NEW Vali Schiit AMP!!!
Nov 29, 2013 at 6:01 PM Post #1,216 of 4,971
I'd love to hear some more impressions with Vali and HD 598's, as they are my "main" HP's at the moment.
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 7:09 PM Post #1,217 of 4,971
Make sure when you get the Vali to put on the rubber feet right away. It really helps a ton and I was too lazy to do this immediately.
Maybe you could experiment with different feet or maybe double them up or something?
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 7:30 PM Post #1,218 of 4,971
  Maybe you could experiment with different feet or maybe double them up or something?

 
If we're lucky we'll get 200 page threads about which feet to buy to get the best sound quality.
 
In all seriousness, if the microphonics are as bad as people indicate, I'll go get some big feet or matting or something to put the unit on.
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 8:00 PM Post #1,219 of 4,971
Got my Vali today. I always love opening Schiit packages-excellent packaging, and the build quality and aesthetics are a thing of beauty at this price point. Unfortunately my Vali has been sitting in the cold all day so I'm gonna let it warm to room temperature while I'm at the gym before I plug it in later. Will be posting meaningful (i.e. more than a half hour listening) impressions sometime this weekend or early next week after burn in. Will be running an HD800 from my DP1.
 
-Daniel
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 8:21 PM Post #1,220 of 4,971
  Got my Vali today. I always love opening Schiit packages-excellent packaging, and the build quality and aesthetics are a thing of beauty at this price point. Unfortunately my Vali has been sitting in the vold all day so I'm gonna let it warm to room temperature while I'm at the gym before I plug it in later. Will be posting meaningful (i.e. more than a half hour listening) impressions sometime this weekend or early next week after burn in. Will be running an HD800 from my DP1.
 
-Daniel


Looking forward to reading your impressions.
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 8:31 PM Post #1,221 of 4,971
Been listening now with random headphones since I got it. I would say it's good with everything but on my DJ100 it sounds less smooth than with the others.
 
While I was listening to it I could have sworn I had my modded Q701 attached to my old amp. Sounded almost the same. Very good obviously.
 
I kept switching between amps and every song sounded identical. All the weird peaks and annoying parts in my songs on my Micro Amp are also there on the Vali. The whole tonality sounds exactly the same to me. Same full mids. I was using the same DAC and same exact brand of wire (DHC DIY). Vali might be a tad clearer, but basically not audible 90% of the time. Maybe if I had a $1000 DAC and headphone.
 
So I guess the Vali just isn't very colored at all or something. I'm pretty happy that I have something similar in tone to my favorite amp for bedroom use. It wasn't the Magni, E9 or O2, but O2 was close but not quite.
 
Comparing O2 to Vali now doesn't sound so bizarre really. I think it's closer than the Magni to O2. My Magni was somewhat bright though, but nothing too bad.
 
There's really a tube in there right?
biggrin.gif

 
Man if people start saying this has a warm tube-like sound i'm going to feel pretty stupid. No way! I just can't imagine that. Yep and I know it's a hybrid tube-amp.
 
So how the heck do you get this type of sound without tubes? That's what I want to know! Maybe Schiit can pull that off if they haven't already done it.
 
For anyone that cares, to my ears it's clearly better sounding than the Asgard1/2 and Magni. I just want the same sound without the microphonics. I don't care if it costs an extra $75. Actually it's not that bad. Only occurs when I switch headphones or bump the amp. That's like what..once every hour?
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 8:33 PM Post #1,222 of 4,971
WTH? What...The...Hell.

My Vali arrived today and it was intended for my work setup, Modi/Magni/HD650. Since I didn't even plan on ordering the Vali, all that stuff is at work. With ZERO expectations, I put the Vali in my home setup swapping out my Mjolnir for a Gungnir/Vali/LCD-X chain. I hated the Magni with both the LCD-2s and LCD-Xs, which made both cans sound sloppy and congested. Although I loved the Lyr with just about everything--it sounded too thick with both the LCD-2/LCD-X, and smeared detail. So, I expected the Vali to be a poor pairing with the LCD-X.

