[OldRoadToad]

I wouldn't be so sure about that…
And I don't think that I can agree with you on that new Vali looking dull. That dished area around the tube looks pretty cool to me. If anything, it makes that new Vali look less dull than its predecessors. Should also help keep the amp a tad cooler, since it exposes more of the tube to the air outside of the case. I would also imagine that it makes using adapters a little easier.


This is correct.

It is okay to disagree with me, which is why I said about the looks of stuff it as it relates "To me." And I am never certain except where what Jason says in reference to what I like in an amp. There will be no VU Meters, for one. The Vali 3 does look a bit different than the 2nd generation but not enough to cause me to want one for my self.

And it is fine with me that Jason and Mike make what they think people want. It is their business and while some might say that makes it none of my business I say it just means they will not get my business for any thing for me. Unless I like how it looks. I have bought Schiit for others in my family and even given them my own Schiit because I just do not derive enough visual pleasure from the equipment and think others who do not think as I do will enjoy the stuff for what it brings to them. Their music.

I am none too intredasted in tube rolling but will admit that if a tube that looks better fits and is compatible, I would try it if I could afford to. But not for the sake of hearing any difference and instead I am concerned with how swapping a tube makes the stuff look better. Again, to me!

I am shallow that way. Looks are important to me. I know that Schiit makes fine equipment with regard to music reproduction so I do not concern my self with that aspect of their equipment. Shallow Hal, needs an Amp.

ORT

 

[Topo47]

It is okay to disagree with me, which is why I said about the looks of stuff it as it relates "To me." And I am never certain except where what Jason says in reference to what I like in an amp. There will be no VU Meters, for one. The Vali 3 does look a bit different than the 2nd generation but not enough to cause me to want one for my self.

And it is fine with me that Jason and Mike make what they think people want. It is their business and while some might say that makes it none of my business I say it just means they will not get my business for any thing for me. Unless I like how it looks. I have bought Schiit for others in my family and even given them my own Schiit because I just do not derive enough visual pleasure from the equipment and think others who do not think as I do will enjoy the stuff for what it brings to them. Their music.

I am none too intredasted in tube rolling but will admit that if a tube that looks better fits and is compatible, I would try it if I could afford to. But not for the sake of hearing any difference and instead I am concerned with how swapping a tube makes the stuff look better. Again, to me!

I am shallow that way. Looks are important to me. I know that Schiit makes fine equipment with regard to music reproduction so I do not concern my self with that aspect of their equipment. Shallow Hal, needs an Amp.

ORT

Yep all that you say is fine with me. I happen to very much like the visual of Schiit. So much of what I have seen on the web since last august is un-appealing visually. And, aside from the visual enjoyment of Schiit, I like the power-on power off switch where it is.
Cheers

 

[corndog71]

Vali 3 looks very nice to me. Like a mini-Lyr. If it was a different tube or some major difference in the circuit I might consider one but my Vali+ is working just fine.

 

[Ripper2860]

Did I recommend this new release yet? Perfect for @Ripper2860 to test the Aegir 2. Does it sound like listening to the band in a good live jazz venue? Can you see them with their particular mannerisms in your mind's eye? I must say this is better than the last time I heard some of them (Mehldau and Blade with Redman and McBride) live, Monterey Jazz 2022. Potter really drives them to their best.

Thanks. Added to the list for later tonight or tomorrow.

 

[LobalWarming]

It is okay to disagree with me, which is why I said about the looks of stuff it as it relates "To me." And I am never certain except where what Jason says in reference to what I like in an amp. There will be no VU Meters, for one. The Vali 3 does look a bit different than the 2nd generation but not enough to cause me to want one for my self.

And it is fine with me that Jason and Mike make what they think people want. It is their business and while some might say that makes it none of my business I say it just means they will not get my business for any thing for me. Unless I like how it looks. I have bought Schiit for others in my family and even given them my own Schiit because I just do not derive enough visual pleasure from the equipment and think others who do not think as I do will enjoy the stuff for what it brings to them. Their music.

