[BunnyNamedCraig]

sooooo i get the Vali and use it with the Modi for my K712's. I was happy with this set up and i was ok with the slight ringing whenever you plug the headphones into the amp (its understandable). Now i have had the amp for about 3 months and the ringing now keeps getting louder and louder until it stays at  pretty audible level as i listen to music. the only way i seem to stop this is by turning it off, and then turning it back on. if i turn it off, take the headphone out of the jack, turn Vali back on and then put the jack back in i wont even hear a ring at all, its the weirdest thing... anyways it doesnt always stop it. I am getting frustrated.... anyone have any tips? i read earlier about opening it up and pressing the tubes down or doing something with the pads ect. Anyone recommend that?

 

[jbarrentine]

Send it for service. This happened to me as well. 

 

[audidym]

Ordered Vali for my DT880 600 Ohms.

 
Currently using Fiio E09k/Modi Combo ..serves well,but wanted to try Hybrid Amp.

 

[elwappo99]

  Send it for service. This happened to me as well. 

 
Sorry I don't recall reading any updates on the 'tube boners'. Did schiit make a more permanent solution?

 

[NinjaHamster]

   
Sorry I don't recall reading any updates on the 'tube boners'. Did schiit make a more permanent solution?

 
Yes.  They now glue a photo of Hillary Clinton to the internal top chassis of the Vali. No more tube erection problems.

 

[StanD]

   
Yes.  They now glue a photo of Hillary Clinton to the internal top chassis of the Vali. No more tube erection problems.

The picture has a caption, "Good on'ya." *sarcasm*
It's either that or the Bunyip.

 

[elwappo99]

 

   
Sorry I don't recall reading any updates on the 'tube boners'. Did schiit make a more permanent solution?

 
Yes.  They now glue a photo of Hillary Clinton to the internal top chassis of the Vali. No more tube erection problems.

 
I dunno what you're talking about. 
 

 

[kfotheringham]

  sooooo i get the Vali and use it with the Modi for my K712's. I was happy with this set up and i was ok with the slight ringing whenever you plug the headphones into the amp (its understandable). Now i have had the amp for about 3 months and the ringing now keeps getting louder and louder until it stays at  pretty audible level as i listen to music. the only way i seem to stop this is by turning it off, and then turning it back on. if i turn it off, take the headphone out of the jack, turn Vali back on and then put the jack back in i wont even hear a ring at all, its the weirdest thing... anyways it doesnt always stop it. I am getting frustrated.... anyone have any tips? i read earlier about opening it up and pressing the tubes down or doing something with the pads ect. Anyone recommend that?

 
out of curiosity:
 
Is the ringing you mention above the exact same as the ringing (microphonics - constant  tiiiiiiiiiing) when you plug HP in the headphone jack, or tap on the volume control?
 
Or does this ringing sound different, and gets worse/better when you put your hand over the top of the Vali?

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

The sound is that constant pinggggg that you hear that is usually slight, but the sound in mine seems to have gotten worse. It's Not that ringing in and out sound when you tap on it, or when you plug the HP in;Its that constant hiss that is usually just slightly noticeable for me (me as in using the K712's with Vali). To answer your other question (and thanks for trying to help btw) i don't see any difference holding my hand over top of it or not. I am listening to them while i type this out, and i started to get that higher hiss/ping sound in only the left ear cup. I put my hand over top of the vali for a half minute and didnt see a noticeable difference. I turned the vali off, took the HP jack out, gave it a couple seconds and then turned the vali back on and put the HP back in. It rings out a little, and then its dead silent. I start to listen to music and the hiss comes back gradually but its not nearly as high when  i first started listening. I dont know why sometimes that works and sometimes it doesnt. This all gets super annoying when i am gaming lol.

 

[kfotheringham]

Understand the frustration.
 
Let me walk back from what I have found, compare ,.. and see if we can get you moving in some direction to alleviate.
 
In my case, this ringing (but not the tiiiiing) seemed to oscillate in some manner after heating up at the mains, and most definitely became more/less prominent when placing my hand over the amp itself.
 
This is a characteristic of RF inference that this amp seems to be prone too ( tube amps in general.. many cases, and not just the VALI). In my case it was the right channel. Annoying as heck and I feel your pain!! It almost becomes obsession to fix.
 
At first, I tried RF clamps over the RCA cables which seemed to fix the issue initially, but sometime later it came back and clamping made no difference. At this point I`m pulling hair out (little left), but know that moving my hand over the VALI changes this noise, so fully aware it`s RF inference (I was an RF engineer in a past life).
 
In the end, I came to realise that the VALI was in between a cordless DECT phone, and IP phone (wireless) coupled with a few other walwart transformers at the mains outlet (Others have reported that dimmer switches have caused similar interference) and that probably wasn`t a good idea considering the weakness of this type of device.
 
Disconnecting the Amp from DAC (or any source) produced the same noise, so i knew it was isolated to the amp circuit.
 
