New Schiit Vali 2 Discussion Thread

Does this apply to the Lyr 2 and Mjolnir 2 as well? What is your opinion about the Valhalla 2's stock tubes?

 

Great, thanks. Currently using the GOV2 Infinity as my DAC, so am good on that front. Will give the Phillips Jan 6922 a shot. Can get one from thetubestore.com for $29.95 plus $5 to match the triodes.

 

Haha, that subtle "current iteration" there gets me excited. I might end up going with a NFB-11 though.

 

Anyone getting a fairly loud pop on power on despite the mute relay? Am I misunderstanding what the relay is supposed to do? I hear it through my powered speakers too if I have them on during power up without headphones plugged in. I am conversing with Nick at Schiit about it, but was wondering if anyone else was hearing the pop.

 

I always power up any amp without the headphoes attached, and the volume all the way down. Call it peace of mind, and past speaker mistakes.

 

It's normal to hear a slight pop when powering on the amp. If it's loud it could be a bad tube. Happened to me on my Lyr 2, but replacing the tube fixed it.

 

gonna be getting the vali 2 in a day or two hopefully so was wondering whats a good warm tube to replace it with i'll bring the warmer tube for my next trip

 

After a couple emails back and forth with Nick at Schiit, it seems like it is normal to have a pop even with a mute relay. Just to be safe, I'll start turning the Vali2 on and off with nothing plugged in and turn off my powered speakers. A little inconvenient but not really a big deal.

 

@jexby ya i'll probably look at the budget recommendations and see how i like em as its a vacation system so don't care about getting that last 1-2 percent warmer or whatever

 

Got mine today. Using the Geek Out V2 as my DAC, and comparing it against the built-in amps on the GOV2.

It's not a night and day difference, but with my Grado 225e, the Vali 2 edges out the GOV2 a bit on detail, instrument separation, and clarity. It does this at a slight loss of the energy that makes Grados so fun, but the other positive trade-off is that songs that felt peaky with the GOV2 SE out play much more nicely out of the Vali 2. Overall, for the Grados I think it's a good match and gives me a more refined and cohesive sound than the GOV2.

Comparing the Vali 2, which is single-ended only, to the GOV2 In balanced mode with my HE-400S is a lot closer, which isn't surprising. The GOV2 is great in balanced mode. The thing that's getting me with the Vali 2 though is that it's more euphonic than the GO. I'm feeling more connected to the music through the Vali 2. It's not something measurable, just my natural reaction to the two amps. It could be the difference between tube and SS. Whatever it is, to me, that euphonic quality says this is a keeper. It also makes me wonder if I should bother with a balanced amp when it's time to upgrade. I'd certainly have more options if I stayed single-ended. But that's a question for another time.

I'm actually liking the stock tube more than I thought, considering I had heard some negative things. I did order an Electro-Harmonix 6CG7 from Tube Depot and am eyeing a Jan Philips NOS and Matsushita NOS for down the road. I won't pull the trigger on those yet though, I don't want a huge collection of tubes sitting around.

This amp is really making the HE-400S shine, by the way. These are such pleasant headphones to listen to. I've got side two of Abbey Road on now and I'm floating away on it. I listened to the new Bowie on Spotify last night, but now I've got some lossless files and I'm excited to hear that through the Vali 2 as well.

Eventually I'll upgrade my DAC and amp and this will become my work rig. As it is, I think this is a very solid mid-fi setup and is a wonderful way to enjoy music.

Last random thought, I think one of the biggest differences is that the Vali has a more pronounced bottom end than the GOV2. Not that it's overbearing the mids or highs in any way. I'm just feeling more bass than with the GO alone.

 

Still loving this amp. Finally pulled the trigger on a Jan Phillips low noise 6922 from thetubestore.com. Paid an extra few dollars for matched triodes. Hopefully I hear a positive difference and can articulate them here. There is a really good deal on some Amperex orange globes on HF, but no info on matched triodes or not. For some reason I am paranoid about that.

 

To risk sounding Headfi-ish, high five on the DAC/amp combo. Definitely the best ever and anyone who uses anything else is either paying too much or dumb.

 

Yep, I noticed your posts earlier since you had the same devices I did. I think for mid-fi, this combo is hard to beat, and I think if I showed this setup to non-audiophile friends, they'd be amazed at how much better sound I could get with a very small footprint and cash outlay. Hell, if one were a Grado fan, you could pick up an SR80e for $100 and have this entire setup for under $550. That's a hell of a deal, IMO.

 

By the way, my stock tube is stamped "Standard TV, Made in USA".

Also, I'm finding the HE-400S is scaling up very nicely. Hifiman claims you can run it from a phone, which I'm sure you can, but it's loving the extra juice this amp is providing. The Grado isn't as scalable, but I expected that. The best gains are coming from the 400S.

 

Next step up for me is $4000 more expensive (Gungnir Multibit, EC ZDS, HD800). I don't think any intermediate steps at this point would be worth it for me at this point.