[Makiah S]

meh 6.5 ohms... maybe. My AUdio Technica W1000x is 42oms... so that's about 7x as much as the output of the Vali... should be 8 or the out put of the amp should be 1/8 of the headphones in put...
 
Oh wait nvm I'm going to use a 75ohm INteconnect between the Headphone and the amp, that should solve any mis match issues
 
for a low impedance headphone I'd get ur sef like a $20 impedance adapter. A few reputable sellers are on ebay or the DIY guys might be able to build you one as well.

 

[SMG52]

  meh 6.5 ohms... maybe. My AUdio Technica W1000x is 42oms... so that's about 7x as much as the output of the Vali... should be 8 or the out put of the amp should be 1/8 of the headphones in put...
 
Oh wait nvm I'm going to use a 75ohm INteconnect between the Headphone and the amp, that should solve any mis match issues
 
for a low impedance headphone I'd get ur sef like a $20 impedance adapter. A few reputable sellers are on ebay or the DIY guys might be able to build you one as well.

Impedance adapter....? Link please...

 

[Makiah S]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300453295797?_trksid=m570.p2050601.l4766&_trkparms=ga1m%3DT5%26ga2m%3DT2%26ga3m%3DT0%26ga4m%3DT1
 
I few other head fi'rs enjoy them 
 
I've got  a member selling me one he's got hopefully in the next few days 

 

[MickeyVee]

So, basically your asking for a Bifrost Uber with Gen 2 USB only on a Modi package.. Would be a perfect match for the Vali.  I'm in!!
 
Quote:

  for fear of making this more a DAC thread than it is already, perhaps there is a market for Schiit for a Modi2 (to run in parallel to Modi rather than replace), same case, same connection but at $199 and better quality? I would buy Jason.

 

[FLguy]

  Impedance adapter....? Link please...

 
Well, I understand that this (impedance adapters) may be a bit of a controversial topic, but those considering use of an impedance adapter may be interested in this thread:
 
          Impedance Adapters/Cables | Explained & Listed:
          http://www.head-fi.org/t/601669/impedance-adapters-cables-explained-listed
 
I noticed that there is discussion of the possibility of damage to some amplifiers.  I'm not smart enough to know whether that's real or not, and if it is, with which amps it would or could apply.  Maybe someone(s) more knowledgeable than me will clarify whether this would or could apply to the Vali or not...

 

[Makiah S]

   
Well, I understand that this (impedance adapters) may be a bit of a controversial topic, but those considering use of an impedance adapter may be interested in this thread:
 
          Impedance Adapters/Cables | Explained & Listed:
          http://www.head-fi.org/t/601669/impedance-adapters-cables-explained-listed
 
I noticed that there is discussion of the possibility of damage to some amplifiers.  I'm not smart enough to know whether that's real or not, and if it is, with which amps it would or could apply.  Maybe someone(s) more knowledgeable than me will clarify whether this would or could apply to the Vali or not...

Good point, wonder if Schiit could make some kind of adapter to reduce the gain of the Vali. 

 

[manbear]

If you're interested in impedance adapters, there's a good discussion going on in the speaker amps for headphones thread. Unless I'm mistaken, the "er4 p to s" type adapters have resistors in series, hence they will affect the damping factor of dynamic headphones. Mind you, this doesn't necessarily matter that much. While they can change the frequency response of a dynamic headphone, the change might not sound objectionable. I have one of these adapters in 300 ohms, and I thought it sounded great with my Q701 and Emotiva Mini-x speaker amp. However, planar headphones are immune to this changing damping factor effect, so they work great for planars.
 
If you don't want to affect damping factor on dynamic headphones, you will need to get more complicated with a multi-resistor network. This will allow you to present a suitably low impedance to the headphones. 

Also, you can find the max output power into your headphones with a single series resistor in each channel (e.g. the er4 p to s type adapter) using the formula (((max amp voltage)*(headphone impedance)) / (adapter impedance + headphone impedance))^2  / (headphone impedance). Check out the speaker amps thread for more formulas, like for decibel attenuation.

You can also get RCA attenuators on the amp's inputs. I'm not sure how these affect the sound in regards to the input impedance of the amp and the output impedance of your source, but it doesn't seem like they would affect the damping factor of the headphones.

 

[leesure]

HE-400 and 500 in the house! And interestingly, I think they sound better on the Magni!

That after I preferred, by far, the HD598, DT770, PSB M4U1 on the Vali. I mean, the Vali blew away the Magni on these phones.

