 3xp, why it was not the case with the A1000Z? I tried everything(ddc, power filter, supercharger, cable upgrades) and until this day I'm not a fan of a1000z+3XP lol.

In fact, I also think the normal mode sounds harsh in comparison to poweramp mode with a2000z or A1000Z.

I never have thought that the normal mode is smoother as you found, but I'm not saying I'm saying the absolute truth, I would not be surprised that anything could happen with a change in our chains.

To be honest I have not found a headphone that sounds clearer in frequency response in poweramp mode, it is always warmer, more bassy and hard hitting than the normal mode, it has basically 0 hiss when it is in lowgain, and a darker background compared to the normal mode which can help with perceived pollution.

Anyway , I would not be surprised that a thing in your chain or even the headphones and/or some dac synergy could cause the impression variation, so I'm not saying you are wrong, I would not believe a lot of things that I found until they happened to me.

I told 2 guys that the poweramp mode existed and sounded different, at first try they did not notice as big difference but after more testing they agreed with me lol.

Did you compare numerous times?

I can understand that the poweramp mode could sound "better" with some headphones but I still think that in tonality, poweramp is always warmer than the normal mode, in poweramp some things can be percieved as "more clear" (despite being tonally less clear, which is hard to understand) due to the more dark background(specially if you don't have supercharger), but it only happens with some headphones it seems, because with ad2000x and ad2000 it does not even come close to compensate, in fact, it sounds worse with them, I already explained the negatives lol.

And well...

I agree with what the user "thetaburn" says, my poweramp mode impressions are the same as him, a warmer, fuller sound, and I also agree that the synergy is extremely important, I would be surprised if a synergy could also change the perception of how tonally percieved poweramp mode is, which is also strange for me, since despite of the headphones, I and that I think one of the modes can be significantly better than the other depending of the headphones, I always found that the poweramp mode is tonally warmer sounding, at least with the 2 bursons I have, and also other 2 bursons of 2 guys I know, 4 bursons in total.

What headphones you used? In fact I think you could have had a situation like my a2000z/1000z situation, in where poweramp mode was in some way "cleaner"(different than tonally clearer) , sound seemed less polluted, and it gave you the perception of better clarity , but if you paid more attention you could also have noticed that in normal mode, while less "clean" it was also still tonally clearer, it has more treble, less forward bass.

I think that the headphones you used could play a big factor in what you found, I would not believe some almost "opposite" synergies of my headphones of the same brand lol.

 

[betula]

I was not the one that said that 3XP was more detailed, a guy in this thread said the 3xp with supercharger was thinner but more detailed than than the mj3

I can't assure that your DAC was what caused the difference but here the burson pairs much better with my ifi gryphon than for example a HRT microsteamer, and it is not a small difference, Asgard worked with the HRT but not the same luck with my burson, the burson lacked soundstage with the HRT.

My poweramp mode impressions: sound becomes fuller, warmer, more upfront, forward, it has 0 hiss (compared to normal mode midgain which has hiss with 50ohm headphones), and the dark background may be a little better than it's respective gain in normal mode.

With AD2000X/AD2000/AD1000X or any headphone in the Air Line Dynamic that I have tried, sound is more congested in some way, it lacks the air, clarity , detail, resolution of the normal mode with them, those headphone synergies much but much better with the normal mode, not even close lol.

There is a guy I know that I also had a soloist 3xp and he says the same, when you use ad2000x +3xp poweramp it loses the "very good synergy" it had, basically he thinks the same as me.

With the AD2000X and AD2000 it is truly massive difference in favor to the normal mode, normal mode is airier, clearer, more resolutive and detailed.

However, when using poweramp mode with closed headphones of the same brand, specially speaking of the closed headphone ATH A2000Z, I also notice a more upfront/forward sound with more depth, but I don't notice the same negative hit in clarity, and in short words, poweramp mode is better for me, opposite to the AD2000X.

I still think the normal mode is tonally clearer when using the 2000Z, but for some reason mids can sound more ... polluted? with the normal mode it's like if the headphone has a notably more contaminated sound, in fact I would say the poweramp mode could sound in some way "clearer" but not exactly like that haha, because tonally it is still brighter in normal mode, but it somehow sounds worse than poweramp mode... like if the extra treble of the normal mode does not compensate and after all the things the poweramp mode sounds for my ears, notably better with a2000z, totally opposite to the AD2000X which I think it sounds much better in normal mode.

