[RockvillePete]

[size=medium]Hello all, I’m Dennis from Rockville Maryland. At first by necessity but now by preference, I do most of my listening through phones. I’ve had countless brands and models over the years ranging from JVC to Stax but for better or worse I’ve more or less settled on Sennheiser. Several years ago I purchased a pair of HD650’s along with the Cardas cable upgrade as my experience with the 580’s stock cable was utter frustration. I’ve been using the 650’s with the headphone amp built into my Carver C-1 preamp (30 years old and still going strong!

) but wanted to see what a dedicated headphone amp could achieve.[/size]
 
[size=medium]Reading the reviews here I decided on the Schiit Valhalla as it’s a very good match with 300-400 ohm phones and I’ve always wanted to experience a pure tube amp without needing a second mortgage to do so. I’ve had the Valhalla now for about a week and I’m overjoyed with it! That Jason & Mike are able to manufacture an amp with top-grade components at this level of build quality right here in the good ‘ol USA and then sell the thing for $350 is simply astounding! Best $350 I’ve ever spent on audio![/size]
 
[size=medium]Being an older fart I’ve had a late start jumping on the MP3 & iPod bandwagon so most of my music is still on CD. My musical tastes vary widely from Bach/Beethoven/Brahms/Bruckner/ [/size][size=medium]Wagner/Mahler/Sibelius/Shostakovich/Liszt/Chopin/Schubert-type classical to ECM Euro-Scandinavian/eclectic jazz to bebop/hardbop/postbop jazz to 70’s-80’s classic rock. It all depends on my mood at the time but if it’s good music, I’ll listen to it. I’m also a dedicated pipe smoker and single maltaholic. [/size]
 
[size=medium]I’m not looking for anything specific, more or less to get the most out of the Valhalla/650 combo.[/size]
[size=medium]Cheers!

[/size]

 

[Koolpep]

Welcome Pete!
 
The forum is richer with you as a member
 
Hope to read some more experiences about your Valhalla soon. Do you have the newer version that allows tube rolling or the "older" one?
 
I do have the older version and love this amp too.
 
Cheers,
K

 

[M-13]

You should come join the rest of us Schiit heads here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/601151/schiit-owners-unite/2685#post_9560132
 
This is the most active thread. You should probably repost your intro on this thread.

 

[RockvillePete]

Quote by Koolpep:

Welcome Pete!
 
The forum is richer with you as a member
 
Hope to read some more experiences about your Valhalla soon. Do you have the newer version that allows tube rolling or the "older" one?
 
I do have the older version and love this amp too.
 
Cheers,
K

 
Thanks for the welcome K! The Valhalla is an awesome amp and a steal for $350. I purchased mine last week from Amazon who in turn shipped it from Kraft Street Audio in Murfreesboro TN. According to Jason Stoddard from Schiit, any Valhalla purchased after May 1, 2012 from an authorized dealer will be the rollable version. But just to be sure, I sent Schiit an email with the unit's serial number asking them to confirm whether or not it's rollable. Most likely it is but better safe than sorry.
 
After reading the Valhalla tube rolling thread I thought I'd try obtaining some of the tubes recommended by Mr. Tom and others. For the moment I'm staying with the 6N1P/6N6P combo the amp was designed for but I wanted to find some that were a higher grade or earlier vintage than the stock tubes. I got lucky and found the only matched pair of pre-1970 6N1P's listed on eBay. They were made in 1964 at Novosibirsk for the soviet military and were a good bit more expensive than their more recent cousins. I also found two matched sets of 6N6P's, one set made by SOUZ in 1970 and the other pair made by FOTON in 1966! They should get here in a few weeks, giving me more time to become familiar with the sound of the stock tubes.
 
Do you have any thoughts about having the unit upgraded to the rollable version? Apparently it can be done but it's not a simple procedure.
 
Quote by M-13:

You should come join the rest of us Schiit heads here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/601151/schiit-owners-unite/2685#post_9560132
 
This is the most active thread. You should probably repost your intro on this thread.

 
Thanks for the invite M-13! As a bonafide Schiit head I'll definitely check it out!