Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in California

Mjolnir 2 is a unique, end-game headphone amp fully ready for any headphone, from IEMs to the hardest-to-drive planars.

Power and Control in Abundance

Mjolnir 2 puts out up to 8W/channel into 32 ohms, but is fully ready for high-sensitivity headphones with switchable gain. Use the standard gain of 8 for hard-to-drive headphones, or switch to a gain of 1 for sensitive on-ear models and IEMs. In addition, Mjolnir 2 also offers both balanced and single-ended input, switchable via the front panel. Want more? How about both balanced and single-ended headphone outputs and balanced and single-ended preamp outputs. Mjolnir also makes a great preamp for your power amps or powered monitors.

Pure Balanced, Differential Topology

Mjolnir uses our exclusive, inherently balanced and differential Crossfet topology—the only circlotron-style topology in a headphone amplifier (well, except for Ragnarok.) It’s balanced in and balanced out, with a custom 4-gang RK27 Alps volume pot—providing end-game performance for a mid-level price.

"Roll" Tubes To Your Preference

Yes, that’s right. You can also swap the standard 6BZ7 tubes for anything in the 6DJ8, 6922, ECC88, and 2492 families, to “roll” the sound to your specific preference.

5-Year Warranty, 15-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

Mjolnir is covered by a limited warranty that covers parts and labor for five years. That’s 5 years. Yes. FIVE. Compare that to the competition. Don’t like Mjolnir? No problem. You can send it back for a full refund, minus 5% transaction fee, within 15 days of receiving your amp.

Designed and Built in California

By “designed and built in California" this is what we mean: the vast majority of the total production cost of Mjolnir 2—chassis, boards, transformers, assembly, etc—goes to US companies manufacturing in the US. Our chassis are made minutes from our facility. Our PCBs are done just over the hill from us, or done in NorCal. Our transformers are also made in California. You get the picture.

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 2Hz-400KHz, -3dB
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 8.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 5.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 850mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 425mW RMS per channel
THD: <0.005%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS
IMD: <0.006%, CCIF, at 1V RMS
SNR: >104db, unweighted, referenced to 1V RMS, in low gain mode
Crosstalk: >-75dB, 20 Hz-20KHz
Output Impedance: 1 ohm (high gain), 0.3 ohms (low gain)
Input Impedance: 50K ohms
Gain: 8 (18dB) or 1(0db), via front-panel switch
Topology: Tube voltage gain or solid-state tube voltage gain, cross-shunt push-pull Crossfet output stage, noninverting, single voltage gain stage
Power Supply: specific Circlotron 4-secondary output stage transformer with over 65,000uF filter capacitance, plus dedicated transformer for high-voltage discrete-regulated front end stage with 200V rails and over 4,000uf of filter capacitance
Inputs: one pair balanced XLR, one pair single-ended RCAs, switchable via front panel switch
Outputs: one 4-pin balanced female XLR, one ¼” TRS phono, one pair 3-pin male XLR preamp, one pair single-ended RCA
Power Consumption: 45W
Size: 16 x 8.75 x 2.25”
Weight: 13 lbs

Holy moly, Mjolnir 2 is now a tube amp? The previous one was solid-state. Are you manic-depressive or passive-aggressive or just indecisive?
No. We really, really like tube hybrid amps, because they provide the best possible combination of the strengths of tubes and the strengths of solid-state. So, we decided to make this unique, circlotron-topology headphone amp with tube gain and MOSFET output.

Okay. Let’s move on to the single-ended outputs. I thought you said Mjolnir couldn’t have single-ended outputs! What gives?
A circlotron has no inherent single-ended output. However, the circlotron outputs can be summed together, which is what we did here. Just like Ragnarok. Except lots cheaper. Shoot us for making Mjolnir 2 more flexible.

Do the single-ended outputs put out as much power as the balanced outputs?
No. They’re limited to about 2W into 32 ohms. Which is still plenty for most headphones.

Are you saying you also finally put some switches on the front of this thing for input switching and gain? I’ve been asking for that, for, like, forever.
Yep. Repeat after me: development improves the breed.

Hey, this thing runs warm!
Yep, just like Asgard 2.

So, is this really a balanced amp, or a fake balanced amp, or what?
Hey, don’t blame us for other manufacturers' abuse of terminology. When we say “balanced, differential,” that’s exactly what we mean. There’s no side-whispering going on about “Well, yeah, after we convert it to single-ended, then back to balanced again.”

What the hell is a Circlotron, and why do I need it?
“Circlotron” was the first commercial name for a cross-shunt push-pull output stage. At the time, it used tubes. We use MOSFET outputs, so we call our topology Crossfet™.

Crossfet™? Are the FETs angry?
No. They’re thrilled. N-channel MOSFETs and P-channel MOSFETs usually don’t match too well (and that’s putting it mildly.) Crossfet allows us to use only N-Channel MOSFETs, for better matching, and for an elegantly simple output stage with great performance.

The Ear: Mjolnir 2 and Gungnir Multibit

Richard Barclay

"Mjolnir 2 immediately impresses with its exceptionally low noise floor. This amp is super quiet and provides a spookily muted backdrop for low-level detail to emerge from, especially on the low gain setting which is so silent through over-the-ear headphones you would think you were in an anechoic chamber!"

"Mids are majestically mellifluous in tone yet remain very open, detailed and transparent. Highs are impressively extended, invigoratingly crisp and articulated with improved micro-detail distinction. The soundstage grows in all dimensions with instruments more clearly layered and spaced around the listener in an enveloping sphere of sound, giving a heightened sense of being at the epicentre of the performance."

"While the single-ended circuits are excellent, trading up to balanced elevates the performance to exceptional - and I dare say peerless - in this price range."

"Together, the two units complement each other exceptionally well and offer a seductively revealing, immersive and textured listening experience in which music is allowed to breathe freely. Their combined price-to-performance ratio verges on the ridiculous."

Read Full Review ->

Z Reviews, ZeosPantera

Mjolnir 2 Owner's Manual

Mjolnir

Balanced Headphone Amplifier

$849

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