Finally, my Asgard 3 arrived. First impressions:
-It's heavier than it looks. A good thing, if you ask me.
-It does not run as warm as it's made out to be. My Vali 2 runs slightly warmer.
-As far as I can tell, it's less warm than the Vali 2 (with Amperex PQ 6922). Small but noticeable. On the other end of the frequency spectrum, it's has slightly more treble without being bright. Midrange is slightly less forward than Vali 2 (at least with the 6XX - which I think is a good thing, more to my preference).
-Two aspects clearly favor the Asgard 3: soundstage and detail retrieval. Soundstage is ever so slightly wider but noticeably deeper. Details stand out more, details that I'd glossed over with the Vali 2. They were still present on the Vali 2 but did not stand out as on the Asgard 3. When I went back to the Vali 2, the same details were like: "Oh, there you are. Wonder why I haven't heard you before. Hmm."
Oh, yeah, the pot. Smooth! What a difference compared to the Vali 2 pot.
Need more time with the Asgard 3 but needless to say, I'm very happy with it.