NEW Vali Schiit AMP!!!
Dec 22, 2013 at 3:14 AM Post #2,371 of 4,971
 
PS, for what it's worth on this later unit, can hardly get the Vali to ring.  Maybe 5 seconds on plug insert, nothing from tapping it...so quite happy.

 
If you could share, what is your serial number for your Vali?  Thanks.
 
   
Been listening to the Vali with DT 770s and an iFi iDAC about four hours a day for the past few weeks. Very, very enjoyable.

 
Similar situation with me, but just have the oDAC in the chain.  I've been using the DT-880 a bit more, though. I wanted to write up a bit better impression / comparison between the Vali and my Asgard v.1, though. But with my DT-880, I've found that the 880s respond well to a bit of an EQ cut using Foobar, so I have a preset created for the adjustment.  My Asgard v.1, though, is an amp that doesn't need to have the EQ invoked as with the Vali.  With the Vali, the range is extended a bit further, or at least that is my impression.  As to the bass, both amps are good in that area, but the Vali takes it further buy a notch or two by having the bass appear with a bit more punch.  Interesting signature.
 
The Asgard v.1 is an amp that would probably pertain a bit better to someone who is a bit more of an audiophile, but the Vali, appealing to those who want more capabilities from their headphones.  But, I need to indicate that I like them both quite well.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 4:53 AM Post #2,372 of 4,971
Yeah. Tried it. I have to say the DT770 250 ohm sounds MUCH better with the Vali than with the Magni. But even so, I can't listen to the DT770s for too long. Just not my cup of tea.

I find the DT770 to be unrefined and the treble too steely and rough. Probably my least favorite over the ear headphone that I paid a lot for.

But if you like the DT770, I can recommend them with the Vali over the Magni by far.

 
Interesting. Thank you.
 
I realize I suffer from a severe shortage of Good Headphones. My Beyer DT770's are the best I own. So that is the best frame of reference that I have. I blame my ex wife and divorce
frown.gif

 
I will say that from my brief experiences with the Sennheiser 598's, that I really do prefer the sound signature of the Beyer cans over Sennheisers. Though that probably isn't the best benchmark either.
 
Being an Old Guy (tm), I suffer from tinnitus and hearing loss. So it's kind of pointless - for me - to be overly pedantic regarding frequency response. For me, the frequency response of the DT770's is great, because it emphasizes most of the frequency ranges that I need to accentuate anyway (with the exception of the dip around 4 kHz). Yes, I know, frequency response curves aren't the whole story. But I like bassy cans, with at least flat midrange and preferably decent high end response. Even if a set of cans has flat high end response, I can't hear much above 14 kHz anyway. So I prefer to accentuate the stuff I can actually hear, though your point is well taken.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 9:55 AM Post #2,373 of 4,971
Has anyone pair the vali with LCD2?  Is it "good enough" to drive the LCD2.  I just pull the trigger on getting one of those 20% discounted LCD2, and wonder if I should return my modi/vali (since I'm still in my 15 days window), and get a more power amp, like Woo Audio WA7, it's pretty costly though, so I hope vali could drive LCD2 so I can recover the the pain of getting the headphone first.
 
Thanks.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 10:07 AM Post #2,374 of 4,971
Interesting. Thank you.

I realize I suffer from a severe shortage of Good Headphones. My Beyer DT770's are the best I own. So that is the best frame of reference that I have. I blame my ex wife and divorce :frowning2:

I will say that from my brief experiences with the Sennheiser 598's, that I really do prefer the sound signature of the Beyer cans over Sennheisers. Though that probably isn't the best benchmark either.

Being an Old Guy (tm), I suffer from tinnitus and hearing loss. So it's kind of pointless - for me - to be overly pedantic regarding frequency response. For me, the frequency response of the DT770's is great, because it emphasizes most of the frequency ranges that I need to accentuate anyway (with the exception of the dip around 4 kHz). Yes, I know, frequency response curves aren't the whole story. But I like bassy cans, with at least flat midrange and preferably decent high end response. Even if a set of cans has flat high end response, I can't hear much above 14 kHz anyway. So I prefer to accentuate the stuff I can actually hear, though your point is well taken.


