Schiit Asgard 2
I personally think this amp is potentially the best value in schiit audios line up. I have owned most of schiits headphone amps including magni 3, Asgard 2, jotunheim, and mjolnir 2 and I also own the bifrost multibit dac and the saga preamp. So why is this potentially the best value? The only reason I use the word potentially is the Asgard 2 doesn't make a TON of power, it is powerful and plenty for the vast majority but there are going to be exceptions and those people who just want endless power. After owning the mjolnir 2 which is benchmark for endless power, I think it's an amazing amplifier definitely my favorite but not because of the power, it's great because of the design. The Asgard 2 was built very similarly it has a jfet input stage and a mosfet output stage, pure class a all the time and it's all the better for it. Very much like the mjolnir, the asgard has a big open sound with a touch of fullness and drives things like the hd650/800 or the beyerdynamic lineup perfectly. Since I don't have any hard to drive headphones anymore I sold my mjolnir 2 and am very happy with the asgard now and it simplifies the setup, no more need to have a balanced dac or cables for all my headphones. Sure the mjolnir 2 is the better amp, this takes me back to value, how much better is the mjolnir. To me, the mjolnir just seems a bit more open sounding, a bit wider soundstage is really the difference, I'm sure the mjolnir is a little more resolving all around as well but it's just not worth it to me to justify all of the extra expenses that is entailed. If you want the best then sure get the mj2 and some telefunken e88cc tubes and your headphones of choice and enjoy yourself but believe me the asgard 2 is no slouch and it gives you a taste of the mjolnir 2. As far as the jotunheim goes, it's a great all in one solution but as just a headphone amp for mid to hi end headphones the jotunheim is to compressed sounding for me. Some may like it's aggressive in your face character but for my preferences the soundstage was constricted and the bass was to intense. The magni seems to have been surpassed by it's competitors from jds labs and monoprice, I haven't tried the competitors but I don't have hard time believing it having owned the magni 3. In my opinion the winners in the schiit lineup are the Asgard 2 of course, bifrost multibit, saga with a good nos tube of preference, and the mjolnir 2 and gungnir multibit are good top tier high budget alternatives.
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