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Schiit Jotunheim 2 Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

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amirm

amirm

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Could someone explain to me what a discrete amplifier means, and how it differs to an op amp? And does it have any pros or cons other than the differences that can be measured? Like build quality or durability etc.
It is a large topic to explain quickly. But essentially, an integrate circuit can be much more optimized than discrete signals due to much smaller distances, ability to fine trim components, choice of parts that are not available as stand alone products, etc. Due to high volume, cost is also highly optimized. And the designer may very well be much smarter and capable than whoever is designing the circuit using discrete parts.

There are down sides such as thermal modulation where if one part of the IC gets hot, it can impact the rest of the circuit. Or some combination of specs you can't get in an IC.

In general, what you get out of discrete circuits in audio products if 99% marketing where engineering value is not there, nor shown. Lack of measurements should be a warning sign that they may not have achieved anything better.
 

PeteL

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In general, what you get out of discrete circuits in audio products if 99% marketing where engineering value is not there, nor shown.
I think we should be careful with blanket statements like this, depend on what you are trying to do, I get that we are talking an headphone amp here, but "What you get out of discrete circuits in audio products is 99% marketing"... I don't think that Purifi anf Hypex modules are based around discrete components for marketing reasons... Depend on what you are trying to achieve, if you are really talking audio products "in general"... but sure, if it can be done with IC without compromising your design, there's no point not to, it's a black box, if it gives you the output you need, use it.
 

Seijuro

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Hello everyone. Does anyone know of some kind of switch I could use with the Jot2 + Bifrost2 that would allow me keep my headphones plugged in and not output sound to them when I am listening to powered monitors? I'm trying to avoid all the constant unplugging of the headphones. Thank you.
 

don'ttrustauthority

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Hello everyone. Does anyone know of some kind of switch I could use with the Jot2 + Bifrost2 that would allow me keep my headphones plugged in and not output sound to them when I am listening to powered monitors? I'm trying to avoid all the constant unplugging of the headphones. Thank you.
Depending on how many sets of headphones you have, you could get an ESTY cable maker to make a switch inline to a cable for your cans.
 

Phoney

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Question from a noob: considering the holes on the top of the unit, I assume dust will make its way into the core of the unit. I assume that this is not an issue?
 

Cisco150

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Hi guys I have the Hifiman Ananda and Dac SMSL VMV D1SE with the SP200 which the XLR inputs are defective but looking at a different amp looking at this Singxer-SA1 or Jotunheim 2. What would you think be a good match i would like more bass out of my Anandas and not as harsh highs? or dry and still sound.
 

Tarso

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Hey guys,

I have a Jot2, but I'm not happy with it. I don't know if the problem is the ES9028 internal DAC or the amplifier itself, but I want a change.

With a $1000 budget, would I be better served by another amp + DAC combo or just a better DAC with the Jot2? I mostly use full-size headphones, Hifiman Deva Pro, Arya, Sennheiser HD650, AKG K702, Audio Technica ATH R70X, etc.

Thank you for any input!
 

Jimbob54

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Hey guys,

I have a Jot2, but I'm not happy with it. I don't know if the problem is the ES9028 internal DAC or the amplifier itself, but I want a change.

With a $1000 budget, would I be better served by another amp + DAC combo or just a better DAC with the Jot2? I mostly use full-size headphones, Hifiman Deva Pro, Arya, Sennheiser HD650, AKG K702, Audio Technica ATH R70X, etc.

Thank you for any input!
Not happy with how it sounds? If you don't already, look at using eq for your headphones. You'll get noticeable improvements, far more than any change in dac or amp or both.
 

Phoney

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Hey guys,

I have a Jot2, but I'm not happy with it. I don't know if the problem is the ES9028 internal DAC or the amplifier itself, but I want a change.

With a $1000 budget, would I be better served by another amp + DAC combo or just a better DAC with the Jot2? I mostly use full-size headphones, Hifiman Deva Pro, Arya, Sennheiser HD650, AKG K702, Audio Technica ATH R70X, etc.

Thank you for any input!

The dac portion measures pretty bad. Something like a Modius or a D30 Pro could replace it nicely. Hard to say how much of a difference it's going to make though, in terms of audibility.
 

wacomme

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I might be able purchase a used Jot2 for $200. If I buy a Topping D10b, it seems that I'd have a pretty darn good balanced setup.

