I really feel sorry for you, olor1n, as I usually have very bad luck with everything that has electronic parts  . Still, I never had any problem with the 3 Schiit products I bought (Lyr, Bifrost and Mjolnir) 

My Mjolnir exhibits no pop nor crackle. I guess I have clean power in my house.

As for the Mjolnir itself, I bought one following early impression from Marv and I am very glad I did as it is indeed what I wanted: a more transparent amp than the Lyr that pairs well with both my HD800 and the LCD-3. And that's what I hear: a clean, transparent amp that doesn't try to "fix" my headphones by coloring the sound. It desn't cure my HD800 from their boosted treble but it also makes them less "dull" since the bass has more "snap", and I hear details I couldn't with the Lyr.

Purrin, Anax, how does it compare to the S7 for HD800 and LCDs? I  wanted to buy the S7 in the first place but since it costs as much as both the Mjolnir and Gungnir I ended up being "reasonable".

Some people at HF state that it doesn't image very well. Can you also comment on that aspect?

LFF, any chance to make my Paradox balanced to enjoy them from the Mjolnir?

I was up in the air between Gungnir + Mjolnir combo vs. Super 7 as well. But then I saw a Super 7 for sale at the introductory pricing and had to pull the trigger on them. The biggest justification to myself was that there was no SE output, so if I borrowed headphones I couldn't just plug and play. At the end of the day, practical considerations won out.

I absolutely love the Super 7. Truly one of the best purchases I've made in this hobby and I've have had no reservations. Trying different setups at the meet reinforced that sentiment as I'd have to drop a boatload more cash for marginal gains. If mine broke today, I'd probably buy another one.

But listening to the Mjolnir + Gungnir combo for about 10-15 minutes at the meet, with both an HD800 and LCD-2, I can honestly say I'd be happy to call it a day (famous last words, right?). I'm just a simple man. Those are my two primary headphones and they both sounded VERY good out of them.

The words clean, controlled, snappy, and effortless come to mind with that combo. The HD800 was lively, but smooth. There was a touch too much bite with certain recordings but nothing jarring at all. I throw more than two Sylvannia's in the S7 and it's much worse. It made the LCD-2 seem like an aging athlete that dropped 15 pounds and is back to its prime form again. Haven't heard the LCD-2 have that much breathing room.

I only had a few moments with the Schiit stuff, and didn't do any direct comparisons so take my words with a mountain of salt. The Schiit combo feels more crisper, cleaner, and snappier. The S7 is a touch more lush, and has more inner-resolution. With the S7, I get a richer sense of that ambient information in the space between the instruments (I'm now realizing that I probably don't make much sense) -- things feel more analog although the Mjolnir is a very analog sounding amp as well, IMO.

But listening to the Mjolnir + Gungnir combo for about 10-15 minutes at the meet, with both an HD800 and LCD-2, I can honestly say I'd be happy to call it a day (famous last words, right?). I'm just a simple man. Those are my two primary headphones and they both sounded VERY good out of them.

The words clean, controlled, snappy, and effortless come to mind with that combo. The HD800 was lively, but smooth. There was a touch too much bite with certain recordings but nothing jarring at all. I throw more than two Sylvannia's in the S7 and it's much worse. It made the LCD-2 seem like an aging athlete that dropped 15 pounds and is back to its prime form again. Haven't heard the LCD-2 have that much breathing room.

I only had a few moments with the Schiit stuff, and didn't do any direct comparisons so take my words with a mountain of salt. The Schiit combo feels more crisper, cleaner, and snappier. The S7 is a touch more lush, and has more inner-resolution. With the S7, I get a richer sense of that ambient information in the space between the instruments (I'm now realizing that I probably don't make much sense) -- things feel more analog although the Mjolnir is a very analog sounding amp as well, IMO.

If you used Schiit's HD800, it's one of the nastiest HD800s I've heard so far.

It wasn't just the pads. there are a few r2's out there which were really good. I know the current r2 are very good and also very consistent. They finally got it nailed down pat. Are your r2's still under warranty?

That was me. I sent my first Mjolnir back to Schiit. The diagnoses here of a potential DC offset issue prompted me to take Jason up on a full refund.

I ended up paying the higher asking price for a second Mjolnir from Schiit's Australian distributor. I've had it a week and was initially convinced the popping and crackle had gone with the first unit. Nope. Still there.

So two possibilities. The noise is symptomatic of "dirty power" (though other amps I've owned haven't exhibited this problem), or I've received another unit (from the same batch as the first) with the same fault.

Not sure what to do now. I think I need to invest in a DMM and see if can isolate this issue. I'm a huge noob in this area. Hopefully you guys can advise.


edit: other than that, I agree with purrin's incredibly succinct assessment. This amp should be added to the prestigious Pirate's Booty list.

Ouch, that really sucks. I've had a Parasound hum from a ground loop which I've solved by floating it, and I had powered monitors buzz and pop from GSM radio signals which I solved by using well shielded AC cords, but that's been it. Even my KGSSHV was plugged straight into the wall with an unshielded cord and it was fine.

Any chance you can borrow something like a balanced isolation transformer? If the problem makes it through that I would be very surprised.