bboris77
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 27, 2005
- Posts
- 243
- Likes
- 749
Hi everyone,
I have had a few more days to play with the Vali 2 and I am still blown away by it. With my T50RP MK III and Q701, it is spectacular. I also have an update regarding how it pairs with my Grado SR60e. Basically, it sounds great and the hiss that the original Vali had is completely gone at the low gain setting (at any volume) and the high gain setting up to about 2 o'clock on the volume pot. After that, I can hear some mild hiss but nobody sane would ever run this headphone at that volume anyway.
I do have a question considering some very mild 60hz hum that I am experiencing with low-impedance high-sensitivity headphones such as the Grados or the PX100. Basically, on these type of phones, there is a low level hum present at any volume setting in the high gain mode. It is very mild and can only be heard when no music is playing. On my PX100 it was present in the low gain mode as well, but it was extremely quiet to the point that you would have to have absolute silence in the room and really concentrate on it to hear it. While I could use the low gain mode for these phones, I prefer the high gain mode since it appears to open up the sound a bit. I only noticed this last night and I did not have the time to let the amp warm up to see if the noise would subside after the tube was up to its optimal temperature. I would really appreciate it if someone can check if their Vali 2 exhibits this kind of behaviour. I read on the Lyr threads that both Lyr and Lyr 2 do this under certain circumstances. I do have a spare stock tube and it too exhibits the same behaviour. I also tried the usual troubleshooting - unplugging everything, moving the amp, trying different outlets and so on.
Second thing that I noticed is that compared to the original Vali, the muting relay allows for a slightly louder pop when the amp is first turned on, especially if you are using the high-gain mode. Not to the point that it is uncomfortable, even on sensitive headphones, but it is something that is different compared to the original which had a mild pop and the famous ringing. The funny thing is that the actual mechanical relay click sound is much softer on the Vali 2 - looking at the board pictures, it is obvious that it is using a much smaller NEC relay, so I guess it is normal that it is behaving quite differently.
Just for the fun of it, I plugged in the original Vali last night to compare and wow, it is so easy to forget the microphonic nature of those micro tubes. With my PX100 there was mild but constant background hiss and adjusting the volume would produce mild ringing for a few seconds. No 60hz hum though at all. Sounds good, but not in the same league as its younger brother.
I have had a few more days to play with the Vali 2 and I am still blown away by it. With my T50RP MK III and Q701, it is spectacular. I also have an update regarding how it pairs with my Grado SR60e. Basically, it sounds great and the hiss that the original Vali had is completely gone at the low gain setting (at any volume) and the high gain setting up to about 2 o'clock on the volume pot. After that, I can hear some mild hiss but nobody sane would ever run this headphone at that volume anyway.
I do have a question considering some very mild 60hz hum that I am experiencing with low-impedance high-sensitivity headphones such as the Grados or the PX100. Basically, on these type of phones, there is a low level hum present at any volume setting in the high gain mode. It is very mild and can only be heard when no music is playing. On my PX100 it was present in the low gain mode as well, but it was extremely quiet to the point that you would have to have absolute silence in the room and really concentrate on it to hear it. While I could use the low gain mode for these phones, I prefer the high gain mode since it appears to open up the sound a bit. I only noticed this last night and I did not have the time to let the amp warm up to see if the noise would subside after the tube was up to its optimal temperature. I would really appreciate it if someone can check if their Vali 2 exhibits this kind of behaviour. I read on the Lyr threads that both Lyr and Lyr 2 do this under certain circumstances. I do have a spare stock tube and it too exhibits the same behaviour. I also tried the usual troubleshooting - unplugging everything, moving the amp, trying different outlets and so on.
Second thing that I noticed is that compared to the original Vali, the muting relay allows for a slightly louder pop when the amp is first turned on, especially if you are using the high-gain mode. Not to the point that it is uncomfortable, even on sensitive headphones, but it is something that is different compared to the original which had a mild pop and the famous ringing. The funny thing is that the actual mechanical relay click sound is much softer on the Vali 2 - looking at the board pictures, it is obvious that it is using a much smaller NEC relay, so I guess it is normal that it is behaving quite differently.
Just for the fun of it, I plugged in the original Vali last night to compare and wow, it is so easy to forget the microphonic nature of those micro tubes. With my PX100 there was mild but constant background hiss and adjusting the volume would produce mild ringing for a few seconds. No 60hz hum though at all. Sounds good, but not in the same league as its younger brother.