[TMRaven]

I know what I previously said was somewhat of a blanket statement, but the ironic thing I've seen is that throughout multiple tube amp threads there always seems to be some consensus on the best 2-3 sets of tubes to put in that amp, and everybody strides for them.
 
I've tried tube rolling before with 3 sets of different tubes, and the results weren't different enough for me to consider it a worthwhile investment.  Not only did I not find it worthwhile, but I ended up spending as much money in the tubes as I did the amp.
If I want a big change, I get a new pair of headphones or amp.  If I want a fine-tuned sound, I EQ my headphones.  If I want the 'best' sound an amp can provide, I allow the manufacturer to build the amp around the particular set of tubes they've chosen and produce amazing results.  That seems to be the case with the 120 dollar Vali and its tubes.

 

[Lorspeaker]

   
What sounds best to you may not sound the best to me. Everyone has their own personal sound preferences. Maybe the tubes that Schiit thinks sound the best in the Vali are not the best tubes for you. A different set of tubes can change the sound to match your personal preferences. That's the point of tube rolling. Say you spend several hundred dollars on an amp but don't quite like how it sounds once you get it. Well that's a simple fix. Just pop a new set of tubes in it and you're all set.

x10

 

[Sweden]

Wow blowing up.
Interesting. Interesting indeed.

 

[HiFive]

Are the tubes used in the Vali current production tubes or did you buy a pile of NOS tubes? (I have no opinion on what's best, just curious.)

 

[jbarrentine]

I don't know enough about the technical side of headphones, I simply know what I like. What will the high noise floor result in for certain headphones that were mentioned like AKG (I'm assuming 7xx)? Audible hiss or what?
 
Right now I have a simple HD598, but am looking at moving up to a T90 or even a K812.

 

[purrin]

Best to think of the Vali as a cheap amp and forget that it even uses tubes. We ain't gonna tube roll for something this small. These 6088 sub-miniature tubes don't have bases with pins to stick into sockets. They are high-reliability long-life components probably meant for Eddie Haskell's military communications equipment during the Korean War. I don't think anyone but Raytheon made them.
 
Think of this it way: you don't roll transistors.
 
There are other inexpensive amps you can tube roll such as the Lyr, Vahalla, WA3, Little Dot MK2, CTH, etc. You can even roll rare tubes which exceed the cost of those amps.

 

[blueangel2323]

  Best to think of the Vali as a cheap amp and forget that it even uses tubes. We ain't gonna tube roll for something this small. These 6088 sub-miniature tubes don't have bases with pins to stick into sockets. They are high-reliability long-life components probably meant for Eddie Haskell's military communications equipment during the Korean War. I don't think anyone but Raytheon made them.
 
Think of this it way: you don't roll transistors.
 
There are other inexpensive amps you can tube roll such as the Lyr, Vahalla, WA3, Little Dot MK2, CTH, etc. You can even roll rare tubes which exceed the cost of those amps.

Yeah that's what I was saying, even though I didn't really know what I was talking about. Those tiny tubes have the long pins that are meant to be soldered, but there's no version that you can just plug into a socket.
 
You can roll transistors... some amps let you roll op amps and such 

 
I prefer not being able to roll tubes, actually, if for no other reason than the fact that I don't know schiit about tubes. I'd prefer to have just one tube that I know sounds good. Too complicated to have multiple, and besides you don't know what a tube sounds like until you've heard it, and that means spending money.

 

[Sweden]

Would be interesting to see a comparison between the DNA Sonett 2, CSP2+/CSP3 and the lowly Vali with the HD800. Interesting indeed.

 

[Sweden]

With the all evolving technological progression I don't see any reason why a DAC can't have the performance of todays TOTL stuff but costing nickels and dimes in the not too distant future.
It's an interesting time right now following the headphone and audio industry

 

[FraGGleR]

  With the all evolving technological progression I don't see any reason why a DAC can't have the performance of todays TOTL stuff but costing nickels and dimes in the not too distant future.
It's an interesting time right now following the headphone and audio industry

 
Many are saying that we are already in an eden where you can pay less than $100 and get DAC performance far better than what would cost $1000 just 10 years ago.  Looking strictly at the budget end, there are more and better DACs available than there were just a few years ago when I first started.  Headfi and computer based audio have exploded in the last couple years.

 

[jbarrentine]

   
Many are saying that we are already in an eden where you can pay less than $100 and get DAC performance far better than what would cost $1000 just 10 years ago.  Looking strictly at the budget end, there are more and better DACs available than there were just a few years ago when I first started.  Headfi and computer based audio have exploded in the last couple years.

 
We're already bumping that top end to human perception where nuance is 'flavoring' the experience. There's not much tech that will come to market that's going to improve what people who already have TOTL are hearing. Products can only gain better price/performance ratios now, and Schiit seems to understand this phenomenon. Look at HD video. 4K might be nice, but it's going to be a much smaller advance than SD to HD was. We're hitting the limit there too. We're already well past the point where processor speed in a computer matters to what the average person is doing at home. It's a good time to be alive

 

[Taowolf51]

So to those who have used the Vali, how are the highs? Are they bright at all, or is there a nice rolloff?

 

[purrin]

Treble is even with the mids and extended. It definitely does not exhibit that "classic" tube amp rolloff characteristic. And I mean "classic" in a pejorative sense: rolled highs, syrupy, slow, excessively lush, bloated, etc. a.k.a. Leben. The Vali what most solid-state amps wish they can be in terms of clarity, resolution, microdynamics, but with a twist of having a touch of inner warmth and non-edgy, but very present treble. Think EC, DNA Stratus, Woo WA5, etc.

 

[Taowolf51]

Wow, that sounds excellent, I'll definitely give it a try. When do preorders start, by the way?
 
Oh and Purrin, have you had the chance to try it as a psuedo preamp for a pair of speakers? If so, how well does it work in that regard?

 

[jbarrentine]

I had been trying to decide if I should go with the Asgard 2 or Magni, but it looks like neither is the answer.