The All Purpose Advice Thread

That people have different preferences goes without saying.

Ask le purrin, his is one of the chief negative reports I've come across.

 

The Vali 2 wouldn't bottleneck the Bifrost?

 

Which version? The Vali 2 can easily show the differences between the two generations of Geek Outs, both of which are placed a bit higher on the DAC chart of Awesomeness than the Bifrost Uber. I don't know where that ability stops though with regards to the 4490 and the Multibit.

 

The standard Bifrost comes with the 4490 now doesn't it? The Vali 2 be a better option than a used Asgard 2 even?

 

I don't think so, no, but I haven't heard it.

I know that the Ember II does not bottleneck and from what I've heard the Vali 2 isn't far off performance-wise.

 

I don't know, Hands. I'm stating to hear reports now that the 4490 Bifrost goes toe-to-toe with the MB...

 

I haven't heard the Asgard 2 personally, so I can only speculate based on what I have read. Most indications point to the Vali 2 being better. Plus you get some of the magic of tubes with the bonus of still being able to use it with efficient orthos.

 

I hadn't realized the Vali 2 was held in such high regard.

I've tried reading up on the differences between the 4490 and Bifrost Multibit, though the tech specifications behind dacs are still confusing to me at times. Would that be a considerable difference between the two?

 

Tubes + 400i = win.

 

If there is some truth to that, I would be interested for sure.

 

Why wouldn't the Vali 2 pair well with the 400i? It works great with my 400S and PM-3. I realize those are both more efficient headphones than the 400i, but they're both planars. And the Vali 2 brings the best out of my HD600, which is inefficient.

My suggestion would be Bifrost Multibit/Vali 2, and splurge on a nice (but not insanely priced) single NOS tube to go with it.

I can't comment on a Project Ember or any Schiit about the Vali 2 at the moment. I know @atomicbob was smitten with the Project Sunrise III.

 

I don't have a Magni 2 or HD650, but I feel that it's a bit too bright for my Hd600 and Valhalla 2. Hopefully someone else will have a better answer.

 

I may just get the regular Bifrost as it seems they all come with 4490 chip now. Especially if it gets close to the Bifrost Multibit.

This will be one weird looking stack with the big Bifrost and the tiny Vali 2 sitting on top.

So is the overall consensus for the Vali 2 to be the amp I pair with the Bifrost?

(I know we've mostly talked about Schiit products, but I am open to others. Although I do like Schiits stuff. )

 

Garage amps are worth a look. As I said, the Ember is a fantastic amp and I've heard great things about their lower-priced offerings as well.

But, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Vali and it'd sure be nice to order them both from the same place.

 

So...when can we expect Asgard 3, then? Sounds like it's obsolete at this point.

 

Does a better balanced amp exist for the HD800 in the under $600 range than a Mljonir?

 

I would say that is a definite possibility. The 400i is really good, but a bit hot in the treble even on my tube amp with a warm tube. I have been testing a FocusPad-A, and I would say that helps a lot. I'll be posting my impressions after I have some more time with them, but with this alternative pad this is probably an excellent suggestion depending on how sensitive you are to high frequencies.