You know this thing runs really warm?
We know it runs really hot. You may call it only “warm.”

And you aren’t worried about the longevity?
No. Because we know how to engineer things that run hot for a very long time. Like the original Asgard, many of which are still in service, 13 years later.

So you’re using all these technical terms like Class A and dual mono and choke input and no feedback and fully discrete and I don’t really want to understand all that, can you sum up?
Sure. Mjolnir 3 is a big, hot, crazy throwback of an amp that’s our all-out shot at the most extreme headphone product we could make, and still fit on a desktop.

But it doesn’t have any screens and blutoof and all that!
Correct. It doesn’t even have a DAC, in fact.

Seems kinda…old skool.
Right. I think we used those exact words. And we’re fine with it being a big, simple amp. We intended it to be that way. Unlike some of our more advanced products, Mjolnir 3 was intended to be simple and mechanical. It doesn’t have a microprocessor or even motorized pots. It’s a big, blunt instrument…a hammer, so to speak.

Does it sound like a hammer?
We personally think it sounds better than a hammer.

But what does it sound like?
Everything and nothing at once, and all in-between, with unicorns and rainbows and free shrooms; come on, you guys know by now we don’t describe our products with insanely flowery prose, right?

So does it measure good?
For a no-feedback topology, it measures OK. By the standards of the Measurement Uber Alles crowd, no, it doesn’t. We have other amps for that. They cost $109 and $199 and $399, take up much less room on your desk, have higher output power, are quieter, and don’t get as hot. So there you go.

Can I drive difficult headphones with this?
Absolutely. 2W RMS Class A is a lot more than you think. Especially with chokes backing it up.

Can I run IEMs with this?
We wouldn’t recommend it. Seriously, you want to run IEMs on a 16-lb desktop amp?

Wait a sec, what is this single-ended Class A? I thought this was a balanced Class A amp?
It is. It allows you to choose two different operational modes. One is single-ended Class A. As in, the output stage is biased by a fixed current source. It’s considered to be the most “pure” form of Class A. However, for higher power, you can switch to push-pull Class A, where the current source is modulated, as in a White cathode follower. But this amp is balanced and differential all the way through, which is separate from Class A.

And I can choose feedback or no feedback?
Yes. You can switch in overall feedback, or leave it off.

Why would I want feedback?
Hey, you tell us. Seriously, though, there may be systems or components where it’s beneficial. Try it. It won’t kill you. You may decide you like what it does. Or you may not like it at all. Both are fine. We’re not here to judge. You can order the Boone’s Farm and we won’t laugh. Well, maybe we will.

There’s also a gain switch. How do you change gain without changing the feedback?
We change the gain by changing the degeneration of the input stage. This isn’t part of the overall feedback.

Wow, that’s a lot of options.
Yep! We wanted to give you a lot of ways to tailor the output of Mjolnir 3 to your system.

How does this amp relate to the previous Mjolnirs?
It’s totally different. The previous Mjolnirs were circlotron-style topology designs, and one had tubes. Neither was dual mono, neither had choke input, neither had giant heatsinks, neither was really Class A. This is a totally different design. It retains some ideas from Mjolnir 1, in that it uses a high-voltage (100V) front end stage to increase linearity without feedback, and is super-simple in overall topology. It borrows some ideas from the Freya+ differential buffer stage as well, which is the first place we used a Equipoise-style topology.

I still don’t understand this choke-input thing?
Choke input power supplies were the old way of smoothing AC power on its way to DC. It was left by the wayside due to economics—a choke is a big, heavy, expensive hunk of iron and copper, whereas capacitors are relatively small and light. We went back to chokes because our experience with Tyr. At the same time, there are plenty of caps in there too. And 100V rails with discrete regulation. And each channel has its own transformer, choke, capacitors, and regulator. Bottom line: the power supply is totally nuts, over the top.

So is it a linear power supply?
100% yes.

Can I get a bigger linear supply?
Yes, if you have an engineering degree or working technical knowledge of power supplies and design a completely different, much large product. Come on, this doesn’t have a wall-wart!

What if I want tubes?
See above. Have fun designing your own stuff. Seriously, more people should DIY. But we understand if you don’t.

You know I have this amp that says it’s Class A but it runs cool?
You know that’s BS, right? Try this chapter here.

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, +/-0.01db, 2Hz-700KHz, -3dB