Moving the power transformer and unit  to a different mains at least 2 metres away from wireless devices and other walwart's has completely cured my issue, and I have a silent background with no hiss/tiiiiing.
 
 
If you are reporting the same tiiiing as microphonics but louder on one channel, perhaps it`s a faulty tube? (if none of the above helps)

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

 
Understand the frustration.
 
Let me walk back from what I have found, compare ,.. and see if we can get you moving in some direction to alleviate.
 
In my case, this ringing (but not the tiiiiing) seemed to oscillate in some manner after heating up at the mains, and most definitely became more/less prominent when placing my hand over the amp itself.
 
This is a characteristic of RF inference that this amp seems to be prone too ( tube amps in general.. many cases, and not just the VALI). In my case it was the right channel. Annoying as heck and I feel your pain!! It almost becomes obsession to fix.
 
At first, I tried RF clamps over the RCA cables which seemed to fix the issue initially, but sometime later it came back and clamping made no difference. At this point I`m pulling hair out (little left), but know that moving my hand over the VALI changes this noise, so fully aware it`s RF inference (I was an RF engineer in a past life).
 
In the end, I came to realise that the VALI was in between a cordless DECT phone, and IP phone (wireless) coupled with a few other walwart transformers at the mains outlet (Others have reported that dimmer switches have caused similar interference) and that probably wasn`t a good idea considering the weakness of this type of device.
 
Disconnecting the Amp from DAC (or any source) produced the same noise, so i knew it was isolated to the amp circuit.
 
Moving the power transformer and unit  to a different mains at least 2 metres away from wireless devices and other walwart's has completely cured my issue, and I have a silent background with no hiss/tiiiiing.
 
 
If you are reporting the same tiiiing as microphonics but louder on one channel, perhaps it`s a faulty tube? (if none of the above helps)

i am definitely going to try and see if moving the unit around will change this. i never thought to do that, but also never knew half the stuff you talked about in regards to RF clamps, difference in moving my hand over the device, ect.... so thank you for that! i will have to figure out my set up firs to see what would make the most sense to move "what" where.... I have a ps3 and xbox 360 hooked up to a tv, and their internet is through wire, not wifi. my laptop (in the same room) is also through wire for internet. I have an AV receiver hooked to tv and that does use wifi... even though the devices are not using wfi (except the AV receiver) will they still affect the Vali since they are still "on", or do i need to turn their respective wifi's off when connected directly through Cat 5 wire? last thing, does the wall wart it self need to be away from all that or is the vali or both? and even though i have wire spaghetti all through my living room its good to know that it will at least cut down on the interference of the Vali. thanks for any more answers you give me if you have time!

 

[jgreen16]

   
Yes.  They now glue a photo of Hillary Clinton to the internal top chassis of the Vali. No more tube erection problems.

 

[kfotheringham]

Assuming you have similar issue, the easiest way to find out which device is "interfering", would be to isolate the VALI from your sources (disconnect from DAC/sound card etc), but leave the RCA cables connected at that back of the amp and put your headphones on.
 
The RCA cables left in place on the VALI effectively act like antenna, so you will hear the inductive interference. Kind of like a radio for noise , so move it around sources like your router/other devices and listen for noise.
 
No background noise/hiss/oscillation would suggest no interference. Mine is complete silence now.
 
With respect to your question on the walwart. Good question! I never bothered to isolate further when I realised what was going on, and moved both at same time since both were in a hot zone. Your ears will tell you.
 
What I did notice was that when using my Fidelio X1`s, I could hear the interference very clearly through the headphones. When I used a demo pair of Sennheiser HD700`s, it was much quieter and not so apparent (but their nonetheless). Not sure if this was related to impedance (150 Ohm vs. 30 Ohm) or other, but it was surprising to audibly hear the contrast.
 
Your issue could also be none of the aforementioned, and you possibly have a defective unit.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

  Assuming you have similar issue, the easiest way to find out which device is "interfering", would be to isolate the VALI from your sources (disconnect from DAC/sound card etc), but leave the RCA cables connected at that back of the amp and put your headphones on.
 
The RCA cables left in place on the VALI effectively act like antenna, so you will hear the inductive interference. Kind of like a radio for noise , so move it around sources like your router/other devices and listen for noise.
 
No background noise/hiss/oscillation would suggest no interference. Mine is complete silence now.
 
With respect to your question on the walwart. Good question! I never bothered to isolate further when I realised what was going on, and moved both at same time since both were in a hot zone. Your ears will tell you.
 
What I did notice was that when using my Fidelio X1`s, I could hear the interference very clearly through the headphones. When I used a demo pair of Sennheiser HD700`s, it was much quieter and not so apparent (but their nonetheless). Not sure if this was related to impedance (150 Ohm vs. 30 Ohm) or other, but it was surprising to audibly hear the contrast.
 
Your issue could also be none of the aforementioned, and you possibly have a defective unit.

wow i just moved the wall wart to another receptacle  and i am hearing a MAJOR improvement.... i dont hear anything at all. Thank you for telling me about this, i was going to send it in.

 

[kfotheringham]

Glad it helped.