[BournePerfect]

I don't think anyone ever said a $119 amp was perfect for the HD800. Mids are darn good on it, the treble is tamed a bit, it has good tonality, and nice thumping bass. Can't say I've experienced any other amp under a grand that can make that claim with the Senns.  It is darn good though for it's price-and puts many costlier amps to shame. I agree the speed and transparency could be better-but that's a minor nitpick at this price point imo.
 
-Daniel

 

[Makiah S]

  I don't think anyone ever said a $119 amp was perfect for the HD800. Mids are darn good on it, the treble is tamed a bit, it has good tonality, and nice thumping bass. Can't say I've experienced any other amp under a grand that can make that claim with the Senns.  It is darn good though for it's price-and puts many costlier amps to shame. I agree the speed and transparency could be better-but that's a minor nitpick at this price point imo.
 
-Daniel

 

  Just got my Vali+Modi... wow, just wow. This is my first experience with any Hi-Fi amplifier + DAC, let alone it being a tube amplifier and I am well pleased. I immediately recognized the creamy, rich tube sound and love it. The bass, dear Lord the bass was like, "Oh hey, I know we've just met but we're gonna have a really, really good time." It also introduced me to its friend named staging; layers of instrument separation. Fantastic at presenting me with the subtle nuances in my music.

I paired it with a Philips Fidelio X1 and SOL Republic Master Tracks. I listen to all kinds of EDM from progressive house, club house, drum/bass and dubstep. I will say its never sounded this good before and the Analog Synths and Bass sound great. Rich and dynamic is the words. I do however prefer the Philips Fidelio X1 over the Master Tracks. Gonna get back to listening
 
Oh, and I'm not going to say a **** word about the microphonics

Hazzah! I'm happy to hear it
 

   
I read in another forum that the combo HD800 and Vali is not really perfect because the Vali cut off the strenght of HD800. Mids, treble, speed and clarity.

  I don't think anyone ever said a $119 amp was perfect for the HD800. Mids are darn good on it, the treble is tamed a bit, it has good tonality, and nice thumping bass. Can't say I've experienced any other amp under a grand that can make that claim with the Senns.  It is darn good though for it's price-and puts many costlier amps to shame. I agree the speed and transparency could be better-but that's a minor nitpick at this price point imo.
 
-Daniel
 

 
Good point, at $119 I'm pretty sure it's only the SnobOPhiles who  are complaning about the Synergy. Most likely angry at the first 3 <$1000 amps they owned that did not sound as good as the Vali :3 chances are they could have gotten 5 valis with all the money they lost buying and selling $1000ish amps! 

 

[Belenga]

Is anyone able to comment more on actual listening experiences of the Vali with the Denon D2000/5000/7000 or Fostex TH-600/900 headphones? I know that because of technical specifications there might be some issues with noise floor. On the other hand, there were a couple of positive impressions here and there...  but only a couple.

Thanks!

 

[Makiah S]

  Is anyone able to comment more on actual listening experiences of the Vali with the Denon D2000/5000/7000 or Fostex TH-600/900 headphones? I know that because of technical specifications there might be some issues with noise floor. On the other hand, there were a couple of positive impressions here and there...  but only a couple.

Thanks!

My w1000x has a simmilar Senstivity and Impedance as the D2k, and I actually own a D2k although I've yet to listen to it with my Vali and atm it's out getting work down
 
how ever with the w1000x [also a wood back] there is a small amount of noticeable noise, and I'm using my NFB 10ES2's Low Gain Fixed Line out mode, depending on how storng the signal your Dac sends will affect how much noise your going to be hearing as well as how much head room you'll have with the amp 

 

[prsut]

  Is anyone able to comment more on actual listening experiences of the Vali with the Denon D2000/5000/7000 or Fostex TH-600/900 headphones? I know that because of technical specifications there might be some issues with noise floor. On the other hand, there were a couple of positive impressions here and there...  but only a couple.

Thanks!

+1 interested

 

[stormmilk]

Holy schiit!

 

[normanwang1992]

only $120 really??

 

[Kyle 491]

The noise floor is very high with no music playing on the TH900 and the tube ringing at the start is pretty damn loud. However the sound clears up quite nicely with music playing after a minute or two. I wouldn't really favour the TH900 on the Vali over my Matrix M-stage as the soundstage is smaller and the bass tubbier, lacking the sharpness of impact & definition that I'm used too. The treble even feels harsher & spikes more apparent due to the reduced soundstage. There's a uniform fluidity between the bass and midrange, the "wetness" that was described, but then a disconnect in the upper mids to treble which makes the overall presentation feel a bit disjointed and unrefined, at least on the DACs that I've tried. This also applies to my experience with the Vali and unmodded HD800.

