Thanks! That base is actually African mahogany, finished with red mahogany dye and denatured alcohol to color it a bit so that it resembles the red mahogany veneer on the Victrola. (It’s not a perfect “match”, nor was it meant to be; more of a subtle “tip o’ the hat” to the older machine.) The...

Well, I received my assembled Crack/SB amp a couple of weeks ago and… I am lovin’ it. I didn’t know, at first, how to have it finished, exactly. Then it hit me; why not echo the look of my ancient Victor Victrola? And so that’s the way we went. I think it worked out well!

Wow, that’s beautiful!

I elected to have mine assembled. And yes, it added to the cost significantly. It’s not that I thought I couldn’t build it myself; I’m VERY patient and quite good at following well-written instructions. (No one can assemble IKEA furniture as well as I can, lol.) No, the problem was that I’ve...

Hey, thanks for your very thoughtful response. You’ve given me some stuff to think about.

^ That is most unfortunate! I've followed a number of reviewers, on and off, for years, so I can usually find some trustworthy reviews.

Thanks for the reply. Definitely tube amp! 'Cause I've read that HD-600/6XX/650 headphones sound significantly better when driven by certain OTL tube amps. The question is… which one? As you can see, most of my music is acoustic, orchestral and vocals. Symphony orchestras, jazz combos, Original...

I bet that would be the ultimate. Alas, a bit over my budget for a $220 pair of headphones.

Hey everyone, looking for headphone amp advice. (Mods, I know there's already lots of advice here, but the music and hardware I prefer are not what most of you roll with, so I thought that might warrant a new thread.) Perhaps some of you can help steer me to the right amp. Where I'm at now…...

How tedious these "there's no audible difference" arguments are. And they seem to spring up like weeds on forums everywhere. Just saw the same BS in a "discussion" about the SubDude Iso Platform. Sigh. I guess that's life on the internet, where every opinion - no matter how stupid - gets heard...

Well thought out write-up. Thanks for posting. Why do you prefer the 880s for classical and jazz?

Honestly, a discussion about the Mona Lisa on this (and, for that matter, almost any) internet forum would quickly degenerate into a four page debate about the frame. Anyway, as Schitt says repeatedly on their website, dude, it's $119.

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Schitt makes several headphone amps. Looking at their website, it seems the guys who designed these amps feel the Vali is NOT the Schitt to buy if you enjoy modding. At least, that's the impression I got.

My thoughts exactly! For both audio components and cars, there is a certain personality type - the "do-it-yourselfer" - who generally believes things can be improved by tweaking/modding. Not saying that's never the case, but in my experience, professionally trained (and hired) audio engineers...

CNET's Steve Guttenberg just reviewed the Vali: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57619279-47/schiit-audios-tiny-but-powerful-$119-tube-headphone-amplifier/

Simple shipping mistake; of course you can exchange it at, I'm sure, no expense to you. And I'm sure there's no issue with you "trying" the Magni while you have it. So chill.

The "ringing" is a non-issue. Forget about it. Jeez.

Mine came today, #870. I used it as I would any other headphone amp – not being extra careful about turning it on, adjusting volume, etc. – and no ringing to speak of. So far I love it. Using a pair of HD-580s.

I love this! Thanks for starting this thread!

I'm also weary of the lengthy discussions of tube microphonics in the Vali. Honestly people, it's a little quirk; nothing more. I would much prefer a discussion about how the Vali sounds with various headphones, and versus other Schiit amps. One would think that would be the meat of this thread...