[Butler]

I'm considering buying a Mjolnir/Gungnir combo for the LCD 2.2 (pre-Fazor).

I've noticed a small number of comments about the Mjolnir sounding too "electronic" or "technicolor". I don't really know what that means or would entail. Can anyone think of what might cause someone to think that, and what remediations there would be?

Technicolor? That's a new one.

It's a very transparent amp, very neutral. That's one of the reasons why I think folks feel they pair well with the audeze house sound- it isn't bringing the warm smoothness to the point of syrup.

 

[myap2328]

Hi All,

I recently picked up a Gungnir Usb Gen1 and Mjolnir stack, used, from a fellow friend and I haven't truly dabbled with high end headohones as I was eyeing the Gungnir for my home stereo system but he only wished to let them go as a bundled set.

I have heard a couple of headphones but not on the schiit stack... However I find.
1. hd800 too lean for my tastes
2. Audeze lineup fantastic
3. Alpha dog primes (from the Gungnir and Mjolnir), pretty warm and cozy sounding and rather forgiving as well, but I might as well wait for the either.
4. Wasn't impressed with the he-560, dull boring sound. Might consider he-500 and he-6 up for an audition but the he-1000 is totally out of my range
5. Oppo series are alright but I can live with the audezes weight and I'd take them anyday
6. Loved the th-900 but it's single ended and the Mjolnir is balanced only.

Based on my 6 comments and some digging in this thread that reveals the Mjolnir to be transparent, revealing and neutral, I'd admit I like some Colour in my sound, specifically slightly darker top ends, bassier bottom ends, and a rich creamy midrange. Any other headohones to recommend? I'm waiting for the ether and planning to hear the audeze sets again. Not sure which audeze to choose though.

 

[zach915m]

Technicolor? That's a new one.

It's a very transparent amp, very neutral. That's one of the reasons why I think folks feel they pair well with the audeze house sound- it isn't bringing the warm smoothness to the point of syrup.

When I had the Mjolnir I always liked a Slightly warm DAC, like a wolfson chipped audio gd or my starting point 1543 Dac. It seemed to find a nice middle ground for the mjolnir aggressive neutral nature, which is quite pleasing on its own. The few times I heard it with audezes it was a very nice experience, and it always sounded wonderful with the ZMF's.

Missing it!

 

[Erukian]

I would also like some clarity about this. Can anyone comment on the details regarding using the Mjolnir as a pre for powered or passive monitors via the output on the back of the unit?
Doing this would allow me to get rid of my computer speaker set up entirely.

SE output is fine on the Gungnir to a amp w/ volume control.
 
BAL output on the mjolnir to an amp that has balanced inputs has resulted in a minor issue for me. Mjolnir is picky about what amp is on the other end of the BAL OUT. In my case, with a Emotiva XPA-2 it caused the muting relay to click on and off non stop for a few minutes when you power off the speaker amp, like when I wanted to switch from speakers to headphones. Other than that it works just fine. The options presented to me by Emotiva were to buy two of their monoblocks and schiit said try using a balanced switch. I ended up returning the emotiva and going back to using SE outputs on the Gungnir. Take this with a grain of salt, this might just be an Emotiva stereo amp issue and I can't speak for running powered studio style monitors.

 

[jjacq]

  So what does this mean?   I have the Mjolnir and Gugnir.  I have powered monitor speakers connected through the balanced pre-out jacks.   My headphones (Mr. Speaker Alpha Primes) are connected to the balanced XLR jack.   If the speaker don't mute...does this mean I have to disconnect the speaker whenever I want to listen to the headphones in order to prevent the speakers from playing at the same time?    How can this be solved?

Did you ever get an answer for this? Also can you control the speakers' volume by the Mjolnir's volume knob?

 

[johnjen]

 
Did you ever get an answer for this? Also can you control the speakers' volume by the Mjolnir's volume knob?

The Mojo Manual sez…
4 XLR Balanced Preamp Outputs.
Mjolnir can be used as a high-quality balanced preamp.
Outputs are muted for 20 seconds when the amp turns on, and whenever the amp is in protection mode. 




 
Balanced Preamp Outputs usually means the volume control knob is active and will effect the 'line outs'.
Having never used them I can't say for sure, but I do remember reading this somewhere.
 
An e-mail to tech support at Schiit would be an easy confirmation.
 
JJ

 

[jjacq]

  The Mojo Manual sez…
4 XLR Balanced Preamp Outputs.
Mjolnir can be used as a high-quality balanced preamp.
Outputs are muted for 20 seconds when the amp turns on, and whenever the amp is in protection mode. 




 
Balanced Preamp Outputs usually means the volume control knob is active and will effect the 'line outs'.
Having never used them I can't say for sure, but I do remember reading this somewhere.
 
An e-mail to tech support at Schiit would be an easy confirmation.
 
JJ

Thanks, thought people might want to know, I emailed and they said the volume knob can control active speakers. That'll help my system sooo much!

 

[Barra]

Bought the Mojo a few years back to pair with my LCD2.2. At first I was impressed with the power, punch, sound stage, and audiophile SQ. The increased treble response from the Mjolnir opened the LCD's sound stage from the traditionally congested Audeze sound. However, while I enjoyed the aggressiveness, it started to just sound bright which is not what I was after with the Audeze club sound. I was going to sell the Mojo to go to a tube amp until I was introduced to the concept of a NOS R2R Tube DAC at a local meet which I ended up investing in, buying a MHDT Havana Tube DAC.
 
