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