So I’ve been running the Vali for the past 6 hours or so, listening to music for around 2 hours or so here and there and mixing it up with the Burson HA160D internal amp. All comments are with the HD800.
Keep in mind that I am seemingly one of the few remaining head-fi members who doesn’t think the HA160D is a piece of crap, lol (and has tried out enough quality gear to be able to have a point of comparison). There’s been a big backlash against the original 160 series around these parts and I don’t get it, honestly. It has some faults but sometimes I like more bottom heavy, beefy sound. It does not sound thin or piercing with the HD800 to me. The HD800 treble is not an issue at all on the HA160D. the issue is congested soundstage and a little lack of clarity, imo.
So, note that it's the same 160D DAC for both amps, internal Burson amp and Vali. pre outs into the Vali.
First of all, I would not call the differences huge but I think my definition of a huge change is something that’s only possible by changing headphones or speakers. others here might call it big, I don’t know.
first impression:
Vali is cleaner with less mid bass smearing to my ears. There seems to be a larger, more precise soundstage in part due to this cleaner bottom end. I don’t notice it on every song I listen to since not every song will have lots of, say, rapid beating drums or overlapping bass guitars. but the few I’ve heard so far that do sound more clear on the Vali to me.
It’s a subtle improvement to my ears. maybe for others it would be something more drastic - for me it’s subtle. but nice.
And for some songs with really strong vocals, the Vali is a little less grainy. a little more smooth. I’m less confident about this comment but I think I hear the difference now and then. grain of salt...
Overall, I think the sound is really good. Good bottom end with some punch, no piercing treble (or, at least, no excessive emphasis of the HD800s existing elevated treble) impressive soundstage and imaging, good tone and clarity. I like it.
So, yeah, first impressions are quite good for the Vali. I can’t wait to try it out with the Emotiva DC-1 next week. Historically, I’ve always been less capable of detecting DAC differences than Amp differences so don’t expect any future impressions to differ radically but, hey, you never know.
