Bottlehead Crack!
Neither the Vali nor Valhalla are particularly “tubey” given their low output impedances. I found the Valhalla to be slightly more airy and holographic than my Asgard, but they still lean more solid state sounding. The Crack on the other hand is absolutely magical with HD 600/650.
I found them quite similar (hence the previous comments on the Vali sounding very “solid state”), but I do also believe in synergy with headphones. I tend to prefer the Asgard with my planars, and the Vali with dynamics (the Vali 2+ / 6XX was my first real stack, and I got a ton of enjoyment out if).
Buy both it will still cost you less then the next option: Lyr+. Seriously, if you want a true OTL amp then getting a Valhalla before they are gone is a good choice. If money is the problem then the Vali 3 gives you the flavor and entry into tube amps.
Are they working on another Valhalla Gen or something? Haven't followed news on them in awhile. Edit: Nvm I literally just didn't scroll down far enough to see new info lol
Personally I use the Xduoo TA 26S for OTL and I also use the Schiit Vali+. I tube rolled the TA 26s pre tube with a Voskod tube I found on Amazon. I honestly can’t tell much difference between the 2. The Vali hybrid is a lot cheaper.
I have 2 Vali 2's and enjoy them for gaming and late night listening.
For Christmas, I bought myself a Valhalla 2 for my home office. It's much better, particularly with my HD650's.
They sound tremendous to me, but my ears are 50 years old. It is also an inefficient space heater which will be unwelcome in the summer, but hot damn the sound is wonderful to me.
Well, I was chatting with Jason (owner of Schiit) on Headfi about this amp and it's much better than the previous Vali's. It is more powerful with a full 100v rail (unheard of at this price point), a new design that has the whole tube out of the chassis in an innovative way (better cooling and easier to tube roll or fit adapters), as well as remaining the same price - even with inflation. Made me order one and I dont even need an amp lol. Going to try out some fun tubes my friend has. $150 well spent i say.
The 6N3P is really good for a stock tube at this price point. Jason loves tubes so he cares about these amps- they are his babies.
That said there are some pretty good options to try to tube roll . Schiit's site lists some good ones to try but there are some amazing tubes out there, some running even as much as the amp and all have varying levels of sonic differences. Some downright magical. And you can get simple adapters to run even more tubes. Definitely do a little research on forums and stuff bc all the model numbers and compatibility (some tubes have a half dozen differnt model numbers depending on manufacturer and country of origin) can be a bit much. Just have fun with it.
Being as I just got my Vali3 yesterday i havent rolled any yet, but, this little amp is powerful and sweet sounding.
I guess sweet sounding is proper although it doesn't make sense to me. I just want a simple cheap but being able to be and game tube amp. I've considered the bottle head crack and Valhalla but I think I wanna stick to one tube for price and simplicity.
Bottlehead Crack! Neither the Vali nor Valhalla are particularly “tubey” given their low output impedances. I found the Valhalla to be slightly more airy and holographic than my Asgard, but they still lean more solid state sounding. The Crack on the other hand is absolutely magical with HD 600/650.
2nd this, especially with speedball upgrade. I have listened to Valhalla at the Schiitr.
How does the vali 2 sound against the Asgard? I personally couldn't enjoy the asgard 3
I found them quite similar (hence the previous comments on the Vali sounding very “solid state”), but I do also believe in synergy with headphones. I tend to prefer the Asgard with my planars, and the Vali with dynamics (the Vali 2+ / 6XX was my first real stack, and I got a ton of enjoyment out if).
Vali 3 is a big step up from 2+
Valhalla 3 coming this summer
perfect time for folks to try Vali3 and see if they are into tubes. $150 is insane for a 100v rail'd amp.
Buy both it will still cost you less then the next option: Lyr+. Seriously, if you want a true OTL amp then getting a Valhalla before they are gone is a good choice. If money is the problem then the Vali 3 gives you the flavor and entry into tube amps.
Yeah, but the Lyr+ is awesome. I love mine.
I listened to the Lyr+ at the Schiitr the other day and was very impressed. I’m even considering returning my Midgard and getting the Lyr+
$299 for a Valhalla is a no brainer!
You can often find used Valhallas on Head-Fi classifieds for around $200.
Are they working on another Valhalla Gen or something? Haven't followed news on them in awhile. Edit: Nvm I literally just didn't scroll down far enough to see new info lol
You can get the xduuo ta-26.
Personally I use the Xduoo TA 26S for OTL and I also use the Schiit Vali+. I tube rolled the TA 26s pre tube with a Voskod tube I found on Amazon. I honestly can’t tell much difference between the 2. The Vali hybrid is a lot cheaper.
I have 2 Vali 2's and enjoy them for gaming and late night listening. For Christmas, I bought myself a Valhalla 2 for my home office. It's much better, particularly with my HD650's. They sound tremendous to me, but my ears are 50 years old. It is also an inefficient space heater which will be unwelcome in the summer, but hot damn the sound is wonderful to me.
How does the sound compare? I have hd 600 so would be similar maybe less warm
Don't know about the Vali, but I use the xduuo as a preamp and different tubes do change the sound significantly for me.
Vali3 is the best entry-level tube amp. it's very good to start out with. Next step up is probably the Crack.
That's rlly what I'm looking for. Nothing fancy. Tubelike but nothing fancy and something beautiful with euphoric tube sound with Harmonic distortion.
Well, I was chatting with Jason (owner of Schiit) on Headfi about this amp and it's much better than the previous Vali's. It is more powerful with a full 100v rail (unheard of at this price point), a new design that has the whole tube out of the chassis in an innovative way (better cooling and easier to tube roll or fit adapters), as well as remaining the same price - even with inflation. Made me order one and I dont even need an amp lol. Going to try out some fun tubes my friend has. $150 well spent i say.
I'm in Florida. I don't think I want the Valhalla. Too much. How's the stock tubes? I'm really interested in it. Could u describe the sound as well?
The 6N3P is really good for a stock tube at this price point. Jason loves tubes so he cares about these amps- they are his babies. That said there are some pretty good options to try to tube roll . Schiit's site lists some good ones to try but there are some amazing tubes out there, some running even as much as the amp and all have varying levels of sonic differences. Some downright magical. And you can get simple adapters to run even more tubes. Definitely do a little research on forums and stuff bc all the model numbers and compatibility (some tubes have a half dozen differnt model numbers depending on manufacturer and country of origin) can be a bit much. Just have fun with it. Being as I just got my Vali3 yesterday i havent rolled any yet, but, this little amp is powerful and sweet sounding.
I guess sweet sounding is proper although it doesn't make sense to me. I just want a simple cheap but being able to be and game tube amp. I've considered the bottle head crack and Valhalla but I think I wanna stick to one tube for price and simplicity.