[Eric_C]

Mad Dogs just arrived. Sounds good on Vali.

 

[vaibhavp]

a noob question:
 
do Vali tubes need replacement like normal full tube amp? How many hours of life are they rated at?

 

[Eric_C]

  a noob question:
 
do Vali tubes need replacement like normal full tube amp? How many hours of life are they rated at?

 
http://schiit.com/products/vali
Click "FAQ".
 

...tubes also have a lifespan, though Vali's tubes are expected to last 10,000-20,000 hours--which is 7-14 years of listening 4 hours a day, every day.

 What happens when the tubes croak? 
You'd send it back to us and we'll replace them for $20. If they ever do go bad, that is. We're betting they won't

 

[MattTCG]

  I was wondering if I could get some help.
 
From my perspective, the only headphone I see that will be an endgame for me is the SR-009/BHSE combo. I won't be able to afford it for another couple of years, so I was thinking of reacquiring a HD600 and a Bottlehead Crack. I heard the Crack is possibly the endgame amp for the HD600. However, it's a DIY project, and has a long waitlist.
 
Enter the Vali. 
 
It's half the price of the unbuilt Crack, and is described as having a similar tube clarity and detail as the Crack. 
 
Is there a HD600 owner who owns/will own both the Crack and Vali? Your input would be greatly appreciated.

 
I've heard the crack many times. It's certainly better than the Vali IMO. But still, the Vali sounds good with hd600/650. In fact the hd650 is the best match for me. The Vali does not pair well with the he500 and ma900 for me. 
 
kstuart states that he perceives a shift towards more sparkle and clarity after burn in. I'm hearing a bit too much sparkle in the treble pre-burn in. With more sparkle after burn in this would be a real issue for me. The he500 are just too bright and sibilant with the Vali. The ma900 is much too noisy. 
 
I'd be interested in Purrin's impression of the Vali with the he500...sorry if it's already been given. 
 
The hd600/650 is the best match. They are somewhat darker hp's and the sparkle of the Vali seems to be a good balance without become harsh and sibilant. 

 

[hans030390]

I'm thinking for now, I'll stick with the Vali as my general amp, the Leckerton UHA-6S Mk.II for more sensitive headphones and portable usage, and the vintage Sansui receiver for orthos (have yet to try the HE-500 with the Vali, but it sounds like the receiver would do a better job controlling the bass response based on what purrin and others have said).

 

[ethan7000]

I am using a stock pair of HD800's with my Vali.

When I plug in the headphones, I get VERY loud ringing. Loud enough that I can hear it even if I don't have the headphones on.

It takes on average about 45 seconds for the ringing to reduce down to a level where it's barely audible.

Tapping on the case will cause ringing too, but not nearly as loud as when plugging in headphones. I will get fairly noticeable ringing if the headphone cord brushes the case at all. This can take 15 to 20 seconds to go away.

I also noticed that my cell phone causes static on the Vali if the phone is on the desk near the Vali.

I guess it is the luck of the draw on how much ringing/microphonics your Vali will have.

With any tube amp picking up cell interference - if you have wifi available, turn off cellular data. Noise should go away.

 

[NinjaHamster]

   
I've heard the crack many times. 

 
I've heard that the "crack" stinks.

 

[moshin29]

Just received my Vali/Modi. Great combo when paired with the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro & Audio Technica ATH-M50!! 

 

[Makiah S]

  Just received my Vali/Modi. Great combo when paired with the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro & Audio Technica ATH-M50!! 

wooot happy to hear it sounds good with the DT 990... 
 
I wish I still had m DT 990 so I could do a real review of the pair q.q
 
I only have my Dt 880 which should suffice xD 
 
Also at @purrin 
Pretty sure my Balanced NFB10ES2 Dac will be more than enough for the Vali ;3 

 

[rockpile6]

I have only about 5 hours burn-in time and first shot listen to the Vali via Gungnir/HD600 tells me that this amp is worth more than the money spent. It must be luck of the draw when it comes to tubes but so far I have not experienced any ringing as described by many.  I plugged the headphones in before turning the unit on and have not tried switching headphones while on. Volume adjustment also does not cause any ringing. I think this one is definitely a keeper.

 

[JoeKickass]

The he500 are just too bright and sibilant with the Vali. The ma900 is much too noisy.

For noise I highly recommend using an attenuator, it basically increases the impedance. The minus 10 dB one is good enough for my 40 ohm headphones to have zero noise, I would probably go minus 20 dB for iem's though:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/198828/the-hissbuster-for-sensitive-headphones

 

[Bajsklittan]

Doesn't ATH-M50 get a lot of background noise with the vali?

