[Arcamera]

Just another shout out to the brilliance of these headphones. They have become my all-time favourite headphone. And, while I love the higher-end Kennerton Odin-- so much so I own two pairs--I have yet to experience any headphone quite as enjoyable and fun and satisfying as the Vali. That is, for rock/pop music. Exquisite. (But for serious Classical music listening, I always reach for the Odin).

All to say: Kennerton is phenomenal. I'd leave behind my 20 or so otherwise good headphones for the Kennerton's. Such an under-rated, 'best-kept secret' headphone company. But it is only a matter of time...

 

[devilsadvocate]

Got this recently off of Massdrop. Seriously love them.

 

[heliosphann]

Yea, me too. There's very few headphones I go gaga for right off the bat, but this was one of them. Dunno why it took me so long to check them out!

Also the Kennerton guys threw in a pair of Laguz earphones! I'll write up some thoughts once I have more time on them. Really surprised these aren't way more popular than they are.

 

[devilsadvocate]

Yea, me too. There's very few headphones I go gaga for right off the bat, but this was one of them. Dunno why it took me so long to check them out!

Also the Kennerton guys threw in a pair of Laguz earphones! I'll write up some thoughts once I have more time on them. Really surprised these aren't way more popular than they are.

Same - one of those rare headphones where you find yourself relistening to your entire music collection. The Laguz were also better than one might think (fantastic for $100 IEMs). But the Vali just seriously blew me away. Even my wife, who is lukewarm on high-end audio was impressed.

I think there just isn't enough discussion about them so I wanted to bump this thread. I suspect they're what a lot of people are looking for (strong and deep bass, good clarity, non-fatiguing, responds well to EQ, nice wood, great resonance).

 

[tienbasse]

I think there just isn't enough discussion about them so I wanted to bump this thread. I suspect they're what a lot of people are looking for (strong and deep bass, good clarity, non-fatiguing, responds well to EQ, nice wood, great resonance).

I agree with the qualities you listed.
My only gripe is the relatively small soundstage. You have to pair Valis with a source having a large presentation and strong bass for them to truely shine.
My best pairing are with:
- Opus #1 as a mobile solution (very large soundstage for a DA and magnificent bass).
- ADL GT40 alpha (connected to my PC and turntable) as a home solution for digital music and vinyls. Solid soundstage and remarkable tight bass.

 

[heliosphann]

I agree with the qualities you listed.
My only gripe is the relatively small soundstage. You have to pair Valis with a source having a large presentation and strong bass for them to truely shine.
My best pairing are with:
- Opus #1 as a mobile solution (very large soundstage for a DA and magnificent bass).
- ADL GT40 alpha (connected to my PC and turntable) as a home solution for digital music and vinyls. Solid soundstage and remarkable tight bass.

For me, the soundstage of the Vali is one of things I like about it the most. It's part of what gives you that "in your face", visceral feel. Plus the imaging and instrument separation are fantastic.

 

[devilsadvocate]

For me, the soundstage of the Vali is one of things I like about it the most. It's part of what gives you that "in your face", visceral feel. Plus the imaging and instrument separation are fantastic.

Agreed. If you had a wide soundstage it is going to lose a lot of the qualities that make this headphone great. But this is one reason why we all have multiple headphones.

 

[Arcamera]

Glad you all dig them. I still think they are fabulous. I use them with a Woo WA22. (Probably more than it needs, but I use this amp for a few other headphones as well). So good.

 

[Kennerton Team]

Thanks for the responses! We do not have large marketing budget, so any reply, and, of course, a review helps to spread the word

 

[eric65]

So the guys who missed massdrop and would like to have fun for the russian new year 2018, the Kennerton Vali can be found at a reduced price, in the quality of wood "natural wood".

https://kennerton.com/


For my part, it's another Kennnerton headphone that I'm waiting for the beginning of 2018 (the new flagship planar headphone "Tror"); it does not detract from the fact that the Vali I was able to test is an excellent electrodynamic headphone, much more fun to listen than my ex HD-600. A headphone with a strong personality that does not leave indifferent.

 

[ajreynol]

Speaking of Vali's, I'm finding that the yoke on my left earphone is considerably stiffer than the right. Is there a way to loosen it up to match the other one without having to send them in for service or something?

I emailed Kennerton a few days ago but no response.

 

[Arcamera]

Put a deposit down for my second pair of Vali's I'm looking forward to having a natural wood version (my current ones are varnished). They remain so damn good. More people in North America need to hear these...

 

[Feilong4]

A bit of a long shot, but is anyone willing to lend me their Vali pads or ECL-02 pads for about a day or two? Willing to pay ship to and from. I'm in the US.

I'm pad rolling for a headphone but don't wanna buy a new set since I'm not 100% sure that I'll like the pairing.

 

[Kennerton Team]

A bit of a long shot, but is anyone willing to lend me their Vali pads or ECL-02 pads for about a day or two? Willing to pay ship to and from. I'm in the US.

I'm pad rolling for a headphone but don't wanna buy a new set since I'm not 100% sure that I'll like the pairing.

Hi, just want to warn you that Vali pads a too specific, and generally won't work on most other headphones, especially vintage ortho's - only headphones with extremely powerful bass may benefit from them, as they are very leaky.
ECL-02 is universal and works very well with some modern or vintage big planars.

 

[Feilong4]

Hi, just want to warn you that Vali pads a too specific, and generally won't work on most other headphones, especially vintage ortho's - only headphones with extremely powerful bass may benefit from them, as they are very leaky.
ECL-02 is universal and works very well with some modern or vintage big planars.

Thank you for letting me know! I do plan to test them on a vintage Fostex T50 that was suggested by a Head-Fier.