[TwinACStacks]

 Moriez, you aren't used to Tubes? They tend to be much warmer than SS amps. Knowing the AKG's were quite Accurate to the point of being clinical is precisely WHY I opted for the Vali instead of the Magni. As I had expected the extra fidelity of the tube driven circuit rounds out the AKG's nicely, although it would be nice to have the extra wattage of the Magni with the 702's.
 
From my understanding the Magni is quite neutral in coloring, maybe you should opt for it.
 

 TWIN

 

[boombobby289]

Between Schiit Vali and Little Dot I+, which is a better choice for low impedance cans like AKG K550 & Beyer DT880 (32 Ohm) ?
Which one has a wider sound stage, better separation, more detail ?
 
Does Vali allow tube rolling ?
If yes, what are the recommended tubes for better sound stage and detail ?

 

[tehsprayer]

[COLOR=FF0000]Taken From The Audio Journal Of A DigitalFreak[/COLOR]

[COLOR=0000CD]Sound Byte: The Vali[/COLOR]


Finally got around to plugging in my HifiMan HE-400 to my Vali amp. This little amp is crazy good. For 119.00 bones this thing has no business sounding this good but it does. Both Schiit and NuForce have made me do a double take and realize that one doesn't have to sell ones soul to have a nice sounding audio rig and experience top tier audio.


The HE-400 scales nicely with amping, it always has. Out of all my amps only my ALO RX MKIII-B bests it, it better considering its over 600 bones. Even so, the Vali isn't cleanly beaten. My AKG Q701 for example sounds like crud on the ALO amp, no synergy what-so-ever. Its the Q701 that probably benefits the most from the Vali. Under the Vali's toolage the Q701 comes alive and its bass finally has depth and hits hard. The snap I'm hearing on the drums with the Vali driving the Q701 is sublime. Along with the lows the mids seemed to have filled out albeit note presentation still sounds as crisp and clean as it ever did. The highs, still very forward but now its no longer as spiky sounding. Gone with the spikes is that God awful metallic tinge, about time. End result, the treble sounds wonderfully smooth. Astounding what a little cheaply priced amp can do to a headphone.


Bleh, I've gone off on a tangent again. I originally started this entry with the intention of documenting my impressions with the HE-400. Instead I've gone on and on about the Q701. Shouldn't be surprised, jumbled mind jumbled entry.


The HE-400 seems to love the Vali as much as the RX MKIII-B. Listening to it, grooving to Papadosio as I type this, I find myself both entertained and awed by how nimble the HE-400 sounds as it effortlessly belts out great sounding music. The HE-400 on the Aune T1 with Gold Lion Tube sounded good. On the Vali the HE-400 sounds fantastic. The Aune T1's amp section never had a chance against the Vali. The bass sounds cleaner and far faster. Although the Vali seemed to smooth the highs on the Q701 the HE-400 still has the same bite in the upper registers only cleaner. The mids are what I'm still trying to figure out with this pairing. They're far cleaner with the Vali then with the Aune T1. The question I still have to answer for myself is if it's as clean as with the ALO RXIII-B. So far, in my book, it's a tough call. Since I've bought the Aune T1 into the equation, wonder how the Vali would sound if i was to pair it with the Aune's DAC section instead of my ALO CLAS-db? Looks like I have something else to investigate tomorrow.


Jason Stoddard was the mind who designed the Vali and Warren Chi was the guy who said it would blow me away. Good thing neither of them are standing beside me right now. If they were I'd be getting slugged for kissing both of them on the mouth. What a crazy sounding amp.

Spoiler: This is what happens when you have a new amp to play with

You enjoy the Vali with t50rp mods specifically the alpha dogs? Getting them soon with the Vali.

 

[genclaymore]

  Between Schiit Vali and Little Dot I+, which is a better choice for low impedance cans like AKG K550 & Beyer DT880 (32 Ohm) ?
Which one has a wider sound stage, better separation, more detail ?
 
Does Vali allow tube rolling ?
If yes, what are the recommended tubes for better sound stage and detail ?

Vali doesn't alloud tube rolling, it has mini tubes that's on the PCB it self, Removing them your self with tools voids the warranty. So if your planning to tube roll, then the vali isn't for you.  If not then its a good choice if you want to try out a tube amp that's affordable if you can get past the non tube rolling part.

 

[SpartanX58]

  Between Schiit Vali and Little Dot I+, which is a better choice for low impedance cans like AKG K550 & Beyer DT880 (32 Ohm) ?
Which one has a wider sound stage, better separation, more detail ?
 
Does Vali allow tube rolling ?
If yes, what are the recommended tubes for better sound stage and detail ?

The Vali doesn't allow tube rolling and is not recomended for low impedance headphones, it has a lot of noise... I think solid state amps (like the magni) are better for low impedance headphones.

 

[SpartanX58]

So the Vali does sound good with the Q701, so will it sound good with the K612?

 

[moriez]

 

 Moriez, you aren't used to Tubes? They tend to be much warmer than SS amps. Knowing the AKG's were quite Accurate to the point of being clinical is precisely WHY I opted for the Vali instead of the Magni. As I had expected the extra fidelity of the tube driven circuit rounds out the AKG's nicely, although it would be nice to have the extra wattage of the Magni with the 702's.
 
From my understanding the Magni is quite neutral in coloring, maybe you should opt for it.
 

