[jlangholzj]

  Thank you for the follow up and additional info. Nice to see the Bimby + Vali 2+ HD-650 make a great team. Been drooling over the Schiit multibits for a while now.
 
Re: The Vali 2 and hum/noise.
 
My Vali 2 does have a hum when you use low z 'phones and have the gain on high. For example my Grado SR80i will have a hum when on high gain mode. IMO, this hum sounds like an electrical hum of sorts. It does not change volume with the amp and disappears completely in low gain mode. Additionally, with my HD-650, I cannot hear the hum with either gain mode.
 
The hum is hardly noticeable to me, and I actually didn't notice it at all until another forum member pointed it out and I went back to listen for it. Sure enough, it's there, but it's far from a deal breaker, and if it really annoys you, you can always use the low gain mode.
 
Like some others here, I too feel there is a better bass presence and more dynamics when in high gain mode. Almost all of my listening is through my 650 though, so no hum at all when using them. YMMV...
 
All of my listening has been exclusively with the stock tube as I have no others to roll at the moment. Sounds fine IMO, and I love the power this amp has on tap. I think Schiit created  a winner here folks. I was wondering if the hybrid design would give me enough "tube flavor" to be happy. I can say that it absolutely does. It definitely sounds different than my SS Emotiva DC-1's HP amp, but there's no distortion (even at high volume levels) like I had expected there to be. My expectations were exceeded, to be honest.
 
I do really want to try some rolling, and will as soon as my budget allows. For now though, I am enjoying the schiit out of this amp!

You can make sand sound like tubes, actually quite easily. The drive and authority is going to come from the output stage and I doubt I'll ever know the answer to this one but if they (schiit) are using a global NFB loop it stands to reason that's why you're loosing a bit of the punch and dynamics along with eliminating noise noise in low Z mode. It's kind of one of those "can't have your cake and eat it too" moments.

As with most audio equipment the first few stages (tube) are going to dictate more of the tonal shaping than the output. Note i I said *more* not all....OTL tube is a whole nother bear in itself but you'll notice there's not a whole many of them around....for a reason...they (tube) have relatively horrible drive capability. That's why the hybrid design is so rad, I'm part-way through a hybrid design of my own with some mini novals that will be pretty cool to see how it turns out.

 

[Makiah S]

   
I owned a Sunrise 2 for a year and it was fine with my Sennheiser HD650. Then some months ago I changed headphones to a Beyerdynamic T90 and I could hear hum all of a sudden, to such a level that the amp became an issue. So yes, I guess it seems there is some inherent issue with the tube design and hum but then this can be multiplied depending on what gear you are using. I listen to a lot of classical music and then i pick on hum in quiet passages. I eventually sold my Sunrise and the new owner has no issues at all.
 
I think i might not be the perfect candidate for tube amps, the Vali2 seemed ticked a lot of boxes for me, the design and power... but i guess i stick with solid state at the moment 

 

It's funny you mention the T90, most of my headphones have a very energetic top end, an those brighter headphones seem to just draw the noise into them
 
I still find the Starlight to be very quite, even with my brighter headphones 
 
but ofc it lacks the power of the Vali 2, an hoenstly with stuff like the HD 650 [Higher Z] the Z will just negate teh noise any how 
 
going to the Vali 1, my DT 880 600 ohm was a DREAM on that amp!  

 

[Skarecrow77]

Got a pair of NAD HP50s and a Schiit Modi 2 DAC for christmas... just in time for my 12 year old Perreaux SHX-1 to decide to develop a horrendous noise filtering issue three weeks later. 

 
I've had solid state for 12 years and liked it, but got the chance to listen to my NADs on a co-worker's Woo WA7 and it was... well it was a revelation. I've read reviews that say that the HP50s don't benefit much from amplification and those reviewers are dirty stinking liars. I got misty-eye'd there a few times with that WA7... The HP50s sung to me like never before. Anyway, I digress... suffice to say that my new amp has to have tubes.
 
I was tossing the idea of a Valhalla 2, when I realized that my budget is essentially nil at the moment, then I found out about the Vali 2. It sounds like it's the perfect solution to my problems. Worst case scenario, I could always ship it back to schiit and step up to the asgard 2 or valhalla 2 (gonna be rough talking the wife into that though, lol).
 
