RONJA MESCO
1000+ Head-Fier
Im shocked that Schiit wouldnt make this a regular offering
Too many NOS tubes. They have a finite amount of output tubes that once are gone, they are gone.Im shocked that Schiit wouldnt make this a regular offering
Treble at times is right at the cusp of being too much, but at least for me, it doesn't pass that threshold. I believe that's supposed to be one of the sound signature changes with the "anniversary tuning" variants of the TH-900.This is one of the pairings I was interested in, good to know the sub bass still kicks since it’s one of the things I loved about it. I haven’t had too much time with them but treble has always been a talking about it and its sibling, was the Folk able to tame it a bit?
Speaking of, I noticed they have the Valhalla 2 on their closeout / sales page now. I haven't had time to keep up on the forums and rumors lately, have they announced a Valhalla 3 or successor?Too many NOS tubes. They have a finite amount of output tubes that once are gone, they are gone.
Folkvangr will live on as the Valhalla3 most likely.
In the Schiit Happened thread Jason said the Valhalla 3 will be announced this year, either summer or fall most likely.Speaking of, I noticed they have the Valhalla 2 on their closeout / sales page now. I haven't had time to keep up on the forums and rumors lately, have they announced a Valhalla 3 or successor?
I struggled with really enjoying my Auteur Classic until I tried it with Folkvangr. It's really a fantastic combo....
The real gem and star of my collection with the FV though is my ZMF Auteur. I’d always heard people say ZMF’s sound best with tubes but I never knew if I believed it. I’ll say it’s absolutely true now. This is a headphone I’d always struggled to like, thinking it sounded a bit dead and stuffy, but with the FV it becomes a completely different animal - dynamic, great wide open soundstage, deep bass, amazing vocals, I love it.
My problem is I went to the Florida Audio Expo (I need to write up my report on that btw) and I heard the ZMF Verite Closed, and wow, it was even more detailed, dynamic, and amazing. Now I want one of those, but I don’t care for the current wood Zach is offering them in.
I’ve seen a lot of praise for the Atrium in this thread, and I haven’t had a chance to hear one of those, it I’m worried it would just sound pretty much the same as my Auteur whereas the Verite is something different, but I’d love to hear from anyone who’s heard all three.
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Also check the connection to your DAC and your gain tubes. Make sure they are seated. Since there's not much between tube and heaphone, it's either a heaphone jack, gain tube, or input issue.
Don't send it back until the problem is persistent.
Congrats on picking up a Folkvangr. For all the unusual topology, at the end of the day it’s a very enjoyable amp, especially with high impedance phones.I received by Folkvangr I purchased from the Classifieds a week or two ago. So far I’ve just been using the stock tubes, though it did come with an upgraded set, I figured I’d want to get a feel for the stock tune first.
I’ve found it’s a great pairing with the HD6XX as expected, and with my Beyerdynamic T90, which normally is way too thin and bright, it has some real bass with the Folkvangr.
The Beyerdynamic T1.2 is a less successful pairing. Since the T1.2 is already a warm/dark sounding headphone, I think the FV just accentuates that too much. The Audeze LCD-5 is also a poor match, it I think that’s due to its very low impedance. It doesn’t sound great with the FV even with the impedance multiplier on.
The real gem and star of my collection with the FV though is my ZMF Auteur. I’d always heard people say ZMF’s sound best with tubes but I never knew if I believed it. I’ll say it’s absolutely true now. This is a headphone I’d always struggled to like, thinking it sounded a bit dead and stuffy, but with the FV it becomes a completely different animal - dynamic, great wide open soundstage, deep bass, amazing vocals, I love it.
My problem is I went to the Florida Audio Expo (I need to write up my report on that btw) and I heard the ZMF Verite Closed, and wow, it was even more detailed, dynamic, and amazing. Now I want one of those, but I don’t care for the current wood Zach is offering them in.
I’ve seen a lot of praise for the Atrium in this thread, and I haven’t had a chance to hear one of those, it I’m worried it would just sound pretty much the same as my Auteur whereas the Verite is something different, but I’d love to hear from anyone who’s heard all three.
The new Cocobolo option for the Atrium closes is gorgeous. It’s a shame it’s not being offered on the Verite Closed.
In my experience the Folkvangr is better than most transformerless amps in dealing with low impedance, but it really prefers 50 Ohms or more and an efficiency of 94 dB / mW or better. There’s some fuzziness around those numbers depending on the headphone, but low impedance and inefficient isn’t the best combination for the vast majority of tube amps and the FV is no exception.I decided to try my LCD-3s with it, and they’re a much better pairing than the LCD-5s when it comes to the FV. The higher impedance really helps here. Plus they’re sensitive enough that I have plenty of room running them on low gain.
In my experience the Folkvangr is better than most transformerless amps in dealing with low impedance, but it really prefers 50 Ohms or more and an efficiency of 94 dB / mW or better. There’s some fuzziness around those numbers depending on the headphone, but low impedance and inefficient isn’t the best combination for the vast majority of tube amps and the FV is no exception.
The Clear IMHO is a good pairing with the FV. Dunno about the Elear, but my old Focal Elex sounded good so I suspect the Elear is a good match too.I unpacked my Focal Elear to see how it would work, only to find I’m not getting sound out of one channel. I am using an aftermarket cable I hadn’t tried before because I somehow lost the original, so it might be that, ended up ordering another one from Amazon from a different brand so I’ll see if that works.
If not maybe I’ll take advantage of the good deal Headphones.com has on the Clear.
I found my DCA Aeon Closed (OG) to be truly great at low volume (which is what I usually listen at) but the FV runs out of power fast if I turn it up. The 13 ohm impedance and low efficiency is a bit of a struggle, even with the IM on and set to low gain. The lack of power manifests primarily as a loss of clarity and slam in the bass once I go much past moderate listening level.Agreed.
The best pairing I have is the Meze Liric 30ohm/100 db/mW. The second best I have is either the Utopia or Stellia. I know @ArmchairPhilosopher likes the DCA Aeon 2 Noire with his.
Even with IM on and high gain, I can't get the Stealths or Diana V2 to sound truly good to me. They play music, and some genres well, but ultimately the FV can't keep up.