 TWIN

 
Don't think it's the fact they're tube based. The Asgard 2 is solid state and sounded very similar to my ears. For headphones that have a beyond neutral toward brighter signature and being on the lighter side of bass Vali could work. Not with my TH-600 which has plenty on it's own nor with the Senn 540. Appreciate the mentioning of Magni but like you have read, size does matter. I will skip the Schiit until perhaps something new comes out.
 
 

  is not recomended for low impedance headphones, it has a lot of noise...

 
It's not recommended? Didn't even know that. About noise, The Vali I had was surprisingly silent. Only when inserting the jack I heard a faint ~20 seconds slowly fading ring. It was my biggest ''worry'' before buying but turned out to be the least bothersome. 

 

[SpartanX58]

 
 
It's not recommended? Didn't even know that. About noise, The Vali I had was surprisingly silent. Only when inserting the jack I heard a faint ~20 seconds slowly fading ring. It was my biggest ''worry'' before buying but turned out to be the least bothersome. 

 
Well, maybe your headphones are low sensitivity ones, so the noise doesn't appear at all, but for low impedance, high sensitivity ones, the noise can be very noticeable.

 

[rudeboybass]

could someone compare the vali to the asgard for the he400 for me? which would be better?

 

[TwinACStacks]

   
Don't think it's the fact they're tube based. The Asgard 2 is solid state and sounded very similar to my ears. For headphones that have a beyond neutral toward brighter signature and being on the lighter side of bass Vali could work. Not with my TH-600 which has plenty on it's own nor with the Senn 540. Appreciate the mentioning of Magni but like you have read, size does matter. I will skip the Schiit until perhaps something new comes out.
 
 
 
It's not recommended? Didn't even know that. About noise, The Vali I had was surprisingly silent. Only when inserting the jack I heard a faint ~20 seconds slowly fading ring. It was my biggest ''worry'' before buying but turned out to be the least bothersome. 

Moriez, My experience with Schiit amps is VERY limited. They could all possibly have the same signature sound. My expertise is really in guitars and their Tube Amplifiers, specifically Marshall. This probably explains my affinity for the AKG's brighter sound. I also have a pair of Senn 650's that I really don't care for as much as the AKG's. I'm still burning them in but I expect their warmness, (Read Senn Veil here), is why I'm a little off put by their overall presentation like the much more (IMHO) neutral 702's. I may get used to them, who knows? For that kind of $$$$ I'm damn sure gonna use them one way or the other.
 

 TWIN

 

[elwappo99]

  So the Vali does sound good with the Q701, so will it sound good with the K612?

 
It's hard to say. The Q701 and K612 sound somewhat similar, but their drivers are totally different. I don't think it's a straight conclusion to draw.
 

  Had the Vali here for a day before returning it. It had already been said that it's quite similar to the A2 which I quickly agreed with when I started listening. My prob is that the low end is overly well-rounded (emphasized?) in these amps. Too much for my taste anyway. I'm curious, what's your views on that? Also, the size man the size. I knew it was tiny and never bothered to actually think about the dimension specifications but it's sooo small! It's like a portable amp. At unpacking I asked myself if they sent me a dummy miniature or something. However stupid this sounds, I couldn't take it very serious /dislike
 

 
I think there is a little emphasis in the lower regions. A quick glance over your profile, I see you have the MA900 and TH600 which both sit a little bass heavy, certainly not as much with the MA900. I hook up AKG's K712 and Q701 which by contrast are a little bass light, so the Vali compliments them well. I can see how you may not have found a good match.
 
 
In terms of size, I really like the size. At one point I had a full desk cluttered with amps, DACs, DDCs, and all kinds of stuff. I had an Audio-GD Reference 1 DAC, with an Audio-GD Phoenix, and a Little Dot MKVI+. I'm really glad Schiit packed such a good amp into such a small size. 

 

[UmustBKidn]

   
Indeed, light is not so distracting. I am more concerned about heat and aging of components inside Modi. 

 
My Modi remains plugged in whether I use it or not. After a year of that, no issues so far.
 
I cover the LED with a couple of post-it notes. That tones it down a bit.

 

[Maxx134]

I posted a while back how I considered my Vali like a baby woo wa7 in signature. .
So I have been hording this baby untill now..
I will be letting go my vali due to non use if anyone interested:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/716385/two-amps-like-new-vali-schiit-amp-and-an-o2-amp/0_20#post_10496156

I doubt if I put 2hrs use total on it..
As I have the woo wa7

 

[AnalogSavior]

I've been curious recently about what exactly are the differences between Vali and Magni.  I don't know much about amp design (ie almost nothing) but I do wish to learn.  Outside of the 6088s providing the voltage gain, what other differences are there between Vali and Magni (other than Vali sounding a bit better to my ears)? 
 
Can anyone with electronics knowledge satiate my curious mind? 
 

 

[K.T.]

  I've been curious recently about what exactly are the differences between Vali and Magni.  I don't know much about amp design (ie almost nothing) but I do wish to learn.  Outside of the 6088s providing the voltage gain, what other differences are there between Vali and Magni (other than Vali sounding a bit better to my ears)? 
 
Can anyone with electronics knowledge satiate my curious mind? 
 

 
The tube input stage is the only difference as far as I know.
 
Schiit may have tweaked the parameters of the Vali's solid state output stage to better accommodate the tubed input stage. So the output stage on both amps may or may not be exactly the same.
 
But conceptually, the amp is a volume pot, input stage, output stage. The only difference being the input stage, and whatever adjustments to the output stage.