[raf1919]

Hi all,

Looking for a tube amp.. which amp has a very tubey/warm sound?

Vali2
Valhalla 1 or 2 ( I read 1 is more tubey)
Lyr2
Darkvoice
littledot mk3

I'd prefer to stay with schiit so I can have stack but not a must.

 

[Dr. Hugo]

From what I’ve read, dark voice is the most tuby and warm sounding of all of them and it allows the geatest amount of freedom on tube rolling.

 

[raf1919]

Damn was worried to hear that.. DK won't stack with bimby will have of something

 

[dncnexus]

The DV is the most tubey and the best tube of all stated if you want an actual tube amp. The Schiit tubes are kind of lacking in the space, but ok if you are ok with more SS sounding tubes. I personally use a DV after testing multiple of these you stated. I am eventually gonna get a Feliks Elise next.

 

[raf1919]

I'd love wa3 but to costly. Will probably try to scoop up a DK and sell my vali 2

 

[dncnexus]

I'd love wa3 but to costly. Will probably try to scoop up a DK and sell my vali 2

I actually keep a Vali 2 on my setup as just a tube amp to use with my lower impedance headphones. So if you have any maybe good to keep it

 

[raf1919]

I have asgard2 already or maybe sell that. I figured keep ashgard and get a OTL to have with it. Was going to get you split rca from bimby and have both amps ready to use

 

[491326]

I've heard that the dark voice has a lot of little problems about it, but I've never really listened to headphones from tube gear so I wouldn't know about the sound. From what I've read, the the Valhalla ii is a full tube amp so it has more potential to sound tube compared to the Lyr ii.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Looking for a tube amp.. which amp has a very tubey/warm sound?

Vali2
Valhalla 1 or 2 ( I read 1 is more tubey)
Lyr2
Darkvoice
littledot mk3

If you want a very dark sound but mostly due to low noise, get the DV336se.

If you want a really rolled off top end, get the LD MkII, not the MkIII.

But that's only guaranteed for your HD650 since OTL amps can react differently to low impedance loads. My MkII made a K701 sound like a tin can with barely any bass (and what bass lines and double peds was left was a mumbling, barely audible mess), basically making it even worse and farther off from the HD600, while boosting the low end on my SR225 (not that it was very clean and controlled bass like the HD600 on a Violectric or Meier amp; yes, even on the high impedance headphone, the MkII or even the MkIII wasn't totally that clean in reproducing fast bass) and making it an HD600 with even worse imaging vs the K701. Not to mention that OTL tube amps deliver the most power at 300ohm and the lowest output at 32ohms, and there are more low impedance headphones with lower sensitivity than the high impedance Sennheisers and Beyers.

If you want one that works just as well with your Sennheiser and lower sensitivity HiFiMan, but you still want a dark sound, skip even the Lyr and keep saving up for a WooAudio WA22.

 

[raf1919]

If you want a very dark sound but mostly due to low noise, get the DV336se.

If you want a really rolled off top end, get the LD MkII, not the MkIII.

But that's only guaranteed for your HD650 since OTL amps can react differently to low impedance loads. My MkII made a K701 sound like a tin can with barely any bass (and what bass lines and double peds was left was a mumbling, barely audible mess), basically making it even worse and farther off from the HD600, while boosting the low end on my SR225 (not that it was very clean and controlled bass like the HD600 on a Violectric or Meier amp; yes, even on the high impedance headphone, the MkII or even the MkIII wasn't totally that clean in reproducing fast bass) and making it an HD600 with even worse imaging vs the K701. Not to mention that OTL tube amps deliver the most power at 300ohm and the lowest output at 32ohms, and there are more low impedance headphones with lower sensitivity than the high impedance Sennheisers and Beyers.

If you want one that works just as well with your Sennheiser and lower sensitivity HiFiMan, but you still want a dark sound, skip even the Lyr and keep saving up for a WooAudio WA22.

Not sure i'll ever afford the wa22, my budget will be sub 500 for the amp maybe wa3?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Not sure i'll ever afford the wa22, my budget will be sub 500 for the amp maybe wa3?

WA3 is an OTL amp so you'll have the same problems with low impedance headphones.

You could just go with the Meier Jazz FF and run Crossfeed. You lose a little bit of absolute soundstage "width" (if by that you mean the cymbals are far off to the flanks where the guitars are, because the Fantastic Four is now a band and Reed Richards is on the drums) but you get more precise, relative positioning (ie no unnaturally long armed fictional drummers), and more soundstage depth, while driving practically any headphone without any problems.

Or save up for a used Violectric V200 if you want a smoother top end.

Or if you really want tubes because tubes are so awesome despite the fact that all these problems are there, get a hybrid amp like the Lyr. Tubes are still sticking out so you still get to bask in some tube glow, albeit now as much tube glow as on a WA6se or WA22.

 

[raf1919]

WA3 is an OTL amp so you'll have the same problems with low impedance headphones.

You could just go with the Meier Jazz FF and run Crossfeed. You lose a little bit of absolute soundstage "width" (if by that you mean the cymbals are far off to the flanks where the guitars are, because the Fantastic Four is now a band and Reed Richards is on the drums) but you get more precise, relative positioning (ie no unnaturally long armed fictional drummers), and more soundstage depth, while driving practically any headphone without any problems.

Or save up for a used Violectric V200 if you want a smoother top end.

Or if you really want tubes because tubes are so awesome despite the fact that all these problems are there, get a hybrid amp like the Lyr. Tubes are still sticking out so you still get to bask in some tube glow, albeit now as much tube glow as on a WA6se or WA22.

 

[raf1919]

I already have a solid state so was just looking for tube system to play with. I have vali2 but still in return window so would Lyr be a big step up?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I already have a solid state so was just looking for tube system to play with. I have vali2 but still in return window so would Lyr be a big step up?

if you're keeping the Asgard2 (and a large enough desk) then might as well get the DV336se and a Sys so you can conveniently switch between the DV336se on the Sennheiser and the Asgard on everything else.

If you're going to sell the Asgard2 and might as well sell the Vali2 then maybe get the Lyr2.