[BMBROWN911]

I was glancing threw this thread and I saw some pictures of the rear of the amp. Can someone explain to me why there are single ended inputs? I thought this was strictly balanced in and and balanced out? Am I missing something here?

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

I was glancing threw this thread and I saw some pictures of the rear of the amp. Can someone explain to me why there are single ended inputs? I thought this was strictly balanced in and and balanced out? Am I missing something here?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/603218/schiit-mjolnir-headphone-amplifier/45#post_8451236
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/603218/schiit-mjolnir-headphone-amplifier/105#post_8504994

 

[JWahl]

Looking forward to getting the Mjolnir for the HE-6 in the month or so hopefully.  I've been waffling back and forth between a few amps recently.  I'm currently "getting by" with a mid 90's Kenwood receiver (off the speaker taps). Picked it, a cd player, and speakers up for $20 at a garage sale.
 
I would imagine the Mjolnir should be much more transparent, just hoping I don't lose much of the dynamic punch of a speaker amp, that will be the true test.

 

[fukunchn]

Has anyone tried it with AKG K1000?

 

[TwoEars]

Exiting times really...
 
Headphone sector really booming now.
 
Schiit is launching cool stuff (mjolnir in particular since it's a dedicates balanced design!)
 
Audeze LCD-3 comes out with the new Lotus drivers.
 
Hifiman HE-400 brings orthos to the mid-range sector.
 
Biaural albums are becoming more common.
 
Can't wait for the Schiit Statement and whatever comes out of Sennheiser / Hifiman / Audeze next. New top-end models or price war?
 
Both Audeze and Sennheiser have to watch out I think - I can imagine a future Hifiman HE-7 with lower weight, better comfort, better build and little bit lower power requirements. That would mean serious trouble for the LCD-3 and HD800.

 

[purrin]

Lots of good stuff out. Also lots of Schiit too.

 

[Solude]

Some 12 hours out from the official A/B I'm starting to get a better feel for the Mjolnir's overall character driving the LCD-3.
 
Overall, especially at this price, the amp is fantastic.  The only reason to look elsewhere is if you want something laid back or with a different tonal balance.  That's nice, but how does it sound Sol?  Well there hasn't been an amp through here that does dynamics and detail retrieval at even remotely the same level as the Mjolnir.  Tonal balance is very good but being sensitive to high frequencies the top end seems dominant to me.  Micro detail is up front, nothing hides in the blackness.  It takes some getting used to.  If my only musical interest was in mixing, or studio work, it's a no brainer.  Emotional portrayal is good but since its overall character is truth, there is no added help in that department.  Convincing emotion falls on the performer, if they nail it... emotional connection, they phone it in... nothing.  Staging is probably its only real 'fault'.  Its wide but not quite laser focused and my impression is its 3 blob like.
 
I'll reserve comparisons until after the A/B but its safe to say at $750 it stands alone.

 

[DarknightDK]

Wow. Looking forward to your impressions of the Mjolnir vs Peak and possibly the WA22 as well.

 

[shinex64]

I wonder how it'll behave with custom IEM's, If it's not overkill it might be my future "amp for all"

 

[Blurpapa]

Hi guys, may I know if Jason has revealed the layout of the XLR plugs which we will need to build our own XLR plugged connectors? Does it follow standard convention, or if I can look it up anywhere on head-fi? Have tried doing a search but no luck so far. Thanks!

 

[Argo Duck]

Great notes, thanks Solude 

 
Mindful of the neutrality/transparency thing with Mjolnir, don't suppose you can readily get hold of another DAC to substitute for the Wyred? Would be interesting how much or how little changes...

 

[grokit]

Solude needs a Gungnir!

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Again these are early impressions on a 3 hour old unit, here we go...
 
Colour me impressed.  I fully expected to be disappointed.  Well that takes some explanation.  Like my Soloist purchase the hope was that it could somehow dethrone B22/Peak level amps and not surprising though as technically competent as the B22, the Soloist flavour wasn't quite right.  So I kept the Peak and waited for the Mjolnir to ship fully expecting it would be a nice taste of Schiit but not expecting a giant killer.
 
Well it is.  With one caveat this early on though... it is not laid back.  If you want an amp to just sit back and relax with, move on, nothing to see here.  Like the Peak the Mjolnir has drive, its dynamic range is insane.  There is no glare or sheen but the assault is fatiguing.  I imagine I'll get used to it but for now its like standing beside the speakers at a concert.  In this case the dB level is the same but the attack is so fierce it sounds louder than it is, the anti HD800
 
That said, on all other bullet points its quite good regardless of price.  Tonal balance, freq extension, body, resolution, effortlessness are all spot on.  The other consideration is that we had guessed that the impressions so far read like DAC reviews.  I know for a fact that the W4S DAC-2 is punchy, its the immediate difference I noticed when I upgrades from the Burson.  So its quite possible that the fatiguing drive is the DAC-2 coming through.

 
Thank you. It's good to have a level-headed impression for once. 
 
The second paragraph reminds me when I've heard the wooden Hifiman HE-5 for the first time all those years ago: the bad boy was so aggressive that it felt as if it was throwing a wall of sound at you which could be impressive in a glance but comparing it with a more level-headed headphone, it became clear that the presentation was perhaps not very natural. 
 
Do you feel that this outclass the Soloist? It's interesting because they lie in the same price range. 

 

[WilCox]

Hi guys, may I know if Jason has revealed the layout of the XLR plugs which we will need to build our own XLR plugged connectors? Does it follow standard convention, or if I can look it up anywhere on head-fi? Have tried doing a search but no luck so far. Thanks!

All 4-pin XLR connectors that I have seen have numbers on the pins. Schiit follows the standard convention as follows:

Pin 1 = Left +
Pin 2 = Left -
Pin 3 = Right +
Pin 4 = Right -

Note if you are rewiring a typical 1/4" plug (TRS) and assuming there are four wires in the cable (Sennheiser, Audeze, etc.), the two wires that are attached to the sleeve are the "-".

 

[Solude]

And the official A/B is complete.  Here we go...
 

 
The short of it is the Peak is staying and the Mjolnir is up for sale to the next lucky Canuck.
 
The long of it is a little more involved.  As with all my reviews this is in comparison, not global.  The Mjolnir is a detail and dynamics monster.  No question it will show you things that went unnoticed, clarify others and just flat out give you jaw dropping detail retrieval.  In the global sense of the word, its likely neutral as well.  But where it falls apart is in separation and staging.  The Peak is more natural, if a touch bottom tilted but what it does well is detail, though not at Mjolnir levels, and separation.  Things just never blend or become a wall with the Peak.  The Mjolnir despite great detail, tended to blend the bass lines into the mid mix.  Staging was mostly left to right, with comparatively more 3 blob staging than the Peak.
 
So in the end it becomes a trade off.  The Peak is more natural sounding, trading some detail and clarity for better separation and staging.  The Mjolnir has more detail retrieval and likely more neutral as well but can feel top tilted and fatiguing if, like me, you are sensitive to that.
 
Bring on the statement amp so I can drop my favourite tube in to tilt it back in my favour and have the best of both