[Rossliew]

For me, it sounded pretty good, brand new, with the HD650. Made the Senns less warmer in tonality with very good holographic imaging and haunting vocals on some Canto-pop songs I listened to. Let's see how the sound changes after more running in. Oh, the Vali works great even with my analog front end. So small yet so synergistic...

 

[Solarium]

I

Give some time for the Vali to burn in. You may find the amp sound nicer after a couple of days.

My experience was that it sounded good on day one, but not exceptional (I did some critical listening right after I got it). The next few days saw some casual background listening. On day 4 I put on the HD598s and, holy cow, does this combo sound great. Hypnotic! So much more involving than on day one.

Does anyone use the HD598 as their main phones with the Vali? It's an awesome sounding combo.

I originally bought the Vali to use with my HD598's, but upgraded to HD650 after I ordered it. But yea, I figured if there's any headphone it pairs perfectly with it would be the HD598. But I'm also glad it works out for HD650 too

Btw, has anyone compared Vali to Zero, which is an amp with preouts, solid state but with a hint of tube, and around the same price as Vali.

 

[Magick Man]

The Uncanny Vali​

Schiit Audio is a company.  They are well known in the audiophile world.  They make many products from headphone amps to DACs.  The newest of these products is the Vali.  It is a hybrid tube amp for only $120.  This is a new low for Schiit.  Their previous offerings with tubes were not this cheap.  This should make the headphone world tremble.  Already in the first few days it is clear that Schiit has another hit on their hands.  Designed by Jason Stoddard of Sumiko fame, the Vali is an all-out-assault on what a tube amp sounds like and costs.  Like all Schiit products, the Vali is made in America.  The Vali was introduced secretly earlier this year.  Only recently with the reviews of respected beta testers like Jude Mansilla and Warren Pchi has word leaked out of just how good this little amp is.

...

You win large trophies made of shiny metal.

 

[Beagle]

  The microphonics are not that bad. Once music is playing you won't notice it, not even between songs. Listening to it new out of the box now, sweet and solid little amp and the pairing with the Modi + a woodied SR80i is really very, very good considering the price one pays for the pair.

 
I still get ringing in the right side but only when I touch the volume or move the headphone cable. It dies away and then all is well. SInce it makes my headphones sing beautifully, the minor annoyance is easy to live with.

 

[Makiah S]

So SCH 12B 556 is with me now. Sadly I have no way of listening to it until about 4pm today, BUT until then I figured I'd let it BURN in and test the noise
 
with my 600 ohm DT 880. When I first plug it in it rings... regardless of the volume... I wonder if my less impedanced and more senstive W1000x will make this ringing louder? If so ... ouch but again this is literally Hour 1
 
anyways after 30 seconds it stops, if I tap on it it rings for about 15 seconds. If I SMASH my hand on teh table [ppl around me stare] and the vali is silent... so hurray.
 
Meh she will get at least another hour of Burn in, then I'm off to another class room. Then she MIGHT get another 3 hours OR I'll get a ride home right after my last Final
 
Either way. I'm finding at least with my 600 ohm dt 880 the noise is not an issue. Needless to say the vali might get increasing noisier when I plug my senstive low impedance w1000x, or rather teh noise of the vali may be more obvious 

 

[Stapsy]

There was quite a large run of Vali's made for the initial release, I am not surprised that the Vali's that are being shipped now have not been "fixed".  FWIW I have had no problems whatsoever with mine and the tubes are still stuck to the foam even after being in sub-zero temperatures for an extended period of time.  Not saying there are no problems, I just don't want people who are considering a Vali to be unduly influenced by the comments of a few people that have had some issues.  Schiit are good people and I am sure they will take care of anyone who is having serious problems with the tubes.

 

[Khragon]

Anyone having problem contacting Schiit? I tried their email, their sale rep email (alex), I tried facebook, I tried Google+, I tried leaving voice messages.  It has been more than a week they still haven't got back to me.  I need resolve a problem they said they are having with my vali payment.

 

[skyline315]

  Anyone having problem contacting Schiit? I tried their email, their sale rep email (alex), I tried facebook, I tried Google+, I tried leaving voice messages.  It has been more than a week they still haven't got back to me.  I need resolve a problem they said they are having with my vali payment.

 
That's unusual.  
 
I usually send Jason a PM here on head-fi and he always response in the same day.

 

[Barry S]

The microphonics was never a big issue for me, even with both of my tubes lifted off of the foam. My tubes seem about average in the amount of microphonics, but as long as I use a gentle touch when I plug in headphones or adjust the volume, it isn't an issue.  I haven't noticed a huge difference between before and after I stuck the tubes down again, but either way, it wasn't a big problem.

 

[4nradio]

  The microphonics was never a big issue for me, even with both of my tubes lifted off of the foam. My tubes seem about average in the amount of microphonics, but as long as I use a gentle touch when I plug in headphones or adjust the volume, it isn't an issue.  I haven't noticed a huge difference between before and after I stuck the tubes down again, but either way, it wasn't a big problem.