I am none too intredasted in tube rolling but will admit that if a tube that looks better fits and is compatible, I would try it if I could afford to. But not for the sake of hearing any difference and instead I am concerned with how swapping a tube makes the stuff look better. Again, to me!

I am shallow that way. Looks are important to me. I know that Schiit makes fine equipment with regard to music reproduction so I do not concern my self with that aspect of their equipment. Shallow Hal, needs an Amp.

ORT

Need an amp with visual ooomph, physical heft and hefty meters? A used D110 at 92lbs and 110W could be your choice for a mobile semi-transportable desktop amp.

 

[Timster]

@Timster has promised to tell me when it's tomorrow down under.

Definitely tomorrow here. 1350 on Sunday 11th. Only three hours to go and tomorrow will be there for you too.
Oh wait, no. Then it will be today again.

 

[stevodotorg]

It's so cute...

Some not liking the design here, but it does make for safer tube rolling. Also, this baby is now 100v. Interested to see what Jason has to say about it. Also it looks like he went with the Russian 6N1P, I remember reading somewhere on here that they heard Jason really liked this tube but was afraid to use it due to heat? Something like that.

 

[jonathan c]

I honestly do not think it would carry the Vali name if it was not a Hybrid. Something that radically different from prior Valis would warrant a different name...


Like Valhalla 3.

.... or if it exaggerated bass / treble at the expense of midrange .... 'Valley' .... [....]

 

[Adam Balm]

Well now, I just had to dig out Sapphire Blue and give it a spin. In the Urd, of course.
Along with a fine after dinner adult beverage..

 

[cgb3]

That temperature (obviously) varies in the temperate zones, but typically deep-soil/constant earth temperature is, for example 57F in New England(6 feet or more down). I suspect that in the wine regions of France, deep cellar temps would be in that rough Range as well.

I used this reality to build a succession of 4 basement wine-cellars, of increasing capacity and insulation capacity, across 4 homes. My previous home it was a double 2x6 walled fiberglass insulation with 12” air gap between walls, dual doors, and dual insulated ceiling. So, around R90 in the ceiling, and R72 or so in the walls. Open To the basement concrete floor at bottom. It ran a stable yearly cycle of between 56-58, trailing the seasons by about 3-4 months (so warmest it got was in around October or November, and coldest in April or May. That was an epic effort, but held 2000 bottles, plus other stuffs.

We moved to Texas in 2018, and I moved about 750 bottles along. We then bought a used huge furniture grade indoors wine cabinet. It didn’t hold all 750, so the “less good” ones ended up in boxes in the corner. By the time we moved back to New England, we had drunk it down a bit. But would need a wine cellar in our new home here. I took opportunity to sell 6 cases of the “best of the best” as it had appreciated in value to where I was like ‘I need the money more than any wine’. Got almost 5 digits worth. (Most were 1982, 88, 89 and 90 Bordeaux, including first and second growths).

Fortunately we have a basement! So I just build a small room, against floor and outside basement NE - facing (but shaded) wall, and LIGHTLY insulated it with foam board. I took the AC unit from the furniture piece (which we could not move as it was too large to fit into anyway into the basement in this home, and too tall to work in any room inside (texas typically has 8+ foot ceilings, New England 7 1/2 or slightly less) and mounted it.

It’s holding steady 57F with no usage of the Unit so far (of course we are still in winter).

So yes, cellar temperature, REAL cellar temp, is perfect for storing and aging quality wines. If you own them LONG enough, you can make obscene profits after 30+ years for the right wines. We do it for the wine and gourmet meals, because if you buy wine this way (futures, discounts for case lots, etc.) and store them, you can enjoy wonderful 10-25 year old aged reds for a relative bargain. (E.g. I paid no more than $50 for any of the bottles I later sold for so very much more).

