As you said already the ES9028 dac card is getting good reviews, also it comes with the schiit unison USB so that is good, the “problem” with the older cards was/is that they weren’t outputting enough power so the sound wasn’t as full as when using an external DAC, it seems that is not an issue anymore with the ES9028 dac card, it seems it outputs same power as an external DAC (Single ended connection), also another advantage over the Mojo is that you won’t have to worry about charging it, you just turn the Jot 2 on and enjoy the music, sound quality probably will be a little different (different flavor) since they have different chip and technology. I think you will be happy with the ES9028 dac card. Enjoy the music.
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That’s interesting. So the lack of enough voltage was the reason of bad reputation for built-in cards, that makes sense.
My ears might not be as good as some audiophiles since I actually couldn’t tell much of a difference between Mojo and D50s as DAC. The amp change is more prominent to my ears. I think I’ll be pretty happy with ES9028 card but of course I’ll try comparing to standalone DACs too.
Thanks for the info.
Also another thing that I just realized (earlier when I wrote the comment I was thinking Asgard3) is that with the Jot 2 you also get the balance output benefit (more power output), the ES9028 card supports balanced and SE output depending of the amp where is installed, the card has a setting that you need to set depending of the amp, I actually got one for my Asgard3 but I still haven’t install it yet.
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Today I finally installed the ES9028 card in my Asgard 3, so far I am happy with what I am hearing, no complaints. Just FYI.
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thanks for these impressions. I use the Jot 1 in my studio as my reference headphone amp since my SPL Phonitor broke (and broke again… and again…) and have enjoyed how much more neutral it feels on the Utopias than some other pretty high end amps I’ve had recently. Not sure if its just my ears lately, but I might have to check out a Jotunheim 2 for review…
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Lost is no longer here. He can be found on other forums at times tho 
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A couple months ago I asked questions on this forum about getting new headphones and everyone said I’d need a good amp to drive the Aeon2 NOIRE which is the model I planned to buy so I shopped around and read/watched a lot of reviews and decided on the Jotunheim. At last I got the money to buy the amp and ordered the headphones on a payment plan last week.
I got my AEON2 Noire phones on Wednesday and my Jotunheim 2 arrived Friday.
The headphones sound very good though I am not sure how to describe it as a reviewer might. It helps to compare so… my one other pair of phones is the OPPO PM3 which I use for listening on the go (A&K 120 mkII) and the AEON2 DO have better detail and a more open sound. The AEON2 is a step up and I will probably keep them because it’s not too practical to keep returning my purchase and trying different models successively and without being able to compare in the same listening session it’s hard to remember how the ones I returned compare with the ones I am trying out now. I don’t have the money to buy three models at once and then return the two I don’t want. And the comfort of the Aeon2 is very good indeed, good seal, not too tight a clamp force but light enough the band doesn’t slide down on my forehead when I tip my head forward like the clunky Focal Clears did.
WHAT SURPRISES ME is when I compare listening via the headphone out on my Rega Brio with listening with the unbalanced output on the Jotunheim, I don’t hear much of a difference at all. I’m rather shocked, I was led to believe that a $400 dedicated headphone amp would perform much better than the very basic phones out jack on my Rega amp (which sounds wonderful with my Spendor speakers). Looking at the specs of the Jot compared to the Brio headphone out specs…
BRIO
No load = 8v
32Ω = 1.8v
54Ω = 2.6v
300Ω = 5.9v
Source impedance = 109Ω
JOTUNHEIM
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 7.5W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 6W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 4W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 1.2W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 600mW RMS per channel
I am embarrassed to admit I don’t know how to make sense of the numbers, but the Jot is better, right?
I ordinarily play my Brio with speakers at 9 o’clock volume. With the Aeon2 I have to turn the volume up to 12 0’clock. When I play the Aeon2 with the unbalanced output and high gain setting on the Jot, the volume is matched at the same point, 12 o’clock. I don’t care if I have to turn it up to 12 or 3 to get a comfortably loud listening level, but the fidelity comparing the Rega amp with the Jot is almost indistinguishable TO MY EARS. Where is the big improvement I was expecting?
Either something is amiss in my signal chain, or the Jot is ‘defective’, or MOST LIKELY my ability to hear and appreciate the nuances of audiophile equipment is so POOR that I’m honestly ASHAMED to confess it publicly that I can’t hear a definite difference in this situation. !
This is my signal chain:
Windows 10 desktop running JRiver MC28 playing local library AIFF via USB out to Rega DAC-R sending analog signal via RCA unbalanced to Rega Brio, tape out RCA jacks connected to unbalanced inputs of Jotunheim, using unbalanced 1/4" jack with stock cable on DCA AEON2
Also streaming Qobuz with Audirvana, USB to same Rega DAC
Test tracks by Roxy Music, Scott Walker, Goldfrapp, Bruce Cockburn, King Crimson (16/44 or 24/96)…
I would love to find a good reason to believe that I should keep this very fine headphone amp (I like owning classy gear), but I’m at a loss here. The one thing I haven’t tried is using the balanced XLR output on the Jot, so I need to get a cable that will permit me to do that (I don’t know how much difference it might make other than a signal boost). I don’t even think I have the money to buy a balanced cable for the Aeon before the two week trial period for the Jot is up, and I was told it would not make a huge difference… still it would be worth a try.