To be clear, I'd connect the D10b to the balanced inputs, and connect balanced powered speakers to the pre outs, correct? Now, is that pre out connection to the speakers balanced?
 

Veri

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To be clear, I'd connect the D10b to the balanced inputs, and connect balanced powered speakers to the pre outs, correct? Now, is that pre out connection to the speakers balanced?
Jot2 has RCA and XLR pre-outs, so depends on which ones you use.. :D
 

panther

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I have Adam A5X connnected to the XLR out and it works great as a pre amp. Can cut off signal to them and just use HP also.
 

iamsms

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I got a Schiit Jotunheim 2 recently that I use with SMSL-SU9 dac. I am perfectly happy with the headphone and preamp functionalities but when I plug in my IEMs into the SE output, I hear a constant noise. I didn't expect such noise with my previous amp JDS Element II (and my dongles like apple, qudelix 5k etc are flawless as well). This isn't a deal breaker, but I am trying to figure out why this is happening - 50 mv SNR are similar for Jot 2 and Element 2 (84 vs 81). Trying to understand what other measurement would explain this difference between Jot 2 and Element 2.
 

gnander

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The magnius is definitely great value at half the price. However, the Jotunheim 2 has a switch to turn off the pre-out, so if you are using it as a pre-amp or connected to studio monitors, it is much more convenient. Power switch still on the back though, which I know annoys a lot of people. Awesome review! Super informative.
 

MRC01

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Last edited:

BARDUKE

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It is a large topic to explain quickly. But essentially, an integrate circuit can be much more optimized than discrete signals due to much smaller distances, ability to fine trim components, choice of parts that are not available as stand alone products, etc. Due to high volume, cost is also highly optimized. And the designer may very well be much smarter and capable than whoever is designing the circuit using discrete parts.

There are down sides such as thermal modulation where if one part of the IC gets hot, it can impact the rest of the circuit. Or some combination of specs you can't get in an IC.

In general, what you get out of discrete circuits in audio products if 99% marketing where engineering value is not there, nor shown. Lack of measurements should be a warning sign that they may not have achieved anything better.
if you had to rank the 3 following amps, what order would they be in from stellar to ok?

- Jot 2
- SA-1
- A90D

thanks for your reply
 

MRC01

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Based largely on this review and thread, I recently got a Jotunheim with the ESS9028 DAC for use at the office. As I bench tested it I found that the info here is accurate, the new DAC is indeed cleaner, that it's a good piece of equipment, and I discovered a couple of interesting things, details here.

One of the interesting things was the difference in distortion between the balanced and unbalanced outputs. I can think of 2 possible reasons for this:
  1. How they convert unbalanced from balanced: do they difference it, or just ignore the inverted signal?
  2. The Schiit "continuity" circuit seems to be class AB with high bias that operates symmetric class A up to a certain level.
The difference (elevated distortion in unbalanced mode) only appears on unbalanced outputs at high output levels. I don't fully understand this because if it were due to (1) then it would appear at all levels, and if it were (2) it would appear on balanced outputs too. It's possible that it's factor (2) but I couldn't measure it because balanced mode at high output levels overloads my measuring device. Either way, the "elevated" distortion I measured is at worst -70 dB which should be inaudible, so not a big concern.
 

Mid-Fi Boris

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Interesting. I still don't see the reason to spend double over the Asgard other then power. And if you need more then 5 watts, get the Magnius. Happy Asgard owner here :)
Horrible take. The Jotunheim sounds a lot better than the Magnius. The Magnius is way too harsh and sounds very dull by comparison. Jot 2 is a much better simplifier, measurements don't tell the full store. Asgard 3 sounds better than the Magnius.
 

MRC01

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A few objective reasons one might spend more for Jotunheim over Magnius or Asgard:
  • Over Asgard, Jotunheim has both balanced & single ended, inputs & outputs, and converts seamlessly between them. And Asgard auto-mutes the line outputs whenever headphones are plugged in, while Jotunheim has a dedicated switch for that. And Jotunheim has an Alps RK27 volume knob, which is better than Asgard.
  • Over Magnius, Jotunheim has an internal power supply and (optional) internal DAC module, so it can be a true one-box solution.
If you don't care about those, then get the Asgard or Magnius and save a few bucks.
 
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