Schiit Valhalla 3 - Impressions Thread

[scotto]

At their table they stated pretty definitively that it will be released in March. But as we know, the best laid plans.... + Jason's Law

By the way, they sound simply amazing. For those Vali 3 aficionados out there, I heard a tremendous jump between the Valhalla 2 and 3 similiar to the jump of the various Vali units to the Vali 3. You will be quite impressed. Huge step up from the 2.

That’s impressive, in what aspects?
Has someone done a detailed impressions/review yet?
I’m still impressed by Valhalla 2, it keeps scaling up for me and pairs very well with og zmf auteurs and Aune sr7000 sound great too

 

[JTBaccordionMusic]

I've watched quite a few 2025 CanJam NYC videos now and a few had some quick shots of the Valhalla 3 at the Schiit table but nobody went into any real detail of having spent some decent time listening to the Valhalla 3 which is pretty disappointing. Being a happy OG LY3 owner... I'm still ready to take a leap of faith on the Valhalla 3

 

[Luckyleo]

I've watched quite a few 2025 CanJam NYC videos now and a few had some quick shots of the Valhalla 3 at the Schiit table but nobody went into any real detail of having spent some decent time listening to the Valhalla 3 which is pretty disappointing. Being a happy OG LY3 owner... I'm still ready to take a leap of faith on the Valhalla 3

This was my first CanJam and I can tell you that it is not conducive to critical listening. The environment started out noisy (from a listening standpoint) at 10 am in the morning and became even noisier as the day progressed. I didn't stay till the end each day, so I don't know if things improved the last hour or so. In my opinion, the best we can hope in terms of feedback from the attendees are general impressions only. Hopefully, the V3 will be released in the next couple weeks and we can expect impressions very quickly after that.

 

[Digital Enigma]

I've watched quite a few 2025 CanJam NYC videos now and a few had some quick shots of the Valhalla 3 at the Schiit table but nobody went into any real detail of having spent some decent time listening to the Valhalla 3 which is pretty disappointing. Being a happy OG LY3 owner... I'm still ready to take a leap of faith on the Valhalla 3

Canjam is iem dominanted at this point.

 

[Livetaswim06]

As excited as I am to hear impressions of the Schiit V3, I am equally surprised by how much love IEMs are getting. I can't stand them with wax and mild ear eczema. I suppose most of yall don't have that issue though.

 

[JTBaccordionMusic]

As excited as I am to hear impressions of the Schiit V3, I am equally surprised by how much love IEMs are getting. I can't stand them with wax and mild ear eczema. I suppose most of yall don't have that issue though.

I'm not a fan of IEM's. Could never get a good comfortable fit on the IEM's I tried. I'm mostly headphones and have a small desktop monitor speakers setup

 

[Duncan_McCloud]

I'm not a fan of IEM's. Could never get a good comfortable fit on the IEM's I tried. I'm mostly headphones and have a small desktop monitor speakers setup

Same here. Comfort issue.

 

[tamleo]

Have you guys above tried the Apple earbud? I think it is more comfortable to wear even than Sennheiser headphones that are very comfortable already imo. And the Apple earbud sound very nice only with a dongle (more dynamic and lively) compared to all headphones driving directly from soundcards/dongles (again imo).
Back to the Valhalla3, I think that with the emergence of affordable and good-sounding Chinese tube amps recently Schiit has to try hard to be a better buy (yeah Schiit wins at beautiful finish, propertied topology and made-in-USA). Ime Schiit never wanted to make an all-rounder amp/dacs instead of focusing on specific sound areas then leave the rest with something I can call “odd characteristics”. Anyways I have paused my order on a good p/p and highly recommended Chinese tube amp due to Valhalla3 rumors. I hope this newly beautiful amp from Schiit can bring more life to my Sennheiser headphones than the boring Lyr3.

 

[JTBaccordionMusic]

I put an Apos Ray 6SN7 RESERVE Vacuum Tube in my OG LYR3 and it took it to a whole new level of sound/performance. It now sounds like an amp in the $1K+ territory now. With that said, an OTL tube amp is probably better suited for the Sennheiser 600 line headphones. I had a BottleHead Crack a few years ago and it was a really nice combo with the HD 600

 

[frkasper]

I can't stand them with wax and mild ear eczema. I suppose most of yall don't have that issue though.

Also, there is the drama of pressure build-up sensitivity (in the ear canal) that some users develop. IMHO, it is always a WHEN kind of question. In the tinnitus vs ear canal issues, I fight battles in both camps.

Well, my impedance adapters are ready for the Valhalla 3. Just working in the "making room" department. We'll see.

 

[sacd lover]

What are impedance adapters?

 

[Hyde00]

I put an Apos Ray 6SN7 RESERVE Vacuum Tube in my OG LYR3 and it took it to a whole new level of sound/performance. It now sounds like an amp in the $1K+ territory now.

My friend swear by NOS tubes, curious how those new production tubes stacks up to some similar priced NOS tubes.

But will definitely keep an eye out for those Apos tubes.

 

[JTBaccordionMusic]

My friend swear by NOS tubes, curious how those new production tubes stacks up to some similar priced NOS tubes.

But will definitely keep an eye out for those Apos tubes.

It was literally the first time I ever swapped tubes in a tube amp going with that Apos Reserve Tube. I bought it when it first came out for around $185 and it's gone up in price around $25 bucks now. Like your friend and NOS tubes, I heard a lot of positives about tube swapping so I finally decided to take a leap of faith. It made me a believer... but no way would I ever spend the big bucks like some do on Tubes. My fingers are crossed that the Valhalla 3 stock Tubes are quality tubes. It's one thing paying to swap out 1 tube for the LYR3. But swapping out 4 tubes would be pricey and literally cost more than the Valhalla3 unit itself. I'm not looking to go down the Tube rabbit hole. It's too expensive.

 

[jonathan c]

It was literally the first time I ever swapped tubes in a tube amp going with that Apos Reserve Tube. I bought it when it first came out for around $185 and it's gone up in price around $25 bucks now. Like your friend and NOS tubes, I heard a lot of positives about tube swapping so I finally decided to take a leap of faith. It made me a believer... but no way would I ever spend the big bucks like some do on Tubes. My fingers are crossed that the Valhalla 3 stock Tubes are quality tubes. It's one thing paying to swap out 1 tube for the LYR3. **But swapping out 4 tubes would be pricey** and literally cost more than the Valhalla3 unit itself. I'm not looking to go down the Tube rabbit hole. It's too expensive.

There are not many choices of the power tubes, 6N6P, for Valhalla 3: Foton, Novosibirsk. The rolling, if any, is with the input tubes: 6N1P, 6922, 7308, 12AU7 (w/ adapter).

 

[MindBreak]

There are not many choices of the power tubes, 6N6P, for Valhalla 3: Foton, Novosibirsk. The rolling, if any, is with the input tubes: 6N1P, 6922, 7308, 12AU7 (w/ adapter).

I am planning on buying two 12AU7 adapters at some point to tube roll on the Valhalla 3 since I am enjoying my 12AU7 tubes on Vali 3. First things first, buying the Valhalla 3 and spending a few weeks getting to know the amp prior to tube rolling.