[E8ArmyDiver]

Hey everyone.Glad to see this thread pop up.I just could not live with the ringing the Vali 1 I had exhibited so it was returned.Pulled the trigger on the Vali 2 last night.Should be here by Thursday.Although the price is quite a bit more than similar competition my feeling is the attention to tube drive voltage & build quality makes it worth the extra $. My HE-400i's can't wait.

 

[mysticstryk]

Hey everyone.Glad to see this thread pop up.I just could not live with the ringing the Vali 1 I had exhibited so it was returned.Pulled the trigger on the Vali 2 last night.Should be here by Thursday.My HE-400i's can't wait.

I've got the 400i as well, looking forward to your impressions!

 

[rgmffn]

  Hey everyone.Glad to see this thread pop up.I just could not live with the ringing the Vali 1 I had exhibited so it was returned.Pulled the trigger on the Vali 2 last night.Should be here by Thursday.My HE-400i's can't wait.

Great!  Waiting to hear some impressions.
 
I have the Vali 1 and it is my favorite amp.  That's really all I'll use unless I'm experimenting with something. 
Actually, I doubt that the 2 could sound any better, but it will be fun to play with.
 
I'm sure I'll get one of these soon, but I'll hold back as long as I can. lol

 

[zachawry]

This will be able to drive orthos like Alpha Primes, right? 
 
I am really tempted to buy one to hold me over until I can afford a Mjolnir 2 (or maybe a Woo WA22). But I am wondering how serious of a competition it would be for my Liquid Carbon or Hugo. Don't want to spend the money just to have it sit there. 

 

[Jane Levi]

  This will be able to drive orthos like Alpha Primes, right? 
 
I am really tempted to buy one to hold me over until I can afford a Mjolnir 2 (or maybe a Woo WA22). But I am wondering how serious of a competition it would be for my Liquid Carbon or Hugo. Don't want to spend the money just to have it sit there. 

Your amps are not Tube. So if you want tube, just go with Vali 2.
You dont have HE6, so dont worry coz on Schiit site wrote:
 
"And this thing is powerful enough for inefficient headphones and quiet enough for IEMs, as in, I can use it with pretty much all of my headphones?
Yes. Pretty much. It may not be ideal, say, for HiFiMan HE-6s, which are very, very hard to drive. Beyond that, yep, it’s a great little tube amp that you can use with almost anything."

 

[fjrabon]

 
Your amps are not Tube. So if you want tube, just go with Vali 2.
You dont have HE6, so dont worry coz on Schiit site wrote:
 
"And this thing is powerful enough for inefficient headphones and quiet enough for IEMs, as in, I can use it with pretty much all of my headphones?
Yes. Pretty much. It may not be ideal, say, for HiFiMan HE-6s, which are very, very hard to drive. Beyond that, yep, it’s a great little tube amp that you can use with almost anything."

To be fair, almost every amp maker says that all of their amps can drive everything but a HE-6.  It's like you have to put that in there to be able to sell a medium power amp in 2015.  

 

[XERO1]

 

[disastermouse]

I was planning on getting a Project Ember (which I realize is a healthy upgrade to the just released Vali 2) this spring.  I contacted Schiit for their comments on the Vali 2 being able to drive HD650's and HE500's.  They replied saying that it has plenty of power to drive both devices.

I have time so I will be interested in peoples impressions between now and the spring to make a decision.

Wow, those are my two main home headphones. I was worried about whether there was enough power for the HE-500.

 

[painted klown]

I just pulled the trigger on the Vali 2.
 
I am super stoked, as not only will this be my first piece of Schiit, it will also be my first piece of tube gear.

 
I am really excited to hear it. I just bought a pair of Senn HD-650's that I LOVE, so I am hoping it not only pairs well with those, but also my easy to drive 'phones (Grado SR80i, Beats Solo2, Senn HD-598, AT ATH-M50X, etc).
 
I will be using an Emotiva DC-1 as a DAC in front of it for my head-fi listening and also want to try it as a preamp in my full size system, to see how tubes sound in there. Should be a lot of fun.
 