For me, normal mode + a1000z is one of my less preferred matchups with the soloist, I'm not joking, I absolutely prefer the Schiit Asgard 3 when using A1000Z than with the soloist 3xp XD, I was very surprised that I could prefer a -300usd amp to a 1200 amp , in fact, I could not even accept it, I wanted to to believe that an expensive amp would always be better than a cheaper one with ALL my headphones , if my ad2000x sounded better with the 3xp, why it was not the case with the A1000Z? I tried everything(ddc, power filter, supercharger, cable upgrades) and until this day I'm not a fan of a1000z+3XP lol.

In fact, I also think the normal mode sounds harsh in comparison to poweramp mode with a2000z or A1000Z.

I never have thought that the normal mode is smoother as you found, but I'm not saying I'm saying the absolute truth, I would not be surprised that anything could happen with a change in our chains.

To be honest I have not found a headphone that sounds clearer in frequency response in poweramp mode, it is always warmer, more bassy and hard hitting than the normal mode, it has basically 0 hiss when it is in lowgain, and a darker background compared to the normal mode which can help with perceived pollution.

Anyway , I would not be surprised that a thing in your chain or even the headphones and/or some dac synergy could cause the impression variation, so I'm not saying you are wrong, I would not believe a lot of things that I found until they happened to me.

I told 2 guys that the poweramp mode existed and sounded different, at first try they did not notice as big difference but after more testing they agreed with me lol.

Did you compare numerous times?

I can understand that the poweramp mode could sound "better" with some headphones but I still think that in tonality, poweramp is always warmer than the normal mode, in poweramp some things can be percieved as "more clear" (despite being tonally less clear, which is hard to understand) due to the more dark background(specially if you don't have supercharger), but it only happens with some headphones it seems, because with ad2000x and ad2000 it does not even come close to compensate, in fact, it sounds worse with them, I already explained the negatives lol.

And well...

I agree with what the user "thetaburn" says, my poweramp mode impressions are the same as him, a warmer, fuller sound, and I also agree that the synergy is extremely important, I would be surprised if a synergy could also change the perception of how tonally percieved poweramp mode is, which is also strange for me, since despite of the headphones, I and that I think one of the modes can be significantly better than the other depending of the headphones, I always found that the poweramp mode is tonally warmer sounding, at least with the 2 bursons I have, and also other 2 bursons of 2 guys I know, 4 bursons in total.

What headphones you used? In fact I think you could have had a situation like my a2000z/1000z situation, in where poweramp mode was in some way "cleaner"(different than tonally clearer) , sound seemed less polluted, and it gave you the perception of better clarity , but if you paid more attention you could also have noticed that in normal mode, while less "clean" it was also still tonally clearer, it has more treble, less forward bass.

I think that the headphones you used could play a big factor in what you found, I would not believe some almost "opposite" synergies of my headphones of the same brand lol.

Thanks for your lengthy post, but I am not too interested in discussing the 3XP in the MJ3 thread in details to be honest. I sold the 3XP years ago for better amps. I was just surprised to read that someone considers the 3XP better vs the MJ3 as based on what I read from reputable reviewers, that shouldn't be the case.

(Edit: I think I tried the 3XP with the LCD-X, D8000 and Elite back then and I did compare the 2 modes a few times.)

 

[Josz27]

Thanks for your lengthy post, but I am not too interested in discussing the 3XP in the MJ3 thread in details to be honest. I sold the 3XP years ago for better amps. I was just surprised to read that someone considers the 3XP better vs the MJ3 as based on what I read from reputable reviewers, that shouldn't be the case.

Maybe discussing the 3XP in its totality is not for what this place is for lol, but I also was surprised that someone found the 3xp less detailed while I read it was more detailed in other post.

In fact I know other thing I have not mentioned haha

But aside from that, believe it or not, a 1200amp like soloist could sound better in some cases to more expensive amps, just as my -300usd asgard did in some cases compared to more expensive amps .

A more expensive amp is not always better in all cases and chains, a mate told me that a reviewer called wave theory found the mj3 to be more at it's price range, as opposed to passion for sound who said it was kicking above it's price bracket, opinion variation everywhere lol.

 

[betula]

Maybe discussing the 3XP in its totality is not for what this place is for lol, but I also was surprised that someone found the 3xp less detailed while I read it was more detailed in other post.

In fact I know other thing I have not mentioned haha

But aside from that, believe it or not, a 1200amp like soloist could sound better in some cases to more expensive amps, just as my -300usd asgard did in some cases compared to more expensive amps .

