Schiit Valhalla 3 - Impressions Thread

[JTBaccordionMusic]

Yep.

Very nice setup

 

[robusa]

I did a quick preamp test and I’m gonna have to move the Lokius under the Saga if I want to use it at the same time as the Valhalla as a preamp, because the Valhalla introduces some noise into the Lokius. I tried quickly rearranging my Schiit sandwich and with Saga in the middle the noise is much quieter. I bet if I put a couple of small spacers between each, the noise would be gone, or at least inaudible from my listening position.

I’m not going to use the Lokius when I use headphones with the Valhalla because I use software EQ, so no worries there.

So far I’ve been listening to my HD 6XX for a couple hours and it sounds great, the best I’ve heard these headphones. Just the right amount of tubeyness. My only tube headphone amp experience before this was a Vali 2++ a couple years ago, and it didn’t do much for me, tube-wise. But the VH3 is the real deal for me.

I can’t hear any audible difference with the impedance multiplier on, but maybe that’s because these headphones are so high impedance already. I’ll be trying my Fiio FT1 headphones next.

 

[JamminVMI]

I would be interested on how the Valhalla 3 sounds with the Dan Clark Audio NoireX. Is there enough power? Anyone want to chime in?

I have Noire and E3, but not the Noire X. Both sound wonderful with the impedance multiplier on. I’m very happy.

 

[Quadrangulator]

I did a quick preamp test and I’m gonna have to move the Lokius under the Saga if I want to use it at the same time as the Valhalla as a preamp, because the Valhalla introduces some noise into the Lokius. I tried quickly rearranging my Schiit sandwich and with Saga in the middle the noise is much quieter. I bet if I put a couple of small spacers between each, the noise would be gone, or at least inaudible from my listening position.

I’m not going to use the Lokius when I use headphones with the Valhalla because I use software EQ, so no worries there.

So far I’ve been listening to my HD 6XX for a couple hours and it sounds great, the best I’ve heard these headphones. Just the right amount of tubeyness. My only tube headphone amp experience before this was a Vali 2++ a couple years ago, and it didn’t do much for me, tube-wise. But the VH3 is the real deal for me.

I can’t hear any audible difference with the impedance multiplier on, but maybe that’s because these headphones are so high impedance already. I’ll be trying my Fiio FT1 headphones next.

Try a JDS Labs Synapse between your DAC and computer if you are using USB, which solved my Lokius ground loop noise issue. If your noise is coming from stacking, yeah, Schiit says that can be a problem in the Lokius documentation, so moving the Lokius to the side might solve it.

 

[JanMc]

Here is my stack. Lokius in the middle and speakers are dead quiet even with volume all teh way up if no music is playing.

 

[larryhokie]

I’ve been rocking the Valhalla 3 setup with my Mac, Apple Music, JDS Synapse, Mimir, and Lokius since Saturday. Simply sublime while listening with ZMF Auteur Classic and Bokeh Open cans.

 

[Charade19]

Here is my stack. Lokius in the middle and speakers are dead quiet even with volume all teh way up if no music is playing.

Nice setup. I like it. Clean and unified.

 

[bildar]

I’ve been rocking the Valhalla 3 setup with my Mac, Apple Music, JDS Synapse, Mimir, and Lokius since Saturday. Simply sublime while listening with ZMF Auteur Classic and Bokeh Open cans.

Gentle Giant good stuff man

 

[Charade19]

I’ve been rocking the Valhalla 3 setup with my Mac, Apple Music, JDS Synapse, Mimir, and Lokius since Saturday. Simply sublime while listening with ZMF Auteur Classic and Bokeh Open cans.

Nice setup here as well. Clean, and good choice on the music.

 

[jonathan c]

I’ve been rocking the Valhalla 3 setup with my Mac, Apple Music, JDS Synapse, Mimir, and Lokius since Saturday. Simply sublime while listening with ZMF Auteur Classic and Bokeh Open cans.

Enough ventilation space for Valhalla 3?

 

[JanMc]

There is a MMB2 sitting on the back side of the Aegir. It used to sit on top of my Lyr 3 but it doesn't fit on the VH3 (and that thing is way too hot anyway) and my cables aren't long enough to move it anywhere else right now.

 

[larryhokie]

Enough ventilation space for Valhalla 3?

I think so. Under metal shelf is 100 f. MacBook is 82 f.

 

[robusa]

Here is my stack. Lokius in the middle and speakers are dead quiet even with volume all teh way up if no music is playing.

Interesting. What’s weird about this noise is that it didn’t seem affected by volume. It just only happened while VH3 was directly on top of Lokius, and both were on, and the Lokius was engaged.

And as soon as I lifted the VH3 up in the air a bit, the sounded started to decrease the further away it got. I’d say about six inches 4-5 inches above Lokius it was silent.

 

[j0val]

I think I’ve given up on trying to pre-amp the Mjolnir 3 with the Valhalla 3. I feel like it’s some strange amalgamation between the two amps and forgets to add the strength of each unit. It’s not terrible I guess, but both the Valhalla 3 and Mjolnir 3 are great amps by themselves.

I’m continuing to enjoy the Valhalla 3 though on its own. Been using it mostly as a pre-amp so far with my Genelec speakers. The Genelecs have amazing imaging (and a large sweet spot) and the V3 really takes advantage of that. Songs like Only in Dreams (2024 Remaster) by Weezer (the first minute is a really good test for imaging IMO) and Dreamer by Hiromi sound very euphonic.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Interesting. What’s weird about this noise is that it didn’t seem affected by volume. It just only happened while VH3 was directly on top of Lokius, and both were on, and the Lokius was engaged.

And as soon as I lifted the VH3 up in the air a bit, the sounded started to decrease the further away it got. I’d say about six inches 4-5 inches above Lokius it was silent.

Here's my little hypothesis:

All the inductors in the Lokius are picking up the EM fields from the V3's power transformer (because it's situated very nearby), leading to interacting in a way that finalizes in a noisy signal, and @JanMc's speakers are not sensitive enough to pick up that noise, whereas yours are. Transformers are basically like a mini planet whose poles are rapidly flipping in a sinusoidal manner. Any looping conductors surrounding it will pick up on those fluctuating magnetic fields, and parasitize some of that energy and convert it into their corresponding AC signals. Typically, transformer noise is heard as a hum.

Turning up the volume doesn't affect the noise, because no amp can amplify the signal downstream, which is where the noise was introduced.

Unlike most tube amps, the Valhallas' transformers are neatly hidden in the chassis, which brings it down significantly closer to the device beneath it. Like all EM fields, as the distance between affected objects close in, each is subjected to the other's field at asymptotically increasing rates. I also wonder if enclosing a transformer in an aluminum chassis could also cause the chassis itself to parasitize energy from the transformer through induction, and create its own fluctuating fields, which are in even greater proximity to adjacent devices, since aluminum itself is an excellent electrical conductor.

Just keeping a good distance between the two should fix it.