[Orihalcon]

Threads like these are why sites like this are awesome. I was on the fence between the magni and vali for my q701's...but Vali it is!

 

[thomascrown]

  I'd be curious to know if this is a good amp to use with the HD 600 using the Fiio X3 as a dac? Might get the Schiit Modi as well, but right now i'm strapped on cash.  
 
Also, is there a way to buy this in central Europe (i live in Italy, but i'd rather trust a German store then an Italian one, heh)? Buying directly from Schiit would add a considerable shipping charge.  

 
I love the vali with my hd650 should be good as well with your hd600, the shipping charge to Italy should be around 50$ (insured), indeed it's almost 50% the vali price, but the only european seller I know is in uk and he is charging that difference in the selling price (105 gbp!!) and then you have to also add the shipping. I would rather buy directly from schiit, the euro/dollar change rate is quite positive.

 

[amigastar]

  I'd be curious to know if this is a good amp to use with the HD 600 using the Fiio X3 as a dac? Might get the Schiit Modi as well, but right now i'm strapped on cash.  
 
Also, is there a way to buy this in central Europe (i live in Italy, but i'd rather trust a German store then an Italian one, heh)? Buying directly from Schiit would add a considerable shipping charge.  

I asked the same question to schiit and they gave me this answer:
http://schiit.com/faq/international
no german retailer though

 

[aqua35]

 
I asked the same question to schiit and they gave me this answer:
http://schiit.com/faq/international
no german retailer though

In French:
 
_http://www.audiophonics.fr/fr/ampli-casquepreampli-amplificateur-casque-sedentaire/test-fournisseur-par-defaul-p-8888.html

 

[Opus131]

   
I love the vali with my hd650 should be good as well with your hd600, the shipping charge to Italy should be around 50$ (insured), indeed it's almost 50% the vali price, but the only european seller I know is in uk and he is charging that difference in the selling price (105 gbp!!) and then you have to also add the shipping. I would rather buy directly from schiit, the euro/dollar change rate is quite positive.

 
Yeah, it seems that in the end the price amounts to the same. Are there any good alternatives that are more easily available in Europe? 
 
Right now i'm actually eyeing this: 
 
http://www.amazon.de/Little-Dot-MKII-Kopfh%C3%B6rerverst%C3%A4rker-Verst%C3%A4rker/dp/B00A2QMAI2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405340005&sr=8-3&keywords=little+dot+amp
 
 
I'm interested in the tube sound, but i also want something that is durable and reliable. That thing looks like an accident waiting to happen. Plus i'm sure tube rolling and replacement is going to inflate the price a great deal. The other alternative is getting one of those small Bravo amps but i had one of those and it died on my after little more than a year. Bad luck maybe but it didn't seem to be very well constructed to begin with. 

 

[thomascrown]

 
 


Yeah, it seems that in the end the price amounts to the same. Are there any good alternatives that are more easily available in Europe? 


 


Right now i'm actually eyeing this: 


 


http://www.amazon.de/Little-Dot-MKII-Kopfh%C3%B6rerverst%C3%A4rker-Verst%C3%A4rker/dp/B00A2QMAI2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405340005&sr=8-3&keywords=little+dot+amp


 


 


I'm interested in the tube sound, but i also want something that is durable and reliable. That thing looks like an accident waiting to happen. Plus i'm sure tube rolling and replacement is going to inflate the price a great deal. 

Same, if you want a littledot you should buy straight from the seller (on ebay look for davidzhezhe), Amazon isn't usually the best choice for such products. Shipping fees are more or less the same, anyway never had problems of phone interferences with my vali, can't say the same when I had the mkIII (and humming noises as well), still David is reliable and super kind, can't say anything bad about him

 

[prsut]

  I'd be curious to know if this is a good amp to use with the HD 600 using the Fiio X3 as a dac? Might get the Schiit Modi as well, but right now i'm strapped on cash.

