Official Schiit Vali 2 Thread

[adktitan]

The stock tube should be a 6bz7. Mostly a "meh" tube, although others have tried Brimars which are supposed to be good.
Other drop-in tubes are 6dj8/6922, and 6cg7. I'd recommend trying a 6cg7 firstly. I just saw you post you ordered a JJ 6922 - a good choice.
12au7, 5670, 6sn7, ecc40, will also work, but adapters are needed for those.

Awesome info and thanks. That'll go into my notes; I am little gun shy about adaptors at this point, maybe later on down the line. Cheers, Kokanee.

 

[bcowen]

The stock tube should be a 6bz7. Mostly a "meh" tube, although others have tried Brimars which are supposed to be good.
Other drop-in tubes are 6dj8/6922, and 6cg7. I'd recommend trying a 6cg7 firstly. I just saw you post you ordered a JJ 6922 - a good choice.
12au7, 5670, 6sn7, ecc40, will also work, but adapters are needed for those.

Both of my Vali's came with 6BZ7's, and I think 'meh' is a great descriptor. Not bad sounding, but certainly didn't show off the Vali's true potential. I do like the Brimar (6BQ7 actually rather than 6BZ7, but the operating parameters between the two are nearly identical). Have one of the new production JJ gold pin 6922's in there now...just haven't had the chance yet to give it a thorough listen yet. And as you and @oakparkmusicguy mentioned the 6CG7, the Westinghouse sounds really good too.

 

[senorx12562]

I certainly haven't tried all the tubes that can be used in the Vali, but in terms of sq/$, my favorite is the EH 6cg7. Surprisingly, (at least to me) I have found the Focal Elex to be a very synergistic pairing with the Vali regardless of the tube used. Can't stop listening.

 

[Keno18]

I certainly haven't tried all the tubes that can be used in the Vali, but in terms of sq/$, my favorite is the EH 6cg7. Surprisingly, (at least to me) I have found the Focal Elex to be a very synergistic pairing with the Vali regardless of the tube used. Can't stop listening.

I've been using the EH 6cg7 lately because I've been listening so much, I hate to burn up the Tung-Sol 6sn7s or Brimar 6bq7s. If the EH goes oh well, just buy another.

 

[oakparkmusicguy]

Buy a Westinghouse or Coronado 6CG7.
Enjoy them.
Then buy an EH or JJ.
Then think, “Ahhh...Now I hear why”

or do what I did... buy way too many tubes and have fun....I don’t like any of my EH tubes...but my ‘too much treble’ is another person’s ‘mmmm... sparkle’

 

[bcowen]

Buy a Westinghouse or Coronado 6CG7.
Enjoy them.
Then buy an EH or JJ.
Then think, “Ahhh...Now I hear why”

or do what I did... buy way too many tubes and have fun....I don’t like any of my EH tubes...but my ‘too much treble’ is another person’s ‘mmmm... sparkle’

Ditto that. I mean the first part.

Quite a few Westinghouses on Ebay for less than $20...probably cheaper than an EH. Just beware seller "peace.love.and.music" who after all this time still hasn't figured out what 'minimum good' means. Hard to understand why anyone buys anything from him (or her).

Edit: and then there's good ol' greengirl. I've actually bought a couple tubes from her that were fine. She apparently has the only double-triode tube in existence with three plates. Maybe someone should tell her the one in the middle is a shield, not a plate. LOL!

 

[Delirious Lab]

Is this thing underrated as a preamp or what? I'm not using headphones much these days, so today I decided to insert the Vali (stock tube) between my laptop+Modi and the speakers (Audioengine A2+) for my telework setup. Imaging feels better than ever, and bass texture is a lot more realistic.

Your impressions on preamp Vali?

 

[oakparkmusicguy]

I'm a real fan of the Vali. I have a Magni 3, Magni 3+, and the Vali. I definitely use the Vali the most. I keep looking at the Schiit B-stocks to pick up another one.

 

[Keno18]

Is this thing underrated as a preamp or what? I'm not using headphones much these days, so today I decided to insert the Vali (stock tube) between my laptop+Modi and the speakers (Audioengine A2+) for my telework setup. Imaging feels better than ever, and bass texture is a lot more realistic.

Your impressions on preamp Vali?

I briefly tried the Vali as a preamp a while ago but was not impressed. Less bass that way. I will give it another try.

 

[senorx12562]

I briefly tried the Vali as a preamp a while ago but was not impressed. Less bass that way. I will give it another try.

Pretty noisy too ime.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Different tubes do make an audible difference. I find the tube rolling more of a fun side hobby rather than thinking of them as eq. If you want a huge difference then a Loki eq is great (I have 2 and love them).
....{{{snip}}}...

You have 2 Loki units?! Nice. I'm pleased with my tone control too. Whenever my audio nervosa flares up... and I'm going for that extra oomph (or less screech), Loki comes to the rescue. For me (Loki Tone Control) > (casual tube rolling).

 

[oakparkmusicguy]

2 Loki but not in the same chain. One for the living room and one for my music studio

 

[Hashi8888]

Hi,

Anyon using their Vali 2 for PC gaming and PC Music?

I would be using the motherboard’s Line or Headphone out, not sure what it has. Still waiting for the MB to arrive. It supposely has 8 channel,
Asus Rob ver. E.

Which brings up another question, do you use
the MB’s audio which has many channels/effects or do you tend to use USB external DAC which has no sound processing?

 

[TinearedOne]

Hi,

Anyon using their Vali 2 for PC gaming and PC Music?

I would be using the motherboard’s Line or Headphone out, not sure what it has. Still waiting for the MB to arrive. It supposely has 8 channel,
Asus Rob ver. E.

Which brings up another question, do you use
the MB’s audio which has many channels/effects or do you tend to use USB external DAC which has no sound processing?

My Vali 2 is connected to my PC via a Modi Uber. It works great. I also have the Modi connected to my CD player via the optical and coax inputs. I also have all of that connected to my turntable via a Sys. The system works well.

 

[PhenixS1970]

Hi All.

Eager to hear my Grado headphones with a tube amp I took the plunge and have a Vali 2 on order. Also expecting a EH 6CG7 tube.

The source will be my A&K SA700 DAP using the unbalanced output but the Line Out has different voltage options:
1. 0.7V
2. 1V
3. 1.25V
4. 2V

Any recommendation on which V to use?

Thank you very much in advance.