Official Schiit Vali 2 Thread
Sep 26, 2016 at 10:30 PM Post #1,591 of 3,690
This is interesting. From a lot that I read people are saying the 4490 is the more preferred of the 2. That the multibit is very dry. It's good to hear a different perspective.

 
Can't say I've read more than one or two posts saying they liked the Uber better than the Multibit. Some like the Bifrost 4490 better but I havent heard that about the Modi 2 Uber.
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 12:53 PM Post #1,592 of 3,690
Here's my work setup at the moment-. Love my Schiit:)

 
It's got a big brother by it's side as well:

 
Sep 28, 2016 at 1:27 PM Post #1,594 of 3,690
Here's my work setup at the moment-. Love my Schiit:)



It's got a big brother by it's side as well:


I also use a Vali2 and ModiMB at work :)
No wyrd though, I use a Thinkpad and Mac at my desk and can't really hear a difference between TOSlink from the Mac and USB from the Thinkpad, so I doubt I'd hear a difference with a wyrd.

What tube is in your Vali2? That doesn't look like stock...
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 1:37 PM Post #1,595 of 3,690
I also use a Vali2 and ModiMB at work
smily_headphones1.gif

No wyrd though, I use a Thinkpad and Mac at my desk and can't really hear a difference between TOSlink from the Mac and USB from the Thinkpad, so I doubt I'd hear a difference with a wyrd.

What tube is in your Vali2? That doesn't look like stock...


There's two different tubes in these pictures. The upper picture have a Siemens E88CC tube with goldpins. The lower picture got a Amperex PCC88. But I really recommend getting an adapter to try 5670 tubes. I'm having a very nice time with RCA Command 5670 tube at the moment. Also the Jan/GE 5670 is very nice. I'm also going to try a Tung-Sol 6SN7 tube tomorrow, also with an adapte. It's a chrometop, so I suspect it really is an RCA made Tung-Sol
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 5:30 PM Post #1,596 of 3,690
Very nice!

I've been retired for a few years now but during my working years the only thing I had in my office was a small portable radio that I rarely turned on but since joining Head-fi I can't get over how many of you out there have headphone gear at work. I'm constantly scratching my noggin wondering how you guys do it. Don't your bosses frown on this because of the constant daily distraction it must cause. Don't get me wrong, I'm envious of you folks but frankly my productivity would seriously have been impacted and I would have heard about it. What do you folks do for a living where this is permitted?
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 6:51 PM Post #1,597 of 3,690
 
I also use a Vali2 and ModiMB at work
smily_headphones1.gif

No wyrd though, I use a Thinkpad and Mac at my desk and can't really hear a difference between TOSlink from the Mac and USB from the Thinkpad, so I doubt I'd hear a difference with a wyrd.

What tube is in your Vali2? That doesn't look like stock...


There's two different tubes in these pictures. The upper picture have a Siemens E88CC tube with goldpins. The lower picture got a Amperex PCC88. But I really recommend getting an adapter to try 5670 tubes. I'm having a very nice time with RCA Command 5670 tube at the moment. Also the Jan/GE 5670 is very nice. I'm also going to try a Tung-Sol 6SN7 tube tomorrow, also with an adapte. It's a chrometop, so I suspect it really is an RCA made Tung-Sol


I second the 5760 tube recommendation. That was an absolutely gold find. I tried it with an adaptor in another amp that uses a 6SN7 for gain and it was just as good an upgrade.  I tried a couple of very neutral-sounding 6SN7s in the Vali 2 but I reckon the best results come with tubes that are a little coloured, which most are.
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 9:11 PM Post #1,598 of 3,690
Hey guys, I was hoping someone might be able to help me out...
 
I've had a Vali 2 for some time now and I've tried 2 tubes so far (stock 6BZ7 68Q7A and a Philips PCC88), both played for over 100 hours. The problem is that both tubes sounds the same as the headphone out on my DAC (Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 Interface), I'm using HD 600s and playing FLAC through Foobar. 
 
Would I need to get some other DAC that changes the sound (to a not so flat or hyped up sound maybe)? Or is the quality of the DAC so good that it's near impossible to tell? I thought it should be night and day from a tube amp to an output running off usb power, it's driving me mad trying to find any tiny differences lol.
 
I know some people don't know what to listen out for so they can't tell a MP3 from a FLAC, I can, I won't get it right all of the time but I can tell that they're not the same at least. This might be 1 of them hard to tell situations, if that is the case I would like to know before I go spending more on a new DAC.
 
They all sound great to be honest but they sound the same. 
 
