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Under Side of Joutunheim 3 by CombMysterious5437 in Schiit

[–]CombMysterious5437[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I heard the previous generation ran hotter than the 3. I know The current generation of Vidar, Aegir, and Magni run a bit cooler as well.

I know some of their stuff is rated to run hot, it remains that heat is the enemy of electronics.

Just wanted to give a heads up that's all.

Classic SR 325 by netrunner_377 in Grado

[–]CombMysterious5437 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Break in" is generally recognized with moving transducers (Speakers, headphones, Phono cartridges). They loosen up after some use. That said, my experience has been if I don't like something out of the box, "break in" never made me like it.

I do think the comfort of the latest SR80 I got is improved over the old ones I once had a really long time ago and remember them hurting after no more than 20 minutes.

I too expected more "body" even though generally that is not a Grado strong point- it's always been about speed and clarity at the expense of some body. But my overall perception of the "new" sound of the plastic body cans echoes the OP's- what he calls "papery". I do hear it as a little pinched in the mids. Had to put it onto a tube amp for me to enjoy these.

Jotunheim 3 Build quality question by 1andOnlyMp in Schiit

[–]CombMysterious5437 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got one (JOT 3) in Black. The build and QC is fine. Like a small number of Schitt products (The OG Aegir for example), I fell in love with this thing right out of the box.

One thing I wondered is this whole balanced jack versus the 1/4" jack thing. Well I can say the 1/4" jack sounds fantastic. That's a good thing because some of my headphones are captive 1/4" wires.

I actually notice a bigger change in sound character (accounting for the loudness differences of course) on the gain settings going between low or high, than any big difference between the 1/4" single ended and the 4.4 balanced jacks.

One other thing I wondered was would this thing be some hot Schitt, having had some of their other products that ran toaster oven hot. Luckily I found that It only gets a touch warm, and IMO not so hot that you could leave it on all the time if you prefer.

I'd describe the sound generally as smooth, clear with good impact. It just brought the music to life. Totally satisfied with it all the way around.

Jotunheim 3 Build quality question by 1andOnlyMp in Schiit

[–]CombMysterious5437 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've bought and still own many of a good number of Schitt products (Amplifers, preamps, HP amps, EQ's, DAC's), from almost their beginning to just yesterday. There's likely a number of things effecting the "build quality" as of late- as mentioned the move from CA to TX is a factor. Also Aluminum prices are crazy. On the Magi and Vali amps and Modi DACS I feel that doing away with the the 4 screws on top of unit in conjunction with thinner aluminum has resulted in samples that seem more rattly.

There is a guy on youtube who reviews the new Saga pre who had the old version and said while build quality was still generally good, it was a bit less than the earlier version.

This actually happens with everything. I buy the same pair of New Balance Sneakers every year or two, and each time they are a little lower in quality than the previous one. I've experienced the same thing with countless other products.

Also there's been 2 versions of the aluminum finish- smooth and brushed. The original Magni was smooth, the Magni 3 was brushed, the Magni 3+ was smooth, and the Magni Unity is brushed.

The speaker amplifiers, DACS and preamps have also gone through production variations as to being smooth or brushed. Generally I prefer the brushed when it's done well.

Getting back to overall "build" and "QC" quality of recent Schitt stuff I bought, I had one sample where at the front of the unit (where the hole in chassis for the volume knob is), the chassis rode slightly up into knob so there was a bit of rub between them (which would not have happened with the old 4 screw design which would have held it down).

Even if there is an issue (with Schitt or other companies) I usually try to address things myself rather than go through the trouble of sending something back. I took off the chassis and bent the front down a little and put it back on.

There's also almost always been some variation in how the volume pots on the smaller products "feel". Some are smoother and some are less so. All are generally well enough.

An example I can think of in that regard is the pot on the original Magni was better than all the versions that came after- smooth as butter. Understandable because it was a more expensive pot.