Does anybody have any experience with the the Vali 2 on the HP50s (or their sister cans, the PSB M4Us)? I'd love to know what you thought of the pairing. 

 

[bigro]

I am Using the PSB M4U1 which is 32 ohms. I do not get a Hum. I also Tried it with the ATH m50x. No Hum either I the Vali 2 On High Gain because as some noted there seems to be a better low end punch. I use power conditioners and power strips with power filters and got rid of crap cables. I had terrible hum with previous systems until I ditched the crappy surge protectors and cheap cables. Point of the story, Audio hum is usually not caused by the amp, but said amp will accept any interference. either from the outlet or from nearby cables.

 

[nordkapp]

With an
 
Electro-Harmonix 6922. 

 

[Makiah S]

  I am Using the PSB M4U1 which is 32 ohms. I do not get a Hum. I also Tried it with the ATH m50x. No Hum either I the Vali 2 On High Gain because as some noted there seems to be a better low end punch. I use power conditioners and power strips with power filters and got rid of crap cables. I had terrible hum with previous systems until I ditched the crappy surge protectors and cheap cables. Point of the story, Audio hum is usually not caused by the amp, but said amp will accept any interference. either from the outlet or from nearby cables.

Hmm I also have a Furman Power Conditioner as well, but I'm still using some pretty low end cables. Still, if I have to purchase after market cables to get rid of the hum, I might as well take that extra investment an buy a better amp right? Either way, imo the Vali 2 is a great entry level Amp to drive High Impedance or Low Sensitivity headphones, and with that class of cans it's rather quiet 
 
But I am hopeing to invest in a set of 3pin XLR to RCA interconnectors for my Dac, as SE outputs my dac could be quieter 
 
I got my matched pair of GE 6SN7 GTA octals today an my Socket Saver so I'll fire up the Vali 2 again with the newer an hopefully cleaner tubes and see how it sounds 
 
I also used Low Gain mode with my low gain headphones due to the noise, 

 

[masterwu]

been listening to the Vali 2 on Modi Uber DAC - no noise or hum - headphones m50s, Ath-WS1100, and dt-880 pro 250O.  very quiet - stock tube, crappy cables and belkin power surge protector.


on low gain.

 

[Makiah S]

  been listening to the Vali 2 on Modi Uber DAC - no noise or hum - headphones m50s, Ath-WS1100, and dt-880 pro 250O.  very quiet - stock tube, crappy cables and belkin power surge protector.


on low gain.

I should mention there is a "hiss" that I hear not so much a hum 

 

[Tuneslover]

I currently have the Electro Harmonix 6922EH in my Vali 2 as well, which is being fed by the Bifrost 4490. A terrific sounding rig for my bed side table listening sanctuary. Really makes my HE500's sing, in fact the best bass I've heard out of them.

 

[Makiah S]

I currently have the Electro Harmonix 6922EH in my Vali 2 as well, which is being fed by the Bifrost 4490. A terrific sounding rig for my bed side table listening sanctuary. Really makes my HE500's sing, in fact the best bass I've heard out of them.

That's good to hear! I'm very impressed how well this little guy does with old skool Hifimans :3 my HE 4 included 

 

[SneakyDomo]

I currently have the Electro Harmonix 6922EH in my Vali 2 as well, which is being fed by the Bifrost 4490. A terrific sounding rig for my bed side table listening sanctuary. Really makes my HE500's sing, in fact the best bass I've heard out of them.

I have to agree, I received ​a 6922EH and JJ EE88CC this week and the Electro Harmonix is head and shoulders above the JJ and stock 6BQ7 for the music I listen to.  Until the 6922EH I was worried I had pretty much thrown away $169 because the Vali 2 with stock tube while smoother than my Fiio E10k driving HE-400i's, it was a giant detail eraser with mediocre bass.  With the EH its still smooth but the details are more present and the bass is just perfect. 

