Amps and Dacs, Dacs and amps Schiit, aune

JointedFish · February 19, 2018

Hello there people of the internet.

So since im rather a noobie that has done some research when it comes to HiFI but i want to get into it, i dont want the most expensive stuff nor the cheapest of the bunch, and i think around 500$ might seem reasonable, but i still like the bang for the buck kind of deals so if i could spend less i would be happy too.

I will be getting the HD6xx rather soon and im researching on what could drive these and what not.

So ive come to the conclusion its best to go full on mid tier and skip the somewhat cheaper stuff, and i think i have settled on buying a Schiit Jotunheim with a Dac module. Some say the DAC is utter shit and some say its neat clean and really good. I wouldn't mind if i would need to get a seprate DAC i think. (The Balanced thing sounds kinda cool and i think i at least want the option to use it).

I already have a classic hifi receiver that drives my speaker pairs tho it might be convenient to have them all at the same place its not a must. (They should suffice until i decide upon the amp and dac for the headphones)

Since i live in EU the import tax might come and fuck me over but i think thats a punch ill take later.

So im still looking at things inside EU and found that i can get Aune X7s AMP which would mean i still need an DAC (balanced?).

Do you have any suggestions or previous experiences with the Jotunheim, should i get the integrated dac or a diffrent one that compliments the Jot or a different amp and dac combinations for a similar experience?

The reason im hesitant on the DAC is that there are quite many DAC, multibit and so forth.

TLDR. The Schiit Audio Jotunheim, does it have its shit figured out or should i look at a diffrent combination or assorted amps and dacs.

Max_Settings · February 19, 2018

3 minutes ago, JointedFish said:

i think around 500$ might seem reasonable

@Legendarypoet this sounds oddly familiar.

The Jotunheim is an amazing Amp with a ton of power if you use the balanced output. The DAC is meh. It's not terrible, but buying a Modi 2 separate is a better DAC. The Jotunheim also has balanced DAC inputs, but balanced DACs are very expensive. Obliviously you can use the balanced out without using the balanced inputs. As for the X7S that is what I use, and it's amazing. It's class A, which the Jotunheim is not. It also has a bit more power out of it's 1/4in, but the Jotunheim has a lot more power out of the balanced. The X7S doesn't have balanced inputs, but that's not a huge deal. As far as quality of amplification they are both about the same in my opinion.

JointedFish · February 19, 2018

9 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

The Jotunheim is an amazing Amp with a ton of power if you use the balanced output. The DAC is meh. It's not terrible, but buying a Modi 2 separate is a better DAC. The Jotunheim also has balanced DAC inputs, but balanced DACs are very expensive. Obliviously you can use the balanced out without using the balanced inputs. As for the X7S that is what I use, and it's amazing. It's class A, which the Jotunheim is not. It also has a bit more power out of it's 1/4in, but the Jotunheim has a lot more power out of the balanced. The X7S doesn't have balanced inputs, but that's not a huge deal. As far as quality of amplification they are both about the same in my opinion.

If i were to buy a Modi either with the multibit or without i would still be able to take advantaged of the balanced output of the Jotunheim?
How would that be different than using for instant a modi with the X7S with the blanced output? Since i came across that it lacks the BAL input aswell.

So i would be better of with a seprate DAC with either of the two but if i wanted too i could upgrade to a (different than the module) balanced DAC later on the line if i chose the Jot.
Im leaning towards the X7S since its easier to get locally and slightly cheaper but i have a decent amount of time to think about it too.

Max_Settings · February 19, 2018

2 minutes ago, JointedFish said:

If i were to buy a Modi either with the multibit or without i would still be able to take advantaged of the balanced output of the Jotunheim?
How would that be different than using for instant a modi with the X7S with the blanced output? Since i came across that it lacks the BAL input aswell.

So i would be better of with a seprate DAC with either of the two but if i wanted too i could upgrade to a (different than the module) balanced DAC later on the line if i chose the Jot.
Im leaning towards the X7S since its easier to get locally and slightly cheaper but i have a decent amount of time to think about it too.

Don't buy the Multibit, that is terrible on the Modi 2. Yes you can still use the balanced output on the Jotunheim, it takes the unblanced single and converts it to balanced, as does the Aune. The nice thing about a separate DAC rather than a combo is you can upgrade the DAC later down the road. The X7S will have less import fees, that comes from China, while Schiit is American made. The X7S doesn't have as much power, but it's calss A, almost half the price, and still very good.