Recently picked up a Schiit Mjolnir 3 headphone amp. This amp is an amazing performer. Provides a lot of flexibility with numerous options for configurations. It easily competes with my other headphone amp, which is a Aurouasound HEADA.
Read a few reviews, amd they all recommend for most lower impedance headphones, use low gain, single ended, and zero feedback.
With a Topping DX9 as the DAC, both the Grado Signature HP100 and the Dan Clark E3 have never sounded better.
You know what? I haven’t tried the Goldenwave Prelude myself yet, but I’ve heard a few folks mention it as a very smooth, airy take—kind of in contrast to the Mjolnir 3, which has that punchy, dynamic drive that just makes low-impedance cans like the Grados or E3 really come alive. Honestly, it might be more about what flavor you want—Mjolnir 3 really shines with zero feedback, low gain, single-ended setups, and the Topping DX9 combo just makes everything pop.
If you get a chance to A/B, I’d be curious about how the midrange compares—people say the Prelude has a slightly warmer signature, so vocals might feel a bit more forward, whereas the MJ3 keeps them precise and detailed. You thinking of pairing it with any particular headphones?
In my case, I want to replace a all-in one hub kind of component for speaker and headphones. I currently have a Nuforce DAC 10-H that is a DAC, HP amp and preamp that I run my speakers with Sonos streaming my digital files form a NAS, computer audio and CD Player. My long term plan is to potentially get a Schiit Gungnir2 to handle DAC and digital preamp duties and then maybe get a Mjolnir3. I have a LCD-X, LCD-3, Focal Clear and Hifiman Arya unveiled.