 

[Barry S]

  I have only about 5 hours burn-in time and first shot listen to the Vali via Gungnir/HD600 tells me that this amp is worth more than the money spent. It must be luck of the draw when it comes to tubes but so far I have not experienced any ringing as described by many.  I plugged the headphones in before turning the unit on and have not tried switching headphones while on. Volume adjustment also does not cause any ringing. I think this one is definitely a keeper.

 
I'm glad some people are trying the Vali with higher end DACs. My own experience is that the Vali is perfectly serviceable with the Modi, but doesn't offer a significant improvement over something like the Magni. Sure, you might prefer the signature of Vali, but it performs at roughly the same level. However, fed by the Gungnir, the Vali starts to significantly pull away from the Magni. If you have a Modi/Vali, when the time comes to upgrade, I'd go for a better DAC first.

 

[rockpile6]

I couldn't agree more.

 

[tdockweiler]

I spent another 6 hours last night listening to the Vali while playing games and it seems to sound worse the more I listen to it.
Now to my ears it sounds great with the modded Q701 and doesn't change a thing. It adds NOTHING and same with the two K400s I have.
To me it's not good really with the HD-650 and holds it back majorly compared to the Magni, Micro and O2. The HD-650 and DJ100 are the two headphones where the Vali adds in it's own colorations, which make them sound worse.
 
First tried docked Ipod Touch 2G to Vali and HD-650.
Sounded muffled/congested and closed in. Lack of detail and sound clarity.
 
I got the same results with my DJ100. Closed in congested sound and not clear at all. Not smooth and sloppy bass.
 
It's as if I can't even hear my Ipod Touch 2G. It's normally crystal clear sounding, but the Vali is crapping up it's good sound. 100% not the Ipod Touch's fault so don't even say it.
 
I switched to the Q701 and K400. PERFECT! Nothing added at all. What the...??
 
I then try my Denon 2190 CD player which has two Wolfson WM8740 DAC chips. Much better! Soundstage is a little bigger and I think this is the trick.
The problem is that the mids are so thick that it obscures detail and makes everything abnormally smooth. Sometimes it's nice, but mostly not. I would say with this setup I heard this "tubey" sound.
The DAC has some warmth too. Listened to this setup for 1 1/2 hours and liked it but sounded quite colored.
 
Vali and Modi is probably comparable to the Denon 2190 but less warmth in total.
 
Vali and Headroom Micro DAC sound the best easily. It uses the CS4398 chipset and seems pretty uncolored without any warmth at all. Vali adds in it's own flavor and I can't hear how good this DAC is.
 
Basically right now with everything I attach to the Vali it sounds like a Vali. I can't hear much difference, which is similar to the E9. It's the last amp i'd use to hear changes in my sources.
 
Loving it with the Q701 but with that it doesn't add anything and sounds dead neutral/transparent with that. It'd be interesting to try it with a DT-880 and see what happens there.
 
Right now it's not an amp i'd suggest for someone starting out or that wants a good all-rounder. IMO is more like a cheap toy to play with. I love it with the modded Q701 so that's good enough for me.
 
I'm listening to "Light Years" from Pearl Jam and it's really muffled and the bass is sort of farty sounding on the HD-650. Q701 is crystal clear on the Vali but the HD-650 sounds really veiled.
 
I think one of the problems is that the soundstage of the Vali (not from my sources) is kind of very compressed. This doesn't help the HD-650.
 
I imagine it will be a great match for anything that doesn't have a closed in soundstage that is too bassy or warm.
 
Now the question is why it seems so uncolored with the modded Q701 but much worse with the HD-650? With the Q701 it's about as good as my main setup and I feel as if I can HEAR my sources unlike with the HD-650/DJ100 and Vali.
 
EDIT: BTW just because I don't like the HD-650 with the Vali doesn't mean I hate the amp. I'll use it in my bedroom for just the Q701. I actually would like to see how the DT-880 does with the Vali. My bet is that it doesn't add anything to that (no extra warmth) just like with the Q701. I want to try a SR-60 on it too

I know it might be noisy.
 
EDIT2: I was just listening to a really trebly song and it actually sounded crystal clear with the Vali and 650. On songs where there is bass, the sound with the HD-650 can get more "hazy" and the sound (and clarity) takes a nose dive. I think the bass is just not very well controlled and a bit sloppy. Nothing too terrible. Maybe this is why I don't like it with the HD-650. Recordings with any kind of warmth feel as if they have a double whammy of warmth on the Vali.
 
You can hear the same things the Vali is doing to the HD-650 on the DJ100 w/M50 pads, but even more magnified. Just basically loose farty bass and a very closed in soundstage and lacking in sound clarity. The Vali actually isn't too noisy with the 38ohm DJ100. Sounds like a low mid emphasis coming form the Vali. HD-650 and DJ100 don't need this really. Strangely enough the 38ohm DJ100 sounds better from the Vali than the HD-650.