[Hyde00]

Yeah I was going to say, I think because Midgard is suppose to be a very neutral amp, so compare to anything else the other amp would most likely sound colored.

So at this point I think it's like some people prefer neutral / linear some people prefer coloured sound.

I personally like very colored sound LOL.

 

[J Ottawa]

See below from Super Best Audio Friends.

Thank you for this Taipan254.

I went down the "pro" route a few years ago and never looked back. The Neutral stance suits me well as I know what I'm getting, the truth, more or less. But the magic evades me.
I can see how Midgard fits into that mould as quoted above (I think that is amazing for a $219 US headamp).
That said, it is a "bit warmer" than my other gear currently in use, my RME ADI-2 DAC via the headphone output (to my ears).
I'm using the RME ADI-2 FS as my DAC now and I'm only fiddling with Crossed and DAC filters, EQ is flat; but have settled on Crossfeed 1 and NOS in a semi-permanent way.
I'm now letting my Midgard powered on ALL the time and it sounds warmer when..warm. LoL. I'm really not disappointed with it but it's no 300B tube experience and I'd love to go into that direction minus the Tube topology if at all possible (but not ruling it out, LYR + or Project Sunrise, or....).
I did go over to SBAF and saw all the discussions on Midgard and Pietus and saw this posted further down the comments:

And I quote:

it's very close in that way. 85% there. Differences are in tonal signature. Mjolnir is neutral/dark in the highs, has a bit inner warmth. Pietus is neutral, a bit of bright. I don't know if it's burn-in (real, brain, or natural gravitation toward synergetic DACs and headphones), but after a week or so, I'm not so finicky. For example, ZMF Atrium doesn't fail to slam. Still hits like a truck. The only thing I did with the Atrium is put on the solid mesh to tone down the highs, but this is my regular set up with the MIB->Mjolnir 3. With the LIM->EC amps, I run with the more open mesh.

Put it this way, while it's hard to compare down from the MIB-Mjonlir 3 because the differences aren't stark because of diminishing returns, the jump from Piety / Unity to Pietus Maximus was HUGE when I was playing around with the blind testing of the Topping E50 and Modius E. I didn't document it, but I failed (could get not more than 5/8) the difference between those two DACs using Magni Unity as the amp. The switch to Pietus made it much much easier to the difference between the two DACs blind. Gear scaling is real.

End of quote.

So...Pietus...I've heard warm, a bit wet, neutral and a bit of bright.

I can wholeheartedly accept the (my) Midgard is considered neutral and I'm listening to it as I speak: warmer than RME (compared to it's headphone output), but not overly warm, more neutral (I agree). Not Wet (I'd like more midrange magic). Midgard is commonly referred to as "Neutral" but it ain't bright. And I get no hum (got it once a little when my hands were humid, but still hard to hear it).

The next step is either gonna be a leap of faith or a calculated risk.

Thank you everyone. Truly appreciate it.

 

[J Ottawa]

I can tell you as an owner of Midgard myself that any amps that you directly A/B with it will sound colored. However, that's only referring to the tonality of the amps. Refinement and engagement to music are a different matter altogether

Any suggestions to improve "engagement" specifically.

 

[theveterans]

Any suggestions to improve "engagement" specifically.

It's a balance of DAC and headphone in your chain. With Midgard on Halo output, BF2 OG and dynamic driver headphones with lots of midrange meat such as the HD6XX or ETA Mini S/C will give you that engagement in music . Pietus Maximus should do well with Planar Magnetics to bring out the nuances and refinement. Ensure to pair a slammy DAC such as the BF2/64 (NOS mode if you find the highs a bit sharp on the OS mode)

 

[J Ottawa]

It's a balance of DAC and headphone in your chain. With Midgard on Halo output, BF2 OG and dynamic driver headphones with lots of midrange meat such as the HD6XX or ETA Mini S/C will give you that engagement in music . Pietus Maximus should do well with Planar Magnetics to bring out the nuances and refinement. Ensure to pair a slammy DAC such as the BF2/64 (NOS mode if you find the highs a bit sharp on the OS mode)

Hitting the sack soon. Chat tomorrow!

 

[michael2v]

I do enjoy reading the discussions while I listen to music via my headphones.

One of my new favorite activities, it's so self-referential.

 

[ksb643]

I was listening to mine in high gain and went to switch to medium but it went all the way to low gain and heard a pop in my headphones. The volume was way down. Now there's no sound. Is there a fuse inside that I should check?

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

I was listening to mine in high gain and went to switch to medium but it went all the way to low gain and heard a pop in my headphones. The volume was way down. Now there's no sound. Is there a fuse inside that I should check?

I'd call Nitsch customer service and send it back for a service. No use taking a chance damaging your headphones.

 

[ksb643]

I'd call Nitsch customer service and send it back for a service. No use taking a chance damaging your headphones.

It's so wierd but this happened when I was getting ready for work, so I couldn't try other headphones. I unplugged everything Just got home and plugged it all in and it works fine now.Wow what a relief! Thanks

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

It's so wierd but this happened when I was getting ready for work, so I couldn't try other headphones. I unplugged everything Just got home and plugged it all in and it works fine now.Wow what a relief! Thanks

Electrical gremlins.. lol. Glad it's working ok..

 

[Rattle]

I was listening to mine in high gain and went to switch to medium but it went all the way to low gain and heard a pop in my headphones. The volume was way down. Now there's no sound. Is there a fuse inside that I should check?

Just in case you didn't realize, low gain is -10db so you won't really hear much on a lot of headphones until you've almost maxed the pot lol. Mid gain is 0db and hi is +10

Make sure you turn the volume down if switching back up !

 

[Hyde00]

Yeah I was going to say low gain is very low, it's a huge jump from mid and high gain.

But good to hear it's been sorted out lol.

 

[Andrew Randle]

Hi all, I just received my Pietus Maximus. Has anyone else found that the volume dial (mid-gain) tracks at a significantly higher position than the Piety (low gain)?

Andrew

 

[Hyde00]

Hi all, I just received my Pietus Maximus. Has anyone else found that the volume dial (mid-gain) tracks at a significantly higher position than the Piety (low gain)?

Andrew

Yupe Piety was boarderline not usable even at low gain (too loud).

PMax has a much more usable volume range.

Also PMax volume pot can go really low without going into channel imbalance, while Piety will definitely go into imbalance.

 

[JonM78]

I received the Pietus Maximus today and I’m having an issue with the SE jack. It’s highly sensitive, perhaps loose as well. Many times when I plug in any headphone I only get the left channel. If I touch or move the plug then the right channel may or may not kick in. If I get it to work and touch it at all I lose the right channel. This happens on any headphone I have all using their separate 6.35mm plug.

Other than that, I must say this amp sounds absolutely amazing. It makes neutral headphones like my Sennheiser HD 560S turn very warm and musical. I am just shocked. Sounds beautiful.

Edit- I think I figured it out. I got the PMax with the ESS USB DAC add-on. I think the RCA/USB card switch is super sensitive. By pressing down a tad on the switch when it's USB card is selected, there's total audio balance finally. No issues with the SE jack. The switch just cannot be flipped all the way up or down. I have to use the friction in the switch to keep it slightly up or down and get audio balance.

Edit2- Seems to have worked itself out with maybe 20+ flips of the input switch up and down. I was trying to hear difference in DAC between the ESS ES9028 card and the JDS Labs Element III's ESS ES9018K2M using RCA. So after a bit of going back and forth on that, now the issue seems totally resolved. I can flip up or down all the way and no audio balance issue. So if anyone experiences what I had (audio in left channel only regardless of headphone) then try flipping the input up and down 20 times or so.