I own the valhalla 2, and it smokes the vali by far. Having heard the lyr it is also much better than the vali, but I prefer the valhalla 2 overall. Notice how when I said that the vali sounds bad "in comparison to other tube amps" - I suppose if the Vali is the only tube amp you have you might think its good, but the valhalla 2 has much cleaner, linear sound and a larger soundstage while still being euphonic, different from the coldness, clinical sound of some solid states but not having that disgustingly warm, gooey, distorted tube sound that I have come to associate with traditional triode otl amps. BTW my "demo" was going over to a friend's house to compare my valhalla 2 with his new toy the vali and his trusty ol' woo wa7 for a six hour listening session so I was able to give the vali more than just a 'quick listen' and I stand by my opinion of the vali.
The OP never mentions what kind of budget he's on, which is why I mentioned these other amps. Though if he wants tube sound for under $150, the vali may be the only game in town.
I have heard many other tube amps in the price range, such as the Indeed G3, the Bravo V2 an custom built Millet Hybrid Tube as well, of the 4 Hybrid Tube amps I've tried, in addition to the many other solid state amps within that price range that Ive tried, such as the Matrix M Stage, the JDS Labs C5 the Fiio E11, I found the Vali to be the best sounding of them
I won't deny that there are other higher priced options out there, and OP did not specify a price range. Which is very true.
Though again, you just heard the amp once, I understand you had a "6 hour" listening session but to get a true feel for any thing in this hobby, I think at least 16 hours is required, in addition to a few nights of sleep. The term "sleep on it" has really been one of my favorites to stand by. I've had gear that I HATED upon first listening, Because it was different from what I was used to, though upon going to bed and awaking the next day I noticed that my opinion of that gear changed.
Did you have time to try the Vali with different sources, different headphones, different genres? Did you really have sufficent time in one 6 hour session to have a definitive opionion... I don't think you did.
So a single demo at a buddies house, does not suffice for owner ship. Your opinion, is simply an impression. Your more than happy to stand by it, but for the Money. For the Price of $150, you will be very hard pressed to find a better sounding tube Amp, and owned about three of them within the sub $200 price range, I even Rolled tubes into my Indeed G3 and my Millet, rom RCA Clear Tops to NOS Mullards I tried a LOT of tubes. An for everything I heard, I still feel the Vali is the cleanest sounding of them.
I won't say that higher priced amps are not better, as I have not heard them. But for the Money the Vali is a KILLER bargin.
AN with regards to noise, the New Vali models are much quieter than the initial ones. I've owned two of them now with serial numbers, so I think my opinion is valid on the matter.
