Schiit Valhalla Tube Rolling thread.

[Ripper2860]

Here ya go. Tubemonger is out of stock but Pulse Tube Store has some.


https://pulsetubestore.com/products/12axx-to-ecc88-adapter-plug-play-novib-©-1960s-nos-british-mcmurdo-phenolic-socket-on-top-plus-vibration-reduction-base-9-pin-b9a-noval-not-made-in-china?_pos=2&_sid=d91ae56a1&_ss=r

 

[MacMan31]

Thank you for all the help. Much appreciated. I will look into these options.

 

[Ripper2860]

No problem. I know it can be daunting, but we are here to assist.

Just a recap...

Option #1 - Audio Nirvana

The Langrex Footscray Brimar CV455s (not the other source) and the Pulse Tube Store adapters and you will be golden.

Option #2 - pretty darn good and nice upgrade over stock.

Gold Lion 6922. New production. No adapters needed. Plenty of sources. sources.

 

[MacMan31]

So these two?
https://pulsetubestore.com/products/12axx-to-ecc88-adapter-plug-play-novib-©-1960s-nos-british-mcmurdo-phenolic-socket-on-top-plus-vibration-reduction-base-9-pin-b9a-noval-not-made-in-china

https://www.langrex.co.uk/products/12at7-cv455-kb-fb-brimar-rare-triple-mica-1956-nos-valve-tube/

 

[Ripper2860]

That's it. Those are the right tubes and the right adapters.

Fyi - Langrex shipment from UK can take from 2 weeks to 30 days for you to get it in the US . COVID has shipping from UK running pretty slow at times. They only provide tracking info if you ask for it.

Pulse order will likely arrive much quicker.

 

[Tralfaz]

What's your opinion on the Lyr 3 compared to the Valhalla 2?

Sorry for the late reply on this one...

I like the Lyr 3 and the Valhalla 2 a lot but for different reasons: Right now I'm working from home and largely use the Lyr 3 to drive desktop speakers (Genelec studio monitors with subwoofer) and for this I prefer the sound of the Lyr 3. For headphones the Valhalla 2 gives me a better experience and will become my desktop headphone amp when I return to an actual office and can no longer use speakers.

I've spent more time rolling tubes in the Lyr 3 because it's on for 12 hours a day/7 days a week and I expect to do more tube rolling in the Valhalla 2 once I'm listening to it most of my workday. This is a very informative thread and I will keep using it as a resource when the time comes to plug the Valhalla 2 back in on my desk.

 

[MacMan31]

That's it. Those are the right tubes and the right adapters.

Fyi - Langrex shipment from UK can take from 2 weeks to 30 days for you to get it in the US . COVID has shipping from UK running pretty slow at times. They only provide tracking info if you ask for it.

Pulse order will likely arrive much quicker.

How many adapters are included? It shows three in the photo. Is that how many are in the package?

 

[Ripper2860]

It is each. You need 2.

The three pics are so you can read the entire label and see the pins.

 

[MacMan31]

It is each. You need 2.

The three pics are so you can read the entire label and see the pins.

Okay thanks. I thought that was the case but I was not sure. They do not clarify that on the page. Or at least I cannot find it.

 

[MacMan31]

So I got all my tubes from The Tube Store. I just installed the Novosibirsk 6N6p / 6H6pi and the GE 6CG7 / 6FQ7 but I am getting static in my headphones. Is that normal with fresh tubes? I think I made the mistake of swapping the tubes without first unplugging the amp. I hope that did not ruin anything. I'm also using tube risers as well. The tubes got hot very quickly.

EDIT: so I switched the tubes between left and right and removed the risers for the front tubes. At first it seemed fine but now there is no sound in the left side. Tubes are certainly a finicky thing.

 

[regaet]

Try the original tubes and see how the amp works with them.

 

[MacMan31]

Try the original tubes and see how the amp works with them.

The amp works fine with the original tubes. I'll return to the stock rear tubes and see what happens.

 

[exchez]

So I got all my tubes from The Tube Store. I just installed the Novosibirsk 6N6p / 6H6pi and the GE 6CG7 / 6FQ7 but I am getting static in my headphones. Is that normal with fresh tubes? I think I made the mistake of swapping the tubes without first unplugging the amp. I hope that did not ruin anything. I'm also using tube risers as well. The tubes got hot very quickly.

EDIT: so I switched the tubes between left and right and removed the risers for the front tubes. At first it seemed fine but now there is no sound in the left side. Tubes are certainly a finicky thing.

Sometimes NOS tubes need a few days to settle in and swapping or unplugging then plugging back in can help with static and outtages. If you keep getting static it could be interference from wifi or your phone (I always make sure my phone is 6-10 feet away from my amp). Also, I've never unplugged my amp before changing tubes and have never had a problem.

 

[MacMan31]

Sometimes NOS tubes need a few days to settle in and swapping or unplugging then plugging back in can help with static and outtages. If you keep getting static it could be interference from wifi or your phone (I always make sure my phone is 6-10 feet away from my amp). Also, I've never unplugged my amp before changing tubes and have never had a problem.

Well Schiit does recommend unplugging the amp before swapping tubes. Also they say wait for the power light to go out. So could I just leave the tubes in and keep the amp on to "burn" them in? I swapped back to the stock tubes completely and everything is fine. So I know its not an issue with the amp.

 

[exchez]

Well Schiit does recommend unplugging the amp before swapping tubes. Also they say wait for the power light to go out. So could I just leave the tubes in and keep the amp on to "burn" them in? I swapped back to the stock tubes completely and everything is fine. So I know its not an issue with the amp.

Yeah, I would follow Schiit's instructions to be safe, but know that I've never damaged a tube by rolling it when the amp was off, but plugged in. Also, I would def wait for the tubes to cool or at least the light to be off completely. The V2 is very dependable so I would assume the issue is with the tube or electronic interference.

Burn in of 3-5 hours and 2-3 on/off cycles should be enough to stabilize the tube from dropouts and static. I've only had this happen for a couple of my tubes so take my advice with a grain of salt