Two friends were checking into a hotel the day prior to a Head-Fi meet. Loaded down with bags and suitcases full of wonderous audio gear and oddities, Bob and Tom walk up to the check-in counter. Seeing no-one around the foyer except themselves, they look in the hallway behind the counter to see if an office was occupied. Seeing only closed doors, "Hey! Ring that service bell on the counter there", said Tom. Bob hit the top of the bell just enough but only a dull "clink" sound was made. "Huh, well I guess we could just yell for someone or look around some more," said Bob. Tom set his suitcase down but as he leaned down a bit his shoulder bag slipped off his shoulder onto the floor. "Tiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggggggg!" Tom froze in surprise while Bob held his fingers in his ears. Moving his jaw around to get his ears to pop, "What in the hell was that?!" exclaimed Bob. "I think that was my Vali, it rang before when I used it with my headphones but its never..." Immediately a hotel clerk poped out of the back office with a hefty "Howdy!" "I appologize, I was on the phone. I heard y'all ring though! Haha! Y'all must be here for the Head-Fi meet." Bob began to sign for a room while Tom nervously went to check the Vali inside his bag, "I really hope I didn't jack it up," he wispered. As he took the Vali out of his bag and held it up to the light to inspect it, the hotel clerk saw the Vali and took interest. "Hey now I got one of those too! Say, did that make that ringin' noise earlier?" "Um, yeah. Yeah it did," Tom said slowly, unsure if he could see any visible damage to the amplifier. "Hey, thats cool, you're into headphone audio too huh?" said Bob. "Yerp! I tell you what though. That there Vali is a ringer for sure! I can't believe I didn't listen to everyone who said it rang so much before I bought it," said the hotel clerk. "Well Schiit does clearly specify on their website that the tubes will ring if the chasis is hit," said Tom, "but I didn't think it would ring that much!" " Well, I tell ya. That there amplifier isn't worth buying!" exclaimed the hotel clerk, "it just rings too damn much! Imagine if everyone in the meet y'all are havin' has one of them suckers. All you would hear is ringin'!" "Thats a bit dramatic don't you think?" asked Bob. "Listen here. I done read them Head-Fi forum over and over and there is a general consensus that the Vali rings too damn much!" yelled the hotel clerk. "Okay, okay. I just thought people tend to exagerate small issues on the forums is all," Bob said calmly. "Mabey your amplifier is defective Tom, I don't think it should ring like that." "Yeah," sighed tom, "I guess I'll send it back to Schiit when I get home. I was really looking forward to sharing it at the meet since I really enjoy the sound. Oh well, I guess its really a peice of Schiit after all..."
To be continued...