I feel that with the HE-400 and 500, the Vali just doesn't have enough power to grip the ortho drivers and coax a coherent musical presentation from them. The fine qualities of the Vali are still apparent, but they are struggling to get out.

The biggest problem is with the bass. There's not very much of it, and what's there can hardly be called propulsive or tuneful. There's simply no foundation for the music. The result is the sound is tilted towards the upper mids and treble. Too thin and bright with no body or drive. Bummer!

With the Magni, however, both phones sound fuller, more dynamic, tuneful, and engaging, if less articulate, than with the Vali. But without sufficient drive, the Vali is only about the articulation and not about the music.

To my ears, the Vali is not a good match for the HE-400 and 500. The Magni does much better.

I was bummed that I had a potentially orphaned Magni after the Vali arrived. But the Magni will have a place driving my HE-400s and 500s.

Oh wait.... I have an Asgard 2 coming. Will the Magni become an orphan, yet?

The Vali will drive the Audeze cans nicely, but it's underpowered fir the HifiMan offerings.

 

[TMRaven]

 
I'm listening to "New slaves - Kanye West" and there is lot of distortion. Lowering the volume fix it, but that amps is not powerful enough to drive the T1 to their full potential. 
 

 
What does this distortion sound like to you?

 

[JoeKickass]

   
Well, I understand that this (impedance adapters) may be a bit of a controversial topic, but those considering use of an impedance adapter may be interested in this thread:
 
          Impedance Adapters/Cables | Explained & Listed:
          http://www.head-fi.org/t/601669/impedance-adapters-cables-explained-listed
 
I noticed that there is discussion of the possibility of damage to some amplifiers.  I'm not smart enough to know whether that's real or not, and if it is, with which amps it would or could apply.  Maybe someone(s) more knowledgeable than me will clarify whether this would or could apply to the Vali or not...

I've been posting this link over and over, but head-fi already has a great thread on balanced attenuation and making attenuating adapters:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/198828/the-hissbuster-for-sensitive-headphones
 
And it has listed combinations of resistors for attenuating the signal without changing the impedance that the amp and headphones "see" so there should be zero risk to the equipment involved. I don't think you can just throw a 75 ohm resistor in line with the signal and call it a day like the one on ebay...

 

[hmorneau]

   
What does this distortion sound like to you?

"When an amplifier is pushed to create a signal with more power than its power supply can produce, it will amplify the signal only up to its maximum capacity, at which point the signal can be amplified no further. As the signal simply "cuts" or "clips" at the maximum capacity of the amplifier, the signal is said to be "clipping". The extra signal which is beyond the capability of the amplifier is simply cut off, resulting in a sine wave becoming a distorted square-wave-type waveform."
 
I think it sum up what I mean by distortion, in fact it's more "clipping" according to wikipedia.

 

[SMG52]

The Vali will drive the Audeze cans nicely, but it's underpowered fir the HifiMan offerings.

Any experience in how much background 'noise' (gain hiss or whatever) there is when driving the low impedance, efficient LCD-X headphones?

 

[purrin]

  My previous comment about a "lack" of slam is in relation to the Mjolnir, which hits hard. I don't find the Vali dynamically compressed at all though. And I certainly don't perceive it losing detail in busy passages or miring the presentation with overdriven distortion. There's bound to be variance in findings based on many factors, but some of the impressions here are utterly baffling.

 
LOL. Just one (of the two) power transformers in the Mojo probably weights 5x the weight of the Vali.

 

[purrin]

  Any experience in how much background 'noise' (gain hiss or whatever) there is when driving the low impedance, efficient LCD-X headphones?

 
I didn't hear any noise. But it didn't seem like a good match. LCD-X was lethargic from Vali. Figure 8 ohms output Z and 22 ohms nominal Z of LCD-X getting too close for comfort. I had better results from a portable with low output Z, i.e. UHA-6S.

 

[wes008]

 

   
What does this distortion sound like to you?

"When an amplifier is pushed to create a signal with more power than its power supply can produce, it will amplify the signal only up to its maximum capacity, at which point the signal can be amplified no further. As the signal simply "cuts" or "clips" at the maximum capacity of the amplifier, the signal is said to be "clipping". The extra signal which is beyond the capability of the amplifier is simply cut off, resulting in a sine wave becoming a distorted square-wave-type waveform."
 
I think it sum up what I mean by distortion, in fact it's more "clipping" according to wikipedia.

But what does it sound like to YOU?  We all know what clipping technically is.  We want to know how the Vali sonically performs with the T1.