Well, we all have our individual preferences. While there were some things about the DT770 that didn't do it for me, there were other things about it that were great. So if they work out for you, you should do what you can to wring the most music from them and really enjoy them.

I only have limited experience amping the DT770 since I didn't feel I would use them that often. So I have only used them on the Vali and Magni. To my ears, the Vali was more musical. It played to the strengths of the DT770 much better while not highlighting the potential treble roughness.

If you are choosing between those amps, my vote would go to the Vali by a long mile.

But other members here probably have better advice about the DT770 and other amps than what I can offer.

Btw, as long as I've been reading this thread, all references to the Asgard mention the Asgard 1. Does anyone use the Asgard 2? I just received my 2 and am starting to wonder if there's something people are liking more.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 10:11 AM Post #2,375 of 4,971
  Has anyone pair the vali with LCD2?  Is it "good enough" to drive the LCD2.  I just pull the trigger on getting one of those 20% discounted LCD2, and wonder if I should return my modi/vali (since I'm still in my 15 days window), and get a more power amp, like Woo Audio WA7, it's pretty costly though, so I hope vali could drive LCD2 so I can recover the the pain of getting the headphone first.
 
Thanks.

i have the vali and lcd2, and listening to them as we speak
define "good enough"
here's my take
its got more than enough power for me, it has a punchy , snappy bass, gets plenty loud, louder than i listen to
i don't know given the same output levels, if i could reliably pick either the vali or lyr apart
i'd suspect, if you paired the little schiit stack with the lcd, the first thing you'd want to upgrade
would be the modi(i had one before), not the vali
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 10:16 AM Post #2,376 of 4,971
Well, we all have our individual preferences. While there were some things about the DT770 that didn't do it for me, there were other things about it that were great. So if they work out for you, you should do what you can to wring the most music from them and really enjoy them.

I only have limited experience amping the DT770 since I didn't feel I would use them that often. So I have only used them on the Vali and Magni. To my ears, the Vali was more musical. It played to the strengths of the DT770 much better while not highlighting the potential treble roughness.

If you are choosing between those amps, my vote would go to the Vali by a long mile.

But other members here probably have better advice about the DT770 and other amps than what I can offer.

Btw, as long as I've been reading this thread, all references to the Asgard mention the Asgard 1. Does anyone use the Asgard 2? I just received my 2 and am starting to wonder if there's something people are liking more.

sure, there are always going to be "current favs" i had the a2 with the lcd2, its very good, factor in the price, its killer. IMHO
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 10:20 AM Post #2,377 of 4,971
Thanks for the quick reply.
 
I guess good enough for me mean the amp is enough to at least give the headphone a good chance to show what it can do.
 
From the sound of it, look like it's enough.  Think I'll just hang on to modi/vali, recover from the expensive headphone cost, then move on from there.  I'm newbie here, and I never thought DAC would make that much of a difference, thanks for the advice.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 10:26 AM Post #2,378 of 4,971
  Thanks for the quick reply.
 
I guess good enough for me mean the amp is enough to at least give the headphone a good chance to show what it can do.
 
From the sound of it, look like it's enough.  Think I'll just hang on to modi/vali, recover from the expensive headphone cost, then move on from there.  I'm newbie here, and I never thought DAC would make that much of a difference, thanks for the advice.


you're heading in the right direction i think,
the biggest difference in sound quality vs $$ spent generally will be in the headphones, vs amps/dacs
the lcd2 are very high quality cans, and if you like them, my second priority would be to have them properly driven(amp) then dac
the modi is a great place to start dac wise
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 12:29 PM Post #2,379 of 4,971
Btw, as long as I've been reading this thread, all references to the Asgard mention the Asgard 1. Does anyone use the Asgard 2? I just received my 2 and am starting to wonder if there's something people are liking more.

