Schiit Valhalla 2

Cool. I thought there was a specific year I was looking for. That makes things a bit simpler.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MULLARD-6DJ...732131?hash=item4af8fa48e3:g:yzQAAOSwFNZWu4Fx

Is this a crazy price or about average?

 

Decent price - I paid a bit less for the 72's but I thought the 60's production units were more desirable.

There was something to do with which facility they were manufactured in too that affected sound. East to west - east being more accurate and bright and west being more laid back, but that was likely BS.

 

Everything begins to matter the further down the rabbit hole you go (I can't say if they do or not since I am noob to tube rolling as well). As you said, there are a lot of "Orange Globes" out there, but I found this page pretty useful to get an idea on how different tubes are supposed to differ from each other (as well as a benchmark of price relative to each other): http://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm I'm excited that the used Valhalla 2 I bought is already coming with some of the best tubes you can get for it so I don't have to stress over what to buy off of ebay.

 

I just choked up typing up my credit card. I actually really like how the amp goes with my HD 800s. Both items are less then five days old for me.

Going to wait for a better deal before I start spending close to a hundred dollars on 40 year old vacuum tubes.

 

Your getting off easy. As mentioned by fraggler easy to get lost chasing perfect tube. Slow down, enjoy, don't fuss too much with perfect pair, its all just distortion.

 

Finally got mine! Came with a shit ton of tubes, so going to be a while to sort through all of them, but right away, a noticeable step up from the Vali 2. Still being fed from the GOV2 and it has only raised the GOV2 in my estimation. Soundstage seems a little bit better, and details are coming through a little bit better. Things are a little bit more tactile, especially things like bass drums. Liking it so far.

 

Just wait until you hear it with a Bifrost! I'm still impressed by that combo.

 

If you've got a pair of Amperex Orange globes, or ECC85 tubes in that batch definitely give those a go. A good improvement over the stock tubes IMO if you don't mind a warmer sound.

 

I have some '71 Vokshod Rockets, some Amperex USN-CEP 7308s and some 6N1P-VI Novosibirsk something or others. Some NOS power tubes as well. And 2 sets of stock tubes. I was a little overwhelmed when I opened the package I love a warmer sound so depending on how all these go, I might sell some off and try some Orange Globes (though from what I have read, the 7308's are supposed to be "better").

 

Philips Holland E188CC/7308 have a beautiful warmth, and nicely refined treble. The pinched waists tend to sound a bit more fleshed out to my ears, but they are uber expensive. Go for a "Miniwatt" made in the early 60's with delta factory. The Siemens CCa's (grey shield 60's) are also beautiful sounding tubes... surprisingly warmer than other Siemens, but less so than the Philips Holland. More emphasis on upper midrange and a bit of treble energy, which really helps bring out micro details.

IMO, Philips/Amperex USN-CEP 7308's are also beautiful sounding tubes, but the treble is a bit raw for my liking. The Holland ones just came across with a refinement I love. I find the American ones to sound a bit more forward as well... closer to the stage.

E88CC Orange Globes also have a wonderful midrange warmth, however I find them to be a bit warm for my liking. The midrange is just very present... although the Mullard tubes are very close in sound, with even more emphasis on midrange warmth. I found them overly thick.

 

Thanks for these recommendations!

 

I have n00b tube questions for the Valhalla 2.

Are there any tubes that are actually "better" than the stock tubes, or is it more that they are side-grades with a different flavor/coloration? I like the resolving nature of the Valhalla 2 stock sound. So, for example, would Genalex Gold Lions be "better" with a similar flavor to the stock tubes? Are the Amperex golden globes not only warmer but still as resolving as stock?

 

Not in my experience. I have rolled a few tubes and ended up with '75 Reflektor Silver Shields. They are perhaps a touch cleaner/smoother in the treble region but nothing dramatic (I could even be imagining it...) As you said, other tubes seemed to add nuances of colouration but achieved very little in terms of technical improvements; resolution etc.

Valhalla 2 doesn't sound very tube-like to start with IMHO.