Now, almost retired, we’re drinking things down; nonet cost to buy over-priced plonk today, nor pay ridiculous prices of $75 or more for what I consider mid-grade California (or other region) wines. Hell, I only paid $200 in a restaurant in NYC when I proposed to my wife (Tavern on the Green if anyone remembers the place) for the bottle of 1961 Latour we had.

It’s fun to open a bottle I paid $25 for and drink it, knowing it is of the quality of $200 wines of today.

So add “worry about losing taste/smell as age” to the audiophile nervosa “worry about losing hearing as age” LOL

(Wine’s an alcoholic beverage just like Whiskey, Bourbon, Scotch after all…)

WINE ON THE SINE!

Thanks, very informative.

 

[docBliny]

Well now, I just had to dig out Sapphire Blue and give it a spin. In the Urd, of course.
Along with a fine after dinner adult beverage..

Was just trying to find that on Qobuz, not available along with a couple of other recommendations from this thread that I finally got around to transferring from screenshots in notes into a Roon playlist, phew...

 

[cgb3]

Precisely…. And most QUALITY red wines, properly made, will throw a fair amount of sediment. You should see what I get on my remaining 1990 and 93 Chateauneuf, or 90, 2005 Bordeaux… Less so on the great Italians (Barbaresco, Brunello); though a good Amarone will throw sediment as well.

I *always* decant cellar temp reds, and let them air a while - the duration mostly depends on how old they are. For the really old ones 25 years or more, I’ll let them warm (laying down) on the kitchen counter for about 30 minutes before opening/decanting. (It would be bad to open/de-cork and let stand up for a while because the settled sediment Would begin redistributing in the wine…. Sometimes, I’ll get a “cork failure, where the cork, whilst not compromised, is on its last legs structurally and kinda crumbles. in those cases I just use a corkscrew to “drill a hole” all the way through, and then get my glass funnel, put a gold-plated Braun coffee filter screen in the funnel, and pour the wine through - aerates and removes those corky bits.

My experience having done this since the early 80’s (I still have a few 82 Bordeaux, and several 1976 German Trockenbeerenauslesen Rieslings… is that I have a “cork destroys wine” experience at maybe a 5% rate or less.

Most Reds that need chilling, I generally (not always) find rather thin and lacking in body. FWIW I am mostly not a Pinot Noir guy. To my tastes I can’t find ANY under $75 that are even acceptable to my palate. We’re big red folks: Zinfandels, Chat du Pape, Hermitage, Aussie Shiraz, Bordeaux, Chanti/Brunello/Amarone/just about any Italian red… We do love quality French Rose from Tavel, and we chill that.

But here’s a great reason to do it. We had this at Christmas with Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding and all the other fixings… Cost me $20 when I bought a case WAY back… We love to entertain and break out the old, good stuff! (I bought a case of 1996 Bordeaux for my oldest son’s birth year, and a case of 2000 Bordeaux for my youngest son’s as well - for their use at wedding, or however they wish).

Thanks, I'm not a wine guy, but I enjoy being "schooled". Great forum. Next time I'm around wine friends, I can actually sound like I'm not an idiot.

 

[cgb3]

Has anyone put together a playlist of the bass recommendations here?
.

I can't believe that's his natural timbre. I'd like House to take a look. Might be lupus.

 

[Chicagorob]

An aside...

All this concern about Aegir running hot caused me to pull out my laser thermometer and give the ole Aegir 2 a scan at one of the heatsinks. Aegir 2 was right at 104F as Jason specified. What I found funny is that Freya+ in tube mode ran 109.4F at left top of the chassis away from the tubes. No one really expresses any concern about that, but I guess that's a given with tubes!

My MM1 v2 runs hotter than hell - even hotter than my Vali 2++!

 

[Ripper2860]

Thanks. Added to the list for later tonight or tomorrow.

Very nice. Sitting in my listening chair in the dark. 2 tracks in and I've been transported to an intimate venue where I managed to get the best seat in the house.