Haven't heard a Valhalla 2, only Vali 2. I would probably go for a Lyr over A3, as an upgrade. If you can budget it. A3 is certainly not bad, though, but sounds rather unrefined to me.
So you have a Marantz DAC1 now? I have no idea how much of a difference a BF2 will be, but hopefully enough. You could go for an Yggdrasil to be sure, if you can afford it. Or buy both, and return one.
WAY more power and versatility? Cleaner sound? Way lower output impedance? Optional DAC? Lighter and less power consumption? Better volume knob? I don't think A3 would be an upgrade over Valhalla 2 as far as sound quality goes, but it's less tubey, cleaner, more powerful and more versatile than Valhalla 2 for sure.
Not that I would disagree but could you please elaborate?
Yeah, avoid the built-in DACs! You won't get a Bifrost 2 jammed in there.
And you'll be able to upgrade each component in your chain individually later on, which is great flexibility to have.It sounds like you want a better sounding, more powerful pure tube amp, then. Maybe a Woo WA2? I've heard Monolith Liquid Platinum is another excellent option, for a hybrid amp.
Is the Valhalla 2 not a pure tube amp? With the Monolith Liquid Platinum is it better to use the balance headphone out over the SE output?Yeah, avoid the built-in DACs! You won't get a Bifrost 2 jammed in there.
It sounds like you want a better sounding, more powerful pure tube amp, then. Maybe a Woo WA2? I've heard Monolith Liquid Platinum is another excellent option, for a hybrid amp.
The Yggdrasil would be way out of my price range. Would the Bifrost 2 plus a tube amp be "too much of a good thing" if I'm looking for an analog sound?
OTL, yeah. But you said you were getting an Asgard 3 instead, I thought? Which probably has worse sound quality overall, and you seem to like tube amps, so I suggested better sounding tube amps(and/or hybrids).
I would imagine so. It seems that pretty much every amp that has balanced + SE was primarily designed for the bal circuit, and the SE is an add-on that never comes close to the same quality of the bal circuit. I don't care about balanced, and may never, so I simply look for SE amps with high power and sound quality(like this A30 Pro I just got, that I need to start testing right now lol).
I was just thinking of the Asgard 3 as a solid state option. Seems to have good reviews so far that I have seen. I thought that the A30 Pro has a balance headphone out?
What about the Cayin HA-1A MKII? It actually looks really nice.
Oh yeah, for sure! For $200 it's absolutely great. So if that's all you want to spend, it's an easy choice for SE.
Bal or SE inputs. SE output circuit only. So far I am loving this amp... Seems to have incredible bass impact, with very crisp, clear treble. I think my G111 may have more space/depth, but I need to listen & compare more to determine. It's not the smoothest amp, but definitely sounds more clear & refined than A3. HE6 sounds very acceptable on this amp.
I've never heard Aerosmith or classical sound as good as with BF2+A30 Pro+FD5.
Well I will never pair Qutest with Valhalla2. I had both these devices and they are not a good pair. It will be as bright as it can get.
