Усилители для наушников — Schiit Audio Jotunheim 3

The Jotunheim 3 is the third generation of the Schiit Audio balanced headphone amp and preamp, following the original Jotunheim and the Jotunheim 2 introduced in 2019. The chassis and transformers are made in California, the circuit boards are produced by Schiit in Corpus Christi, and final assembly takes place in San Antonio. The list price is USD 499 without a module, and the finish is black or silver.

Key specs that matter

Balanced connection yields 7.5 W per channel into 16 ohms, 6 W into 32 ohms, 4 W into 50 ohms, 1.2 W into 300 ohms and 600 mW into 600 ohms. The single-ended jack gives 2.4 W into 16 ohms, 2.0 W into 32 ohms, 1.2 W into 50 ohms, 330 mW into 300 ohms and 165 mW into 600 ohms. Balanced THD is below 0.0002% and IMD below 0.0003% at 4 V RMS into 300 ohms, with SNR above 128 dB and crosstalk better than -110 dB. On the single-ended side THD stays below 0.0003%, IMD below 0.0004%, SNR above 124 dB referenced to 2 V RMS and crosstalk better than -95 dB. Output impedance is under 0.8 ohm balanced and under 0.4 ohm single-ended at either gain, and gain is 1 (0 dB) or 6 (16 dB). Frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.015 dB, input impedance 50 kohm, typical consumption 16 W, size 229 x 152 x 51 mm and weight 3.2 kg.

Engineering and use context

The Prime gain stage is fully discrete, differential and current-feedback, with independent single-ended sections and only 10 dB of overall feedback plus an inner loop of about 20 dB. Its Continuity A output stage runs NPN and PNP devices at the same level at all times, and the DC servo uses film capacitors. The volume control is an Alps RK27114 balanced potentiometer and inputs are switched by NEC signal relays. A single 48 VA transformer feeds four stacked rails through two-stage series regulation with more than 65,000 uF of filter capacitance. Outputs include a 4-pin XLR, a 4.4 mm balanced jack, a 6.3 mm single-ended jack and a pair of preamp outputs, XLR and RCA, that can be switched, and a front switch selects headphones, preamp or both. The optional Mesh DAC card uses an ES9028 converter behind a Unison 384 USB input up to 32 bit and 384 kHz, and its Forkbeard app control adds a 3-band parametric EQ, loudness, balance, NOS mode, phase invert and volume. Older Schiit phono, DAC and RCA cards also fit. Warranty is five years.

Pairing

Sources connect through relay-switched XLR or RCA sockets, and the line outputs drive powered monitors or a speaker amplifier.

Alternatives

The Schiit Lyr 5 is a higher-priced Schiit headphone amplifier at USD 799.