[riffrafff]

Uh, I've used 12au7s, 12at7s, and 12ax7s. You just need the right adapter. In my case a 12au7 to 6922 adapter found on ebay. Many other Headfiers have done the same thing. Check out the Vali 2 tube rolling thread. See my avatar.

Yes, some 12V tubes work with an appropriate adapter, but only if they have a "center-tap" on the heater.

 

[Mr Trev]

Indeed the 12a-7 types will work with an adapter, seeing as they'll work with a 6v heater. Anything that needs a 12v heater will be SoL. Might even blowup in your face, leaving you looking like a vintage black-faced cartoon character à la Tom and Jerry

<ok, it probably won't blowup>

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Uh, I've used 12au7s, 12at7s, and 12ax7s. You just need the right adapter. In my case a 12au7 to 6922 adapter found on ebay. Many other Headfiers have done the same thing. Check out the Vali 2 tube rolling thread. See my avatar.

Good info. Thanks again.

 

[tomb]

@tomb ... this was a ~2016 post. It’s a gold mind of information for us Schiitheads casting a a curious eye towards our first tube-fed head amp. A 3-year-old thanks, eh.

Wow - I'm very humbled. Thank you for the very kind remarks.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

No sadly I've not, :/

I'll put it to you this way

If you've owned a tube amp an your into the "tube" hobby grab the Starlight, an be ready to adjust your bais daily, an try at least like 10 tubes in a week to find the right one! Oh an don't forget about rolling the Op Amps to you'll need to customize that to once you find the right tube!

If you have not owned a tube amp, an you've never rolled tubes or op amps an your not crazy about having a small collection of tubes, go with the Vali 2

Really in all honesty the Schiit Vali 2 is to Hybrid Tubes what the iPhone is to Smart phones, an the Starlight 2 would be the LG V10

With one, you NEED to customize it to get the VERY BEST out of it, an it's a heck of a great amp to tinker with! The other, if you NEVER changed a thing it would still be an awesome value

The Starlight demands that you customize an tinker with it to reach it's best,
the Vali 2 has options to build on an already established base

That said, if your willing to put in the time an money needed to find the right combination of tubes op Amps an gain settings, the Starlight will out shine the Vali 2,
if how ever you lack time, or just want a simpler amp to own an operate than the Vali 2 will suit you better

These are like legit an apple vs android kind of face off imo

This is a 3-4 year old posting. @Mshenay ... this was an excellent posting for proto-tube Schiitheads, like me. Thank, eh.

 

[Keno18]

This is a 3-4 year old posting. @Mshenay ... this was an excellent posting for proto-tube Schiitheads, like me. Thank, eh.

What tipped the scales for me toward the Vali 2: 1. 60 volts on plate. 2. Automatic bias adjustment, 3. Bipolar class ab output. 4. Better power output to drive 300 ohm HD 6XX. 5. (Less important) Esthetics (a real case.)

 

[ScubaMan2017]

What tipped the scales for me toward the Vali 2: 1. 60 volts on plate. 2. Automatic bias adjustment, 3. Bipolar class ab output. 4. Better power output to drive 300 ohm HD 6XX. 5. (Less important) Esthetics (a real case.)

As a middle age Scubaman, I like shiny things. The more dieselpunk, the better! My Magni3 is perfectly adequate for my can-collection. However,...

 

[Keno18]

As a middle age Scubaman, I like shiny things. The more dieselpunk, the better! My Magni3 is perfectly adequate for my can-collection. However,...

i agree, i also own the Magni 3. I like to switch between the two. As an elderly techie I like to flip switches, turn knobs, watch lights go on and off.

 

[TheAnalogman]

@TheAnalogman & @Keno18 ... I appreciated your posting (so I can modify my preconcpetions about valve-amps). I’m feeling the siren-call of the tube-headphone-amp. My Magni3 is a dandy device that all that I need. But what I want... what I want... is that incandescent glow... yesssssssss.

Indeed! Its fun and cheap.

