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High end 2023: skin full - Lotoo Mjolnir
Highend 2023 is over and it was a great show with some exciting and long-awaited product highlights.
This year I decided to only present some really special products & to present new products and to dedicate each product its own little blog with pictures and impressions.
We start with a device that has been long awaited by the community and has really taken its time:
The Lotoo Mjolnir
Anyone familiar with Norse mythology knows what Mjolnir, or rather Mjölnir, is: the magical weapon of the god Thor that never misses its target. Or more simply: Thor's hammer.
A big name that Lotoo has chosen for their latest flagship product!
So what is the Lotoo Mjolnir?
In Lotoo’s case, the Mjolnir is actually something like their audiophile secret weapon: A high-end desktop DAP. A top-of-the-line all-in-one device that, while not necessarily portable, is still transportable.
DAC and headphone amplifier in one.
The Lotoo will be Roon and Tidal certified, meaning it can serve as a Roon endpoint and thus enable streaming services. Tidal will run natively on the device without any additional hardware.
I don't want to go into too much technical detail here, but the Mjolnir is made of the finest components currently available on the market. At its heart is an ensemble of Dual AKM 4499EX DACs, which ensure adequate transformation here.
Since these DACs are very limited in quantity and difficult to obtain, the Mjolnir will also only be available in a limited Quantity of 600 give.
My special thanks go to Andy Xu and Pauline Yu from Lotoo, who took the time to demonstrate the Mjolnir to all visitors and answer questions, as well as allowing me to test the device extensively overnight. Thank you, Andy and Pauline!
Our friends at Lotoo told me that the production of the Mjolnir is extremely complex, and that they only want to offer the highest quality in terms of workmanship and, of course, sound. This is evident from the fact that Lotoo really took their time. They built prototypes, tested them again and again, and attended every audio trade fair to gather and implement customer feedback.
In July it will finally happen and the Mjolnir is launched!
But enough of the preamble, let's take a closer look at this wonderful piece...
As already mentioned, the Mjolnir is a portable desktop DAP (digital audio player), meaning it's significantly larger and heavier than a conventional portable DAP. For size comparison, consider the display on the top, which is roughly the size of a smartphone.
Nevertheless, the Mjolnir is compact and lightweight compared to "real" desktop components, and you can take it with you in a bag or suitcase when traveling.
The Mjolnir is equipped with a battery that should easily last a full day. The test device still had 30% charge in the evening and had been running all day without a power connection—not bad!
If you look at the front of the Mjolnir, you can see a second, smaller display, hardware buttons for control, and plenty of headphone jacks:
3.5mm, 4.4mm, 6.3mm, 4PIN balanced XLR - users have virtually every connection option for their headphones and in-ears they could wish for.
Since the device is intended to be taken along, Lotoo includes an excellently crafted leather case with the Mjolnir, the significant material thickness should protect the device very well.
The highlight: The case has various flaps so that the Mjolnir can be easily operated even with the case on. Furthermore, the device can be secured to the case with screws to prevent it from slipping out.
Oh yes - a carrying strap is also included, which attaches directly to the device and can be used with or without a case.
A glance at the back makes it clear that we're dealing with a "serious" piece of desktop-level technology: The Mjolnir offers pretty much every input and output an audiophile could wish for.
So what does it sound like?
So let's get to the most important thing: the sound. I tested the Mjolnir with the following IEMs and headphones:
Even the first bars of my testing playlist are an ear-opener: The Sound of Lotoo Mjolnir It immediately impresses with its incredible clarity and resolution. The amount of detail presented is overwhelming at first—it takes some getting used to.
The second thing that stands out is that, despite the extreme detail, the Mjolnir never sounds "sharp" - hissing sounds, etc., are absolutely not an issue!
Added to this is excellent channel separation, a realistic soundstage, and a wonderfully textured, controlled, and fast bass that leaves nothing to be desired.
The best word that comes to mind here is "reference." Reference in the sense that the Mjolnir reproduces the music as authentically as possible: extremely natural, without exaggeration or tricks—yet highly musical and captivating.
But it's also a reference in the sense that this device, like the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, could end up as a workhorse in recording studios and the labs of headphone manufacturers, because the Mjolnir's beautiful exterior suggests its origins in the professional sector.
For those who didn't know, Lotoo made their name in the professional and studio sector before they started producing consumer products.
By the way, we're talking about the absolute high-end studio sector here! Lotoo even supplies some extremely renowned international manufacturers, which I'm unfortunately not allowed to go into here. If you take a closer look at the Mjolnir, you might notice certain similarities to other devices, which are no coincidence. 😉😁
But I digress, sorry...
Conclusion
As the name suggests, the sound of Mjolnir can be easily summed up in this one word:
Hammer.
The Lotoo Mjolnir offers sound and workmanship at a level that is otherwise reserved for desktop components of at least the same price (or more expensive), while remaining compact and portable.
This is a complete solution for anyone looking for an all-in-one device for their headphones and in-ears that takes up little space, is portable, and yet doesn't compromise on sound, performance, or connectivity.
When testing with various in-ears and headphones, another advantage of the Mjolnir became apparent: No matter which headphones I used, the Mjolnir got the absolute best out of all devices.Not every source and not every pair of headphones harmonize, but that doesn't seem to be a problem with the Mjolnir - great!
"The Lotoo Mjolnir is already the most exciting HiFi/Head-Fi device of the year for me and I can hardly wait to hold it in your hands hold."
The Mjolnir is expected to go on sale in early July and will, of course, be available from us at the best possible price!
More blogs on the topic
High End 2023: Masterpiece: Vision Ears x Astell&Core AURA
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