A more expensive amp is not always better in all cases and chains, a mate told me that a reviewer called wave theory found the mj3 to be more at it's price range, as opposed to passion for sound who said it was kicking above it's price bracket, opinion variation everywhere lol.

I have been in the hobby long enough to be well aware, that higher price doesn't always correlate to better performance.
But if Currawong says the MJ3 rivals with 2K-3K amps, I believe him. To my experience from owning the 3XP, it is a good little amp, but certainly doesn't compete with 3K amps. (The GSX-Mini, BHA1 or HA-3A for example which I also own/owned are clearly better than the 3XP.)
That's where my surprise was coming from.
I guess, I will find out once my MJ3 arrives.

 

[psy472]

Maybe discussing the 3XP in its totality is not for what this place is for lol, but I also was surprised that someone found the 3xp less detailed while I read it was more detailed in other post.

In fact I know other thing I have not mentioned haha

But aside from that, believe it or not, a 1200amp like soloist could sound better in some cases to more expensive amps, just as my -300usd asgard did in some cases compared to more expensive amps .

A more expensive amp is not always better in all cases and chains, a mate told me that a reviewer called wave theory found the mj3 to be more at it's price range, as opposed to passion for sound who said it was kicking above it's price bracket, opinion variation everywhere lol.

I always look at the reviewers chain before seeing if I should agree with their opinion. Passion for sound has DACs that are closer to what I have so I agree with his review.

It doesn’t mean wave theory is wrong though. I tried his setup and realized the DAC was really holding the MJ3 back. I didn’t realize how bad my DACs were till I switched from BiFrost to my Yggy GS2.

 

[betula]

I always look at the reviewers chain before seeing if I should agree with their opinion. Passion for sound has DACs that are closer to what I have so I agree with his review.

It doesn’t mean wave theory is wrong though. I tried his setup and realized the DAC was really holding the MJ3 back. I didn’t realize how bad my DACs were till I switched from BiFrost to my Yggy GS2.

Yes, DAC pairing seems to play a big role with MJ3. Hopefully I'll be fine with my Cyan 2.

 

[Ohno Schiitizen]

If you ask the AI on Schiit, the Mjolnir 3 can handle up to 20 Volts. For some odd reason people are underestimating the MJ3 because it only output 2W at 32 ohms. However, we don’t even second guess when a 20K usd amp only outputs 1.5W at the same watt and claims it can drive any headphone well.

 

[quawn0418]

I have been in the hobby long enough to be well aware, that higher price doesn't always correlate to better performance.
But if Currawong says the MJ3 rivals with 2K-3K amps, I believe him. To my experience from owning the 3XP, it is a good little amp, but certainly doesn't compete with 3K amps. (The GSX-Mini, BHA1 or HA-3A for example which I also own/owned are clearly better than the 3XP.)
That's where my surprise was coming from.
I guess, I will find out once my MJ3 arrives.

Looking forward to your impressions

 

[betula]

Looking forward to your impressions

Schiit has a backlog of MJ3 orders to catch up with, so it is unlikely I will receive my amp before the end of April.

 

[quawn0418]

Schiit has a backlog of MJ3 orders to catch up with, so it is unlikely I will receive my amp before the end of April.

Yea waiting sucked for me due to the fact that it was a 2 month wait and 1 of those months i had no amp at all. I do feel like the MJ3 competes with 2-3k amps but the only amp I’ve had at my desk in that price range is the Soloist 3XGT which i found to be inferior to the MJ3. It’s a nit-picking thing but if i had to choose, it’d be the MJ.

 

[Ceora]

Here's the AI answer I got. I didn't specify line level input, maybe that's the difference?

 

[Erick Muller]

Considering that’s our future doctor, we better trust it…or else it may deem that we need an XL sized camera for colonoscopy.

AI will decided that it needs a cinematic shot of our colon and it's going to shove inside us an IMAX camera down there.

 

[BenJoe]

Nope, it was with the 4 vivid installed, may know the year of your burson? does it have labeled L and R inputs/outputs? is the serial number vertical or horizontal?

I bought the soloist 3xp about two years ago if I remember correctly. I didn’t pay attention. And I’m just too lazy to unpack the whole thing just to check. Is there supposed to be a difference!?

It doesn’t really matter how the 3XP is now. I’ve got the 3X GT, MJ3 and the Luxman. There‘s no reason for me to keep it and let it collect dust.