New Schiit Vali 2 Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by jexby, Dec 11, 2015.

  1. khragon

    khragon Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2015
    Likes Received:
    37
    Trophy Points:
    18
    I always cringed a bit when ever I read statement like this. Do you have any specific on which $1000 amp? Are we talking about Mjonir 2? Woo WA7?
     
  2. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,461
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    ELI5 - Schiit seems to do a remarkable job of pricing their products appropriately according to their sonic value. Examples of what I mean: Bifrost Multibit is just below Gungnir D/S in price _and_ in sonic value. Although we don't have a lot of votes on Vali 2 yet, it appears that Vali 2 is just tiny cut above Magni 2 U in both price and sound.

    How do they do that? I think what I am asking is, how do they assess their own product sound quality so well?

    Maybe that's a stupid question, but it doesn't seem like it would be easy to do.
     
  3. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,051
    Trophy Points:
    113
    So the Yggdrasil? The composer for my department uses one in the studio we have set up at work.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    So do a few Hollywood sound guys.
     
  5. Bourne Perfect

    Bourne Perfect Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2015
    Likes Received:
    166
    Trophy Points:
    43
    Ordered. Hopefully my HD800S from Jan arrives before new years to test this with. Will also be ordering an Yggdrasil next week.
     
  6. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,474
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Ah, yah, I'll wait. If what people think is going to happen is going to happen, then I'll want to save the Element's sale for then.
     
  7. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,923
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Grand Rapids, MI
    She must be used to small phallic objects
     
  8. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

    Staff Member Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,145
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Exit stage left....
    I love it when a little bit of Changstar shows through on SBAF.....
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    The WA7 without the extra power supply is horribad; or perhaps I should just say it's not my kind of sound. I think it's well known here that I detest the sound of most Woo amps. If someone offered me a free WA234 under the condition that I must use it at least four hours per week, I would refuse the offer.

    That "$1000" statement must also be taken in the context of the original Vali, but still largely applies today. I believe the original Vali issued in a new era of Schiit. I didn't care for the original Asgard and Lyr. You can ask Jason or you can actually read me and Jason get slightly into in on HF regarding the sonics of the Lyr. We were polite to each other, but it was obvious I was not enamored like the rest of HF with the Lyr.

    So, let's pick some popular amps under $1000, but more than $200. Crustard H10. Nope. A decent amp, but flat, boring, veiled, it should be priced at $199, but only for a modicum of fairness; but honestly, if I were stuck on a desert island, I'd rather take tools to make my own instruments and recreate Daft Punk songs rather take an H10 with Ironman's power source. JDS Element? Nope, I why would I pay so much for the privilege of sound quality no better than Asus Xonar soundcard headouts? Now let's move closer to $1000. Vioelectric V200? Can I barf all over you please? Sounds like the H10. Burson? OMFG, WTF? Why did everyone who I knew who was tricked on HF into buying a Conductor and Soloist eventually get rid of it? Even Dan / Mrspeakers eventually realized how much it sucked. The Lyr, which I wasn't a big fan of, destroyed the Burson. One amp that is better than the Vali 2 might be the Woo WA6 SE (one of my favorite Woo amps), but that starts at $1160.

    The onus shouldn't be on me to name crappier amps at higher prices than the Vali 2, but rather the onus should be on others to name a $200 to $1000 amp that sounds better than the Vali 2. There are some, but there won't be very many. What should make us cringe should not my "$1000" statement, but rather the dearth of good sounding affordable gear out there. And DIY doesn't count. Some DIY people don't seem to understand that most people don't want to DIY and they probably shouldn't DIY. On that thought, OJ's Torpedo with the cap upgrades does sound better than the Vali 2. The Crack might be better, but really, a 120 ohm output impedance is incredibly fucked up, even if you are using Sennheisers.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2015
  10. Bourne Perfect

    Bourne Perfect Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2015
    Likes Received:
    166
    Trophy Points:
    43
    I've already gone on record stating I preferred the Vali w/ my HD800s more than I did the WA5 with the upgraded tubes sold by Woo. I still stand by that. That amp nearly quadrupled that $1000 benchmark, btw.
     
  11. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    386
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Admudnson-Scott Antarctic Facility (Seattle WA)
    Home Page:
    I'd love to get one of these, but I've got no real use for it. I want a good tube amp, but I want to get something more 'refined' or whatever. Maybe I'll get one just because they're so cheap. But I do still have the magni..
     
  12. The Alchemist

    The Alchemist MOT: Schiit - Here to help!

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,189
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The SchiitR
    Home Page:
    I loved the original Vali - this Vali 2 looks so much better! Cannot wait to hear impressions and measurements! Oh do I want one!
     
  13. SoupRKnowva

    SoupRKnowva Official SBAF South Korean Ambassador

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,249
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Dang, just made the decision to get the Magni 2U instead of Vali, but now that there is Vali 2, that's the one I'd pick...the Magni 2U hasn't even gotten here yet and I don't want it anymore :/
     
  14. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    259
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Schiit customer service is pretty good. Send them an email saying you want to exchange to a Vali 2, and you'll only be on the hook for the shipping costs. It happened to me once before :)
     
  15. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,345
    Trophy Points:
    113
    We know you love the darkness but there's a major untapped market for cheap non-warmed over DACs. Not just noobs bought the ODAC a couple of years ago.
     
  16. Lingering Sentiment

    Lingering Sentiment Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    63
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Texas
    I'm curious to read the impressions on these. I'm actually kind of glad I bought Valhalla 2 to replace my Vali already, otherwise I would have been hung up forever between that and the Vali 2.
     
  17. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,461
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    User name checks out.
     
  18. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    259
    Trophy Points:
    63
    I really don't understand the issue here. There are literally hundreds of other D/S DACs voiced bright or neutral on the market, and many come well below $500. If there is a market there, then it is already tapped. Schiit has a particular signature for their DACs due to their design and filter choices I would assume, since I don't know how one would "voice" or "tune" a DAC. That's what they have, and that's what makes them unique and stand out. Yggdrasil is studio voiced, and studios usually pay much more insane amounts of money, so they aren't concerned about cheap studio tuned DACs. For the end user, like yourself, just buy a Sabre DAC if that's the voicing you are after.

    Also, I think you have mistaken @Hands taste for NOS DAC voicing versus how Multibit DACs sound.
     
  19. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    I was commenting purely on the looks and not the guts which are certainly completely different.
     
  20. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    8,200
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Northwest France
    I actually think its the other way. Rather they start with a price point and start asking what is the best they can possibly make at that price. This price/quality relation usually correlates pretty well with this view point but there are a few exceptions. Like I think a very good case could be made for the multibit Bifrost sounding better then the more expensive DS Gungnir. The pricing for the Gungnir makes sense based on all the features it includes but can still fall short to a good (and cheaper) multibit implementation. As well as the Vali 1 compared to the Asgard.
     

Share This Page