 

[Makiah S]

What tipped the scales for me toward the Vali 2: 1. 60 volts on plate. 2. Automatic bias adjustment, 3. Bipolar class ab output. 4. Better power output to drive 300 ohm HD 6XX. 5. (Less important) Esthetics (a real case.)

Oh neat, glad to see some one still reads over these old posts.

I think in my old review I also mentioned the Vali 2 has a little higher output which is handy for planars. But @Keno18 if you get the time try to hear the starlight or don't. Honestly once you hit the $300+ price point there are amps that sound MUCH better than both.

Still

1. 60 volts on plate 3. Bipolar class ab output. 4. Better power output to drive 300 ohm HD 6XX. 5. (Less important) Esthetics (a real case.)

As much as I hate to say it but, 1, 3, 4 and 5 are all moot reasons. Just proof that schiit clearly knows how to market their product because all of their marketing sold you! An that's ok, the Vali 2 is a pretty solid choice

Now here's the funny part, Schiit actually has my review of the Vali 2 posted on their website, and I'm ok with that because frankly in the price range a think Schiits target audience will appreciate the Vali 2 more. It's an excellent amp, and with all the tube rolling options you can fix some of the tonal issues I had with it, PLUS [and most importantly] it auto biases. Manual bias adjustment after EVERY tube roll is annoying, and if you don't set it right you'll only detriment the sound quality. So for any one whose never owned a tube amp, the Vali 2 is an excellent option.

Simply because as much as you can change how the Starlight sounds for the better, those changes can also work again'st the listener. Thankfully, I owned like 2 or 3 heavily modded Starving Student Hybrids and one of those G1217 looka like Chinese Hybrid tubes. So I was handy with my multi meter and already used to tinkering around with stuff.

 

[Keno18]

Oh neat, glad to see some one still reads over these old posts.

I think in my old review I also mentioned the Vali 2 has a little higher output which is handy for planars. But @Keno18 if you get the time try to hear the starlight or don't. Honestly once you hit the $300+ price point there are amps that sound MUCH better than both.

Still



As much as I hate to say it but, 1, 3, 4 and 5 are all moot reasons. Just proof that schiit clearly knows how to market their product because all of their marketing sold you! An that's ok, the Vali 2 is a pretty solid choice

I don't feel those points are moot. First I'm not about to spend $300 on an amp that *might* sound better, second, my first amp was a Bravo V2, then a Little Bear P1 and I can tell you from direct experience that tubes that had trouble playing in those amps played perfectly in the Vali. Not marketing, my experience. Specifically a12ax7 wouldn't function at all, and a Gray plate RCA 12au7 was distorted. A third RCA clear top also didn't play up to snuff. As I said all worked perfectly in the Vali.

 

[Makiah S]

I don't feel those points are moot. First I'm not about to spend $300 on an amp that *might* sound better, second, my first amp was a Bravo V2, then a Little Bear P1 and I can tell you from direct experience that tubes that had trouble playing in those amps played perfectly in the Vali. Not marketing, my experience. Specifically a12ax7 wouldn't function at all, and a Gray plate RCA 12au7 was distorted. A third RCA clear top also didn't play up to snuff. As I said all worked perfectly in the Vali.

The Vali 2 is an excellent choice, especially coming from a Bravo. I had a heavy modded Indeed G3 it was fickle with some things as well. If your 60volts per plate reason has 2 do with tube compatibility then it's certainly worthwhile reason. Stated numbers will have different significance for different people. Some people think higher output power or just "MORE VOLTAGE" is going to be magically make headphones sound better which isn't always the case.

But the Starlight n Vali 2 both worked with tubes my old Indeed G3 couldn't handle...

As for *might* you might think Project Ember sounds better than the vali 2 or you might think of secondhand Little Dot MK4 sounds better than the vali 2. You also might think the Valhalla 2 sounds better than the Vali 2. You might also think that a DIY Project at around $300 sounds better than the Vali 2.

From my first-hand experience there are a lot of amps that I think sound better than the Vali 2 at an around $300 price point whether you think they sound better depends on you because you might think they're better you might think they're worse. So don't think I'm attacking you,

I just think arguing on which is the better 150 amp is moot assuming at some point you're going to want to upgrade and when you upgrade you going to find options that are better than any incremental Improvement you could introduce with a Vali 2 or Starlight.

