Schiit Audio announced the immediate availability of Mjolnir 3, a flagship true Class A headphone amplifier, and Kara, a Nexus™, balanced differential preamplifier with headphone output.
Mjolnir 3 features true single-ended Class A output, which is also switchable to push-pull. Selectable gain and feedback allow a Mjolnir 3 owner to tailor the topology of their amp to their specific headphones or preferences. A dual-mono design, Mjolnir 3 features separate transformers and choke-input power supply for each channel, as well as total discrete design, including power supply regulation.
“Mjolnir 3 is by far the most extreme Mjolnir we’ve done to date,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit Audio’s co-founder and head of analog design. “This is designed to explore the limits of a true Class A design, while providing unprecedented flexibility for the owner. It’s not an amp for everyone, so we’re doing a single, limited run.”
Kara is the successor to Freya S, Schiit’s popular solid-state balanced preamplifier. Kara is a complete re-think of what a solid-state balanced preamp should be, featuring Schiit’s exclusive Nexus™ balanced, differential discrete topology with extremely high 64V power supply rails for near-limitless headroom and exceptional performance without the need for huge amounts of feedback. It also debuts a highly capable and fully protected headphone jack, a first for a Schiit preamp, that is based on the same discrete high-rail stage as the single-ended preamp outputs.
Like Freya S, this preamp also uses a 128-step relay stepped attenuator for near-perfect volume control matching and offers passive, 1x gain, and 4x gain modes, as well as a remote control.
“Kara is a new beginning,” said Jason. “It’s come out of the shadow of Freya+, and it deserves its own name. Now, it’s an extremely capable, super high performance preamp in its own right, without the need for tubes. It also provides a headphone output that delivers amazing performance for a wide range of headphones.
Mjolnir 3 is exclusively available in black finish for its limited run. It is priced at $1199. More at https://www.schiit.com/products/mjolnir-3.
Kara is available in black finish immediately at $699. Silver finish is expected to be available in 3-4 months for $749. More at https://www.schiit.com/products/kara.
About Schiit Audio
Founded in 2010 by Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, Schiit has grown into a leader in affordable high-end audio, with a wide range of products spanning DACs, headphone amplifiers, and preamplifiers, from $49 to $2799.