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NMPacella
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I'm mainly leaning toward the schiit Jotunheim and the original ch650s cable since I read bad comments on aftermarket cable.
I already own a sound blaster G5 which should be powerfull enough to drive them. I know the Jot is a better quality but I'm still wondering if this would be worth the investement to go full balanced with these headphones.
Fully balanced amps are worth it, but ones with Jot's level of output are very expensive. If you're not planning to go fully balanced, or get the balanced DAC upgrade with the Jot, then the Valhalla 2 is the superior amp if you're intent on getting a Schiit.
I dont understand the last thing you said; why would there be distortion on the balanced output ? Isn't it supposed to have a clearer and more detailed sound.
I presently use the AKG k7xx while waiting for the HD6xx. After this I dont think that I'm gonna buy a new pair of headphones for a very long time.
Still I would wholeheartedly recommend you use the balanced output as the HD6XX would certainly scale with the extra power it provides.
The Jot certainly isn't the best amp at this price point. But it makes a good value proposition for people entering into audiophile territory for the first time.
'' The Jot certainly isn't the best amp at this price point. But it makes a good value proposition for people entering into audiophile territory for the first time. ''
Yes that's me. Is there something else you would recommend ? I took a look at the audio-gd product. The NFB-28 seems to have everything I need.
An optical input would be a plus because I could still be using my sound blaster G5 for gaming.
For a dedicated amp in the Jot price range, I would be looking at something single-ended by Violectric / Lake People. DAC wise you can afford to go cheap, the HD6XX scales better with power than with DAC, something like a JDSLabs ODAC would be better than the Jot DAC, but it won't have optical. Audiophiles generally do not use optical.
Your G5 would have line output doesn't it? So you could just use that directly into an amp's RCA, you'll need a 3.5 to RCA adaptor/cable for it to work though.
Also think about whether you really need software surround sound capabilities of the G5. Stereo tracks already have positional cues built into them. With a HD6XX you may not need virtual surround anymore because these are very capable headphones with good soundstage and imaging already.
On a Valhalla or Lake People they would sound better on single ended as they have sufficient power to drive the HD6XX, and have less distortion.
That's very interesting. I finaly decided to buy the Jotunheim and I received it today, I'm experimenting it with my K7xx for the moment. So far I'm very satisfied. I can't wait to test it with the HD6XX when they get here. I'll definitly give a try to that cable you linked.
Thank you very much for your feedback. This is much appreciated.
Anyway, I'm under the impression it is possible to use the Jotunheim fully balanced.
I'm more educated now and believe the Jot to be fully balanced. Usually when you have a fully balanced amp, the SE output should have identical power output to balanced, not the case for Jot. So I thought they must have a phase splitter, but instead they have a switching circuit for SE output that runs on one of the channels.
That makes the one of Jot the cheapest balanced amp I know of, there are better amps out there but this is quite a bargain. That said, I still believe the sonic improvements experienced going to balanced output is due to the extra power output, not crosstalk.
Would using the Jot with a separate unbalanced DAC through the 4-pin XLR then be a sensible thing?
An external DAC, balanced or unbalanced won't make much of a difference. The $100 balanced DAC upgrade for the Jot is a good option mainly because it's cheap. But if you already have a DAC, most likely it will be better than Schiit's.
Better designed circuitry and better circuit components make a bigger difference than going balanced route. Some of the world's best headphone amps are single ended.
Personally I would just skip the Jot altogether, with that budget you could get a Lake People G103-S which is a much better amp. Or if you really wanted to go for the Schiit look, get the Valhalla OTL for your HD6XX.
I like the Lake People amp, but I would like to have some more features and I also still need a DAC. I'm currently leaning towards balanced options also for future proofing, such as the Jot we talked about, and the Aune s6/x7s. Have you heard these as well?
Is there anything else you would recommend in the same budget range?
I can hear the difference from my G5. It sound more pure I can hear the music the way it is supposed to be. Instruments seperation is noticeable and it's got ton of power. I can crank up the volume as much as I want without any distortion.
I've also been using it for gaming with razer surround and it does the same job as the G5.
I mean, if you buy the Jot I'm 100% sure you will like the pairing, when you don't have a point of reference. If you had multiple products where you can compare side-by-side around the same price point, say a Lake People amp, an Aune amp, I guarantee you won't pick the Jot. Btw, the Aune amp doesn't have optimal power for the HD6XX, and Jot you'll need to spend another $70 on a balanced cable to get optimal power out of them.
Getting balanced does nothing for future proofing, it only increases price for some superficial benefits. I have been an audiophile for 10 years and spent more than $50k on gear, and I've never needed balanced.
Aune makes great gear, I have some of their Aune T1 (their entry amp), bought it after I compared it to the Schiit Magni/Modi. I know someone who had a flagship Schiit setup (Yggdrasil amp + Ragnarok amp), after he heard the Aune T1, he ended up selling all of his Schiit gear because it sounded just as good.
People like Schiit because they really excel at marketing themselves as good value, a lot of people buy their entry stuff and the population propagates upwards in the Schiit range. Lake People are less well known in the entry range, as they mainly focused on very high-end gear and now expanding to entry level. NwAvGuy constantly praised their products, saying you should always use a Violectric / Lake People amp as benchmark for everything else.