And finally you may have no desire to ever upgrade and if that's the case then the vali 2 is a perfectly fine amp to have and enjoy!!

Even though I've sold my project Starlight I still keep a Vali 1 on one of my entry-level reviews systems cuz I think it's Dandy. And frankly despite all the problems it has if something horrible happened to me and I had to sell everything I own I would probably keep it one of my daps and a modded Grado an be content.

That is to say there's nothing wrong with the vali 2 there's nothing wrong with enjoying the vali 2 there's nothing wrong with recommending the vali 2 friends as it's a good amp.

I would just moving forward try to listen to options before you make your decision based on stated numbers or Distortion graphs or power specs. Doing so will help you make better buying decisions for yourself!! Especially when you do decide to upgrade!! It'll turn those "mights" into "does" and "will"

 

[Keno18]

The Vali 2 is an excellent choice, especially coming from a Bravo. I had a heavy modded Indeed G3 it was fickle with some things as well. If your 60volts per plate reason has 2 do with tube compatibility then it's certainly worthwhile reason. Stated numbers will have different significance for different people. Some people think higher output power or just "MORE VOLTAGE" is going to be magically make headphones sound better which isn't always the case.

But the Starlight n Vali 2 both worked with tubes my old Indeed G3 couldn't handle...

As for *might* you might think Project Ember sounds better than the vali 2 or you might think of secondhand Little Dot MK4 sounds better than the vali 2. You also might think the Valhalla 2 sounds better than the Vali 2. You might also think that a DIY Project at around $300 sounds better than the Vali 2.

From my first-hand experience there are a lot of amps that I think sound better than the Vali 2 at an around $300 price point whether you think they sound better depends on you because you might think they're better you might think they're worse. So don't think I'm attacking you,

I just think arguing on which is the better 150 amp is moot assuming at some point you're going to want to upgrade and when you upgrade you going to find options that are better than any incremental Improvement you could introduce with a Vali 2 or Starlight.

And finally you may have no desire to ever upgrade and if that's the case then the vali 2 is a perfectly fine amp to have and enjoy!!

Even though I've sold my project Starlight I still keep a Vali 1 on one of my entry-level reviews systems cuz I think it's Dandy. And frankly despite all the problems it has if something horrible happened to me and I had to sell everything I own I would probably keep it one of my daps and a modded Grado an be content.

That is to say there's nothing wrong with the vali 2 there's nothing wrong with enjoying the vali 2 there's nothing wrong with recommending the vali 2 friends as it's a good amp.

I would just moving forward try to listen to options before you make your decision based on stated numbers or Distortion graphs or power specs. Doing so will help you make better buying decisions for yourself!! Especially when you do decide to upgrade!! It'll turn those "mights" into "does" and "will"

I don't assume. I use what sounds better to me. I also don't need anyone to validate my choice of equipment. If I cared that much i would have foregone my daughter's education and invested in something more expensive and wasteful.

 

[Makiah S]

I don't assume. I use what sounds better to me. I also don't need anyone to validate my choice of equipment. If I cared that much i would have foregone my daughter's education and invested in something more expensive and wasteful.

What sounds better, so did you listen to both products? If so, awesome! Again the Vali 2s a good choice, not my personal first but if you liked it better then that's great!

I haven't read the whole thread over again so forgive me if I'm asking old questions but, what tube do you enjoy with your Vali

 

[Keno18]

What sounds better, so did you listen to both products? If so, awesome! Again the Vali 2s a good choice, not my personal first but if you liked it better then that's great!

I haven't read the whole thread over again so forgive me if I'm asking old questions but, what tube do you enjoy with your Vali

I bought from Amazon because they allow returns, then I bought from Schiit for the same reason. I liked what i heard so I kept it. In this case both the Magni 3 and Vali 2. As for tubes right now there are three that I listen to: the Tung-Sol 6SN7, Electro Harmomix 12AU7, and the RCA 12AU7 Clear Top. I try to stay with tubes that are sourced easily and reasonably priced.