 

[Makiah S]

 
I have to agree, I received ​a 6922EH and JJ EE88CC this week and the Electro Harmonix is head and shoulders above the JJ and stock 6BQ7 for the music I listen to.  Until the 6922EH I was worried I had pretty much thrown away $169 because the Vali 2 with stock tube while smoother than my Fiio E10k driving HE-400i's, it was a giant detail eraser with mediocre bass.  With the EH its still smooth but the details are more present and the bass is just perfect. 

yeap, I might have to try the Electro Harmonix 6922
 
but the JJ EC 88 is a 12v is it not? Either way, I'm enjoying the Octal 6sn7 GE GTA 

 

[Skarecrow77]

  I am Using the PSB M4U1 which is 32 ohms. I do not get a Hum. I also Tried it with the ATH m50x. No Hum either I the Vali 2 On High Gain because as some noted there seems to be a better low end punch. I use power conditioners and power strips with power filters and got rid of crap cables. I had terrible hum with previous systems until I ditched the crappy surge protectors and cheap cables. Point of the story, Audio hum is usually not caused by the amp, but said amp will accept any interference. either from the outlet or from nearby cables.

 
No Hum on the M4U1 even in high gain mode? Very promising. Is that with the stock tube? If not, what do you have in there?
 
How do the M4U1 sound with the vali 2, is it a good paring?

 

[nwavesailor]

 
I have to agree, I received ​a 6922EH and JJ EE88CC this week and the Electro Harmonix is head and shoulders above the JJ and stock 6BQ7 for the music I listen to.  Until the 6922EH I was worried I had pretty much thrown away $169 because the Vali 2 with stock tube while smoother than my Fiio E10k driving HE-400i's, it was a giant detail eraser with mediocre bass.  With the EH its still smooth but the details are more present and the bass is just perfect. 

I have 25-30 used and NOS mostly 6DJ8, some 6922, and a few 7308. The Orange Globe, Holland production, 6DJ8 is really nice in the Vali 2 BUT............it pains me to say this........the current production EH 6922 are pretty sweet! Nice detail and highs as well as good bass. The regular EH 6922 sound (to me, YMMV) better than the EH 6922 GOLD.
 
Side note to Mshenay:
 
Thanks for talking me down off the ledge!
 
I got the Apple conversion cables and, other than being a little fluky with some Apple dialog boxes, the 'line out' of the iPod is FAR superior to the headphone out! I can actually hear mo' betta sound out of the Vali 2 now than last weekend when the iPod alone sounded better.
 
As long as the cables don't give me fits (and lose signal) this weekend in testing, I may actually end up keeping this Schiity little Vali 2 amp and see if I really use it with my hp. If so, I may snag the Ember ll............. if not I haven't spent more $$$ to have a piece of gear sit there unused. Time will tell.
 
More tube rolling this weekend....................

 

[rgmffn]

 
 

  With an
 
Electro-Harmonix 6922. 

 
 

I currently have the Electro Harmonix 6922EH in my Vali 2 as well, which is being fed by the Bifrost 4490. A terrific sounding rig for my bed side table listening sanctuary. Really makes my HE500's sing, in fact the best bass I've heard out of them.

 
 

 
I have to agree, I received ​a 6922EH and JJ EE88CC this week and the Electro Harmonix is head and shoulders above the JJ and stock 6BQ7 for the music I listen to.  Until the 6922EH I was worried I had pretty much thrown away $169 because the Vali 2 with stock tube while smoother than my Fiio E10k driving HE-400i's, it was a giant detail eraser with mediocre bass.  With the EH its still smooth but the details are more present and the bass is just perfect. 

 
 

  I have 25-30 used and NOS mostly 6DJ8, some 6922, and a few 7308. The Orange Globe, Holland production, 6DJ8 is really nice in the Vali 2 BUT............it pains me to say this........the current production EH 6922 are pretty sweet! Nice detail and highs as well as good bass. The regular EH 6922 sound (to me, YMMV) better than the EH 6922 GOLD.
 

 
It's nice to finally hear some feedback concurring my earlier recommendation and praise for the EH 6922.  Thanks for sharing!
 
I did feel like playing some recently, so I went back and tried the 6CG7 that I have again, __ it wasn't in there very long.