Additionally, I posted this next part in the 650 thread, but it's geared more toward those headphones, so I figured I would cross post it here as well.
 
I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning last night, trying to learn as much about tubes as I could in one night. LOL!
 
Anyway, it appears to me that all of the tubes that can be used in the Vali 2 seem to be in the same "family" so-to-speak. It also looks like they are considered to be pre-amp tubes (makes perfect sense, given the application) and if I am not mistaken, any tube in this same family can be swapped for any other tube within the family (not sure what the actual term is, but that's how I understand it).
 
What I mean by this is that when I search on tube sales websites, the tubes listed on the Schiit website (6DJ8, 6922, ECC88, 2492) all seem to be pretty much clumped together. This is what lead me to think they are in a family together, and why I concluded that they can all be swapped out for one another. Most websites even have 2 or more of these designations listed for a single tube.
 
Do I have that correct?

 

[lvince95]

deleted

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

Painted Klown:Yes you are correct BUT ONLY those tubes designated in that family.Other tubes may have similar pin layout but voltages will be different.Congrats on your first tube component.Music will never sound the same.....Schiit says the Vali 2 can use "many other types of tubes",anyone know if 12AX7 will work?

 

[tommo21]

  Painted Klown:Yes you are correct BUT ONLY those tubes designated in that family.Other tubes may have similar pin layout but voltages will be different.Congrats on your first tube component.Music will never sound the same.....Schiit says the Vali 2 can use "many other types of tubes",anyone know if 12AX7 will work?

I have my doubt that 12v tubes like 12au7, 12at7, 5751, ECC82, ECC83 and 12AX7 will work, Think you need to use 6v tubes like 6dj8, ECC88, E88CC and 6922 and others in the same family.
 
I believe some of the Project/Garage 1217 amps would be a better choice if you want to roll larger variety of tubes.

 

[KC33]

Hi guys, nice to see this thread up and running. I'm just waiting for the holidays to end to order the Vali 2. If someone here is familiar with tubes, do you think the Mullard Amperex 12AU7A ECC82 tube valve Blackburn would be a good fit.?

 

[Tuneslover]

I just pulled the trigger on the Vali 2.

I am super stoked, as not only will this be my first piece of Schiit, it will also be my first piece of tube gear.

I am really excited to hear it. I just bought a pair of Senn HD-650's that I LOVE, so I am hoping it not only pairs well with those, but also my easy to drive 'phones (Grado SR80i, Beats Solo2, Senn HD-598, AT ATH-M50X, etc).

I will be using an Emotiva DC-1 as a DAC in front of it for my head-fi listening and also want to try it as a preamp in my full size system, to see how tubes sound in there. Should be a lot of fun.

Additionally, I posted this next part in the 650 thread, but it's geared more toward those headphones, so I figured I would cross post it here as well.

I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning last night, trying to learn as much about tubes as I could in one night. LOL!

Anyway, it appears to me that all of the tubes that can be used in the Vali 2 seem to be in the same "family" so-to-speak. It also looks like they are considered to be pre-amp tubes (makes perfect sense, given the application) and if I am not mistaken, any tube in this same family can be swapped for any other tube within the family (not sure what the actual term is, but that's how I understand it).

What I mean by this is that when I search on tube sales websites, the tubes listed on the Schiit website (6DJ8, 6922, ECC88, 2492) all seem to be pretty much clumped together. This is what lead me to think they are in a family together, and why I concluded that they can all be swapped out for one another. Most websites even have 2 or more of these designations listed for a single tube.

Do I have that correct?

Congrats on getting the Vali 2! I would really love to hear your impressions how it sounds with your HD650's, HD598's and Grado SR80's once you have had adequate time to allow for equipment and brain burn-in.

 

[Astral Abyss]

  Hi guys, nice to see this thread up and running. I'm just waiting for the holidays to end to order the Vali 2. If someone here is familiar with tubes, do you think the Mullard Amperex 12AU7A ECC82 tube valve Blackburn would be a good fit.?

 
You can't use 12v tubes in the Vali 2, or any other Schiit tube amp.