 

I definitely think so. The stock tubes sounded a little dull and dry. Definitely felt like there was some smearing of details. I noticed this more probably because I started with some Amperex 7308s and went back to stock. I think it is easier to hear downgrades than upgrades. I put in some Russian tubes with rockets etched on them in and they were detail blasters. It might have been a frequency response thing more than actual resolution, but they were definitely more focused and clear, almost too much so. So maybe these are just different flavors, but they sound much better than stock so maybe they are "better."

 

The only good thing about stock 6N1P tubes in Valhalla is their bass hits pretty hard, better than my cheap NOS Voskhod and Reflektor 6N23P tubes. But in return, their mid (6N1P) is like @fraggler said, dry and dull. If you want a different flavor (and for me better) than stock tubes, you can try some cheap Russian NOS 6N23P.

 

Hi all. New to SBAF, old HeadFi'er. Just picked up some HD600's and have a Valhalla 2 on order. Also have a Modi 2 Uber on order to go with it. Seems like some of you in this thread have similar setups but with the Bifrost. Have any of you had a chance to evaluate the Modi2U against the Bifrost or BifrostMB with a setup like mine? Impressions? Sorry, it's a bit off topic, but relevant IMO.

I'm of the opinion that given the continued improvements in DAC price/performance going on, the M2U is a great step for now. Yep, the Bifrost is upgradeable, but the upgrades cost more than the M2U. So for me to change my M2U to a Bifrost today it would have to make one heck of an improvement in the sonic quality of my stack. Otherwise I'll just wait a while for when the current Bifrost becomes the next M2U for $150...

Thank you;
SteveO

 

That seems like a great start, or almost stopping place.

I went from the modi2 non-uber to the BifrostMB, using Valhalla2 and hd650s. I heard a significant improvement, mostly in instrument focus and placement, my 1st taste of a sort of holographic sound field. I think this is because the Valhalla2 is so very resolving with hd6x0s. Ie it's easily good enough to really benefit from better dacs.

That said, there's nothing wrong with starting with Modi2U, and I think there is value in experiencing the sound changes as you upgrade. But I suspect you will end up upgrading the dac down the line.

 

Now that I have a pair of stock HD800 in-house, I thought I'd post some tube matching findings with my Valhalla 2 for them and my stock HD650s.

Input Tubes

• With the HD650, I liked the stock 6N1P tubes more than the Amperex Orange Globes that came with my amp from @Hands . Felt like the HD650s needed that extra bit of detail up top and didn't need any extra warmth in the mids.
• With the HD800, I prefer the Amperex.
• I have some precision matched Voshkod 6N23P input tubes that I'll be testing soon. Have a pair now, but one came in microphonic despite the seller not having the same result in his tests. Should get a replacement shortly and will post info on source soon.

Output Tubes
I know that output tube rolling in the Valhalla 2 is somewhat poo-pooed in this and the HF thread, but I think there may be some potential there. While researching recently, I came across this post in the Little Dot tube rolling thread on HF which compared various output tubes including 6N6P, 6N6Pi, 6N6P-IR, and some very expensive 6N30P-DR. The consensus there was that the best bang-for-your-buck was the 6N6P-IR.

There is a Ukranian seller with amazing feedback on eBay that has a few more matched pairs of 6N6P-IR tubes for $34 shipped. Just got my pair yesterday. Shipping was surprisingly quick and test results were 28/28 and 30/30 per the stickers they came with.

They've only been in for a short time and I have not directly compared to stock 6N6P yet, but upon first listen to an album I've been playing often recently (Weezer's White Album) with the 6N6P-IRs I noticed slightly less muddy bass (more delineated quick kick drum hits in a couple parts) and a little more refinement up top (the cymbal recording is not the greatest on this album) on the HD800.

 

Hello,

I am new to the world of tube amps and would like to request the assistance of one of you fine folks, in letting me know if these tubes are compatible with the Schiit Valhalla 2? I have heard great things about the Amperex Bugle Boy, but I am not sure if these are the correct ones for the SV2? Thank you in advance!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322076339590?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Those are correct