FWIW - All my references in this thread to "Asgard" are to the Asgard 2.  Asgard 2 is being used as a pre-amp into my other amps and does a great job on it's own the gain switch is a good addition over the asgard 1.
  Has anyone pair the vali with LCD2?  Is it "good enough" to drive the LCD2.  I just pull the trigger on getting one of those 20% discounted LCD2, and wonder if I should return my modi/vali (since I'm still in my 15 days window), and get a more power amp, like Woo Audio WA7, it's pretty costly though, so I hope vali could drive LCD2 so I can recover the the pain of getting the headphone first.
 
Thanks.

Schiit actually had the LCDs on the Vali at CanJam as a demo if that tells you anything.  I listened to them for a bit but mostly used my HD800's for demo and now am using the Vali at home witht hem.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 2:35 PM Post #2,380 of 4,971
Yup.. HD800 and Vali are quite nice.  Here's a pic of my latest rig with the Vali..
post #16287
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 2:45 PM Post #2,381 of 4,971
  Has anyone pair the vali with LCD2?  Is it "good enough" to drive the LCD2.  I just pull the trigger on getting one of those 20% discounted LCD2, and wonder if I should return my modi/vali (since I'm still in my 15 days window), and get a more power amp, like Woo Audio WA7, it's pretty costly though, so I hope vali could drive LCD2 so I can recover the the pain of getting the headphone first.
 
Thanks.

 
Given that you can return the Vali / Modi within 15 days of purchase, keep in mind there is a 15% restocking fee, too.  Add in the cost of shipping both pieces back and you'll see how it might be best to just sell them on the forum here.  When you get away from the Vali, Magni and Modi, the 15-day return window, and 5% satisfaction guarantee applies (from what I've read on the site).
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 5:24 PM Post #2,382 of 4,971
   
Given that you can return the Vali / Modi within 15 days of purchase, keep in mind there is a 15% restocking fee, too.  Add in the cost of shipping both pieces back and you'll see how it might be best to just sell them on the forum here.  When you get away from the Vali, Magni and Modi, the 15-day return window, and 5% satisfaction guarantee applies (from what I've read on the site).

 
Unless i'm mistaken you only get to return one item per year. Kind of lame but understandable.
I guess it keeps people from buying their stuff just to demo it and then return it.
 
I've purchased maybe 4 Schiit products before and returned only one of them. If I ever buy a Bifrost i'll probably get it from a reseller like Audio Advisor since you get 30 days and no restocking fee.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 5:41 PM Post #2,383 of 4,971
Nah, not really lame. We all want a company like Schiit that doesn't mark up product, sells factory direct, and runs with tight margins - passing on great values to us. Unless you're dealing in massive volume such as Costco, there's no way to have all that and not have reasonable restrictions such as return limits and restocking fees. By and large, average customers are rarely if ever inconvenienced by such such policies. Serial 'Costco Rental' types are, but such is life.
 
Dec 22, 2013 at 5:45 PM Post #2,384 of 4,971
   
Unless i'm mistaken you only get to return one item per year. Kind of lame but understandable.
I guess it keeps people from buying their stuff just to demo it and then return it.
 
I've purchased maybe 4 Schiit products before and returned only one of them. If I ever buy a Bifrost i'll probably get it from a reseller like Audio Advisor since you get 30 days and no restocking fee.

I didn't know that.. I couldn't find term like that on their website, only the 15% restocking fee.  I have calculated it if I return I get the 9% tax back, still a better deal than selling on the forum for 15% of the total cost.  I have until end of this week to decide.  Feeling like I'm going to do it and get the Asgard 2 instead.  This way I can upgrade to Woo Audio later, while still keeping a capable solid state amp around for comparative listening :).  If I ended up with Asgard 2 (or any of schiit other products) I'll definitely order it from Audio Advisor, free shipping and no tax.
 

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