Oh you guys are hilarious.
And the way things are going, you're gonna be very lucky if there is a Valhalla 3. Ever.
Warning: mini-chapter ahead.
Today, after months of painful back and forth with transformers, the whole Valhalla 3 thing came to a head. As far as transformers go, we are screwed in any number of ways:
1. A transformer that is perfectly fine, but runs at 90-95 degrees C. No, that's not a misprint. No, that's not Freedum Units. Now, transformers--even base-model, low-spec ones--can run at temperatures that will boil water for years, but your fingers will be less than happy when that transformer sits 1/4" away from an aluminum top panel.
2. A transformer that runs cool, but has so much radiated field that it turns the steel bottom chassis into a paint shaker. I mean seriously insane. Like might-suck-your-Vidar-down-into-a-bottomless-magnetic-chasm insane.
3. A 2-transformer solution that runs fine, but does not fit the chassis.
4. A single larger transformer than runs fine, but does not fit the chassis.
5. Two provisional untested solutions, each based on stuff we've never done before, like running heaters in series. Still waiting to hear if the transformer manufacturer laughs those out of the room.
So right now we have no product. Maybe if we added a fan to #1, but come on, do you guys want a desktop tube amp that has a fan in it? Never mind, I know the answer to that.
On top of all that, in an ultimate ironic note, I got a shipment from a favorite winery today.
One of the wines was a blend. Called "Valhalla."
I almost opened it on the spot.
And I should have. On my way out to the car, I dropped the bottle on the concrete parking lot. It had the expected effect.
The Valhalla curse struck again.
So yeah, I'm kinda done with Valhallas (of any kind) for a while.
Does that mean Valhalla 3 is dead? Not yet, but we don't have a workable solution yet.
It'll happen when, and if, it happens.