 
Same here, Barry. Microphonics are so minimal in my Vali I presumed the tubes were stuck down well. Not!! Both are lifted off the foam. I think I'll open the case to fix them anyway.
 
BTW I have close to 300 hours burn-in on my Vali, having run it nearly continuously since its arrival. Perhaps that's enough 

   I wonder if I should have let it have a cool-down rest every 8 hours or so? That's what I did with previous tube amps like the Lyr, but I'd forgotten about this practice until now. Maybe its not needed with Vali...since most of the (moderately low) heat of the Vali comes from the SS components rather than the tubes.

 

[Tuco1965]

I'd say put the rest of the tube hours into listening and enjoying the music now.

 

[Makiah S]

You know what... this tube isn't as noisy as I thought it would be... I'm really impressed with my first liestening of if
 
I'm feeding it off my HM 801 line out. ATM it's the best dac I can use, the NFB 10ES2 is at my apprentment, and I'm with my parents. Hoping to get all my things some time this week
 
but again for first impressions, I'm satisfied. And Dare I say it gave the treble the slight wetness it needed! I dare say I do! 
 
Anyways yea first impressions on the W1000x, Metallica sounds fine. Lacking a bit of speed [due to the w1000x] but I can hear the wetness. What was before an unpleasent experince [metal and the w1000x.... eww no thanks] is mangaeble
 
anyways big ole review in like 6 days. When I get up to 21+ hours on it [or more] 
 
Ok so the song ended and there is a slight bit of... noise but compared to the Indeed G3 and Millet Hybrid I had, it's nothing honestly. Those hybrids where noisy during quiet passages
 
I'm listening to an orchestral piece now, and ... the violins sounds wonderful. THe bass yea this is Tube Bass, this is the wetness of tube bass I'm hearing in the cello... It's not bad. I'll keep the rest of my comments to my self
 
So with bass guitar it's much the same... Tube bass.... going to let it burn in before I comment about the bass again.... 
 
Ahh onto Vocals... and yes Mrs Lisa Edkhal... has a very nice vocal preseance over my solid states! My Nfb 10ES2 kills Lisa's voice even out of the HM801 the Vali has a nice vocal presentation, stacked upon the W1000x already sexy vocals and yes! Me Gusta...
 
The ringing is back, honestly I don't mind it. Not the ugliest noise I've ever heard in my life. I do say I find it mildly pleasent
 
Onto Sarah Jorasez.... me gusta I do like it. I think for the Warm hm801 the vali isn't going to blow any one away. That said, paired with my Cold NFB 10ES2 I think I'm going to be a happy camper! Sarah's voice has a nice edge to it, a very pleasent but a hard hitting tone to her voice... There's a delicacy and femmine quality but some power behind it! The vali doesn't lose that edge, but doesn't over retain it as nicely as my pb1 [which has boosted central and upper mids]
 
So that said, I'm very confident this will par nicely with my NFB 10ES2 which is the polar oppiste of my HM801 and pb1 in terms of sound [to some extent]. Ok well till them enjoy that
 
The biggest point I'm Making is for ME, COLD dac with the Vali plz. The HM 801 isn't bad but it's not wowing anyone with the w1000x atm
 
Going to swap over to the DT 880 some point today. 
 
I will say this though... in terms of DETAIL the Vali kicks the pb1 in the tush! LIstened to the end of that Sarah Jorasez song... and totally had a "Whoa never heard that before" moment! 

 

[Sekka]

  You know what... this tube isn't as noisy as I thought it would be... I'm really impressed with my first liestening of if
 
I'm feeding it off my HM 801 line out. ATM it's the best dac I can use, the NFB 10ES2 is at my apprentment, and I'm with my parents. Hoping to get all my things some time this week
 
but again for first impressions, I'm satisfied. And Dare I say it gave the treble the slight wetness it needed! I dare say I do! 
 
Anyways yea first impressions on the W1000x, Metallica sounds fine. Lacking a bit of speed [due to the w1000x] but I can hear the wetness. What was before an unpleasent experince [metal and the w1000x.... eww no thanks] is mangaeble
 
anyways big ole review in like 6 days. When I get up to 21+ hours on it [or more] 
 
Ok so the song ended and there is a slight bit of... noise but compared to the Indeed G3 and Millet Hybrid I had, it's nothing honestly. Those hybrids where noisy during quiet passages
 
I'm listening to an orchestral piece now, and ... the violins sounds wonderful. THe bass yea this is Tube Bass, this is the wetness of tube bass I'm hearing in the cello... It's not bad. I'll keep the rest of my comments to my self
 
So with bass guitar it's much the same... Tube bass.... going to let it burn in before I comment about the bass again.... 
 
Ahh onto Vocals... and yes Mrs Lisa Edkhal... has a very nice vocal preseance over my solid states! My Nfb 10ES2 kills Lisa's voice even out of the HM801 the Vali has a nice vocal presentation, stacked upon the W1000x already sexy vocals and yes! Me Gusta...
 
