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Member Reviews: Schiit Valhalla

Skylab

REVIEW – Schiit Audio Valhalla Tube Headphone Amplifier

Posted
By Skylab

Pros: Excellent value for the money

Cons: Not ideal for low impedance headphones

  REVIEW – Schiit Audio Valhalla Tube Headphone Amplifier     What Sort of Schiit is This?   I read, as did many of you, the head-fi threads about the very popular and attractively priced Schiit Asgard.  But to be quite candid, I personally had about as much interest in an inexpensive solid-state headphone amp as I did in weeding behind my garage.  As such, I have never heard the Asgard.   Good thing I read those threads anyway, though, since I learned from them that Schiit was coming out with an inexpensive TUBE headphone amplifier.  Now THAT I was interested in.  I emailed Schiit’s Co-Founder, Jason Stoddard, and he agreed to send me a Valhalla loaner to...
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Rem0o

The Schiit underdog

Posted
By Rem0o

Pros: Tons of juice, good punch and control, beautiful midrange, dead quiet, good looks.

Cons: Nature of tubes, heat.

I used this amp mainly with a pair of HD 650 and it does what it is supposed to do: it has way more power than I need, it's quiet and it makes everything sound in its place. I have never heard other tube amps before, but I didn't get the "lushness" or the "tubey" thing , at all. It may be there, but it's just to tell you that if it is there, well, it's subtle. To my ear, this is neutral. I have no idea why exactly or how to explain it, but it has a "better" sound to me, more control, than my previous Fiio E10 and Aune T1 for what it's worth. Overall, a really good sounding product from my experience and I'm still enjoying it as much as the first day I got it. Now for the bads......
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HiFi1972

This Schiit is Awesome for the Sennheiser HD650!

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By HiFi1972

Pros: Soundstage, Neutrality, Price, Size, US Made

Cons: It wasn't free?

I had been looking for an amplifier for my Sennheiser HD650 headphones and tried many amps that cost much more than the Valhalla over the last 6 or so years. It's almost like they designed this amplifier to bring out the best of this particular headphone. If you are also a 650 owner and have always thought that they are a bit "veiled" in the mids/highs, and like me have done the mods (foam, cable) and you still feel that after all that's been done that the 650's still sound a bit "dark", then do yourself a favor and check this amplifier out. Seriously, before they realize they can be charging a bit more for it.   I had started my quest for the perfect amp for my 650s with Solid...
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BokononVolta

Valhalla is a step up from Asgard, but small step

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By BokononVolta

Pros: Wider soundstage, better dynamics

Cons: Not as warm and cuddly as I hoped

I'll start off by saying I prefer solid state to tube. I always found tube to be rather limiting and muddy, and I'm sure its just because I haven't listened to or owned really good tube gear. I started off my Schitt journey with the Asgard, then got the Bifrost, and then decided to try the Valhalla. I found the Asgard/Bifrost combination to be a bit dry and clinical for my tastes. I wanted something a bit (as the marketing went) red dress in a smoky room... hehe. So after some hemming and hawing and saving, I splurged for the Valhalla. I figured I could sell my Asgard to make up some of the money.... Well I was impressed. But not how I expected to be. The sound was more dynamic,...
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spacepoetss

great value

Posted
By spacepoetss

Pros: sound.build quality. cost.

Cons: ???Can't think of any.

I use my Valhalla to drive my Beyerdynamic's T1's with the Cowon J3.Holy Schiit!!!!!Even my wife can hear the difference. I really enjoy the sonic landscape from this system.
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Mike-mex

Valhalla does the thing! Tube rolling very suggested!

Posted
By Mike-mex

Pros: High Quality, Nice Design, Clean Board, Great Customer Service

Cons: With Stock tubes give Solid State sound - Tube rolling suggested

Well after having a really bad experience with Amazon (they never sent me my Valhalla), I waited about a week hoping they could get one on stock (because magically they run out of them after I purchase mine). I decided to contact Schiit Audio´s guys. It was November 1st at 11pm when I bought it directly from their website, and also I sent them an email. It took less than an hour before they contact me and told me my order would be shipped earlier next mornning. Then I said well I need it this saturday (november the 3rd) and they offer me overnight saturday included delivery. I got it before noon. I am really impressed with their support.   The amp is really simple to setup, is...
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Austin Morrow

Schiit Valhalla: Awesome Schiit Under $400

Posted
By Austin Morrow

Pros: Huge price to performance ratio - fantastic sound

Cons: Won't drive orthodynamics

  Schiit Audio, now that’s quite a unique name isn’t it? And yes, you read it right, you say it just like that naughty word that you were never allowed to say growing up as a kid. All sarcasm aside, I have recently been questioning why people spend $500+ dollars on headphone amplifiers when they can get just as good performance out of something that is half the cost. Yep, the Schiit Valhalla is a $349 headphone amplifier, but it sounds nearly twice that price.    Schiit Audio really is something. Yes, I know their name is what people will be talking about the most, and who wouldn’t? It’s one of the most weird (yet quite genius) company names I have heard in a...
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helluvapixel

Great starter amp

Posted
By helluvapixel

Pros: Value for money, great sound, no noise

Cons: No tube rolling

This is my first tube amp for headphone listening, and is also my first piece of kit for my listening upgrade. That being said, the Valhalla sounds great with my lackluster headphone output  from my iPhone and using the less talked about V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones.   As you can see, the Valhalla is going to compliment almost you put to it. I noticed an immediate stage and sound improvement and this while using lossless (FLAC) through the amped headphone output. I truly look forward to using the amp with at a minimum line-out / digital output source.   I've tried the Valhalla through fuzz-rock, jazz, heavy metal, vocal songwriter genres and it has performed...
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dayamax

Awesome first tube amp

Posted
By dayamax

Pros: Great sound and build quality, five year warranty

Cons: none

This is a great desktop headphone amp with an incredibly natural sound.  Comes with 5 year warranty and Schiit has very good customer service.   The only disadvantage is that you cannot tube roll in this amp (it only works with the stock tubes), which is actually not such a bad thing for a tube noob like myself.
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Where to Buy It

Amazon.comValhalla Headphone Amplifier at Amazon.com$349.00See It »
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