Somewhat on topic, I got a Mimby yesterday under the tree, and after ~36 hours online, it sounds REALLY good with the Vali2 and my Philips PCC88 (the little tube that could). I can concur that this is a great combo.   As one might expect, the Mimby and Vali2 work very very well together.  ...

That's a tough comparison for the PM-3 or any cans really, My old HD-590s are, to this day, still the most comfortable cans I've ever owned. Long after they died they remain my "gold standard" which all other cans are compared against. In my competitive FPS days, I would routinely wear the...

If you've got large ears, I'd stay away from closed phones in general. Their sound signature usually relies on getting a good seal, so they tend to be smaller in order to get a better likelyhood of sealing against the skull. If you're worried about fit and comfort, I'd recommend you look at...

  It's almost certainly an Ei. All the Upscale Audio PCC88 Philips are Ei made, it says so in the description. Yours looks just like mine. The date/manufacture code should be on the reverse side of the tube, but likely it's not particularly legible. I think the ink/dye they used deteriorated...

Can't speak for the nighthawks, but I got the PM3s and my wife got the HE400i within a few days of each other (early christmas presents). It's going to come down to "Do you prefer open cans or closed cans"?   Despite owning and primarily wearing Senn HD-650s and then Beyer DT-880s for more...

Is your Philips 7DJ8 made in Herleen or an Ei? I've got a '57 Herleen (miniwatt) and a '74 Ei (philips). The midrange on the Ei is a bit pronounced (which I like on most cans. it's a bit much on some tunes on my NAD HP50s, but perfect on my Oppo PM3s), however the soundstage is unlike...

  I concur. Tube selection can be surprising. Interestingly, the 1974 Phillips PCC88 that works so well on all my closed headphones is outshone on my HD650s by my 1957 (I believe) "pinched waist" Miniwatt PCC88. The miniwatt is a bit less present in the mids than the phillips, and the...

The 580/600/650 series has been reccomended to be matched with a tube amp for pretty much their entire lifespan. Now, I don't know if a hybrid like the Vali2 counts, but my HD650s do sound better with my Vali 2 than my old solid state.   That said, I'm talking about a sample size here of 1 SS...

  I concur. Got a pair of HE-400i for the wife for her birthday. Her magni powers it just fine, but I needed high gain on my vali 2 to be happy with them. Surprised me, I didn't think they were that hungry. The only cans previously that needed high gain on my vali2 were my HD-650s and 600ohm...

On the topic of "upgrade from HP50", I think it's pretty clear to me... Between myself and my Wife, we've got (among others) the HP50s, Senn HD-650s, HE-400i, and Oppo PM-3.   Now, I've never heard HD-600s, but I don't think that my 650s sound much like the HP50s. They're closer to the...

I wanted to check in and say that this program is great and I wish more manufactures/retailers participated in such programs.   It absolutely contributed to my purchase of the Oppo PM-3s. They arrive Tuesday (bit of a delay due to life etc). Right this very second I've got my wife's brand...

So, during my time with the Oppos I compared them to my stable of headphones, HD-650, DT-880, HP50, M4U1. All things considered, they're probably the best of the bunch, and I ended up selling a pair of Nad HP50s (wife and I each had a pair, so one can go) to partially fund the purchase of a set...

  Unit #2 (was #4) should ship out tomorrow. sorry for the delay.

Unit #4 showed up today. Mostly going to be comparing them to my existing closed cans, since that's my frame of reference.   First impression? Wow this is comfortable. The earcups are slightly smaller than my NAD HP50s, But dont' feel that way, and the cans spread their weight well on the...

7volt tubes from the 6DJ8 family (usually desinated "PCC88" or "7DJ8") work very well in the vali 2 as well.   You can often find PCC88s at around half the price that a ECC88 from the same factory/year would cost.

The pop doesn't really worry me.   it's annoying if you forget about it and have the headphones on your head when it happens, for sure... but I've (by accident) played music through my headphones way WAY louder than the pop and they were fine.   I was actually kinda impressed that they could...

I've PM'd him twice in the last week and haven't heard back. He also hasn't updated the main post in 12 days. I'm guessing he's missing in action.

I'm sure Jiffy Squid has a handle on it.   I was actually supposed to receive unit #8 a few weeks ago, but I asked to be bumped to the back of the line (and I was), because I wouldn't be able to give it a fair trial at the time. At the time, I was the "end" of the line, so Jiffy just...

  I'm waiting on it to get shipped to me.

  From my research, so far as i'm aware everything in the 6DJ8 family works with the Vali 2, which includes the 6DJ8 itself (aka ECC88 and 6H23), the 6922 (aka E88CC), the 7308 (aka E188CC), the 8223 (aka E288CC), and the CCa.    The 7v version of the 6D78, the 7DJ8 (aka PCC88), also works...

  If you're looking for a nice fat rich sound that pairs well with the Vali2, Let me recommend the PSB M4U1 or NAD HP50 (almost the same headphone, sister companies, both cans designed by speaker wizard Paul Barton).    My NAD HP50s with a Philips PCC88 sourced off of a modi 2 is a magical...

so far as I know, Spotify uses Vorbis -q5 for normal stuff, and vorbis -q9 for premium.    Last time I tested (admitedly, probably half a decade ago) I couldn't ABX q4 from source, let alone q5. I could tell -q3 (~112kbps) on a few songs. q9, for me anyway, is complete overkill. I settled on...

  I've got both the HP50s and the Sennheiser HD-650s, among others.   They're not really very comparable sound-quality wise.   The HP50s have great soundstage for closed phones, but can't match the 650s in that regard. Big lead by the 650s here.   The 650s have great bass for (non-planar)...

  Uh, it is true. Because that's what I hear (or, don't hear, as the case may be). High gain at "12 o'clock" and low gain at "4 o'clock" sound identical to me on my HD-650s. What is it that you think I'm supposed to be hearing? Because unless I've completely misunderstood Schiit's...

My 32ohm NAD HP50s are too loud on high gain. So I use low gain. My 300ohm Senn HD-650s are too quiet on low gain. So I use high gain.   That's... that's pretty much about it. I can't really tell any difference in sound between high and low other than volume (and, unless I'm mistaken, you're...