The pairing is a complete transformation with options to tune the sound by tube rolling. Options of course is the tube that can be rolled to optimize to your taste in tuning from bass slam to huge sound stage to mid forward to analytical to euphoric to anything in between. The LCD2.2 now sounds wonderful and I am quite happy with the setup. Anyone that is sharing this concern over brightness with the Mojo or that would like some tuning options should give a tube dac a try, you will not be sorry.
 
Or you can just step up and upgrade to the ROK like JohnJen did which is a huge leap in SQ and functionality. His ROK really made my LCD2.2s and the new HE1000s sing at the last mini-meet.

 

[Eee Pee]

You said increased treble response but it measures flat…

 

[Barra]

You said increased treble response but it measures flat…

This is just a personal finding/opinion and YMMV. However, I find that measurements don't always tell the whole story as it is a static snapshot of a single very specific and often undisclosed setup. My ears tell me that the Audeze signature sounds different on different setups and its tuning is very reactive to the power provided as well as the coloring of the amp. This is probably why Audeze suggests feeding it a watt of power at minimum.
 
I am a big fan of the fat and colored Audeze house sound but find that it scales differently with different options. I find with Audeze planers, and specifically my LCD2.2 - that the signature is dark and somewhat congested at lower power while providing a very musical and fun sound signature. Then as it is scaled up in power, the sound stage opens up and the treble come out of hiding for improved detailing and layering. Finally the amps I have heard are either laid back (Bryston) or aggressive (Mojo) in nature providing options for you listening preferences not to mention different tunings.
 
While I am not adverse to great treble response, the Mojo was presenting it in a digitally etched, aggressive way that was fatiguing for long term listening. The fatiguing nature makes the highs feel prominent and the signature feel bright. The bass is still there, but the brightness makes you look away as you have to turn down the volume to compensate. Even if the response was somehow proven to be perfectly flat, there is something that I was not liking about the treble that I was able to fix which is what I was reporting to those that might care.

 

[theblueprint]

Barra,

Thanks for your thoughts on the LCD2 and mjolnir pairing. I actually listened to this combo a couple weeks ago. I loved how it opened up with it, since I always thought that my LCD2 could have a tad more soundstage and a tad bit less darkness. That's why I am planning to upgrade my Asgard 2 to the Mjolnir when the upgraded one comes out in a year or so. Listening on the Asgard (after having played with the mjolnir), I can see how the jump from 1W to 5W would give me the sound that I am looking for.

 

[Barra]

Barra,

Thanks for your thoughts on the LCD2 and mjolnir pairing. I actually listened to this combo a couple weeks. I loved how it opened up with it, since I always thought that my LCD2 could have a tad more soundstage and a tad bit less darkness. That's why I am planning to upgrade my Asgard 2 to the Mjolnir when the upgraded one comes out in a year or so. Listening on the Asgard (after having played with the mjolnir), I can see how the jump from 1W to 5W would give me the sound that I am looking for.

Glad I could help. What makes the Mojo so much fun with the LCD2.2 is the tight and powerful dynamics that it introduces and the full sized sound stage along with enhanced detailing from the improved treble response. What is fun about pairing it with the tube dac is the ability to tune and perfect the signature exactly to my liking - analog, euphoric, large 3D sound stage, and highly detailed. I would have probably been happy with the Mojo the way it was, but I have been spoiled by all the great setups that the local headfiers have been sharing with me lately. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[theblueprint]

Glad I could help. What makes the Mojo so much fun with the LCD2.2 is the tight and powerful dynamics that it introduces and the full sized sound stage along with enhanced detailing from the improved treble response. What is fun about pairing it with the tube dac is the ability to tune and perfect the signature exactly to my liking - analog, euphoric, large 3D sound stage, and highly detailed. I would have probably been happy with the Mojo the way it was, but I have been spoiled by all the great setups that the local headfiers have been sharing with me lately. Ignorance is bliss.

HAHA. Too true, ignorance IS bliss.

I am actually going to get an R2R dac soon after having heard and falling in love with my friend's Theta DAC. The experience is hard to describe, and what they say about it being musical is spot on... it simply made everything mesh really well together while retaining the microdetails! What DAC did you have before the Havana? And how would you compare a tubed R2R against a regular R2R?

 

[Barra]

I was using a solid state wolfson based DAC before so the R2R is a big change for me. The local head-fi group has been buying up a bunch lately mostly from MHDT labs including the Paradisea and another non-tube R2R from their lineup. There may have been a Theta DAC as well, but I am not sure. This is how I got interested in purchasing the Havana. The Paradisea sounded so good at $300 used that after reading the reviews on its bigger brother, I felt that it was worth taking a leap of faith. I was rewarded as it has a much more audiophile sound than the Paradisea, but retained the fun. The solid state R2R sounded great as well, but as with all solid state, it sounded cleaner, but less euphoric, while retaining the smooth analog qualities.
 
Having said this, it is a moving target in comparing qualities as my Havana sounds very different with different tubes, going wide with some, bassy with others, analytical with yet another. So the tube DAC is the same in terms of analog sounding as the solid state version, but with flexibility to alter the signature as desired.

 

[MisterMoJo]

@Barra Hi I would like to hear more of your impressions of the ragnarok and LCD 2 combo you heard and mentioned in this thread.  We might have similar tastes in sound from what little I have read.  Thanks in advance.