 
Also, is there a way to buy this in central Europe (i live in Italy, but i'd rather trust a German store then an Italian one, heh)? Buying directly from Schiit would add a considerable shipping charge.

http://www.schiit-europe.com/index.php/producten/magni-product-2.html

 

[nolossaudioguy]

I've got the Vali amp, HE-400's, a Fiio x-3 and a Little Bear-p-1 chinese tube amp.  In my listening I've come to the conclusion of the following:
1. The amp in the x-3 is pretty good.  It sounds smooth top to bottom with a decent but not great soundstage presentation.  Things are a little congested but as a portable option it's a pretty good combo and way better than my smartphone.
2. The Little Bear p-1 is similar to offerings from Bravo, and a few others and is not bad overall compared to the x-3.  The biggest problem is with the highs being rolled off.  I'm not sure what frequency it starts but it is very audible although you do get some high frequency information.  Just based on listening, I would say it starts somewhere between 8-10k.  What you do get with this little amp is a much bigger soundstage.  Instruments are separated nicely with much less of that congestion found in the x-3.  I usually preferred listening to the p-1 over just the x-3.  I've read that there is a mosfet transistor fix for the rolled off highs but I haven't tried that--mine is stock with a GE 5814 tube.  The HE-400's have a peak in the 8-10k region and when I first got them, I thought the p-1 was the perfect match, the p-1 rolling off highs and the HE-400's peaking, but after listening to the Vali(and the x-3 to a lesser extent) there is notable information that is just lost with the p-1.
3.  The Vali is the best of these with the big soundstage and extended high frequency response.  The soundstage seems to be a little smaller than the p-1 but I'm not sure if that is a result of less high frequency information which makes you pay more attention to the midrange.  In any event, the soundstage is bigger than the x-3.  The sound is very clear but the high frequencies are different on the Vali.  There is more information up there vs the x-3(and way more than the p-1).  I know the x-3's dac somewhat subdues high frequency information.  When I listen to the Vali the highs are more emphasized and i think they are actually different vs the x-3.  I'm not sure if the Vali is adding something but they are somehow sharper.  On some material this is good, it brings out detail... on some other music it can sound harsh.
The Vali was my latest purchase and it was just about what I thought it would be.  That is, a bigger soundstage(tubey?)(vs the x3) with the high frequencies intact.  I picked the Vali over the Magi because of the tubes and my experience with the p-1's soundstage which I guess I attributed to the tubes.  I haven't listened to the Magi though.
 
This should be food for thought for some of you that are in a similar position with the HE-400's

 

[Billheiser]

good post.  In my experience with the Vali, the highs seem properly extended and present.  I haven't had any impression that they are sharp or harsh, which would bug me.  It seems mostly NON-tubey to me, in that it's not rolled off in the highs.  Yet it sounds slightly better than the Magni, to me, which had a somewhat sharper sound.  

 

[nolossaudioguy]

What headphones are you using?

 

[betula]

  I'd be curious to know if this is a good amp to use with the HD 600 using the Fiio X3 as a dac? Might get the Schiit Modi as well, but right now i'm strapped on cash.  
 
Also, is there a way to buy this in central Europe (i live in Italy, but i'd rather trust a German store then an Italian one, heh)? Buying directly from Schiit would add a considerable shipping charge.  

I am from Central Europe, but I live in the U.K. for a few years. I was lucky enough to find a few weeks old used Vali on eBay U.K. It was 90 pounds. I suggest, to try different european eBay sites. I own the mentioned combo (Vali, HD600, X3). I am very happy with it. 

 

[betula]

  I am from Central Europe, but I live in the U.K. for a few years. I was lucky enough to find a few weeks old used Vali on eBay U.K. It was 90 pounds. I suggest, to try different european eBay sites. I own the mentioned combo (Vali, HD600, X3). I am very happy with it. 

(X3 on its own is not enough for HD600 in my opinion. It is loud enough, but lack of bass and fullness. It is a great DAC though. For portable use with an IEM, or less impedance headphones. Connecting it to Vali makes a huge difference in sound. Awsome.  )

 

[kleefurd]

I still pity the guys in marketing department.

Imagine this :

Customer : I am looking for a Vali Schiit amp.
Shopkeeper : Go across the street, see those Chinese/Korean crap they make? I only sell high end and good sound amps here. **** amps are not my "specialty".

See the problem?

Go hug your nearest Schiit marketing person today.

Definitely on my must-try-or-buy-if-cannot-try list.

 

[jbarrentine]

Ended up sending my Vali in for service. The left channel would start emitting a high pitched, continuous tone after a few hours. I had a very early unit however. Missing it already. 

 

[DigitalFreak]

Just for the record, although I found the highs slightly elevated on the Vali they were quite smooth. With my jergpad HE-400 the highs were quite controlled and I had very minimal sibilance.