Just got the Schiit Vali shipped to me on loan.
First thing I noticed, was.... HOLY MICROPHONICS BATMAN. I mean, i KNEW before it arrived that it's a tad bit microphonic. Just brushing the Vali with your fingers will cause some ringing for a few minutes. Word of advice; DO NOT TOUCH THE VALI OTHER THAN ADJUSTING THE VOLUME.
Just want to say that it sounds SO beautiful, even with the low impedance X2. Something magical about tubes. I'm beginning to understand why people love them. I still prefer SS for the worry free use, but considering the life of the Vali's tubes are basically way too long to worry about it (10,000-20,000 hours), i figured it'd at least be worth looking into.
Just based off early impressions, I can EASILY say that I prefer over the Magni which I felt was a tad bit too dry for my taste. The Vali just sounds...natural.
I'll have to A/b between the E17 and the Vali to see just how different it is, but so far, the Vali sounds sublime. Even the microphonics are easily overlooked when hearing the Vali.
Just saying, my fellow Head-Fi'er @bunnynamedfrank also got a Vali, I got to hear it too and it sounded way close to my tube amp that was 2x the price (not quite as quiet or soundstage depth). I had an Amperex tube (the famous Bugle Boy) which had noticible microphonics and after a few months I just was happier to use my Voskhod, and BNF's Vali recently broke or something. I think normally you'll be fine, but if you need repairs you have to pay shipping.
I feel like Creative's E3 and E5 will be viable alternatives to FiiO's E17, the E5 has an optical input too (for stereo) but when you have it connected to a PC it does SBX surround. The E3 loses the optical input, but still has most of the other benefits. Creative stuff on Black Friday sale right now.
First of all Happy Thanksgiving weekend to everybody from little old me in the UK.
I looked at the set up on the first page but wanted to ask an astro mixamp set up question.
I want to achieve sound from the ps4 to my headphones some of the time but mostly I want the sound to still come out of my Pioneer av receiver.
Am I right thinking it will be a quick swap in the ps4 settings to change audio from hdmi to optical. The bit I'm stuck with is how to connect the headphones to the mixamp.
I'm after the X2s and would use the boompro for a mic. Do I just run the wire from the boompro into headphone socket of the mixamp?
Thanks, happy Thanksgiving to you too, just be happy and appreciate the things in life
I love this holiday, because it's about sharing and the spirit of building bridges, and no matter a person's faith I can wholeheartedly wish them a happy holiday earnestly and it'll be taken at face value. And even though you're in the UK, I'd like to extend a "thank you!" for being a part of the community
When you choose optical as the primary output, audio is still simultaneously sent over HDMI too, so that solves your Pioneer receiver question. You don't even have to adjust settings.
The BoomPro would plug into the Mixamp, just have the USB plugged into the PS4 and the console will label the Mixamp as a "USB MICROPHONE" while also sending it game audio over optical
Overall, easy questions and no worries mate
