[betula]

It would be helpful to share rough serial numbers with the different capacitors (2x47uf blue; 10uf and 47uf blue; all black versions mentioned above), so we can get an idea what batches were affected and when Schiit did the changes.

 

[artur9]

She’s a picky thing this MJ3 lol ... or she just wanted to breathe but i kid you not she’s running dead silent and completely open...

One of the Schiit engineers (Dave) likes all his electronics out in the open. Says they sound better "in the nude." fwiw

 

[quawn0418]

One of the Schiit engineers (Dave) likes all his electronics out in the open. Says they sound better "in the nude." fwiw

very good to know, i may leave it off a while now lol

 

[Currawong]

What you can do for cooling is, put a 12V, 120mm computer fan running at 5V using a USB adaptor over the heatsinks, then cover the vents over the capacitors. That will suck air through the sides, then through all the electronics before going through the heatsinks.

Edit: Just to confirm, this isn't a necessary thing by any means, just something to do if desired, or if the Mjolnir will be in a more confined space.

 

[Nick76]

If this is truly a problem with the first run capacitors, and they made an active switch to fix the problem in the subsequent runs, I really think Schiit should have made it known to early adopters. But I guess we'll see. If mine shows up on Monday back from getting the faulty gain switch fixed, and I have bulging/leaking capacitors that have not been swapped for the newer versions, I am not gonna be a happy camper.

 

[Slackaveli]

What you can do for cooling is, put a 12V, 120mm computer fan running at 5V using a USB adaptor over the heatsinks, then cover the vents over the capacitors. That will suck air through the sides, then through all the electronics before going through the heatsinks.

I was prepared to do things of this nature (coming from my PC builder background) as I lusted after Class A amps like MJ3 and Aune s17 but then I went with the Flux Mentor and somehow it being class A means nothing to Mentor bc it's design somehow remains cool. Some special sauce going on with it.

 

[Slackaveli]

If this is truly a problem with the first run capacitors, and they made an active switch to fix the problem in the subsequent runs, I really think Schiit should have made it known to early adopters. But I guess we'll see. If mine shows up on Monday back from getting the faulty gain switch fixed, and I have bulging/leaking capacitors that have not been swapped for the newer versions, I am not gonna be a happy camper.

Surely being under warranty they wouldnt do that. Even if it was a paid repair job they'd surely have mentioned it.

That said if I was in your shoes I'd be anxious too.

 

[gKalkin]

I was from the first run and can confirm that mine has the blue capacitors. They look fine and I have even been prone to leaving it on for days.

 

[psy472]

I believe the MJ3 is an experimentation on being an over built class A amp. the Amp sounds great but that means excessive inefficiency making a lot of the energy disbursed as heat. With that much heat, short term is fine but I worry about long term component lifespan. My Flux Mentor runs warm but never hot and it puts out a lot of power to the XLR output while MJ3 is only doing 2W at 32Ohms.

Other amps may “burn in” to sound better but the MJ3 may just BURN.

 

[quawn0418]

I was prepared to do things of this nature (coming from my PC builder background) as I lusted after Class A amps like MJ3 and Aune s17 but then I went with the Flux Mentor and somehow it being class A means nothing to Mentor bc it's design somehow remains cool. Some special sauce going on with it.

I’m really interested in the mentor as well bro i really am, but a lot of manufacturers use the term class-a but all true class-a designs run hot, there is no way around the heat, unless there are heat sinks, fans, etc…I’m sure that with all that wattage and voltage the mentor has to offer, there’s some class-ab going on somewhere

 

[vcd23]

For reference purposes, I tried to get the clearest shot I could for anyone wondering which caps they are. (Marked C132 and C232 on the board)

when did you buy yours? I bought mine end of September last year and don't have this issue YET. lol

 

[Slackaveli]

I'm betting it's a bad batch of caps. That's happened to Jason before. Could happen to anyone when they test fine initially but are just too prone to failure.
The thing is over-built as hell as evidenced by those Corning 10,000uF black beasts. To get derailed by a 47uF little off-brand cap has got to be frustrating.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

As another data point, I have a first run MJ3 with the blue 47uF caps. I just looked, and mine look pristine after 5-6 months of use. I don’t think we should necessarily jump to any conclusions and assume this is some kind of widespread issue.

 

[Voxata]

I believe the MJ3 is an experimentation on being an over built class A amp. the Amp sounds great but that means excessive inefficiency making a lot of the energy disbursed as heat. With that much heat, short term is fine but I worry about long term component lifespan. My Flux Mentor runs warm but never hot and it puts out a lot of power to the XLR output while MJ3 is only doing 2W at 32Ohms.

Other amps may “burn in” to sound better but the MJ3 may just BURN.

I have the feeling you like the Mentor. Have you heard the MJ3?

 

[psy472]

I have the feeling you like the Mentor. Have you heard the MJ3?

I have both. I do like the MJ3 for my slower music. It’s amazing on smooth jazz with sweet and smooth mids and effortless bass rumble.

I use my Mentor for music that needs more resolution, faster bass, sound stage, and instrumental separation. It also drives my Susvara very well considering it pushes out 16W at 32Ohms compared to 2W from MJ3.

What I haven’t tried yet is to preamp my MJ3 to Flux Mentor.