[kman79]

Excuse my ignorance, I just recently purchased a Beyerdynamics DT 990/600 and I'm looking at purchasing my first headphone amp, so I'm very new to this.
 
Would the Valhalla be the preferred amp vs the Asgard when used with the DT990?
 
I listen to a variety of music ranging from Jazz to R&B/HipHop to Country.  I have noticed that I am more of a bass head also.
 
The three amps I'm considering are as follows:
 
Little Dot MKIV 
Schiit Valhalla 
Schiit Asgard
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but since this is the deepest thread regarding Schiit valhalla, I figured I would ask.  Thanks.

 

[Kinger]

According to Jason, Schiit used the BD 880's at 600ohm to help voice the Vahalla and he recommended that particular amp to me of the two.  Based on what I've read, the 990's are very similar to the 880's so I'd think the Vahalla would be a good choice for that can as well.

 

[kman79]

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.  I'm excited about owning my first real pair of headphones and I'm just trying to find the best and most cost efficient way to get the most out of them.
 
Quote:

According to Jason, Schiit used the BD 880's at 600ohm to help voice the Vahalla and he recommended that particular amp to me of the two.  Based on what I've read, the 990's are very similar to the 880's so I'd think the Vahalla would be a good choice for that can as well.

 

[Kinger]

Well I'm just saying what Jason indicated to me.  Unfortunately, I have not tried out the Vahalla yet as mine is in the mail

  In fact, this will be my first dedicated can amp as currently I'm using the can jack from my Emotiva USP-1.  Will be interesting to see how they compare...........

 

[rogueassasin312]

Quote:

 
It pairs very well IMO.  Listening again to familiar music and switching between the  Sennheiser 600s and the AKG 701s I still think that the AKGs get the overall sound more "right" as far as balance goes from top to bottom.  They've been an absolute joy to listen to through the Valhalla.  More time is needed with the Sennheisers but I've found them to apply the same sound signature to all recordings (not that that sound signature is "bad") rather than letting me hear each recording for what it was meant to sound like.
 
The Valhalla also does not seem to have any issues driving the 701s at all.  I can't go much further than 12:00 on the volume knob before my ears beg for forgiveness.
 
Bill

Thanks for the reply...better than the canamp??

 

[wgb113]

Quote:

Thanks for the reply...better than the canamp??

 
Can't say as I've never heard the Canamp.
 
Bill
 

 

[Kinger]

Got my Vahalla in the mail yesterday and thought I would share what I sent to a few friends via e-mail..........  I'm not a professional reviewer and nor am I the best at using audiophile terms so please bear with me.
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]First and foremost, this Vahalla is one nice looking piece of gear.  No rough edges and the volume knob is nice and smooth to the touch. It's also a pretty heavy little piece coming in at around 5lbs and it was packaged very very well.  With it being a B stock unit, I expected something to look out of place, but I'm guessing this particular unit was an A stock unit that was returned by a customer as I could see no cosmetic flaws.  The instruction manual was pretty brief, but written in the same style Schiit uses on their website so at times I found it quite comical.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]The first thing I did last night was plug in the tubes and turn the unit on to let it heat up.  Speaking of heat, I had read a number of posts about this unit and the Asgard running pretty darn hot. Well, I can honestly tell you that either my unit isn't getting as hot as others or the people complaining that it gets too hot have very very sensitive hands.  Even after having the unit on for 3 hours last night I was easily able to put my hand right on the case next to the tubes and leave it there indefinitely.  The unit is warm to the touch, but certainly not hot.  Same with the tubes.......you can feel heat radiating from them if you put your hand about an inch from their tops, but past that and it's a non issue. (Which is a good thing considering my TV is only about 5 or 6 inches above the tubes.)  The heat from the unit is nowhere near hot enough to do any cooking

