[Sweden]

I'm wondering if makers of tube head amps are ****ting them self now, pardon my French.

 

[purrin]

 
How about a Mad Dog? 50 Ohms, planar, etc.

 
Should be no problem. I was listening to the Paradox (another T50RP mod) mostly from the Vali.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I kind of wish now my MA900 wasn't so easy to drive... I'm looking for a reason to own the Vali, as a one main headphone guy with no desktop amp...

Already owned the Magni and Lyr, and was eyeing the Asgard 2 for the longest time, but then this comes along and tickles my fancy.

 

[kupleh]

subbed

 

[TMRaven]

I know planar magnetics aren't affected by output impedance so much, but I wonder how the 8ohm impedance of the Vali plays with the 22 of the new X and XC.

 

[purrin]

  I know planar magnetics aren't affected by output impedance so much, but I wonder how the 8ohm impedance of the Vali plays with the 22 of the new X and XC.

 
That's a good question. How will the Vali fair with headphones which teeter on the line in terms of compatibility (in terms of looking at specs.)?
 
I had no issues with the HE-400, which has a flat impedance of 35, but 22 may be a different matter. The good thing at least for orthos is their flat impedance curvse, which means we won't get any strange frequency response changes. The most likely change, if audible, would be slower, syrupy, less controlled bass. (This was most evident on the HE-500 for me, but the HE-500 tends to have this characteristic in the first place.)
 
I think someone mentioned the Momentums, which have a nominal impedance of 22 ohms. The good news for the Momentums is that the impedance curve is fairly uniform, the sensitivity is appropriate (I believe they are slightly less sensitive than HD600s), and 22 > 8.
 
Anyways, I would like to reiterate the issues of noise floor (not good with Grados, at least the HF2 and SR80), the microphonic tube ringing (gotta wait up to 60 seconds for it to die down when you switch headphones), and the moderate output impedance at 8 ohms.

 

[RMiller]

Definitely don't think it'd pair well with the MA900, which basically eliminates the Vali for me (for now), but the fact that it's stock tube only, meaning no feeling like I got cheated with cheap tubes, I like the idea of just owning the Vali...

 
To me at least MA900 don't seem to be that sensitive despite the low number, I use them with Asgard2 on high gain; will be getting Vali most likely even if it doesn't seem a good match, for 120$ what the heck

 

[purrin]

The MA900 may work. The concerns would be MA900's nominal impedance being too low, and that bump in its impedance curve at 75Hz. Which means a bass bump there.

 

[ULTRA-HARMONICS]

Tagged...

 

[SourceGuy]

Heard the modi/vali combo with LCD-2 today at RMAF and was very impressed.

 

[AxelCloris]

I love the idea behind this, but the incompatibility with the headphones I use at work is a deal breaker. Still, props to Schiit for this one.

 

[elwappo99]

  The MA900 may work. The concerns would be MA900's nominal impedance being too low, and that bump in its impedance curve at 75Hz. Which means a bass bump there.

 
The MA900's stupid little resistor may actually be useful to have with the Vali

 

[doublea71]

   
Should be no problem. I was listening to the Paradox (another T50RP mod) mostly from the Vali.

Then it's a no-brainer. This is convenient considering my lack of brains.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

6088 is a obvious choice for a little valve headphone amp. These sub minature are battery tubes so keep PSU costs down, they are also some of the few NOS tubes available easily, cheaply in 1000s. Others include 6111. There are other wired types that are larger like some of the CVs like 4034, 4035, 4069. Raytheon were a big maker of the subminature wired tubes like 6088 however but some of the others larger wired types were made by others (UK) and US (Sylvania / PhilpsECG), Raytheon really led the sub minatured wired tubes. Great choice for headphone amps. They can be microphonic but easily damped with gromit which is why DIYs buy them, like the 5 Raytheon Purrin linked to (I bid before his link, was worried for an hr... )

 

[Headzone]

What if you put up a resistor in series to lower headphones sensitivity? Would that make lower impedance headphones work?