I'm A/B-ing the LCD-X with the Vali and the Mjolnir--both being fed by the Gungnir. The Vali is rocking the LCD-X, that's the only way to put it. The Vali has a beautiful analog signature with punchy deep bass and rich mids, but maintains very crisp treble. The Vali doesn't have quite the detail, instrument separation, and air of the Mjolnir, but damn if it doesn't sound beautifully musical. The soundstage is also a bit more closed in, but honestly--it sounds very very good. I could listen to the LCD-Xs out of the Vali all day--the synergy is great. More thoughts to come, but the Vali is way better than it should be for the price and is actually a reasonable option for the LCD-X. Very much in shock on this!
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 9:40 PM Post #1,223 of 4,971

 
I see that Amazon is out of stock on these items, but Ebay seller "isolate_it-rxsorbo" has numerous Sorbothane feet for sensitive equipment in various sizes. They also have Sorbothane sheets (incl. self-adhesive), discs, blocks, and other shapes of Sorbothane.
 
One of these products could be a very good aid in ultimately reducing the Vali's microphonics.
 
BTW, I received my Vali today but haven't had a chance to do more than power it up. I need to build a cable for a neat connection between my DX100's 1/8" Line-Out to the Vali's twin RCA connectors. I'm fond of the sound of Kerrigan-Lewis Litz wire (likely the stuff Q-Audio uses)  and I have a Audeze LCD-2 cable made from this. It could use it to make the cable for the Vali too. Alternatively I have some Teflon, silver-plated copper wire to try. I'm not a true-blue cable believer, but I don't like to use any old cheap interconnects just in case it would be the weak link in the audio chain so to speak.
 
I guess I'll first listen to a SACD with the Vali, as my Denon player has RCA outputs that I have good cables for.
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 9:44 PM Post #1,224 of 4,971
WTH? What...The...Hell.

My Vali arrived today and it was intended for my work setup, Modi/Magni/HD650. Since I didn't even plan on ordering the Vali, all that stuff is at work. With ZERO expectations, I put the Vali in my home setup swapping out my Mjolnir for a Gungnir/Vali/LCD-X chain. I hated the Magni with both the LCD-2s and LCD-Xs, which made both cans sound sloppy and congested. Although I loved the Lyr with just about everything--it sounded too thick with both the LCD-2/LCD-X, and smeared detail. So, I expected the Vali to be a poor pairing with the LCD-X.

I'm A/B-ing the LCD-X with the Vali and the Mjolnir--both being fed by the Gungnir. The Vali is rocking the LCD-X, that's the only way to put it. The Vali has a beautiful analog signature with punchy deep bass and rich mids, but maintains very crisp treble. The Vali doesn't have quite the detail, instrument separation, and air of the Mjolnir, but damn if it doesn't sound beautifully musical. The soundstage is also a bit more closed in, but honestly--it sounds very very good. I could listen to the LCD-Xs out of the Vali all day--the synergy is great. More thoughts to come, but the Vali is way better than it should be for the price and is actually a reasonable option for the LCD-X. Very much in shock on this!


Nice impression with some serious gear!
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 10:12 PM Post #1,225 of 4,971
With the rubber feet, and on a solid surface the micro-phonics really are not that bad. Just when you first turn it on, or plug in a headphone, and its gone within a minute. I have noticed that the lower the impedance the worse it is. 
 
It sounds great with all of my headphones (hd598s, akg 702 annies, Grado sr80i), except my denon d600s. For the money you really cant go wrong. 
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 10:26 PM Post #1,227 of 4,971
I can confirm that the Vali is very, very nice with HD800s. I am using the Odac with these. Compared to the O2 amp these are a big step up in smoothness and expansiveness, while avoiding any loss of clarity (i.e. stereotypical tube muddiness) or obvious emphasis in any region. Some tracks that gave me problems with the 800s seem to be a lot more listenable. I might just be lucky, but the microphonics seem very hard to trigger on my unit. I am running my HD800s stock right now, but I hear this amp sounds great with the Anax mod. I give it a very confident two thumbs up, at least with the HD800. 
 
Nov 29, 2013 at 10:44 PM Post #1,229 of 4,971
Sounds very promising, this Vali. Can't wait until mine arrives.

Regarding vibration damping feet, etc: boy, that's a black hole in and of itself. Take it from a guy who was in the DIY audio scene for years.

Some of you will spend a lot of time figuring this out. Please remember to have fun!

And do let us know what you find out.
 

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