[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]On to the sound......... One of the first things I wanted to find out about the unit was how quiet it would be without any music coming through it.  Well from 7 o'clock (no volume) to about 3 o'clock (3/4 volume) I heard absolutely nothing.  However, from 3 to 6 I heard a hiss come through my BD 880's and it increased as I increased the volume.  This kinda disappointed me as I had read where many had indicated their units were dead quiet.  Wondering if the same thing plagued my Emotiva USP-1, I repeated the test. Lo and behold, I got the same noise at about the exact same positions relatively speaking on the volume dial.  So now I know I may have some sort of ground loop causing that hiss, but at least it's not just affecting the Vahalla. Maybe I need to start trying some shielded interconnects instead of the el cheapo's I'm using that come in every piece of audio equipment known to man.  Also a word here about volume......the Vahalla EASILY plays the BD's to ear bleed levels if you choose to do so.  12 o'clock on the dial is all I could take.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Next it was time to listen to some music and at first I just level matched to the best of my ability the output from the USP-1 to the Vahalla.  That way I could switch the cans back and forth easily and repeat songs or even do quick comparisons while songs were playing.  Ended up playing a variety of music through the units last night just to compare and contrast the sound.  AKUS, Tommy Emmanual, Infected Mushroom, Eryka Badu, Dido and so on........... Here's what I heard.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Treble - The Vahalla with a couple hours on it DEFINITELY smooths out the treble output of the 880's.  Listened to AKUS for a while on just the Vahalla and after a bit I started thinking, "man even with some hefty volume my ears don't feel fatigued".  That was a big issue with the 880's for me.  As clear and as detailed as they were the sound would start to fatigue me after a bit.  So at this point I started to compare the Vahalla in treble to the Emo.  This is where things got a little tough.  There's no question that the Vahalla makes things easier and more relaxed to listen to.  However, I'm having a tough time determining if that's because of high frequency roll off or detail not being as pronounced.  In listening through the Vahalla it almost felt like some of the music was missing compared to the Emo.  BUT, that missing music was grating to my ears it seemed.  If I had to give the sound from the Emo a description, I'd almost say it was "grainy" in comparison to the Vahalla.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Midrange - Vahalla beat the Emo here IMHO.  Voices just were smoother and acoustic guitars sounded more natural.  Again though, I would almost say the Emo let in a bit more detail in the recordings in this area.  I'm not sure if this is what is meant by "classic" tube sound or what.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Bass - This is the one area where the Vahalla seems to be falling short.  Thus far the bass seems a bit less pronounced than the Emo and a bit more bloated.  Or maybe the best descriptor is that the bass has more bloom?  If you were a person that was really into electronica music you would initially be disappointed with this amp over solid state.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed though that the bass will change as the unit continues to burn in and will be more on par with the Emo in this area.  Not every recording sounded bad, but recordings that were more bass heavy like Infected Mushroom it was easier to pick this deficiency out.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Overall, I'd say that the Vahalla certainly shows promise and I'm hoping the sound will continue to improve as the unit wears in.  If I had to compare the Emo and the Vahalla thus far, I'd say the Emo sounds more "cold" while the Vahalla definitely warms up the sound and makes things sound more flowing or alive or liquid.  The Vahalla certainly allows me to listen for longer without fatigue, but the jury is still out as to whether or not I'm missing some "detail".[/size][/size]

 

[elcoholic]

Quote:

 
   ...  Also, the Valhalla does not do orthos justice, or i would assume any other phone with low impedance and sensitivity.
 
Simply put, both amps test very similar and are a treat to session. If all you have are high impedance phones then snag the Valhalla, if you have a few lower impedance cans the Asgard will do them all justice! Minus maybe the AKG's which weren't that great with the Asgard.
 
