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High End 2023: Get your skin straight - Lotoo Mjolnir
Highend 2023 is over and it was a great highend with some exciting and long-awaited product highlights.
This year I've decided to present just a few really special products and innovations and to dedicate its own little blog with pictures and impressions to each product.
It starts with a device that... The community has been expecting it for a long time and has really taken its time:
The Lotoo Mjolnir
Anyone who knows a bit about Norse mythology knows what Mjolnir, or rather Mjölnir, is: the magical weapon of the god Thor, which never misses its target. Or more simply: Thor's hammer.
A big name that Lotoo have 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. An all-in-one device at the highest level that, although not necessarily portable, is still transportable.
DAC and headphone amplifier in one.
The Lotoo will be Roon and Tidal certified, which means it can serve as a Roon endpoint and therefore streaming services can be used. Tidal will run natively on the device without additional hardware.
I don't want to go into too much technical detail here, but the Mjolnir is made of the finest components that the market currently offers. The centerpiece is an ensemble of Dual AKM 4499EX DACs, which ensure adequate conversion.
Since these DACs are very limited in quantity and difficult to obtain, the Mjolnir will only be available in a limited number of 600.
My special thanks at this point go to Andy Xu and Pauline Yu from Lotoo, who took a lot of time to demonstrate the Mjolnir to all visitors and answer questions and allowed me to extensively test a device overnight. Thank you, Andy and Pauline!
Our friends at Lotoo told me that the production of Mjolnir is extremely complex and that they only want to offer the highest quality in terms of workmanship and of course sound. You can see that because Lotoo really took their time. Prototypes were built, tested and further tested and no audio trade fair was missed to receive and implement customer feedback.
The time will finally come in July and the Mjolnir will be on the start!
But enough of the preface, let's take a closer look at the good piece...
As already mentioned, the Mjolnir is a transportable desktop DAP (Digital Audio Player), so it is significantly larger and heavier than a conventional DAP for on the go. To compare the size, you can use the display on the top, which is roughly equivalent to that of a smartphone.
Nevertheless, the Mjolnir is compact and "light" compared to "real" desktop components and you can carry it in a bag or take it with you when traveling in your suitcase.
The Mjolnir is equipped with a battery that should easily last a whole day. The test device still had 30% battery charge in the evening and had been running without a power connection all day - 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 actually have them every connection option for your headphones and in-ears that you could wish for.
Since the device is intended to be taken with you, Lotoo includes an excellently crafted leather case with the Mjolnir, the significant material thickness of which should protect the device very well.
The highlight: The case has various flaps so that the Mjolnir can be easily operated even with a case. The device can also be fixed to the case using screws to prevent it from slipping out.
Oh yes - a carrying strap is also included, which is attached directly to the device and can be used with or without a case.
When you look at the back it becomes clear that we are dealing with a "serious" piece of desktop-level technology: The Mjolnir offers pretty much every input and output that an audiophile's heart desires.
How does it sound now?
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 the Lotoo Mjolnir immediately impresses with its incredible clarity and resolution. The amount of details presented to you is overwhelming at first - you actually have to get used to it.
The second thing you notice is that, despite the extreme details, the Mjolnir never sounds "sharp" - hissing sounds etc. are absolutely not an issue!
In addition, there is excellent channel separation, realistic stage and a wonderfully textured, controlled and fast bass that really leaves nothing to be desired.
The best word I can think of at this point is "reference". Reference in the sense that the Mjolnir reproduces the music as unadulterated as possible: Extremely natural without exaggerations or tricks - yet highly musical and thrilling.
Reference but also in the sense that this device, like the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch" could end up as a workhorse in recording studios and the laboratories of headphone manufacturers, because the appearance of Mjolnir suggests its origins in the professional sector.
For those who didn't know: Lotoo have made their name in the Professional or studio area before they started making consumer products.
By the way, we're talking about the absolute high-end studio area here! Lotoo are even suppliers to some extremely well-known international manufacturers, which I am unfortunately not allowed to go into further here. If you take a closer look at the Mjolnir, you may notice certain similarities to other devices, which are no coincidence. 😉😁
But I digress, sorry...
Conclusion
As the name suggests, the sound of Mjolnir can easily be summed up with this one word:
Hammer.
The Lotoo Mjolnir offers sound and workmanship on a level that is otherwise reserved for at least equally expensive (or more expensive) desktop components, while remaining compact and portable.
This is a complete solution for everyone who is looking for an all-in-one device for their headphones and in-ears that takes up little space, is portable and yet does not require any compromises when it comes to sound, performance and connection options.
When testing with a variety of 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 headphone works together, but that doesn't seem to be a problem with 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 my hands."
The Mjolnir is expected to go on sale at the beginning of July and will of course be available from us at the best possible price!
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