Sep 28, 2016 at 11:16 PM Post #1,599 of 3,690
  Yes on the burn-in necessity. The K7XXs I use have hundreds of hours on them and while they are not basshead phones, they are not lacking in bass IMO. The K712 is AKG's "Reference/Mastering" version that is actually made in Austria, I would expect the K712 to be a solid headphone with accurate bass. Give it time, in addition to the development and refinement of different frequency ranges, the 3D stage should also improve. But true, you may need a set with more bass.
As far as the DAC/Amp/Tube out of the box, not surprising, they need time also. If you are using the stock tube, good idea to pick up something better. The Reflector 6N23P-EV recommended above by claudW is a great tube, I also highly recommend that tube. I have a few sets of the EVs and I've heard them in the Vali2.
Finally, how are you feeding the DAC, USB, COAX?

So you use the K7XX with the vali2? What's your favorite tube accompaniment?
Right now I've got in a 6922EH and I'm not really noticing anything super impressive in terms of altered sound, pretty comparable to going straight into my headphone out minus the volume of course, and I've got ~30 hrs burn in. I've got a few days before I can't return the Vali2 anymore and seriously considering getting the Little Dot i+ instead. 
 
Sep 29, 2016 at 2:58 AM Post #1,600 of 3,690
Very nice!

I've been retired for a few years now but during my working years the only thing I had in my office was a small portable radio that I rarely turned on but since joining Head-fi I can't get over how many of you out there have headphone gear at work. I'm constantly scratching my noggin wondering how you guys do it. Don't your bosses frown on this because of the constant daily distraction it must cause. Don't get me wrong, I'm envious of you folks but frankly my productivity would seriously have been impacted and I would have heard about it. What do you folks do for a living where this is permitted?

I'm a computer programmer and putting on headphones is how I shut out the world so I can concentrate on what I'm doing.
 
Sep 29, 2016 at 4:01 PM Post #1,602 of 3,690
  So you use the K7XX with the vali2? What's your favorite tube accompaniment?
Right now I've got in a 6922EH and I'm not really noticing anything super impressive in terms of altered sound, pretty comparable to going straight into my headphone out minus the volume of course, and I've got ~30 hrs burn in. I've got a few days before I can't return the Vali2 anymore and seriously considering getting the Little Dot i+ instead. 


@bguags Quick answer is the Reflector 6N3P-E, but that requires an adapter. There are so many good tube choices possible, but here's a recent discussion on that group of tubes:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/673709/schiit-lyr-tube-rollers/9975#post_12894833
 
However the immediate issue appears to be the deadline for returning the Vali2, and purchasing/shipping a new tube may not be feasible.
 
I believe the real issue is your source and feed to the amp. In the other thread where you initially posted (http://www.head-fi.org/t/793982/vali-2-tube-rolling/615#post_12898338), you confirmed that you are using the headphone out into the Vali2. The signal has been converted and amplified by your laptop, and then is amplified again by the Vali2. The quality limit of the signal is established by the laptop. Additionally, every stage of amplification adds some distortion. True, you can get a tube that will 'alter' the sound but this approach is not consistent with the goals you indicated in the first thread, which were to improve the detail resolution and soundstage. (You correctly answered your own question, the Vali2 is just increasing the volume.) If you really want to just 'alter' the sound, you can choose one of the tubes that will add some noticeable distortion, some do enjoy the effect.
 
If you want to improve the detail resolution, hear more of the ambient/spatial cues, improve the 3D aural image, then you may need to improve the quality of the source signal to the Vali2. You can do that by adding a DAC, or using a decent quality DAP, which may be less expensive. If you have USB connections in that chain, there is also the possibility of some additional expenditure to clean the USB signal or convert it to SPDIF (Coax or Toslink).
 
Not sure exactly what you are working with for the source, but you want to consider the entire audio chain, it is possible that the weak link is not the tube.
 
Last thing, I am not familiar with the LDi amp, only what I've read. I'm sure it's also a very good amp for your needs, I just don't have any experience with it.
 
Oct 6, 2016 at 2:37 PM Post #1,603 of 3,690
I'm currently enjoying my Vali 2, being fed by a Pono Player (as I gave my Modi Multibit to my dad for his birthday), and driving my Ocharaku Flat 4 Kaede II 'phones.  Oh, and with a '75 6N23P SWGP Reflector.  The Bill Frisell w/ Dave Holland & Elvin Jones album is sounding mighty good right now.  For (even double) the money, I couldn't be more pleased.  The tube seems to be at least somewhat taming the sibilance these Kaedes sometimes exhibit, depending on the material.  These are ultra revealing IEMs, and they're showing just how quiet this amp really is.  I've been using low gain, both for the 'phones, and also when using it as a preamp, feeding my Ayre V-1xe.  As a preamp stop gap, it's actually working shockingly well.
 
EDIT:  My only minor quibble is the pop it makes at about 16 seconds after turning it on.  I even turned my power amp on (took it out of standby) as soon as I heard the relay clicking at ~15 seconds, and it still threw the amp into protection mode, but not before sending a startling pop through to the speakers.  Best to wait a good 20 seconds.
 

 

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