I hope most of my impressions are somewhat on par with everyone with the Valhalla so I don't feel like too much of an idiot, but whatever, this hobby is so subjective so I wont feel too bad

 
Enjoy
         

 
About the low impediance, low sensistivity, ortho capability comments.  Where do you draw the line?  I 'm specifically looking at the Vahalla to drive my Yamaha HP-1s, which I bought new, dampened and re-cabled.  Bad idea?  These are the only 'good' cans I own and they split time between home and work, most of the listening hours at work with an iPod through an Onkyo receiver.  Admittedly I'm drawn to the Valhalla by the tube aesthetic, not any actual listening experience.  I have a few hours with a Meier Corda 5 and my HP-1s and it was definitely a step up from any of my 5 receivers.  How transportable is a small tube amp like this as I'd want to take it home at least on the weekends?  Another bad idea?  Their specs are as follows:
 
Impedance: 150ohm

Frequency Response: 20-20,000Hz

Sensitivity: 96db/mW 104db/V

Rated Input: 3W

Maximum Input: 10W

Harmonic Distortion: Less than .3% at 90db SPL
 

 

[Skylab]

For those who are interested:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/516551/review-schiit-audio-valhalla-tube-headphone-amplifier#post_6980084

 

[macbob713]

I first purchased the Asgard to use with my AKG 702's, but when I read the Schiit Audio FAQ section on the Vahalla's, they said they voiced the Vahalla with several AKG models, including the 701. So I took the plunge, and I prefer the tube sound to the Asgard with the AKG's. First off, the midrange is silky smooth, detailed, warm and has more body to the sound than the Asgard. Second, the bass is fuller. Overall, all my CD's I have played so far sound more natural, more organic sounding. The Vahalla's take a little of the digital edge off the sound. Don't get me wrong, the AKG 702 sounds fabulous with the Asgard, but is simply superb with the Vahalla. With the 15 day money back policy, you can't pass up this great pairing with the AKG 701 and the Vahalla.

 

[rogueassasin312]

Sounds very promising...quite a few people enjoy this combo...will have to read more about it!

 

[Thecoolguy]

Anyone know how the Valhalla sounds with the Grado HF2 or RS1i? 
 
I was planning on getting the Valhalla for the HF2 or RS1i i'm getting for christmas, but I'm a bit concerned that the Valhalla outputs too much power for the Grados, which have an independance of only 32 ohms

 

[JerseyD]

I recently asked Jason of Schiit a similar question (whether the Valhalla would be best matched with 32, 250, or 600 ohm headphones).  Here is his reply:
 
"The short answer is "the lower the impedance, the harder the headphone is to drive."
That's why 25-ohm Denons and 16-ohm orthodynamics have such a hard time with most amplifiers. The Valhalla will have an easy job with 250-600 ohm headphones, and can drive them to very high overall levels. When you start getting down to 32 ohms (like with Grados, for example), you're reaching the limits of its capability, and it may not play loudly enough for you.
The perception that higher-impedance headphones are harder to drive comes from using them with devices like iPods, which can only manage 1 or 2 volts of output. They simply don't have the voltage to run high-impedance phones. Valhalla will do 30V, so that's not a problem. """"

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

The perception that higher-impedance headphones are harder to drive comes from using them with devices like iPods, which can only manage 1 or 2 volts of output. They simply don't have the voltage to run high-impedance phones. Valhalla will do 30V, so that's not a problem. """"

I wonder why the 770/880/990 people keep saying that that the 600 ohm versions are the hardest to drive, compared to the 32 and 250 ohm versions.

 

[Thecoolguy]

Quote:

I recently asked Jason of Schiit a similar question (whether the Valhalla would be best matched with 32, 250, or 600 ohm headphones).  Here is his reply:
 
"The short answer is "the lower the impedance, the harder the headphone is to drive."
That's why 25-ohm Denons and 16-ohm orthodynamics have such a hard time with most amplifiers. The Valhalla will have an easy job with 250-600 ohm headphones, and can drive them to very high overall levels. When you start getting down to 32 ohms (like with Grados, for example), you're reaching the limits of its capability, and it may not play loudly enough for you.
The perception that higher-impedance headphones are harder to drive comes from using them with devices like iPods, which can only manage 1 or 2 volts of output. They simply don't have the voltage to run high-impedance phones. Valhalla will do 30V, so that's not a problem. """"

Thanks for the reply! I think I might get the amp and if I dont like it, I can always send it back under the 15 day money back guarentee thing