So far I most enjoy the HE-500 with Vali, it sounds super smooth and coherent top to bottom unlike the above two.

 

[Honkytime]

  only $120 really??

well not really it will cost another 30-45$ to get it to Canada... where's free trade when you need it.

 

[Traum]

well not really it will cost another 30-45$ to get it to Canada... where's free trade when you need it.

For those who live close enough to the border, you can always just have the item shipped to a border town mail depot, and pick it up yourself there. Depot fee is usually just anywhere between $3.50 to $5, unless your item is really bulky and/or heavy.

Of course, not everyone can feasibly do this, and with the exchange rate absolutely in the dumps right now, cross-border shopping isn't all that attractive at the moment.

 

[Aaron1006]

Got mine about a week ago. Paired with the HD800, sounds great! I don't get any ringing or noise whatsoever, even when tapping or unplugging headphones.

 

[Transformatron]

I just picked up a set of Koss Pro DJ100 Tony Bennett Edition for $30 and these suckers are great with the Vali stack! I don't know why tdockweiler didn't like it. These are leagues ahead of the Monoprice 8323 and I personally think they are much better than the HM5 for listening purposes. I can't even explain the sound signature other than good and engaging.

 

[tdockweiler]

  I just picked up a set of Koss Pro DJ100 Tony Bennett Edition for $30 and these suckers are great with the Vali stack! I don't know why tdockweiler didn't like it. These are leagues ahead of the Monoprice 8323 and I personally think they are much better than the HM5 for listening purposes. I can't even explain the sound signature other than good and engaging.

 
My Vali had a LOT of ringing and don't know if that had an effect on the overall sound. I got the same results with the DJ100 as with the HD-650. Just sloppy bass and congested sounding (they NEVER sound like this on my O2/Micro). I guess this isn't the general consensus for the HD-650 with the Vali or maybe i'm extremely picky. This did NOT happen at all with my K400 or Q701. Weird right? My Vali did not get more than 25 hours of use, but I doubt it would have been needed if the modded Q701 sounded so good.
 
I also only tried the DJ100 and not the Tony Bennett. A couple people have said the Tony Bennett edition is a little less warm and has more treble than the DJ100. Not really sure. I have a TB but I never use it much anymore due to losing it's original cable.
 
If you like the DJ100, try it out with some M50 pads! It really improves many areas and make it sound better for classical/acoustic music and gaming. I mainly use M50 pads for an impression of a larger soundstage and better comfort.
 
BTW I do find the Modi to be a great match with the DJ100. Heck, the Modi is good with everything! I think it's Schiit's best product (that i've heard).

 

[Transformatron]

   
My Vali had a LOT of ringing and don't know if that had an effect on the overall sound. I got the same results with the DJ100 as with the HD-650. Just sloppy bass and congested sounding (they NEVER sound like this on my O2/Micro). I guess this isn't the general consensus for the HD-650 with the Vali or maybe i'm extremely picky. This did NOT happen at all with my K400 or Q701. Weird right? My Vali did not get more than 25 hours of use, but I doubt it would have been needed if the modded Q701 sounded so good.
 
I also only tried the DJ100 and not the Tony Bennett. A couple people have said the Tony Bennett edition is a little less warm and has more treble than the DJ100. Not really sure. I have a TB but I never use it much anymore due to losing it's original cable.
 
If you like the DJ100, try it out with some M50 pads! It really improves many areas and make it sound better for classical/acoustic music and gaming. I mainly use M50 pads for an impression of a larger soundstage and better comfort.
 
BTW I do find the Modi to be a great match with the DJ100. Heck, the Modi is good with everything! I think it's Schiit's best product (that i've heard).

I have some SRH840 pads that I used for my 8323s a few years ago, should I give those a shot?

 

[tdockweiler]

  I have some SRH840 pads that I used for my 8323s a few years ago, should I give those a shot?

 
I tried those and some SRH-1840 pads and they make the bass totally go out the window on the DJ100. With the DJ100 it depends a lot on a good seal and the size of your ears.
The DJ100 can probably sound muffled with stock pads for those that have huge ears. SRH-840 pads do work well for some with the DJ100 but not for me.
 
Too much air between your ears and the driver and there is too much treble presence and you get a thinner sound. I think this is why the SRH-840 pads were so bad.
 
Surprised that I didn't get lots of noise/hiss with the DJ100 and Vali. It was pretty silent and it's 38ohm.
 
Vali was pretty amazing with the Q701 and wish I got similar results with everything!
 
BTW that driver in your avatar looks very similar to the DJ100 driver:
(it's not a KSC75/PortaPro driver)