SCHIIT AUDIO’s JOTUNHEIM

SPECS:

http://schiit.com/products/jotunheim/

WHERE TO BUY / COST:

http://schiit.com/products/bifrost

$399 sans the DAC

$499 with the DAC

OVERVIEW

It’s worth taking a look at Schiit Audio’s story.This review will cover the Jotunheim with digital to analog converter ( DAC ) with the AK4490 series DAC chip. The amp has both single-ended and balanced outputs for headphones and a pair of balanced outs on the back. The only digital in is a Type B USB port in the back.

AESTHETICS

I own the Bifrost 4490 from Schiit and it remains my DAC of choice in my main rig. It is very transparent without being noisy or obviously colored. The Jotunheim is enticing because it takes this DAC and blends it into a hard-hitting amp. I’ll first focus on the DAC and then move into the amp section.

The Bifrost, seen above, has plenty of inputs unlike the Jotunheim which only has the Type B USB input. I have issues with USB because the drivers do not always install, which was the case for the Bifrost until I upgraded to Windows 10 and even then it took Microsoft a few months to get a generic driver. I tried for hours to get the software from Schiit’s site working, but never got the USB driver installed on my Windows 7 machine. Luckily the Bifrost has a TOSLINK input. This removes the hassle of USB drivers and better isolates the DAC away from unwanted electrical noise. I would like to see future versions of the Jotunheim have both USB and TOSLINK for these reasons.

You get two gain selections ( High and Low ) so you do not have to worry about running sensitive IEM’s or harder to drive headphones like the LCD-2. The general looks are typical Schiit keeping things simple, metallic, and easy to use. As of March 2017 you can find the Jotunheim in black which is sweet if you are tired of the brushed aluminum look. The volume knob is solid and feels robust. In all I think the Jotunheim looks and feels the part of a great piece of gear.

ACOUSTICS

The DAC on the Jotunheim sounds great delivering clarity and a noise-free sound. If you are looking at this piece of gear you are most likely looking at it as an all-in-one unit and not worried about having separate components so I will not focus on each individually. Rest assured the DAC has no flaws that I could hear and it steers out of the way of the music.

The amp section is very cool in that it provides a 4-pin balanced out and ¼-inch jack on the front. If you splurge for the MM phonostage you get that along with balanced outs on the back. Getting all of these features under $600 is crazy especially considering the great customer service Schiit delivers. If you have a question they will usually get back to you within 24-hours.

I tested single-ended mode first. The amp sounds clean, distortion-free, and it has power to drive everything I tested. I noticed that with the volume all of the way down, then unplugging the headphones, I hear a pop from the headphone. I’m not a big fan of this as I start to suspect that some DC might be getting to the driver. My other amps have no pops when the headphone is removed. It would be great if Schiit addressed this by muting the output with the volume at zero.

Compared to the BUDA the Jotunheim falls short in the bass control department. So many amps I test cannot keep up with the control the BUDA has over headphones in the bass. It is something that takes a few minutes to pinpoint, but once I found it I found myself not enjoying the Jotunheim. The Schiit amp does well in that it keeps up with bass, but the resolving power is just lacking. The pluck of the bass strings on a standup bass sound muffled and the dynamics are not as engaging as the more expensive BUDA. The Jotunheim does sound as good as other amps I have tested in its price point like the SMSL amps and JDS Labs Element.

Balanced the Jotunheim has problems. It reminds me of the Violectric V281 balanced out that I tested in Big Sound 2015 in that it sounds fuzzy and distorted. It is not as resolving as the single-ended output. I’m not sure what causes this other than added distortion by having twice as many components in the chain or perhaps a phase issue, but it was obvious and almost unlistenable. If you are looking for a balanced amp I would avoid the Jotunheim.

CONCLUSION

If you are in the market for an all-in-one DAC/amp unit that has balanced outs along with a single-ended headphone jack the Jotunheim does a great job. It is not my favorite sounding amp because of the lack of bass control / impact and the balanced headphone out sounded too noisy for me to enjoy it. The small footprint, solid build quality, and ease of use make it a sure bet if you need something to do the D/A and amping all at once. At this price the JDS Labs Element should also be considered as long as the balanced outs are not needed.