Schiit Jotunheim Questions

Are the Schiit Jotunheim with the AK4490 DAC addon it a good Combo that will last me a good while with out upgrading it?
Will be able to power Sennheiser 660s or Beyerdynamic 1990 pros?

  • MrNudal

I’ve personally never listened to the Jotunheim myself, but was recently considering it for my upgrade from modi/vali2 stack. From the reviews I’ve read, the Jot is starting to show its age, and there might be better dac/amp combos that are better bang for your buck [massdrop liquid carbon x + sdac dac/am comes to mind]. That being said, if you can get the Jot at the right price I would say you could be happy with it for a long time. As far as your concerns with the Jot being able to drive the DT 1990 and 660s, I think it would be more than capable.

I’ll agree with the above, the Jot is starting to show it’s age. With all of the new Amp/dac combo units coming out recently I would look for schiit to make a Jot2 sometime soon. As for right now I really enjoyed the LCX+SDAC combo. I wanted MQA and since I found an original Cavalli LC V1 I got that and an iFi iOne. What the LCX can’t match is the power out of the Jot. So it comes down to if you need the power, I know my LC can power my ZMF Ori(t50rp mod) very well but I’m not sure about something like a 660

One box options that are hard to beat, the Monolith 788 Desktop and Topping DX7S.

Two box solutions, Massdrop 789 with any quality DAC input and Aune X1S with Aune X7S stack.

I use the Monolith 788 Desktop to power my DT 1990 Pros with quite a bit of power to spare. The Jot is more powerful than the Monolith 788 Desktop.

Hello there Nudal,

I am a very happy owner of the Jotunheim and I use the dac module every day and do not see any reason to buy a dedicated dac.

I recently received the SMSL SU-8 (along with a tube amp i am not very happy with) and have hooked up the SMSL dac to my Jotunheim to see if I can hear the difference, and i could not.

There is a difference that can be measured if you have the tools for it, but I were unable to hear it.

Yes the Jotunheim starts to get old, but it packs a hell of a punch and drives anything I throw at it with ease! (My main pair of headphones are the Sennheiser HD 800S)

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just a thought…I have read that the Jot is getting long in tooth and there are better solutions for the same or lower prices. :face_with_monocle:

Instantly I could tell within a few minutes of using the Jot (4490) that it’s a superior beast to the LCX+SDAC. Not far off the THX 788 on detail, maybe a bit warmer but heaps more power.

Did you pull the plug yet on getting the Jot? If not, I’ll add my piece to the forum

Hi,
I have owned the Jot with DAC module for about 18months now.
I’m very happy with it. I can’t fault it.
Having said that, I don’t have heaps of other DACs to compare to.
With it being a one box solution for an awesome headphone amp, DAC, pre-amp for my speaker amplifier, I have no problems recommending it.

I’ve wondered about the Jotunheim for a while now, though I have some doubts whether it would be much better than my current setup (Aune X1s and X7s). I have noted that the Schiit added a multibit option to their DAC listing, but I’m not sure it’s worth the large cost (~$600) to move towards that.

Personally I don’t think it would be a very large upgrade imo. I actually would say if you are after a cleaner sound the x7s is cleaner then the jot. The multibit dacs are pretty good and have a unique pleasing sound signature, but I’m not a fan of older schiit amps as imo they sound compressed

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Makes sense to me.

Guess I’ll keep blasting away with my Aune stack :smiley:

I preferred the sound of my Aiva’s on the jotunheim. 58x Jubilee on the JDS El amp. I think the multi-bit dac module made a significant difference in the sound on the Jot. The Jot just seems to have a certain timbre about it that can be very nice.

I do like the multibit dacs, but the compression from the amp on the jot bothers me