I have two weeks to decide if I will keep it or return it. I don’t know what to do. Is a different brand and model amp going to make much of a difference that I can hear, so I should keep shopping? Or should I conclude that the headphone amp stage on my Brio is not as deficient as I was led to believe, and therefore I do not need a headphone amp.
When I started shopping for cans and asking around on this forum, almost everyone told me I would need to get a good headphone amp to drive the Aeon2 phones. I figured they know best, since I am still at the entry level or ‘dummy’ league in terms of my audiophile standing. Maybe someone can tell me HOW TO LISTEN to hear the superior qualities of the Jot compared to Brio. Thoughts? Suggestions?
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I can’t speak for the Brio as I’ve never used one, but I will say that I’ve had more success driving planars using the balanced output of the Jot 2, not single ended.
The specs you listed for the Jot 2 are for balanced, not single ended. Schiit designed the balanced outputs to have a lot more power than SE. In addition, the balanced and SE outputs sound quite different (not sure if this was intentional, but that’s how it ended up), where SE sounds a little softer/laid back, which can be great with some headphones, but probably not your Noires.
Before you get rid of the Jot 2, I’d recommend trying a balanced cable with your Noires. If you still don’t notice a difference, then it shows you what a good amp that Brio is.
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Try listening to only one amp for a few days. Then switch. Sometimes differences are more apparent that way than rapid A/B switching. If you still don’t hear a difference and you like the Aeons, return the Jot and live happily with your setup.
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I will second what PaisleyUnderground said as he pretty much summed it all up. Run balanced output on the Jotunheim 2 to get the most out of it.
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Also, put the gain switch on high for sparkly highs to come alive with most headphones. Schiit amps in general have a completely different sound using low and high gain on their amps. I hated this design flaw for the longest time until I found my first pair of headphone that sounded better on low gain with the ZMF Aeolus. So now the gain sound change has turned out to be a design feature in the end.
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Thanks for the feedback. I found a source for inexpensive cables and am going to try to get one for the Aeon2 with balanced connector ASAP so I can hear what the Jot sounds like with balanced signal.
Audiophile Ninja is the cable shop: Headphone Cables ⋆ Audiophile Ninja
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Jot2. High gain on Aeolus. And low gain on Verite. That’s my preference.
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Thank you for sharing this. I was considering purchasing the ES9028 card because with the USB-C connection, I can run a single cable to my iPad Pro and simplify my office setup.
So I just received my Jotunheim 2 (+9028DAC) today. It’s a bit smaller than I’ve thought which is good.
So far I’ve just tried it with my Aeolus on single-ended. I’m really liking it and to my ears, there’s no difference between Topping D50s as a DAC and the 9028 so that’s a good thing. Compared to running on my Mojo1, Aeolus sounds more punchy and I feel like there’s better instrument separation and layering. But that might be just my brain liking the look of the Jot2.
Tomorrow I’m re-soldering the cable turning it to balanced so I can enjoy the presumably better SQ of Jot2.
I’m really tempted now to get a Lokius too. (I really like the idea of tone controls beside parametric EQ). But since I’ve got a combo unit I’ll be forced to buy a Modius too. I’m not quite ready to spend extra ~550$ on audio equipment again just yet.
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I have a Jot 2 and a Lyr 3, both connected to a bifrost 2. Considering a Loki mini EQ, so I have if needed. How would the Loki be connected to the system for use with both amps without having to reconnect when I change amps?
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The easiest would be to use RCA connections all around. RCA from Bifrost to Loki, then get splitters and run RCA out to both the Lyr and Jot. You’d lose the balanced connections but IMO it’s not a huge deal.
OR…
Upgrade to the Lokius which has both XLR and RCA inputs/outputs. Then you can run XLR for the Jot and RCA for the Lyr. And you gain more tone control on the Lokius.
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very helpful, thank you! I will get a Lokius. Just to clarify, output from bifrost to Lokius and then out from Lokius to Jot (xlr) and rca to Lyr?
The signal is going direct to the lokius. Lokius needs to be turned on, even though bypass function is off, so the signal will pass through to the amp?
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Correct, you will leave the Lokius on all the time and use the front toggle switch to change between XLR and RCA to send signal to Jot or Lyr. You’d configure like this:
For Jot - Bifrost XLR to Lokius and XLR from Lokius to Jot. 2 sets of XLR cables needed.
For Lyr - Bifrost RCA to Lokius and RCA from Lokius to Lyr. 2 sets of RCA cables needed.
I run lots of different amps from my Bifrost and have both the XLR and RCA connections going at once, it’s a nice option to have. In your setup you’re just inserting the Lokius between the dac and amps. That will be a nice setup.
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I really appreciate it Eric
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Can’t you just run XLR to Lokius, XLR to Jot, and RCA to Lyr?