The ringing is back, honestly I don't mind it. Not the ugliest noise I've ever heard in my life. I do say I find it mildly pleasent
 
Onto Sarah Jorasez.... me gusta I do like it. I think for the Warm hm801 the vali isn't going to blow any one away. That said, paired with my Cold NFB 10ES2 I think I'm going to be a happy camper! Sarah's voice has a nice edge to it, a very pleasent but a hard hitting tone to her voice... There's a delicacy and femmine quality but some power behind it! The vali doesn't lose that edge, but doesn't over retain it as nicely as my pb1 [which has boosted central and upper mids]
 
So that said, I'm very confident this will par nicely with my NFB 10ES2 which is the polar oppiste of my HM801 and pb1 in terms of sound [to some extent]. Ok well till them enjoy that
 
The biggest point I'm Making is for ME, COLD dac with the Vali plz. The HM 801 isn't bad but it's not wowing anyone with the w1000x atm
 
Going to swap over to the DT 880 some point today. 
 
I will say this though... in terms of DETAIL the Vali kicks the pb1 in the tush! LIstened to the end of that Sarah Jorasez song... and totally had a "Whoa never heard that before" moment! 

Are you using the 75 ohm impedance adapter for the W1000x for these impressions?

 

[Makiah S]

 
Are you using the 75 ohm impedance adapter for the W1000x for these impressions?

NOPE, I couldn't get it from ZOmbie in time, honestly... I can do with out it. The noise isn't NEARLY as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I'd rather not complicate the chain with the adapter. The volume control isn't AMAZING [like on my NFB 10ES2] but it's more than sufficient]
 
DT 880 IMPRESSIONS
 
I'm happy for this actually, about 1 year ago literally, I sat in the very same room I am in now and listened to my brand new INdeed G3 hooked up to my hm601... now I'm listening to a Schiit Vali out of an HM 801... and yes the Schiit Vali... is much cleaner, quieter and balanced than my Indeed G3 was... that moment a year ago was my first BIG step into this hobby... and it was in important step. I rolled tubes into that indeed G3, I measured the bias a few times. Heck I once spent an hour trying to get it perfectly matched... my back ached my feet hurt and I was MAD... but once it was done I was happy. So in a sense... Owning the G3 felt like a right of passage, it required a lot of work... heck the Voltage pots used to bais the amp would skew after about 8 hours of use and I'd have to rebalance them
 
that said, the Schiit Vali is SO much simple'r to use... literally plug an done
 
as far as the sound goes... it adds a nice sense of intimacy to the Dt 880, while keeping things very tight. The bass is a little wetter than I like but, a step above the W1000x [open vs closed with that comment] 
 
Mids are just lovely! WIth the balanced NFB 10ES2 can I analyze or get lost in teh music, it has that quality to it and for that reason I do love it. 
 
The vali on the other hand... why analyze the music with it... just sit back and flow with it all. That extra touch of warmth and decay are much appreciated, espically paired with the Hm 801. So it's a very pleasurable combo. Detail wise it's better than the pb1 yet again, and it's on par if not better than my Matrix M Stage Was, and while the M Stage had optional gain switches, the Vali still has more headroom with my dt 880 than my M Stage had on Max gain
 
so the sound is... detailed, nicely balanced, great sense of air and mostly... enjoyable! I lose of touch of delicacy and gain a smidge of intimacy and lushness. For any one who's got an 250 ohm ot 600 dt 880 or 990, the Vali is a no brainer in my book 
 
Back to the Sub Bass... just had a "whoa that's new moment" listening to 
 
Search a Seal Track 03
Tales of Simphonia OST 16bit Lossless
 
And let me tell you... I have not FELT this Sub Bass KICK before. I've heard it with the nfb 10es2... but the vali and hm801 combo are giving it some NICE WEIGHT and body... it just feels so HEAVY, a good balance of tightness, body and weight. 
 
so yea if you have a open back Beyer DT Headphone, get the Vali. It's wonderful! It's hard for me to comment on how well it handles details over my M Stage, seeing as I'm using the HM801 as a source over the oDac I paired with my M stage, but with my pb1 I felt my hm801 pb1 combo was on par with my old oDac M Stage combo... with the Vali... the Hm801 seems to be much better for the DT 880
 
 
My final first thoughts are, with a spacious balanced open headphone like my dt 880, I like the warm hm801 dac and the Wet Vali tube! It's very balanced and very awesome!
 
With the Intimate, equally balanced but closed and slighty drier w1000x, I'm craving for a much COLDER source. To really keep the W1000x's taut sound, she sounds a little to warm with the vali and hm 801

 

[CJ_CoCa]

I just got my VALI yesterday, I got to try it with an iPod classic and my HE-400 for now but I'm worried I'm going deaf or something! Most people seem to say that they listen to it at about 9 o'clock on the volume dial but for me to be at a good volume it seems to be at 12 (11 would be a good volume as well but 12...WOW), any one else has noticed this?

As for the microphonics, they go away in about 20 seconds and with the music playing I can barely notice them, both tubes seem to be flat.